Farmers, who did not have financial capacity for digging an agricultural well or sink a bore-well to take up farming, overcame drought and cultivated two crops with the construction of farm ponds in their fields.
Earlier, these farmers solely depended on rains for cultivating the crops. When there was no rains and continuous dry spell, the crops withered due to non-availability of water, as these farmers did not have any source for irrigation.
In order to mitigate drought and ensure the standing crops were protected, as well as farmers cultivated two crops in a year, NABARD in association with Grama Nava Nirman Samithi voluntary organisation constructed farm ponds in a cluster of three villages – Venkatapur, Arenda and Adavi Somanpalli of Manthani mandal – by village watershed development committees.
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Initially, the farmers were reluctant to construct the farm pond sensing that they would be losing some part of their land. Following the motivation by the NGO, they constructed the farm ponds and yielded good results, with surplus waters even during acute drought conditions. The farm ponds are constructed at the lower side of the fields and the runoff water from the higher sides are channelised into the pond.
All along the bund of the pond, the authorities have ensured that they plant saplings for the strengthening of the bund.
Each farm pond is constructed in the area, ranging from two guntas of land to 10 guntas. The stored water provides irrigation for two crops during kharif and rabi seasons in two to three acres of land.
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Buoyed by the successful cultivation of two crops with the farm pond, T. Raji Reddy, a farmer from Venkatapur village, said that earlier he used to rely solely on rains for cultivation of crops.
“Now, with the availability of water in farm pond, I can water my crop accordingly and yield good profits. My farm pond is my irrigation source,” he said.
Grama Nava Nirman Samithi project manager Satish Reddy said that they constructed a total of 218 farm ponds and 20 mini percolation tanks in the three cluster villages of the mandal by involving the farmers. With the prevailing drought conditions, the entire farming community are urging us to construct farm ponds in their respective fields for water all year round , he added.
NABARD AGM Ravi Babu said that they have taken up farm pond construction in all rain-fed and drought-prone mandals of Husnabad, Bheemadevarapalli, Koheda, Sircilla Konaraopeta, Mallial and Manthani, as part of watershed development programme.
He said that they have also urged the district administration to take up farm ponds construction under NREGS programme for the benefit of farmers.
Farm pond is the best option to protect the crops during the critical period of drought or prolonged dry weather conditions, he said. maintained.