With climate-induced erratic rainfall affecting agriculture, the farmers of Manipur turn to jalkunds – low-cost water harvesting structures that go beyond irrigation needs and double their income.
M. Ibohal Meitei, a 76-year-old farmer from Nungbrung Ngamukhong village in the Imphal East district of Manipur, is a happy man. He has reason to be. Because his income has increased, thanks to a low-cost water harvesting structure.
Though his farm is around 200 m from the Thoubal river, he found it difficult to carry the water regularly to his fields.
“But the jalkund constructed in 2019 has boosted my income,” he said with a smile.
“Earlier, I used to grow only paddy, which was mostly rain-fed, as the farmers here do mono-cropping and rice is a staple diet. I had to wait for the rains to start farming,” he said.
Now thanks to an easily constructed pit that captures water called jalkund, Meitei grows paddy, seasonal vegetables and has recently started a piggery.
A jalkund is a low-cost water harvesting structure in which a pit, or pond, is lined with a polyethylene film. Jalkunds are being built in Manipur’s villages to cope with the changing climate and the errant rainfall, which lead to loss of livelihood for farmers.
This rainwater harvesting concept was started in 2010 by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) from the Imphal East district when two jalkunds were built in Andro village.
“They are built by excavating earth up to a depth of 1.5 m and have a length and breadth of 4 m and 5 m respectively. The side and the base are covered with high density 400 micron polyethylene plastic to prevent water seepage,” said Soram Molibala Devi, senior scientist from KVK.
“We choose villages where there is less rain and the irrigation systems don’t work properly. Jalkund is best suited for small farms having high seepage and infiltration problems where construction of farm ponds is not feasible,” Devi told Village Square.
In 2018 a major boost came when KVK received an approval from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to build 20 jalkunds in the district under the sponsorship of National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project. Twelve jalkunds were constructed in 2018 in the district.
“Under the programme, the farmer has to do the excavation while the plastic sheets are being provided in the project,” pointed out Gunajit Oinam, agricultural engineer at KVK.
KVK trains the farmers about the jalkund’s usage too, as they can use it for multiple purposes.
“The constant supply of water has helped me to grow vegetables and even start a piggery farm which has added Rs 8,000-10,000 to my monthly income,” said Ibohal Meitei.
But KVK doesn’t encourage fish farming in the structure as the water gets dirty.
“We advise the farmers to keep the jalkund filled with water as otherwise livestock may damage the plastic causing seepage in it,” said Oinam.
Jalkund can easily last for 8-10 years. At present 34 jalkunds have been constructed in 10 villages of the district.
“Each structure benefits neighbouring farmers also and there are 150 beneficiaries so far,” Oinam told Village Square.
Farmers say that jalkund helps them farm even on hillocks where water is not available.
“We have a water pond in the plains from where water is being supplied to the jalkund on the hill top. The nearby spring has already gone dry and jalkund helps me grow vegetables on land which lay fallow till now due to the unavailability of water,” said D. Heikrujam Meitei, 50, a farmer in Tumukhong village.
Now he grows cabbages, brinjals, mustard and onions whereas earlier he depended solely on paddy for livelihood.
“Besides, the presence of water has given me time to look for new livelihood avenues and have recently started duck farming. I expect to earn good income from it,” he said.
The north-eastern state is facing the vagaries of nature with rainfall turning erratic in the hilly state.
The state recorded the highest deficit of 64% rainfall among eight north-eastern states last year that caused losses to the paddy farmers of the state. The deficit was 72% in the Imphal East district till mid-July last year.
In May 2022 Manipur received the highest rainfall of 257.93 mm since 2013.
“Even two decades ago, we used to get regular monsoon that started from June and continued till September. But things have changed now,” said L Nabachandra Singh, professor, department of agronomy, Central Agricultural University (CAU), Manipur.
“The rains started in February this year and there were no rains in June when paddy was sown. Farmers got some rains in late July but August-September was again dry,” he added.
Under such climatic conditions and uncertainties about irrigation water, jalkunds help farmers tide over the water crisis.
The lead image shows how farmers are now able to grow crops without worrying about irrigation problems (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)
Gurvinder Singh is a journalist based in Kolkata.
