Water-Wise Agriculture

Yes, we cultivate without water, such as hardy crops. These include Moong, Urad, and Mustard.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

Yes, we used to cultivate and are still cultivating moong, urad, chana, masoor, and other seeds with zero irrigation. And more profit.

— Naukeshi Sahu

In our region, even without rain, we cultivate crops like moong, urad, and horse gram. We also preserve their seeds by mixing them with neem leaves.

— Kunakanta Behera · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

We are cultivating moong without water. The government is not giving us any seeds. We are cultivating with our own seeds and making a profit from it.

— Kusha Mahakud

We cultivate our crops without irrigation, relying on natural moisture like dew water. For example, we grow mung bean, black gram, and mustard. These three particular crops, we cultivate without irrigation.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

We are tribal people. We do our own farming. We have been farming without water. We grow chickpeas, moong, kulthi, and black gram.

— Parikshit Majhi

We cultivate moong, horse gram, black gram, and mustard without water. We call it Nipania cultivation in Sambalpuri.

— Upendra Kumar Mahananda

We cultivate green gram without water. The government had provided green gram seeds for one year, and we will keep those seeds to cultivate green gram every year.

— Kusha Mahakud

We are cultivating moong without water. We are cultivating moong with our own seeds. The government is delaying in providing seeds.

— Kusha Mahakud

We cultivate horse gram, green gram, black gram, and chickpea, for which we do not arrange irrigation.

— Upendra Kumar Mahananda

In our area, crops that require zero irrigation, such as pulses and oilseeds, are cultivated.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

We cultivate a second crop without water or irrigation, using green gram, black gram, and horse gram. We don't use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We grow them very well from seeds, resulting in good produce for eating.

— Parikshit Majhi

I am a farmer. We cultivate moong without water. We grow moong and urad during the winter season when it's cold and dew falls, and we distribute the seeds.

— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha

We can grow crops without irrigation like Ragi, Masoor, and Horse Gram. Millet.

— arun raja · Kon, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate zero-input crops like chickpeas, flaxseed, and pigeon pea. Even with less water, the crops ripen, and their seeds are also collected. Narayan Lal Baranda.

— narayanlalbaranda5@gmail.com · Jhapa, Dungarpur, Rajasthan

We keep seeds of mustard, green gram, horse gram, tuber crops, black gram, and taro for cultivation without water.

— Puspanjali Nag

Muna Netran Bag, Village Mahulapada, Chhadiagoda Panchayat. We are cultivating green gram, black gram, and chickpeas without irrigation.

— RUDRA PRASAD BAG · Mahulpāra, Nuapada, Odisha

We can grow other crops like chickpeas, lentils, khesari, peas, and linseed without water or irrigation.

— arun raja · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

After harvesting the paddy, we cultivate crops like moong, urad, chana, and masoor in that field without irrigation. We save these for our home. We then prepare the soil there for further cultivation.

— swornalata nayak · Patnāgarh, Balangir, Odisha

Yes, we do farming. We used to farm even without water. We cultivate moong, urad, and other dryland crops. This type of farming is done during the winter months, which is unstable due to the cold.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

After the Kharif paddy harvest, we cultivate moong without irrigation as a Rabi crop.

— MUKTA THAKUR · Kokasara, Kalahandi, Odisha

Cultivation of moong or urad is possible without water.

— Chanda

We preserve our own seeds and cultivate mustard, growing this rabi crop without water and without chemical fertilizers.

— Laxmi Bagh · Karamdihi, Sundargarh, Odisha

We cultivate zero-irrigation pulses.

— Sunil oraon · Bero, Ranchi, Jharkhand

Yes, we do farming without water, chickpeas, Siawi jowar

— Kachala Choudhary

Immediately after the Kharif cultivation, we cultivate pulse crops like moong (green gram) in the Rabi season. This is done with zero irrigation, using seeds that we have saved beforehand.

— Santosh Barik · Narala, Kalahandi, Odisha

Yes, we cultivate crops without water, in which we grow chickpeas.

— Kachala Choudhary

In our region, zero-irrigation crops of pulses and oilseeds are cultivated, which include pigeon pea, lentil, etc.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

Even without rain, I cultivate moong (green gram). And I preserve the seeds by using eggplant leaves and neem leaves.

— Kunakanta Behera · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

We do farming without irrigation, such as barley and pulse varieties like 'baturi' and 'kerav'. Barley does not need water, and 'baturi' and 'kerav' are sown after the rice harvest and grow well. We also preserve their seeds, which are useful for sowing next year.

— Ram Kumari

We sow seeds without water and harvest seeds.

— Laba Kumar sabar · Lamingi, Rayagada, Odisha

If some crops can be cultivated with minimal or no irrigation in my region, then we are storing moong seeds, which will be available in irrigated areas.

— Santosh Barik · Kalahandi, Odisha

Yes, we practice zero-irrigation farming and also conserve seeds. For example, horse gram, Kodo millet, little millet, finger millet, and black gram are zero-irrigation crops.

— Sukhdas Mandavi · Mohla, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Chhattisgarh

Traditionally, we store our own moong seeds and sow them in the Rabi season, immediately after the Kharif season, even with zero irrigation.

— Lily Barik · Kalahandi, Odisha

Yes, we cultivate a second crop without water. And farming is also done without water. We have collected and kept those seeds. And we will again plant that as a second crop.

— Ulapi Sahu

After the Kharif paddy cultivation is over, we cultivate moong without water as a Rabi crop.

— MUKTA THAKUR · Kalahandi, Odisha

We farm with less irrigation. Batari peas, horse gram, and pigeon pea are also grown.

— Kamleah Kumar · Kota, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Yes, we cultivate the second crop without water. And cultivation happens even without water. And we collect and store those seeds. And then again, we use that for the second crop.

— Ulapi Sahu · Patnāgarh, Balangir, Odisha