Due to large portions of the
landmass being wasteland in the Bundelkhand Intermediate Region and
Bundelkhand Upland sub-regions, the percentage of land used for
cultivation falls drastically, to around 50 per cent in Chitrakoot and
Lalitpur districts, less than 50 per cent in Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh and
Damoh districts; in Panna, only around 35 per cent of total area is
cultivated. In Sagar and Datia districts, the cultivated land area is
around 53 per cent and 67 per cent respectively.
Erratic rainfall coupled with
poor land and water management practices have resulted in poor
realisation of economic benefits out of agriculture in the region.
Negligible growth in industries and other off farm livelihood options
has left people with little other options to improve their quality of
life. Predominant small farms and exploitative and underdeveloped
markets in the region also make it challenging for the development
agencies to convert agriculture into a viable sustainable proposition.
Having said that, we at
Development Alternatives believe, that properly designed interventions
and equitable ways of engagement with diverse stakeholders can bring
significant change in accrual of benefits from agriculture.
This issue of Development
Alternatives’ Newsletter discusses this in length, not just through
theoretical or hypothetical scientific arguments but through proven,
demonstrated and successful masterpieces as well. We also have a firm
belief that many of our readers from Bundelkhand and outside will not
find this idea alien, but will be able to relate this with their own
experiences either in-region or in similar agro-climatic regions.
These practices are also
significant from the perspective of climatic vulnerabilities within
which the communities in Bundelkhand are coping. I hope that readers
will find this issue useful and write back to us with their experiences
so as to enrich us and also guide us in our future endeavours. I also
welcome articles or success stories from our readers and assure that
they will also find apace in our future issues.
Wish you a happy reading and
wishes for a New Year. I wish that the New Year unfolds attainment of
better developmental milestones than the passing year.
q