What is water management?
Water management refers to the control and movement of water resources to reduce any damage to life and property and helps in maximizing the balance of water use. Good water management involves the proper installation and maintenance of dams and levees that help in the prevention of flooding and any damage caused due to the same.
Effective water management also involves drainage management that includes water budgeting and analysis of both surface and sub-surface systems. Other factors that influence the sufficient and free flow of water are ground water withdrawal rates and budgeted allocation of water for different purposes in appropriate quantities.
What is sustainable water management?
Sustainable water management refers to the process of using water in a method that meets the current demand for water without affecting the needs of future generations ecologically, socially and economically. Effective sustainable water management requires water to be over looked from judicial boundaries for its immediate supply of operations and managing water collaboratively as well as seeking resilient regional solutions that reduce risks to a large extent.
Sustainable water management helps a nation become self sufficient for its water needs which ensures that there is enough water to meet various functions on all levels; domestic, commercial as well as industrial.
Achieving sustainable water management require a holistic approach in creating the right technical, environmental, social and economic situation for the issues to be addressed.
On a global scale, having the right type of sustainable water systems will be able to provide every individual easy and affordable access to their required quantity of water in an economic manner.
Water resources can be effectively planned and wastewater systems can be installed to manage the complete operations and proper infrastructure of water resource demands in every locality.
Reasons for sustainable water conservation:
Advantages of sustainable water management:
• Optimizing economic, environmental and social benefits
• Reduces water related costs
• Setting goals for selecting projects through a transparent and inclusive process
• Helps in eliminating water wastes
• Realizing consistency across a range of alternatives that balance utility as well as the pre set goals.
• Maintains water management infrastructure for efficient operations
• Enhancing the long term technical and financial capacity of the water management.
• Sustainable for the long-term maintenance of the environment
• Provides irrigation control based on weather that saves water usage and helps in cost cutting for farmers.
• Technological development in water management field.
What is a solar powered automatic irrigation system?
A solar powered automatic irrigation system refers to the combination of using solar energy to operate irrigation systems automatically. The irrigation system is entirely operated from solar energy instead of commercial energy that will help in reducing electric costs while monitoring the irrigation and water levels of soil. The main objective is to advance irrigation systems using technological developments in the solar energy field.
Relation between solar energy and irrigation systems:
In summers, when the water requirement for plants is maximum, the solar energy produced is also at its peak due to the thermal energy. Hence a direct relationship is formed between the two that can be used to automate and irrigate fields. Solar powered irrigation systems basically function on two main functions namely, power and pressure. The scarcity in water and electric crisis are both dealt with creating a sustainable mode of farming.
Advantages of using a Solar powered irrigation system:
• Helps in preventing water wastage and reduces water consumption through automation
• Reduces, if not negates the use of commercial energy by replacing it with solar energy
• Reduction in water and electricity bills
• Can easily be integrated into fields regardless of the size of operations
• Reduces labor usage and costs
• Automated systems can be converted to manual systems whenever needed as per the requirement of farmers
• Creates sustainable farming techniques
• Suitable for all climatic conditions
• Can be integrated with all irrigation modes
• Chance for further advancement and technological development
Components of a Solar powered irrigation system:
Combining the use of solar energy and irrigation systems is an extremely strategic move that will profit farmers drastically if implemented properly. Its best to seek professional advice on this in order to arrive at the exact system for both aspects in solar based irrigation to get the highest return of investment.
What is sustainable agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture refers to a farming practice using sustainable modes that help in meeting the demand for the produce while keeping in mind the environmental needs and understanding the preservation of the eco system. Sustainable farming gives the agricultural industry various flexible options that can be implemented in improving the environmental positivity and controlling the environmental footprint.
Sustainability can be simply understood as the process of meeting the current needs without compromising on the future generations ability to meet their needs.
Sustainable agriculture helps in satisfying the human consumption needs while enhancing the environmental quality and preserving natural resources at the same time. It helps in the optimum use of non-renewable resources and integrate the right biological controls for optimum production cycles. This not only enhances the quality of living for famers and the society as a whole but also helps in sustaining the economic viability of various agricultural practices.
Why is sustainable agriculture important?
Various environmental issues are pertaining and directly related to the agricultural industry which can spoil the entire habitable environment if not addressed properly and swiftly. To be confirmed as sustainable, the agricultural practices should be integrated socially, environmentally as well as economically.
Goals of sustainable agriculture:
The most common goals of sustainable agriculture are to maintain and improve environment health, economic standards, farming profits and socio-economic equity. Shifting from traditional agriculture to sustainable agriculture is a long process. It is irrational to expect farmers to become entirely sustainable with immediate results. The motive of sustainable agriculture should be in mind of all the stakeholders of the agricultural industry like farmers, wholesalers, governments, consumers etc.
Sustainable agriculture also helps in creating a level of social awareness and inclusion between all the affected parties and helps in creating a constructive community that works towards the same goals.
Issues that call for a need of sustainable agriculture:
There are various steps that are being taken to make the agricultural industry mores sustainable that are becoming more and more popular across the globe.
What is digital farming?
Digital farming also known as digital agriculture refers to the use of digital technology to integrate agricultural production from the fields of production to the final consumer. This includes technologies that assist the agricultural sector with tools and developments that provide information to easy the decision-making process by taking informed decisions and improve agricultural productivity. In a constantly changing external environment farmers need to innovate and maintain their practices and constantly improve their efficiency to keep up with rising demand. Digital technologies have the capacity to assist farmers to meet the challenges posed by the industry and take advantage of opportunities for growth.
Digital agriculture in India:
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in India tries to increase farmer awareness, knowledge and efficiency. The final goal of this Ministry is to increase the farmers income by following the suggestions of the Doubling Farmers Income (DFI) committee and creating a Digital Agriculture Division specially for this purpose.
A comprehensive ICT strategy has been developed by the Ministry to reach out to farmers easily and in the planning and monitoring of schemes so that any government level decisions can be taken faster and farmers can see their benefits sooner. This can easily be accessed via smartphones, digital appliances, SMS advisories and a free Kisan Call Center to assist farmers.
The National e-governance Plan in Agriculture was launched in 7 states- Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh to achieve rapid development in India with the use of Information and Communication Technology by providing timely information for any agricultural queries to farmers.
As a part of this scheme the government has developed a one stop window- farmers portal for dissemination of information on various different agricultural matters like seed variations, pests’ control, plant diseases etc. the department has also created a SMS Portal for assisting the farmers on agricultural matters via SMS options.
Various mobile apps like Kisan Suvidha, which was launched in 2016 are also actively available to provide information to farmers on important factors that can affect their production. The app is extremely successful reaching over 13 lakh farmers and assisting them on a regular basis.
Precision agriculture is also picking up in the Indian agricultural landscape where inputs are utilized in the exact and precise format to increase yields as compared to traditional methods. Agricultural biotechnology includes a wide range of tools like traditional breeding techniques that can alter the living organisms partially, improve plant quality and also develop micro-organisms in a controlled environment for certain specific agricultural practices.
The agricultural sector plays a vital role in the Indian economy and accounts to almost 17 percent of the Gross Value Added in the country. The sector faces major challenges that can be combated by improving the technology used for the same. It helps in developing the entire industry and creates a positive environment for the famers to work in. From assisting farmers in installing better technology in the fields of production to equipping them with options of Net Banking, the Indian digital agriculture has achieved many milestones by itself.
What is the need for sustainable agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture is created with the motive to preserve the environment and create a life for all living beings in a balance. It benefits the environment by maintain soil quality, reducing water usage and minimizing soil erosion. There are various trends in sustainable agricultural practices that helps in preserving the environment from the consumers side, like veganism.
Challenges faced by sustainable agriculture:
Sustainable agriculture not only tries to conserve natural resources but also tries to develop them for future generations and their survival. However, this motive should align with the current livelihoods and should not be limited to an indicator of income levels but must also include public health concerns, social standard of living and education level in the country.
Improving agricultural productivity while maintaining all natural resources is a prerequisite for sustainable farmers. Regardless of the scale of operations, even small farmers can shift to sustainable farming that will create a huge accumulated impact on a global scale.
Land and water management: Rural farmers are heavily dependent on the conditions of soil and water bodies in and around their surroundings. This means that they are dependent on the natural eco system and are ironically the biggest cause of pollution to the resources through dumping and misuse. The land and water resources are under extreme pressure and are constantly deteriorating. Issues like deforestation, overgrazing, intensive cultivation have all caused an imbalance in the natural ecosystem. This has drastically reduced the quality and quantity of available natural resources and increased the volatility and scarcity of the same.
Land management systems: There are five main roads of change in cultivation land that developed countries have reflected upon to increase sustainability:
These practices allow agricultural practiced to be completely independent from each other where the risks and resources associated with each is unique and the available opportunities for diversification and integration improve the overall usage and quality of land.
Water management: there is a vast increase in demand for clean water that is spread across both rural and urban areas for various purposes. Big corporations are also under competition to choose between the use of available water sources for consumption or other activities like developing hydropower plants and irrigation units etc. As the pressure on water sources increase, it not only degrades the quality but also raises serious health and environmental concerns that must be dealt with appropriately.
Land users can also enhance a variety of environmental services that range from carbon sequestration to regulating hydrological flows. All practices no matter how minute help in contributing to the process of preserving the natural biodiversity. The failure of previous conventional conservation methods can be attributed to poor and inappropriate techniques that were not compatible with the prevailing conditions. However, shifting focus now on stopping soil erosion, increasing soil productivity and developing other resources is of prime focus in sustainable agriculture.
What is drip irrigation?
Drip irrigation refers to the practice of providing a specific area of the plant with small amounts of water and nutrients at regular intervals of time. This nutrients and water is generally provided directly to the roots area of a plant where the actual water absorption takes place. A drip irrigation system that is well installed and properly working has various benefits that can save farmers a lot of money in the long run and show the return on investments pretty quickly.
There are 2 main types of irrigation systems:
Advantage of drip irrigation:
This irrigation system has various advantages like:
• Prevention of plant diseases by reducing the contact of water with leaves, stems and fruits of the plants.
• Gives room for the rows between plants to remain dry that reduces the chances of weed growth.
• Reduces labour costs
• Increase efficiency by saving time, money and other resources
• Reduction in water consumption, hence farmers have to a pay a lower water bill
• Easy maintenance and repair if needed
• Ensures effectiveness even on uneven cultivation ground
• Reduces leaching of water and nutrients below the plant roots area
• Reduces unwanted water run-off
• Boosts plant growth
A drip irrigation system has increased irrigation effectiveness to over 90 percent allowing the waters to receive the right quantity and the exact absorption location that not only boosts plant growth but also ensures that no resources are wasted in this process. While a drip irrigation system can seem to be an unwanted and expensive investment to farmers initially, it has proven its benefits over the years and is among the most common automated irrigation systems. There are various components to a drip system that will define it effectiveness and it can vary based on the size of operations, type of plant, spending ability of farmers etc. it best to get in touch with a professional that can compile all external factors and provide the right suitability.
What is sustainable agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture (also known as sustainable farming) refers to an integrated and systematic process where a localities food demands are met without any compromises on the needs of the future generation. This can help in boosting an eco-system and preserving natural resources.
Why is sustainable agriculture important?
According to most sources, there is a massive increase in the worlds population that is simultaneously causing a massive in food consumption and hence, food demand. Food production must have a rapid growth rate of 70 percent globally to meet the rising demand. This calls for the serious need for reforms in the agricultural industry to ensure that the food needs are met parallelly to the food demands.
This means that the agricultural sector needs to have a dynamic shift from age-old and traditional techniques that are extremely conservative to sustainable farming ideas that are developed across the globe. Global crises of droughts, floods, energy inefficiency are plaguing the agricultural industry and a shift in the agricultural practices from conventional modes to sustainable methods has a promising future.
Reasons for sustainable farming:
While sustainable farming seems to be a far way goal, it can be incorporated in the smallest of ways having a strong cumulative impact economically, ecologically as well as politically. If consumers are given a choice, they will always prefer chemical free and organically grown produce over foods that are sprayed with pesticides. Sustainable agriculture has the potential to bring this option in to commercial markets on a large scale and change the entire agricultural landscape.
What is irrigation?
Irrigation refers to the artificial induction of water in to land or soil generally practiced for agriculture. It is often practiced with the help of tubes, pipes and sprays that help in growing of agricultural produce, maintaining landscapes, watering for livestocks and regeneration of dry soil to make it suitable for cultivation in case of inadequate natural rainfall. This system also helps in protecting the crops from frost and other natural factors that can negatively impact their growth.
What is irrigation automation?
An automated irrigation system refers to the operation of an irrigation system with little to no manual labor excluding the surveillance during the irrigation process. Irrigation systems can be automated with the assistance of sensors, timers and specially developed software’s that can connect mechanical appliances to remote monitoring.
Why should irrigation be automated?
Using traditional methods of irrigation is becoming impossible as larger the field of cultivation, larger will be the manpower requirement. This will drastically increase labor costs and can also lead to other problems such as over irrigation or under irrigation. In rural areas, farmers that follow the traditional modes of irrigation often have to travel large distances to start and stop the irrigation several times a day. This not only elongates the irrigation process, but also calls for an extensive need in labor and unwanted travel expenses, if any.
An automated irrigation system refers to the operation of an irrigation system with little to no manual labor excluding the surveillance during the irrigation process. Irrigation systems can be automated with the assistance of sensors, timers and specially developed software’s that can connect mechanical appliances to remote monitoring.
Automating irrigation systems have various benefits. It helps in the even distribution of water across the entire field regardless of the scale of operations. There are different types of irrigation systems such as sprinkler irrigation system, drip irrigation system and surface/ subsurface irrigation systems. All these systems can be automated to a certain extent providing creative solutions to various irrigation problems.
While the instillation of these systems can be little expensive to inexperienced farmers, they can prove to be cost effective in the long run generate high returns on the investments. Extreme automated systems include exits using GIS and satellite tracking to measure the water needs of the crops and optimize irrigation options automatically.
Time based irrigation systems:
This refers to an automated set of timers and sensors that are integrated along with the irrigation system. A timer is a basic tool needed for automation of irrigation as it provides the right quantity of water at the right time. These timers can also help in avoiding the situations of over irrigation or under irrigation as faced by traditional modes of irrigation.
Volume based irrigation systems:
This refers to an already decided amount of water that will be released in the fields using automatic volume control valves. This helps in ensuring that the crops are not flooded with water or face any problems due to dryness and excess heat.
What is irrigation automation?
Irrigation automation refers to the process where an irrigation system can be activated and utilized automatically, that is, without the use of manual labor. This can be done through the implementation of various specially designed technologies that assist this process.
Irrigation automation can be used in various ways like the start and stop of pumps, start and stop of irrigation through control in the supply chain outlets etc. any changes in the irrigation requirements of the crops can be automatically controlled and maintained remotely.
Advantages of irrigation automation:
There are various benefits to an automated irrigation system that not only saves farmers money but also improves the quality of crops and the quantity of yield. Thus, irrigation automation systems are very beneficial and can easily be considered as a win to farmers.
What is a roof top greenhouse?
A roof top greenhouse refers to a structure that is located on the roof of a building which is generally part of cultivation without soil. This included food produce and flowers that are commonly domestically harvested. Roof top greenhouses are a part of vertical faming and fall under building-based Urban agriculture.
The most common form of roof top greenhouses are hydroponic systems which are becoming extremely common in urban areas where land that is suitable for cultivation is scarce. These hydroponic gardens are much cleaner and less cumbersome than the soil gardens and are hence gaining their popularity as a suitable fit for domestic and commercial buildings.
In rural areas there are ground-based greenhouses and these can be justified due to the availability of massive space and farming land. However, this option is not present for urban areas where the rise in population is at an alarming rate and the value of land is premium, hitting prices never seen before. Precious land can seldom be used for agriculture calling for the need of development and agriculture growth options.
Since roof top greenhouses require no soil, they can reduce the weight on the building structure and limit the number of resources that needed to be carried to the rooftop and the irrigation system can be directly linked to the water system already prevailing in the building structure.
Advantages of roof top greenhouse:
• Fruits and vegetables grown in the greenhouse can be used by the residents of the building for daily consumption
• Helps in off-setting food costs for the residents
• Reduce the dependency of localities on food supply chain
• Creates a greener environment that reduces urban heat island effects
• Creates positive environment for citizens
• Improves air quality
• Gives happiness to residents and gives them a chance to feel productive and positive while working in the greenhouse
• Reduction in waste
• Effective use of available space
• Effective use of rain water
• Increases efficient use of energy
• Creates opportunity for urban agriculture
• Reduces domestic noise pollution
• Creates miniature natural habitat for birds and insects
Types of roof top greenhouses:
There are notably three main types of roof top greenhouses that can easily be installed on domestic as well as commercial buildings:
What is agriculture subsidy
Agriculture subsidies refer to payments by the government to farmers of agricultural products in order to stabilize food prices, increase food production and strengthening of the agricultural segment of the national economy. these subsidies can cover various expenses of the farmers in areas like fertilizers, seeds, equipment and irrigation. These subsidies total to 2 percent of the Indian GDP and contribute to an average of 20 percent of farmers income.
There are various agriculture subsides given to farmers in India:
What is a poly house?
A poly house refers to a sub set of green houses that is specifically made with polythene films which are used as covering. This design is much more cost effective as compared to a green house as it uses a less expensive material compared to glass. The structure and functions are however extremely similar to a green house and its main object is to create an artificial micro environment that is conducive and promotes plant growth.
Average poly house profits for various crops for a one-acre construction:
Why are there poly house subsidies in India?
The climate patters in India are frequently changing and are often unpredictable. This causes uncertainty among farmers and leads to a reduction in the output levels that can ideally be achieved. Inventions like the poly house and green house were formed based on this and help in solving a major problem that is faced by farmers in India. Poly house cultivation is being promoted by the state governments in India as it is the largest private sector contributing to the economic activity in the country. There subsidies make the input cost for farmers extremely low and affordable which promotes them to learn and adapt to poly house cultivation which will show higher results than traditional farming in the long run.
The Horticulture board of a state of NABARD branch in the state helps in assisting farmers with the process of availing subsidies for the construction. The national Horticulture Mission under MIDH guidelines provide subsidies to farmers in various arenas.
Farmers can claim up to 80 percent subsidies in the following states:
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Karnataka
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Tamil Nadu
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Telangana
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Maharashtra
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Kerala
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Uttar Pradesh
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Gujrat
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Haryana
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Tripura
• Polyhouse construction subsidy in Nagaland
A 50 percent subsidy is provided for the project cost and farmers can avail the same to establish the poly house structure. Apart from this, every state has its own scheme where an additional subsidy between 15 percent to 40 percent can be availed. This makes the total available subsidy range between 50 percent and 90 percent.
In Himachal Pradesh the state government has declared an 85 percent subsidy to farmers who are interested in constructing poly houses. This subsidy will boost the development in the agriculture field drastically. If the poly house is damaged due to any natural calamity, then 50 percent subsidies will be provided to replace the polythene sheets after 3 to 5 years post instillation.
If technical standards are met, non-impaneled vendors can also build poly houses. The government has introduced a Mukhiya Mantri Nutan Poly house project which aims to increase the land covered under poly house faming to 8.35 lakh hectors and increase the land area under micro irrigation to 8.20 lakh hectors.