Abstract
Crop intensification is required to meet the food demands of an increasing population. This paper presents data from three paired scaling-up initiatives to compare the benefits of landscape-based interventions over individual plot-level interventions using evidence generated in the Indian semi-arid tropics. A range of soil and water conservation interventions were implemented in a decentralized manner following the landscape-based approach. The plot-level approach focused only on balanced fertilizer application and improved crop cultivars while the landscape-based interventions primarily addressed moisture availability, which was the key to reducing risks of crop failure besides aiding productivity gain and enhanced land and water-use efficiency. These interventions have additionally harvested 50–150 mm of surface runoff and facilitated groundwater recharge in 550–800 mm rainfall zones. Individual plot-level interventions also improved the crop yield significantly over the control plots. However, crop intensification was not achieved due to limited moisture availability. Landscape-based interventions produced 100%–300% higher crop production per year, greater income generation (>100%), and improved water productivity. Landscape-based interventions were also found to be beneficial in terms of reducing soil loss by 75%–90% and improving base flow availability additionally by 20–75 d in a year compared to untreated watersheds. With increased moisture availability, fallow lands in respective watersheds have been utilized for cultivation, thereby enhancing crop intensification. The findings of the study provide critical insights into the design of approaches suitable for scaling-up projects in order to both create impact and target the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Highlights
Food security and the conservation of water resources are deeply embedded in the sustainable development goals that were set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015
Villages located in west and central India had sandy/loamy soils with low water retention capacity and villages in southern India are having high clay content with high water retention capacity
The low rainfall watershed of Bundi district in Rajasthan in which rainfall ranging between 370 and 690 mm, outflow declined by 40%–90% due to landscape-based interventions in different years
Summary
Food security and the conservation of water resources are deeply embedded in the sustainable development goals that were set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. There is limited scope to expand agricultural land in many parts of the world as native grasslands, tropical rainforest, woodlands and wetlands have been converted to cultivation and planted pastures over past five decades (Rockstrom et al 2009, Niu et al 2019) Such changes have resulted in increased food grain production and ensured food self-sufficiency in different regions (Jägermeyr et al 2017). There are negative impacts of massive change in land use, including changes to hydrological cycles at global, national and regional scales, loss in biodiversity and alteration in bio-geochemical cycle of carbon nitrogen and phosphorus elements, and human induced climate change (Gleeson et al 2012, Famiglietti 2014, de Graaf et al 2019) Many of these control variables have either crossed or are fast approaching the planetary limits (Rockstrom et al 2009). The challenge, is how to bring a balance between increasing demand and dwindling resource availability without affecting ecosystem services (Ferrant et al 2014, MacDonald et al 2016)
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