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Business News/ Companies / How companies can aid farmers with water conservation efforts
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How companies can aid farmers with water conservation efforts

Given that monsoon patterns always vary, water conservation measures can have a lasting impact on drought-struck villages, say experts

Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/MintPremium
Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint

A farmer’s suicide at an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally and the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast of a higher probability of sub-par monsoon rainfall paint a grim picture of the farm economy. But they also underscore how companies can leverage their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to drive water conservation and groundwater recharge measures.

Companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the JSW Group and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), and many others, are making their water conservation and groundwater recharge measures relevant to the times of drought by improving water conservation and building water potential.

The IMD says there is a 68% probability of below-normal to deficient monsoon rainfall this year; if that turns out to be true, 2015 will be the second consecutive year of deficient rainfall.

The four-month monsoon season starting June is crucial, as India receives 75% of its annual rainfall in this period and more than half the country’s farmland is rain-fed.

Given that monsoon patterns always vary, water conservation and groundwater recharge measures can have a lasting impact on drought-struck villages, says water conservationist Rajendra Singh, who is also known as “the Water Man of India".

“It is a simple science and companies’ contribution can be valuable. But what is important is the objective and site selection of where the measures will be implemented," says Singh.

Singh has implemented water conservation measures in Rajasthan and built 11,000 water-harvesting bodies that helped rejuvenate rivers. He says that by spending about 1crore, 1,000 hectares of land can be made drought-free by ensuring availability of water through rainwater-harvesting structures. Singh works independently and uses a community-led model.

HUL, one of the biggest spenders on water conservation, through its non-profit arm Hindustan Unilever Foundation, plans to spend 100 crore to expand and create a water potential of 500 billion litres by the end of the decade.

This is in addition to the 100 billion litres of potential it has already created across 6,000 villages in 13 states in India, over the last four years. HUL used water conservation structures such as bunds, check dams and ponds to help retain precious rainwater and recharge groundwater, which can later be used for irrigation.

Suresh Rohilla, programme director for water management at the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, says deficient rain increases the need for such structures as it will help spread out water storage.

Companies such as RIL, Mahindra and the JSW Group, too, have taken up construction of such structures in villages in Maharashtra, whose chief minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to the companies at a CSR conclave in March to support the government’s initiative to control drought in the state under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, through their CSR inititaives.

The JSW Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of the JSW Group, a conglomerate with interests in steel, energy and cement, began supporting farms hit by water scarcity in 2013 in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and it will be spending 8 crore as part of its CSR over the next 15 months to implement these measures in 38 villages including in Mahasrashtra.

To assist with identifying the right location, assessing the soil quality and the type of intervention required, JSW has roped in agricultural research organization International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics for technical assistance.

“Even during heavy rainfall, water conservation is important. So when deficient rainfall is expected, the importance to conserve that water becomes all the more crucial," says Sumantra Sen, chief executive of the JSW Foundation.

JSW is approaching this methodically. “First we are addressing the low-hanging fruits. Before the monsoons are over, we are looking at rejuvenating existing structures such that their efficiency to absorb and retain water is increased. In the later part of year, we will undertake construction," said Sen.

Mahindra spent 5 crore and implemented its integrated water management programmes in 32 villages of the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh in 2010, which resulted in creating 1.5 billion litres of water storage capacity and bringing about 100 hectares of previously barren land under cultivation, in addition to improving productivity of crops by 30%.

“We have taken an integrated approach, where we are looking at building water potential through structures in addition to a lot of measures like micro-irrigation, buying good quality seeds, planting trees, creating self help groups," says Anirban Ghosh, vice president, sustainability, Mahindra Group.

The conglomerate, as part of its CSR mandate, is scaling up the effort in 30 villages in Maharasthra this year at an additional cost of 2 crore. “In Maharashtra, we will look at maintaining older structures, as typically government programmes don’t look into them, and they are essential in the face of drought," says Ghosh.

Activists such as Vijay Jawandhia, founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmers’ union in Maharashtra, want more subsidies than water conservation steps. “These water conservation measures are not going to solve the problem of lack of rain. These measures are useful only to a certain extent. I have undertaken various soil conservation and water conservation measures over these years, but during the drought, it did not help. If there is no rain, what will we conserve?," asks Jawandhia. “We need more economic support given for rain-fed agriculture, and that will help reduce risk of farmer."

Unseasonal rain, reduced prices for crops and prolonged droughts have pushed farmers into deep debt, resulting in farmer suicides. Farmer suicides rose 26% to 1,109 in 2014, with a majority of deaths reported from Maharashtra, according to a PTI report.

“If companies want to help, they should help lobby for subsidies for farmers practising rain-fed agriculture," says Jawandhia.

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Published: 28 Apr 2015, 12:36 AM IST
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