SEVAI Watershed approach enhances food production and enables farmers’ economy.

Thottiyapatty Farmer in Paddy Cultivation

SEVAI Watershed approach enhances food production by adopting soil and water conservation. Watershed is the key management approach for rain shadow areas of Dasilnaickanoor and Thottiyapatty villages, where a Trichy based NGO promotes watershed concept among the farming communities of this region. The Director SEVAI NGO spoke among the marginal farmers’ committee members of these villages and said, “Agriculture is the largest source of livelihoods in these villages. Food is important for everyone to live so farmers produce a food their called backbone of society for the most obvious reason, they grow food and feed people. And thus farming is the basis of a country's economy. Food is basic requirement after air and water. No matter how much do you earn but yet you need the same food grains and leaves and plant what a poor person needs. Cooking process can differ but grains are same for all. Farmers ensure the food safety if at household level food security and farmers work in open sky and it is more challenging than other occupations. Farmers are an important part of the survival of our various societies because they provide food and fiber that nourishes and cloths us. They have the ability to deal with varied growing seasons, climatic variations, soil conditions, and the often harsh catastrophic events. In Thottiyapatty and Dasilnaickanoor areas of Trichy region of Tamilnadu, farmers practice micro watershed approach in water and soil conservation and optimize the agriculture occupation in their villages as the farmers were well educated by a Trichy based NGO, SEVAI on Watershed management and its benefit for the farmers. Watershed programme is an integrated one, addressing the problems in rain fed areas of Thottiyapatty and Dasilnaickanoor villages. It addresses the environmental and ecological problems like deforestation, over-utilization of water and most importantly it seeks to convert unsustainable agriculture to sustainable agriculture besides tackling unemployment and under-employment faced by the farmers as well as landless people. Through watershed programme the farmers gained knowledge about soil and water conservation, crop production practices, land use pattern and alternative practices”. -Kris