Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar

Continuous upstream water development in the South Indian Krishna Basin has resulted in declining water availability downstream. Upstream water use is not adjusted to reflect rainfall fluctuations, and downstream farmers of the Nagarjuna Sagar irrigation project in the state of Andhra Pradesh are in...

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Autores principales: Venot, Jean-Philippe, Ratna Reddy, V., Umapathy, D.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40550
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author Venot, Jean-Philippe
Ratna Reddy, V.
Umapathy, D.
author_browse Ratna Reddy, V.
Umapathy, D.
Venot, Jean-Philippe
author_facet Venot, Jean-Philippe
Ratna Reddy, V.
Umapathy, D.
author_sort Venot, Jean-Philippe
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Continuous upstream water development in the South Indian Krishna Basin has resulted in declining water availability downstream. Upstream water use is not adjusted to reflect rainfall fluctuations, and downstream farmers of the Nagarjuna Sagar irrigation project in the state of Andhra Pradesh are increasingly vulnerable to water supply shocks. Understanding the adaptive capacity of irrigated command areas to fluctuating water conditions is critical. This paper documents the wide range of adjustments adopted by managers and farmers in Nagarjuna Sagar during a period of fluctuating water availability (2000-2007). Primary and secondary data indicate managerial adjustments such as rotational and timely water supplies to meet critical water demands of standing crops. Farmers responded to changing conditions through: (a) crop diversification, (b) shifting calendars, (c) conjunctive use, (d) suspending cultivation, (e) sale of livestock, (f) out-migration, and (g) tampering with the irrigation system. Adaptive strategies are more diverse in the tail-end than in the head-end of the canal network and local adjustments are often uncoordinated and may degrade the resource base. A better understanding of the practices induced by changes in water availability is needed to refine current water allocation and management in large surface irrigation projects. Crop diversification, deficit irrigation in low-flow years, and conjunctive use are some of the practices to be promoted in a conducive agricultural environment.
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spelling CGSpace405502025-06-17T08:23:50Z Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar Venot, Jean-Philippe Ratna Reddy, V. Umapathy, D. water availability water allocation water shortage adaptability strategies farmers attitudes farming systems irrigation systems surface irrigation Continuous upstream water development in the South Indian Krishna Basin has resulted in declining water availability downstream. Upstream water use is not adjusted to reflect rainfall fluctuations, and downstream farmers of the Nagarjuna Sagar irrigation project in the state of Andhra Pradesh are increasingly vulnerable to water supply shocks. Understanding the adaptive capacity of irrigated command areas to fluctuating water conditions is critical. This paper documents the wide range of adjustments adopted by managers and farmers in Nagarjuna Sagar during a period of fluctuating water availability (2000-2007). Primary and secondary data indicate managerial adjustments such as rotational and timely water supplies to meet critical water demands of standing crops. Farmers responded to changing conditions through: (a) crop diversification, (b) shifting calendars, (c) conjunctive use, (d) suspending cultivation, (e) sale of livestock, (f) out-migration, and (g) tampering with the irrigation system. Adaptive strategies are more diverse in the tail-end than in the head-end of the canal network and local adjustments are often uncoordinated and may degrade the resource base. A better understanding of the practices induced by changes in water availability is needed to refine current water allocation and management in large surface irrigation projects. Crop diversification, deficit irrigation in low-flow years, and conjunctive use are some of the practices to be promoted in a conducive agricultural environment. 2010-10 2014-06-13T14:47:53Z 2014-06-13T14:47:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40550 en Limited Access Elsevier Venot, Jean-Philippe; Ratna Reddy, V.; Umapathy, D. 2010. Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers? adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar. Agricultural Water Management, 97(10):1434-1442. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.04.009
spellingShingle water availability
water allocation
water shortage
adaptability
strategies
farmers attitudes
farming systems
irrigation systems
surface irrigation
Venot, Jean-Philippe
Ratna Reddy, V.
Umapathy, D.
Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title_full Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title_fullStr Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title_full_unstemmed Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title_short Coping with drought in irrigated South India: farmers' adjustments in Nagarjuna Sagar
title_sort coping with drought in irrigated south india farmers adjustments in nagarjuna sagar
topic water availability
water allocation
water shortage
adaptability
strategies
farmers attitudes
farming systems
irrigation systems
surface irrigation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40550
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