Rain fed agriculture
Rain fed agriculture indicated rain as source of irrigation for agricultural activities.
In India, almost 60% of total net sown area comes under rainfed lands. Rainfed crops account for 48 percent area under food crops and 68 percent under non-food crops.
India ranks first among the rainfed agricultural countries of the world in terms of both extent and value of produce.
Rainfed areas in India are highly diverse, ranging from resource rich areas to resource-constrained areas. Some of the resource rich areas are highly productive and have experienced widespread adoption of technology. However, most of the areas are resource constrained and dry areas.
In the resource constrained and dry areas, the farming is a survival mechanism rather than a growth oriented activity.
Rainfed agriculture is practiced under a wide variety of soil type, agro-climatic and rainfall conditions ranging from 400 mm to 1600 mm per annum.
Rainfed Crops are prone to breaks in the monsoon during the crop growth due to water stress. This water stress may be due to variability of rainfall, delay in sowing, diversity in crop management practice and variability of the soil type. The prolonged breaks can result in partial or complete failure of the crops.
Conventional food and horticultural crops of Jharkhand:
Major Crops: i) Rice,
- ii) Ragi,
iii) Maize,
- iv) Wheat,
- v) Redgram
Fruits :
i)Litchi,
- ii) mango,
iii) guava,
- iv) cstrawberry,
- v) sapota,
- vi) custard apple,
Need for diversification of crops for food as well as nutritional security in the wake of climate change
With the rapid change in climate it is very hard to predict impact of crops. Thus if crops are diverse than there are chances of survival of crops all along the climate change. Studies has found that climate change will put much stress on some crops like rice, wheat etc. While some crops like cotton, pulses will survive. Thus the more diverse the crops there are chances that it will bear the climate change.
Rain water harvesting and its role in improving agriculture output in Jharkhand
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater can be collected from rivers or roofs, and in many places, the water collected is redirected to a deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), a reservoir with percolation, or collected from dew or fog with nets or other tools. Its uses include water for gardens, livestock, irrigation, domestic use with proper treatment, indoor heating for houses, etc. The harvested water can also be used as drinking water, longer-term storage, and for other purposes such as groundwater recharge.
Many parts of the state, which fall under the rain shadow zone, have been declared drought-affected for six successive yearsfrom 2010.
Rainwater harvesting in Jharkhand will reduce dependency on monsoon rainfall
Since Majority of the areas of Jharkhand uses water intensive crops thus it is necessary to harvest water.
To reduce soil layoff water harvesting in the farm itself is a good practice.
Water harvesting will improve ground water table which will improve water availability for well irrigation
Fish Farming in Jharkhand
Fisheries is an important economic activity in the state for additional employment and income generation. About 65-70% of people in the state consume fish and shellfish products. Against the estimated annual demand of 1.15 lakh metric ton of fish, the annual production of fish in the state is nearly 96,000 tonns. The annual demand of fish seed is 1200 crore and the state is producing nearly 96 crore.
The aquaculture resources in the state are mainly reservoirs and tanks. The cumulative area of nearly 252 big and small reservoirs is 1,15,000 ha. The number of check dams are 1184 having an area of nearly 4570 ha. Main rivers are Swarnrekha, Damodar, Koyal, Sankh, Ajay, Kanchi and Brahmi . Most of the rivers are seasonal in nature.
There is one state level federation of fisheries co-operative called Jharkhand State co-operative Fisheries Federation (JHASCOFISH) at Ranchi. Managing Director is head of the this federation. About 392 fishermen co-operative societies are working in Jharkhand.
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