The State Government has decided to collaborate with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, for a “holistic and integrated assessment of social, economic and environmental impact of Mission Kakatiya” where old water tanks/bodies were sought to be revived.
Tanks already desilted in all the three phases of Mission Kakatitya will be assessed by undertaking stratified sampling of tanks in 30 districts except Hyderabad. The economic benefits would be evaluated through the valuation of silt in terms of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and other micro and secondary nutrients returned to the farmers’ fields by joint teams of agriculture department and the ICRISAT. This was decided at a meeting held by Special Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi, where ICRISAT’s Research Programme Director (Asia) Suhas Wani and others had participated.
Apart from assessing addition to nutrients returned to fields, the project will also assess the resilience due to increased water holding capacity of soil against dry spells due to climate change.
This will be assessed through analysis of soils from the fields where silt was applied comparing with fields where no silt was applied. Environmental benefits accrued out of increased rainwater harvesting, storage, and groundwater recharge along with reduced carbon emissions through aerobic decomposition in lakes will also be estimated.
The suitability of tank silt application to farmers’ fields will also be assessed for the third and fourth phase of the Mission. The study is likely to strengthen Mission Kakatitya as not only economic benefits in terms of fertilizers saved and crop yields increased along with reduced expenses on fertilizers and pesticides but also will document qualitative and quantitative environmental benefits along with social benefits.
A. Deshpande, Officer on Special Duty to Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, will be the nodal person for the project and soon an inception workshop will be held at the ICRISAT with district and state officers to plan the activities.
