Agriculture has, arguably, been very successful at capturing a major share of the world’s exploitable water resources. The use of water for farming cannot be avoided but needs to be justified for the sake of future generations. In a situation of growing water scarcity and rising demands for non-agricultural uses of water, reassessment of sectoral allocations of water becomes inevitable. Water scarcity which already affects one in three persons on earth, is set to increase in magnitude and scope as the global population grows and the increasing affluence drives up demand for water. According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), "half the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including 75 to 250 million people in Africa." Failure to act on water scarcity will lead to crop systems failure, food insecurity and desertification among other systemic failures. Efforts must be prioritised at all levels to increase water-use efficiency, reduce water wastage and manage the demand for water.

• Creating check dams/watersheds: DA pioneered the re-use of check dams for water conservation. Over the years we have established over 150 check dams and other water-harvesting infrastructure projects to promote water harvesting, conservation and recharge of ground water for agricultural use.

• Increased water use efficiency in agriculture: Within this range of activities, we particularly focus on ensuring the adoption of appropriate water management techniques on farms with respect to irrigation. Farmers are trained to adopt water efficient practices like drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. Village level water budgeting is carried out for promoting an efficient use of water.

• Conservation of fertile top soil: We constantly endeavour to encourage farmers to conserve their fertile top soil, particularly with respect to moisture level. They are introduced to techniques like farm bunding and mulching and technologies like shade nets for the conservation of soil moisture and improving its fertility levels. Structures like gabons, gully plugs and contour trenches are also promoted. We also advocate agroforestry/plantations for growing plants with strong root systems that prevent soil erosion.

• Creating Watershed Committees: Ensuring multi-stakeholder participation, watershed committees are set up in areas of watersheds for planning, execution and monitoring. These committees are established to manage water resources, soil and water conservation, equitable resource allocation and plant management. They monitor, maintain and manage all watershed works. They are responsible for resolving conflicts, ensuring transparency and creating accountability measures. Importantly, they are trained to be the stewards of water resources.

• Water User Groups: These groups consist of those who are likely to derive direct benefits from a particular watershed work or activity. The User Groups are responsible for the operation and maintenance of all the assets created under the project in close collaboration with the Gram Panchayat and the Gram Sabha.

• Farmer Clubs: DA encourages the formation of community institutions. With respect to our work in agriculture, we have encouraged the formation of farmer clubs across our villages in Bundelkhand. These farmer clubs are encouraged to adopt sustainable agriculture practices through group mechanisms and economic incentives. They are trained in establishing and maintaining backward linkages for ensuring access to agri-inputs and in demand collection for agri-inputs from amongst members. Trainings are conducted for these farmers on livelihood development and income generation opportunities.

• Promoting Livelihoods near Watersheds: Livelihoods are promoted near watersheds so as to create incentives for the community to promote and conserve natural resources/water. Communities are trained on farm based income generation activities such as vegetable cultivation as well as non-farm, off-farm opportunities such as development of seed bank and nursery.