The Hindu Business Line : Watershed development proves a hit in AP

THE ground water level has increased by 1.92 metres and 44 per cent of the defunct wells have been rejuvenated in areas where watersheds were developed in Andhra Pradesh.

Over 6,500 watersheds have been developed in the State so far bringing in an additional land of 5.05 lakh acres under cultivation, according to Mr Anil C. Punetha, State Commissioner of Rural Development.

Mr Punetha said that the watersheds in the State have benefited 12 lakh families. Following watersheds development, milk production in the State has increased by 7.16 lakh litres and the migration of labour has decreased by 56.6 per cent.

Speaking at a national workshop on `Drought management strategies: Lessons from the APRLP-Icrisat project', at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) here on Thursday, Mr Punetha said that there is ample scope for rainwater harvesting in the State as the surface water run off is as much as 40 per cent of the total water potential in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that the DFID (Department for International Development) has cleared establishment of 100 more innovative watersheds under the ongoing `Jal Jeevani' scheme in the State. Each watershed involves an investment of Rs 34 lakh, of which Rs 4 lakh is meant for undertaking livelihood initiatives.

The two-day workshop, hosted by Icrisat, is aimed at developing strategies to upscale the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Programme (APRLP)-Icrisat pilot project to larger areas in the targeted districts of Anantapur, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Kurnool and Prakasam. An Icrisat-led consortium of research institutions, non-governmental organisations and farmers groups is working with the AP Department of Rural Development to develop watersheds for the APRLP.

The consortium has set up 50 watersheds in the first phase. The second phase will upscale watershed development to 150 villages in the targeted five districts. In the first phase, many of the guiding principles developed in the pilot Kothapally watershed development project were replicated in other watersheds.

The Director-General of Icrisat, Mr William Dar, is hopeful that this process will be strengthened in the second phase also.

Dr S.P. Wani, Icrisat's Principal Scientist (Watersheds) and regional theme coordinator, said that the target of the consortium at present is to consolidate the benefits and refine the strategy in 50 watersheds for sustainable production and increased income. The convergence and scaling-up of the consortium model could improve livelihoods of rural poor and also become a model for other development projects aimed at reducing poverty.

More Stories on : Water | Andhra Pradesh

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