Water Harvesting through Farm Pond Reaps a Treasure

Arakhakuda on the banks of Devi River 

Arakhakuda village is located in Naugaon tehsil of Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha, India. It is situated 3 km from the sub-district headquarters Naugaon (tehsildar office) and 20 km from the district headquarters Jagatsinghpur.

This village is situated on the banks of the Devi River and comes under Rohia Gram Panchayat of the Naugaon block in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha. Devi River, a distributary of River Mahanadi, is one of the crucial water resources that has created more opportunities for farmers in developing vegetable production clusters on a large scale due to its more Pattu (depositional fertile soil) on the river bank side.

Arakhakuda village has 500 households (SC -60, ST-0, OBC- 40 & General– 385). Agriculture and Livestock Rearing are the main sources of livelihood. Approximately 450 households are involved in the farming of paddy, pulses (green gram, black gram) and oilseeds (groundnut).

Pranati Nayak’s Quest for Irrigation 

Pranati Nayak is a progressive farmer whose family is involved in farm-based agricultural activity. The family has two and a half acres of land holding, mainly growing paddy, pulses, and vegetables. Particularly in the nearby area of the planned farm pond, she has an approximate area of one and a half acres of land where they grow paddy.

Before the intervention, her family was involved in agricultural activity, but the year-round availability of water was a major concern, due to which they suffered a lot. Even though the family had nurtured a desire to excavate a farm pond, it had remained a far-fetched dream due to lack of financial resources.

Formation of Village Development Committee 

Harsha Trust started working in this village in the year 2020 with community mobilisation work through the formation of a Village Development Committee (VDC) and continuous strengthening of this village-level institution. After community mobilisation, we started working on livelihood interventions, mainly climate-resilient agriculture practices, high-value vegetable cluster promotion, natural farming and soil moisture conservation.

Technical capacity building, especially for women farmers, has been one of the major focus areas in this village through the support of the HRDP (Holistic Rural Development Programme) Parivartan project in collaboration with HDFC Bank Ltd.

Through a focused discussion at the VDC level, the identification of beneficiaries was made for Integrated Natural Resource Management interventions. The primary objective of this INRM intervention was to address the issue of soil moisture conservation through rainwater harvesting and irrigation infrastructure development for irrigating the paddy field during water stress conditions. Apart from this, one of the major plans was to ensure the second crop in the area adjoining the farm pond during the Rabi season.

Farm Pond – The Source of Irrigation and Recharge 

With due support from Harsha Trust, a farm pond was excavated in the paddy field of Pranati Nayak in Arakhakuda village. The dimensions of the farm pond are 15 meters in length,10 meters in width, and 2 meters in depth. The plan was to conserve 3 lakh liters of water through this water harvesting structure.

After excavating the farm pond, Pranati secured the surrounding bunds of the farm pond with a border plantation to avoid soil erosion. Through HRDP Parivartan, she received 12 horticulture plants (coconut, betelnut, lemon, etc.). In the bund area of the farm pond, she has done pigeon pea cultivation comprising about 250 bush-variety pigeon pea plants and planted 90 betel nut plants near the farm pond with her investment. This can contribute to enhancing her farm income shortly.

Impact and Outcomes

• A productive asset has been created in the name of the household.
• She has ensured the border plantation of 12 horticulture plants.
• Pigeon pea and Daincha (green manure) cultivation in the bund area of the farm pond.
• 90 numbers of betel nut plants are in the farm pond’s nearby area.
• The vegetative coverage of the area has increased through intercropping of vegetables.
• Supplements for the nutritional needs of the household.

In the first year itself, she was able to harvest a total of 90 kg of pigeon pea (Arhar) from her bunding cultivation, which she had never practiced earlier. The monetary value of the production is approximately ₹ 7,000.

Before the intervention, usually male members of the family were majorly involved in agriculture-related activities in the area, but after the intervention, there has been a gradual change in the scenario. Pranati Nayak regularly visits and takes care of her pigeon pea farm and betel nut plantation every alternate day. This has enhanced her confidence and vision for her farming practices in the near future. 

Apart from life-saving irrigation, the family will earn a gross income of more than ₹ 60,000 /-additionally from this particular intervention, enhancing the family’s income level.

Challenges and Learnings 

• Pranati had visualised that the farm pond could harvest 2.5 to 3 lakh liters of rainwater. However, the water harvested in the first year was less due to irregular rainfall and soil type. As a result, she could not cultivate the second crop of vegetables. 
• Pest attack in pigeon pea was a major challenge at the flowering stage and could lower the production.
• Sticking to timely and early sowing of pigeon pea seeds can improve the yield.
• Adopting integrated pest management to avoid insect and pest attacks.
• Regular application of organic manure to increase the fertility of the land. 

Way Forward

Pranati is visualising that the farm pond’s existing capacity is insufficient to irrigate her entire farm. In the future, she plans to expand the size of her farm pond and ensure proper fencing guarding the area surrounding it to protect it from grazing. Vegetable farming in the area adjacent to the farm pond will be one of her focal points during the Rabi season.