Community Groundwater Management

1
Water Community, Visioning Workshop 13-14 March
2007

• Community Groundwater Management
• under
• APFAMGS project
• presentation by
• Dr.K.A.S.Mani
• Project Leader
• APFAMGS Project
• www.apfamgs.org

2
Background

• Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater systems
  (APFAMGS) Project a Nationally Executed (NEX)
  project of FAO, implemented in the southern state
  of Andhra Pradesh, India.
• The Implementation is through a federation of
  9 NGOs.

3
Project Settings
APFAMGS Project is operational in those areas
which are characterized by continued decline in
ground water levels and which has left its impact
on the peoples life, agriculture practices and
environment.
4
Peoples wisdom

• The NGOs in partnership with farmers have
  successfully tapped farmers Wisdom and Capacities
  in controlling their own situation and reducing
  vulnerability to fast spreading crisis of
  groundwater depletion and crop failures,
  witnessed in many areas in India and in other
  semi arid tracts in Asia and Africa.

5
Effects of depleting groundwater

• Groundwater depletion has
• serious consequences far beyond science and
  technology issues.
• Social, Economic, Livelihoods, Environment,
  quality parameters are equally affected.
• Women and Children become the silent victims

6

Project as an enabler

• APFAMGS project is an enabling intervention for
  reinforcing the internal strength and coping
  mechanism of farmers to explore and find out
  stable solution to the issues of ground water
  depletion and its adverse consequences.

7
Project Approach
The projects integrates scientific technology
with social transformation, womens economic
empowerment institutional change.
8
Peoples Institution

• Institutional Intervention is integrated with
  technical component for managing groundwater
  depletion.
• A multi layer inclusive institution that is
  vertically integrated has been thought of in the
  project.
• Ground water Management Committee (GMC) has been
  conceived to be a village level institution of
  the farmers-men and women.
• Several GMCs within a given hydrological boundary
  join together to form a Hydrological Unit Network
  (HUN).

9
Methodology

• Institution building at the habitation and
  hydrological basin.
• Participatory hydrological monitoring through
  Groundwater Management Committees
• Farmer Field Schools methodology for Crop Water
  Budgeting
• Non Formal Education techniques for demystifying
  groundwater science.
• Gender mainstreaming

10
Farmer Data Collection

• GMC are currently involved in technical data
  collection in 638 habitations and reaching out to
  half a million farmers.
• 3584 farmer volunteers (men and women) involved
  in collecting technical data
• Daily rainfall measurement is collected from 190
  rain gauge stations
• Daily groundwater levels are monitored from 90
  monitoring wells
• Fortnightly groundwater levels are monitored from
  2019 monitoring wells
• Fortnightly discharge measurement are carried out
  from 969 monitoring wells
• Seasonal groundwater quality measurements are
  carried out from 300 drinking water wells
• 27967 participants in Farmer field School

11
Access to data

• The idea of involving farmers in generating
  technical data solved the problem of
  extrapolating non representative data for
  understanding the local system.
• Access to data placed the powerful scientific
  information in the hands of users who appreciate
  the utility and take corrective actions to ensure
  sustained water use.

12
Crop Water Budgeting

• Crop Water Budgeting (CWB) at a micro basin level
  is an assessment of groundwater availability
  adopting simple approach but provokes discussion
  on complex questions on nature of GW development.
  
• CWB brings on stage complex issues on crop
  varieties, crop water requirement, food and
  nutrition, cash crop vs food crop, water sharing,
  water quality issues------
• CWB sets the framework for farmers to take
  appropriate decisions on managing the available
  water resources, reducing risks against failures
  while identifying new opportunities for
  sustainable crop production
• Crop Water Budget exercises are being carried out
  annually. CWB has been completed for 3
  hydrologic cycle in 10 HU, twice in 38 and once
  in 59 HU.

13
Farmer Field Schools

• FFS approach has been adopted for promoting
  group learning aimed at improving skills and
  knowledge amongst the farmers.
• Farmers meet once every 15 days JuneMay to
  discuss groundwater resource availability,
  appropriate cropping system matching water
  availability, organic farming, water use
  efficiency, using the peoples institution to
  act as pressure group, gender role in water
  sharing, crop planning and issues on HIV/AIDs
  affecting the farming sector.
• Multiple cycles approach has been adopted to
  reach large number of farmers through 49 First
  cycle and 296 Second cycle sessions. Total
  participants include 17,111 men and 10856 women.

14
Skilled Human Resources

• APFAMGS Project could create a huge skilled human
  resource in 650 habitations, covering 62
  Hydrological Units (HUs), in seven drought prone
  districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• The community based institutions organized for
  the purpose are now geared to take on the task of
  groundwater management

15
Gender Mainstreaming

• The project has strong gender interface
  keeping the practical and strategic gender needs
  at the core.
• Gender, in the project, occupies a cross cutting
  space encompassing all the components and
  processes.
• Bridged the gender gap as well as helps in self
  esteem and confidence development.

16
Project Impact

• Integrate scientific technology with social
  transformation and general change issues (non
  technology)
• Change in perception of groundwater as private
  property to that of a common good ( individual
  farmers take decisions for collective good)
• Introduce scientific literacy to farmers
• Internalize all learning's to apply in decision
  making
• Reduce Losses from failure in irrigated crops
• Increased Profits from diversified cropping
• Farmers ownership of technical data and
  information
• Change in cropping pattern from water intensive
  to water efficient crops
• Improve efficiency of rainwater in soil profile,
  reduce Soil Water Depletion
• Increased efficiency of water application

17
Way Forward

• Integrate project learning's with new programmes
  
• Strategies interface and alliances
• Enhance gender role and sharpen Institutional
  framework
• Disseminate project learnings to larger
  audience-national and global
• Integrate Global issues-Climate Change, HIV/AIDS
  in farming sector etc.
• Interface with global level civil society
• Synthesize Documentation for different audience
• Seek donor support on new issues (Sustaining well
  irrigation economy through MAR, recycling waste
  water for secondary use (proposal finalised)
• In -depth economic and income analysis
• Marketing agriculture produce through linkages
  with emerging markets

18
Project Web Site
19
Tools developed by farmers
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THANK Y 0 U