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Rainfed areas are subjected to climate change through extreme weather events, decrease of water availability and decrease in agricultural productivity. The problem to be addressed is the limited access to and exchange of, information and knowledge related to agriculture and food security at local, national, and regional levels. Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) act as a crucial player in technology assessment, refinement and demonstration. Technology adoption to be successful depends on successful technology assessment, refinement and demonstration. Hence, the role of KVKs is of paramount importance in the above processes. KVK Rangareddy district of Telangana state (South India) is attached to the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad. The study was conducted in three KVK adopting villages’ of Pudur mandal, Rangareddy district, Telangana state. The objectives of the study are to assess the extent of adoption of KVK technologies, factors affecting and constraints in adoption; to assess the impact of KVK technologies in terms of improved productivity in crops, livestock, income levels of farm women; and to assess the gain in knowledge levels. A sample of 40 farmers each from adopting and non-adopting categories in the same villages was selected for data collection, thus, making a total sample of 240 farmers. The data was collected using a pre-tested interview schedule from the farmers. Focus group discussion and interviews were conducted to elicit data. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (correlation, multiple linear regression and adoption indices). Final data was averaged from the three villages both for adopting and non-adopting category of farmers and presented. More than 60% adoption was recorded for production technology and stem borer management in maize; spacing and fertilizer management in cotton; and demonstration of perennial fodder hybrid Bajra Napier CO-4 etc. T-test scores showed significant higher mean values for adopters over non-adopters except in the case of the variable age. Adopters had better knowledge and adoption rates over non-adopters. Productivity of farmers increased between 33-57% with KVK technologies. Income levels of farm women increased three to four times based on the enterprise after adoption. Farmers’ adoption of technologies requires more concerted efforts in establishing mechanisms and traits including readiness of availability, ease of use, low cost, low labor requirement and time requirements of different technologies and their components. The adoption results of KVK technologies/interventions in case of non adopting category of farmers were found to be meager.

For construction of farm pond, the important factor is its location. Normally farmers dug out the farm ponds without considering technical aspects. At All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, demonstrations of site-specific farm ponds based on catchment area were planned and conducted. Based on runoff from the catchment area, the storage in the farm pond was assessed and the relationship was developed. Here, the results of the relationship of catchment, storage and command during the years 2014–2015 to 2016–2017 are presented. During 2016–2017, the runoff causing rainfall in the catchment area of 5 ha of farm pond was 301.3 mm which helps in accumulation of 2014.8 m3 runoff in the farm pond. Therefore, the catchment–storage–command relationship for the season can be given as, from 5 ha catchment, 2014.8 m3 water was stored in the farm pond which can irrigate (command) about 4.0 ha area. Moreover, the available water in the farm ponds was utilized for giving protective irrigations to different crops including vegetables. It was observed that due to utilization of stored farm pond water for protective irrigation, the yield of soybean during Kharif, chickpea during Rabi and vegetables during winter-summer had been increased.

Weather and climate play a key role in agricultural production. In recent past, the increased frequency of extreme climatic events has caused enormous damage to agriculture subsectors particularly in the Indian subcontinent. The Government of India through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) has initiated documentation of climate resilient agricultural technologies for each district in the country. These documents titled as “District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACP)” were developed to cope with weather aberrations and minimize their impact on agricultural sector. So far, the DACPs have been prepared for 623 out of 651 targeted districts in the country and are made available to different stakeholders for implementation. Implementation of DACPs during 2014–2016 with extensive planning and collective actions among stakeholders showed positive results in off-setting of sowing area reduction under deficient monsoon rainfall in India. Weather forecasting at subdistrict level with effective linkages with India Meteorological Department and ICAR/SAUs for developing farm level climate advisories is critical for further strengthening implementation process. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Bonn, Germany, 2015 based on in-session workshop recommendation, have proposed agriculture contingency plans along early-warning-systems toward coping climate change impacts. Further, these experiences of India helped the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to develop a contingency template considering the vulnerability of each country. Thus, agriculture contingency plan is evolving as a future strategy to manage aberrant weather situations for ensuring food security and livelihoods in different parts of the world.

Organic agriculture is gaining prominence world over, and about 57.8 Mha were organically managed in 2016. Agriculture can contribute to mitigate climate change by (a) reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and (b) by carbon sequestration in the soil. The potential of organic agriculture for both these effects is reported to be high. In organic production systems, the nitrogen input to soils and hence the nitrous oxide emissions are low. Application of organic inputs such as animal manure, compost and green manures increases soil carbon levels substantially. Many field experiments worldwide show that organic fertilization compared to mineral fertilization results in higher soil organic carbon and thus sequesters large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere to the soil. Furthermore, soils in organic agriculture capture and store more water than soils of conventional agriculture. Soils under organic agriculture are also less prone to erosion. Hence, organic agriculture production is reported to be more adaptive than conventional agriculture to extreme weather conditions such as drought and flooding.

Rainfed Inceptisol soils, despite their agricultural potential, pose serious problems, including soil erosion, low fertility, nutrient imbalance, and low soil organic matter, and ultimately lead to poor soil quality. To address these constraints, two long-term experiments were initiated to study conservation agricultural practices, comprising conventional and low tillage as well as conjunctive use of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients in Inceptisol soils of Agra center of the All-India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA). The first experiment included tillage and nutrient-management practices, whereas the second studied only conjunctive nutrient-management practices. Both used pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Linn) as test crop. These experiments were adopted for soil quality assessment studies at 4 and 8 years after their completion, respectively, at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad, India. Soil quality assessment was don...

Currently, natural resources, land (soil, air, water) and biologicals (biodiversity) are in a state of serious decline. The factor productivity of monetary and non-monetary inputs is impaired both in the irrigated agricultural regions and in the dryland ecologies. Groundwater tables are lowering at 1 m per annum in most areas. There is little recharge of the free aquifer. The soil health is also in a state of decline, where only major nutrients (NPK) were applied to obtain high yields in the green revolution areas; today apparent from NPK, the deficiencies of Zn, Fe, S, Cu and Mo, amongst others, are showing up. The groundwaters are becoming toxic due to increased salinity, alkalinity and the contamination due to arsenic, fluorides, chlorides and in some cases uranium. The content of CO2 in our atmosphere has almost doubled (since the industrial revolution about a century ago), which is leading to global warming; 1–1.5°C rise in ambient environmental temperature is already evident. The circulation of monsoon is setting new normals. It is in a state of flux. The occurrence of unseasonal rains, droughts and floods, soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter has increased with rise in temperature, thus seriously impairing soil health and its quality for producing sustainable yields.

Long-term effects of the different combinations of nutrient-management treatments were studied on crop yields of sorghum + cowpea in rotation with cotton + black gram. The effects of rainfall, soil temperature, and evaporation on the status of soil fertility and productivity of crops were also modeled and evaluated using a multivariate regression technique. The study was conducted on a permanent experimental site of rain-fed semi-arid Vertisol at the All-India Coordinated Research Project on Dryland Agriculture, Kovilpatti Centre, India, during 1995 to 2007 using 13 combinations of nutrient-management treatments. Application of 20 kg nitrogen (N) (urea) + 20 kg N [farmyard manure (FYM)] + 20 kg phosphorus (P) ha−1 gave the greatest mean grain yield (2146 kg ha−1) of sorghum and the fourth greatest mean yield (76 kg ha−1) of cowpea under sorghum + cowpea system. The same treatment maintained the greatest mean yield of cotton (546 kg ha−1) and black gram (236 kg ha−1) under a cotton + cowpea system. When so...

Rainfed semi-arid tropical Vertisols of the Indian subcontinent encounter many problems on account of the physical, chemical, and biological soil qualities and consequently have poor crop yields. To ensure sustainable crop production, there is a need to improve and periodically assess the quality of these soils by adopting suitable soil and nutrient-management practices on a long-term basis. Hence, soil quality assessment studies were conducted at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India, by adopting an ongoing long-term experiment from Akola Centre (Maharashtra) of All-India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) for the rainfed Vertisol. This long-term experiment was initiated in 1987 with six soil and nutrient management treatments: T1, control; T2, 50 kg nitrogen (N) + 25 kg phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) ha−1; T3, 25 kg N ha−1 through leuceana; T4, 25 kg N ha−1 through farmyard manure (FYM); T5, 25 kg N + 25 kg P2O5 + 25 kg N ha−1 through FYM; and ...

Available labour in the agricultural farm has been decreasing over the years. Mechanization of agriculture is an essential input in modern agriculture. It enhances productivity besides reducing human drudgery and cost of cultivation. Mechanization also helps in improving utilization efficiency. A field experiment was conducted on medium black soils in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state during 2016 to 2018 with respect to evaluation mechanization practices coupled with various in-situ rainwater conservation practices for rainfed soybean. The treatments of complete mechanization, partial mechanization and traditional methods of cultivation were evaluated for rainfed soybean (MAUS-162) along with sub plot treatments of broad bed and furrow (BBF), ridges & furrow and flatbed. Complete mechanization in soybean resulted in higher seed yield, Gross Monitory Returns (GMR), Net Monitory Returns (NMR), Benefit Cost ratio (B: C ratio) and Rain Water Use Efficiency (RWUE). In-situ moisture conservation practices viz. BBF and ridges & furrow method of sowing recorded highest seed yield, GMR, NMR, B: C ratio and RWUE as compared to traditional method of cultivation. Complete mechanization along with BBF method of sowing soybean is found to be significantly superior over all treatment combinations with respect to seed yield, NMR, B: C ratio, RWUE. The highest energy output-input ratio (10.2) was observed in complete mechanization with BBF method of sowing.

Sheep farming is the strength of South India where chevon is preferred species for meat, but in some of the areas of Telangana, its farming has been discontinued due to forage unavailability. Rural masses are already suffering from food and nutritional deficiencies. In order to improve nutrient availability of poor households in rural areas of Vikarabad district, Telangana, low input technology sheep farming coupled with improved forage production has been introduced under farmers FIRST project for supplementing the earnings of poor farmer. Deccani and Nellore sheep breeds each five ewes and one doe were given to geo-tagged, pre-trained six small farmers from Gangupalle village (17.30° N, 77.98° E), Pudur Mandal, Vikarabad District, Telangana, India for rearing. For comparison, the performance of 14 non-descript goats were also monitored. The nutritional status pre-and post-intervention was assessed and as per the revenue generated from selling of sheep, 70% of money were allocated for egg, chicken and chevon purchases for family consumption. On adult unit basis, diet was deficient in energy as well as protein and it had too low energy levels to meet their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) requirements. After the intervention, the energy deficiency in diet was reduced to meet out BMR requirement in all categories of people in the family. The diet chart revealed that females and children were more deficient in diet than males in an ideal family of six people. After the intervention, the diet was excess in protein to the tune of 14.27, 3.73 and 63.02% in the male, female and children, respectively. The study revealed significant higher production performances of indigenous sheep (76.4% better body weight) over the non-descript goat has a better support system to livelihood and nutritional security in the dryland region.

Subsistence rainfed agriculture is widely practiced in submontane Punjab due to high dependency on rainfall. The onset, intensity and distribution of rainfall is highly unpredictable in the region and hence, the productivity of the dryland crops is very low. In order to evaluate and disseminate the improved rainfed agro technologies, on farm trials and demonstrations under different themes viz., rainwater management, cropping systems, energy management, integrated nutrient management and alternate land use systems were conducted at village Naude Majra district Rupnagar (Punjab) during 2010–2015 under All India Coordinated Operational Research Project. Higher seed/grain yields were obtained by adopting all the improved practices for different crops in comparison to farmers’ practices. Improved agro technologies resulted in overall increase in crop production from 33 to 79% over the farmers’ practices. Higher net return and B: C ratios were also obtained with improved practices. Among different agrotechnologies demonstrated across the themes, the per cent increase in yield was highest with high yielding varieties recommended for the domain area (34–80%), followed by energy management i.e. drill sowing of wheat and oil seed crops (18–73%) and rainwater management viz., ridge sowing of maize and supplementary irrigation in wheat (25–51%). The increase in yield with integrated nutrient management in maize and with rhizobium inoculation in legume crops was 16 and 17%, respectively. Hence, on farm trials and demonstrations carried out on farmer's field to show the worth of improved rainfed varieties and management practices for horizontal spread of improved agro-technologies were successful.

Droughts are manifestations of significant shortages in all domains of the water cycle. They have adverse impacts on the environment, water availability and water quality, water supply system, hydropower generation, navigation, groundwater balances, vegetation cover, agricultural production, etc. of the affected region. Drought is a regular part of natural cycles and single-most weather related natural disaster affecting livelihoods, developmental activities, natural resources (water, soil, and biodiversity) and economy of a country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought). Although droughts may persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and severely affect local economy. This global phenomenon has a widespread impact on agriculture. Indeed drought is one of the most serious problems arising from climate variability for human societies and ecosystems (Yurekli and Kurune, 2006). The occurrence of droughts is not limited to a particular region. It has been observed that their impact has been completely different in developed and developing nations because of several socio-economic and political factors influencing both behavioral and management patterns. Even within the developing countries, the effects of droughts can vary significantly, but the fact remains that the economically weaker countries or groups in a country are most severely affected by the droughts.

In rainfed and dry regions of southern Karnataka, sole cropping is not much remunerative in the present scenario of climate change in agriculture to fulfill the diverse demands of consumers and burgeoning population. Hence, studies on intercropping systems were conducted in Alanatha cluster of villages in Ramanagara district and Chikkamaranahalli cluster in Bengaluru Rural district from 2010 to 2014 as a part of Operational Research Project (ORP) and National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). In both the locations, finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) + pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) (8:2) with moisture conservation furrow between paired rows of pigeonpea intercropping recorded higher yield and economics as compared to the farmers’ practices of growing finger millet with akkadi crops. In groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) based cropping, groundnut+ pigeonpea (8:2) intercropping with moisture conservation furrow between paired rows of pigeonpea proved to be the better climate resilient intercropping system with higher yields in red soils of southern Karnataka. Under pulse based cropping systems, pigeonpea + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and pigeonpea + field bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were remunerative when grown in additive series compared to sole crop of pigeonpea.

On-farm trials were conducted during 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the effect of different interventions on productivity and profitability of rainfed farming systems of small and marginal farmers in Seethagondhi cluster, Adilabad district. Averaged across six farmers’ fields, the cotton equivalent yield (CEY) of cotton + pigeonpea intercropping was 7.99 q/ha with farmers’ practice. The CEY increased by 17.5% due to herbicide use for weed control, 28.3% with application of recommended NPK, and 35.8% with use of both herbicide and recommended NPK compared to farmers’ practice. Use of herbicide for weed control coupled with application of recommended NPK gave higher net return ( 10,300/ha) compared to other management practices. Among the farming systems of marginal farmers, integrated farming system involving crop production (cotton + pigeonpea intercropping) and livestock rearing (4 bullocks, 3 desi cows and 1 buffalo) gave higher net return ( 40,180/year) compared to other farming systems. Similarly, among the three farming systems of small farmers, integrated farming system involving crop production (cotton + pigeonpea intercropping) and livestock rearing (2 bullocks, 1 desi cow and 40 goats) performed better with a net return of 89,937/year compared to other farming systems.

A field experiment was conducted during kharif for five years (2008 to 2012) at All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture centre, Solapur to evaluate pigeonpea based intercropping systems under Vertisols in scarcity zone of Maharashtra. Among pigeonpea based intercropping systems, pigeonpea + groundnut (1:3) was found superior with mean maximum pigeonpea equivalent yield 1425 kg/ha and mean maximum rainwater use efficiency of 3.19 kg/ha-mm compared to other intercropping systems across five years and also gave mean maximum net returns of 30,307/ha. Further, this intercropping system also recorded relatively higher land equivalent ratio of 1.29 indicating yield advantage of 29% compared to sole crops.