The Indian state of Gujarat has faced many water problems in the past three decades. But rather than rely on government help, individual farmers and community groups have found their own solutions by capturing rainwater for agricultural use. Does this undermine government water policy?

Research published by the Sustainable Development Network, a global coalition of non-governmental organisations, examines the efforts of rain harvesters in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Water scarcity and droughts are common problems for these people, who treat water as a precious resource. The Gujarat state government responded to water scarcity by constructing dams on the region’s rivers. The initial purpose was to provide water for agriculture through irrigation canals. But reservoir water was increasingly allocated to the growing urban population, leaving farmers with less water.

In response, farmers dug wells to supply them with water. But when the groundwater dried up in the severe drought in 1987, people started capturing rainwater to refill wells. In a short time, almost all the farm wells in Saurashtra had well-recharge systems in place. Other methods used to capture rainwater included farm-ponds, percolation tanks, new wells and check-dams, which slow the speed of rivers so that water flows back into the ground. This was done by local farmers and organisations without any government or outside help. This is still the situation today.

Water experts, governments and international donors have criticised rain harvesting, which they say undermines official government programmes. However, the farmers and local people say the system works because:

• farmers have improved the water levels in their wells and increased agricultural production, even for difficult monsoon crops
• agricultural wages in the region have risen and the area is now a destination for immigrant agricultural workers
• the previous crisis over drinking and irrigation water, which reached its peak in the 1987 drought, has disappeared
• canals from government reservoirs have not made a significant contribution to irrigated agriculture in Saurashtra
• the main criticism of farmers’ check-dams is their perceived impacts on government policy and projects, rather than on the level of available water
• rather than being concerned about losing water to neighbouring farms, most farmers are happy to share water or have created local groups to share resources and costs.

The farmers of Saurashtra have re-established their rights to collect and store rain when it falls on their land. Similar local initiatives could work elsewhere in India, although local, decentralised rainwater harvesting would not work everywhere. The government’s attempt to create a system of water use rights is the wrong approach. Rather, policymakers should learn from Saurashtra and:

• focus on increasing the amount of available water, rather than on how to direct current water supplies
• view surface water and groundwater in arid areas as a single resource, not separate resources
• explore the option of long distance inter-basin water transfers between regions
• support a decentralised, local system of water management, rather than policies imposed by government.

Source(s):
‘The rain catchers of Saurashtra, Gujarat’, by Ambrish Mehta, in ‘The Water Revolution: Practical Solutions to Water Scarcity’ pages 125-146, International Policy Press: London, edited by Kendra Okonski, March 2006 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 31 October 2006

Further Information:
Kendra Okonski
International Policy Network
Third Floor, Bedford Chambers
The Piazza
London, WC2E 8HA
UK

Tel: +44 (0)207 836 0750
Contact the contributor: kendraokonski@policynetwork.net

Sustainable Development Network, UK

Other related links:
'Rain: a global resource for fighting hunger'

'A ‘blue revolution’ for African agriculture'

'Tackling water scarcity in India: farmer participation in irrigation management'