Rajasthan's cattle farmers hack the pasture problem, but climate change is catching up

As the region gets drier with each passing year, cattle rearers in Dudu block count on chaukas to regenerate pasturelands and ensure food for their animals all year round.Jaipur, Rajasthan: Ram Chandra (50), a farmer from Mali community, has 2.5 acres of land in Dudu’s Laporiya village. He grows moong (green gram), sarso (mustard), jowar (sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet) there, while his goat and cattle herds supplement the income. Despite dwindling rainfall over the years, finding fodder for animals has not been much of a challenge for Chandra, thanks to the chaukas that the villagers have been maintaining for decades.Livestock rearing is still one of the main livelihood options in Rajasthan but in several places, a shortage of grazing spaces and drinking water has dented its prospects. “Earlier, we had to move the animals to far-off places in search of pastures,” Chandra told 101Reporters.But the saving grace for the cattle farmers here were chaukas, which were first introduced to the place in the 1980s. At that time, the local youth were looking for ways to boost water supply through harvesting projects, with an emphasis on shramdaan (voluntary labour). The informal group soon registered themselves as Gram Vikas Navyuwak Mandal (GVNML), Laporiya, an NGO now led by brothers Laxman Singh and Jagveer Singh.In the late 90s, Laxman and fellow villagers repaired the local talaab (tank) and built two others. That was just the beginning. "When we started out, many people were curious. Some lent us a helping hand, and their numbers increased with time," said Jagveer, the GVNML CEO.Together they thriveOnce the water problem was sorted, they focused on the fodder crisis afflicting the village by introducing the chauka system of water harvesting to the pasture lands. The structure comprises ridges of mud in a rectangular shape, with one side open. Within it are rows of small tanks to hold rainwater. It is built to slow down the flow of rainwater along a slope, giving it time to filter into the ground, ensuring quick regrowth of grass.(Above) An illustration of a complete chauka system; (Below) Freshly dug chaukas (Photos courtesy GVNML)Each chauka is designed to suit the slope of the pasture on which it is located and when combined, they form a large structure. “It was designed in such a way that the grass retained moisture, and could grow back in three days once the animals graze,” Jagveer explained.As the availability of fodder has a direct impact on both the quality and quantity of milk produced, chaukas have undoubtedly contributed to delivering a stable income to the cattle farmers of Laporiya.“On an average, a farmer, who had earned only Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month a decade ago, is now able to get anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000,” said Laxman, who has big land holdings and a large herd of buffaloes and cows under his care.He remembered the time when half the village was empty. "Most of the farmers had left to find other sources of income as nothing would grow in their fields. Many even sold their cattle to survive.”Laporiya is the only village in the block to have a milk chilling plant, which was established a decade ago. The second such plant is in Dudu, which catered to other villages. "The administration thought it was apt to start a plant here as we were producing so much milk," Laxman said.Born in Laporiya, the chauka-allied rainwater harvesting structures eventually made their way to 58 nearby villages (155 villages where only chaukas were developed). Given its success, it was easy to convince people. "We have asked them to set aside a few hours for a period of two months every year, to take forward the work on water and pasture conservation," he said.The task involved construction and digging, as and when required, in addition to surveys and cleaning of the village’s water sources. Laxman said the work is assigned according to the requirement and availability of volunteers.Chandra said that the chauka system was established when he was young and he has seen it help farmers like him. “With the help of chauka, we have green grass long post the monsoon season. Abundant grass grows in the area surrounding the water bodies, which are part of the chauka system, where we take our cattle grazing,” he said.Gopal Gujjar, a former sarpanch and current panchayat member of Laporiya, who has been involved extensively in the work on chaukas, said the whole process has helped the villagers reconnect with nature. "We worked in groups not just to launch water recovery structures here, but also to spread the word about its success in other villages through rallies and street plays."A water body that's part of the chauka system in Laporiya, Rajasthan (Photo: Nikita Jain) Trouble on the horizonToday, the chauka system is under stress. The pasture conservation techniques under the model are no longer able to withstand the tides of climate change. Their talaab has gone defunct; the chaukas are still functioning but they have had to make several modifications and adaptions over the years like building chaukas on undulating terrain, on both sides of a slope, etc.The lack of rain has become a major concern. According to reports, Laporiya’s average rainfall in the last 18 years has been less than 500 mm a year. In recent years, it has further come down to just about 300 mm. In July, the village received less than 75 mm of rainfall!  “We need at least 200 to 250 mm of rainfall to conserve water for year-round fodder growth,” Jagveer said. The chauka system has been designed in a way to facilitate the growth of fodder even with less rain, however, whenever that happens, the pasturelands take a longer time to replenish. “The only difference is that when there is adequate rainfall the grass grows in three days, but it takes seven days to grow if there is less rainfall,” Singh explains. “We witness only brief showers, though it is monsoon time,” says Sita Devi, while getting her buffaloes and goats back home from grazing. “But it is raining at least. Our animals will be able to get by somehow," she added.The villagers have only two more months of rainfall to look forward to. When there is not enough rain, grazing in pastures between October and June gets affected. So farmers are forced to source dry fodder, which is in short supply and hence expensive now. A cattle farmer returning from grazing his buffalos in Laporiya, Rajasthan (Photo: Nikita Jain)According to Jagveer, the situation is worsening across Rajasthan and the lack of support from the government has aggravated the issue. “The state government has neither intervened nor thought about finding solutions for the issues farmers face, especially those into animal husbandry.” Elaborating, he said, “Vet services are entirely private now; government veterinary hospitals are either closed or barely functional. These services should at least be subsidised. And whether it’s making grass seeds available for grazing land or helping create structures like chaukas, the government is not helping.” Even for the simple and obvious task of bringing the building of chaukas under MGNREGA, they have to move mountains, he said. “At times, we have even had to approach the Chief Secretary!”In the cover photo, a cattle farmer stands with his buffaloes in Laporiya, Rajasthan (Photo: Nikita Jain)This article is a part of a 101Reporters' series on The Promise Of Commons. In this series, we will explore how judicious management of shared public resources can help the ecosystem as well as the communities inhabiting it.

Women of rural Rajasthan beat the odds to emerge successful farmers and livestock rearers

Geeta Bai(Left), Vasuli Bai(Middle) and Rekha Bai(Right) are part of the SHG educating the women about farming and backyard poultry in Sirohi, Rajasthan(Photo Credit- Nikita Jain)Despite the tough challenges of water scarcity, casteism and patriarchy, women from the tribal communities of Sirohi district achieved financial independence, even through the pandemic.Sirohi, Rajasthan: For decades, the Adivasi community of Rajasthan’s Sirohi district has remained backward in terms of socio-economic development. With no formal education and minimal access to necessities, the community lived in isolation and was majorly dependent on farming and labour work to make a living. However, a few years ago, things changed for the better after an NGO stepped in to educate the women of the community and help them achieve financial independence. Over the years, the women gained enough knowledge and confidence to successfully run their own backyard poultry and goat-rearing businesses — most of which were set up after the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, making their newfound success even more commendable.“As markets were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, it became difficult for us to survive. Farming and the sale of cattle were our only source of income,” said Manisha Devi (27) from Sirohi's Doli Fali village on the challenging circumstances of 2020. She belongs to the Bhil tribal community, historically known for their use of weapons such as bows and arrows.Timely assistance and guidance arrived in the form of Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), a non-government, non-profit organisation that works towards empowering disadvantaged communities in rural India. They run the Aravali Pashupalak Sangathan (APS), a special programme that's part of Bajaj Allianz’s CSR project, Promotion of Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Sirohi. The main objective of the APS, which focuses on livestock-based activities such as goat-rearing and backyard poultry, is empowering women by enhancing their sources of income. They are provided with opportunities through a women-centric microfinance system known as the “Internal Loaning System”, wherein a loan is granted to the beneficiary for the livestock activities. The women later need to repay this loan to the APS after the prescribed moratorium period.  Since its launch in September 2020, APS has helped around 180 women launch their own businesses by granting them seed money. After they repay the loan, the women reinvest their profits back into their businesses, thus ensuring financial security for themselves and their families.Self-help groups lead the way“Earlier, we were only involved in farming, but then PRADAN helped us set up livestock activities,” Manisha added. “They gave us loans and trained us in breeding the animals. We now know about the kind of food and medicines they need to be given and also help train other women.”PRADAN team co-ordinator Anif Khan explained to 101Reporters: “Our focus is on enhancing their livelihood. We mainly work in the areas of agriculture and livestock. Since the literacy level among women is low, we use pictorial representations to add to their knowledge. The terrain in these regions is tough, and houses are quite far from each other. So bringing the women together was initially a difficult task.”The self-help groups (SHG) established in 2009 have been instrumental in the progress and development of rural women in these parts of Rajasthan. “In 2020, when migrant workers returned to Sirohi, there was no work or income. When the matter was discussed within the SHG, the women decided that new employment opportunities were needed, and that’s how we launched the APS,” Khan added.The SHG have two major focus points: microfinance, under which the women are provided loans for their businesses, and livelihood enhancement, which includes imparting knowledge and training. For instance, women are informed about livestock farming and the measures they could take to make it more profitable. Currently, around 1,800 women are part of these SHGs.Backyard Poultry has helped the women of Sirohi enhance their livelihoods amid the water crisis in the region (Picture credit - Nikita Jain)Reaping the benefits of poultry farmingUnder the APS scheme, women were not only being trained on the correct methods to go about backyard poultry farming and goat-rearing, but were also being assisted in travelling to the markets and selling their produce. Now well-informed about the market rates and ways to get better opportunities, these women today manage to sell their products on their own. While they don't sell their eggs, they earn around Rs 300 for their roosters and chickens on a good day.Surabhi Devi, also from Doli Fali village, has no formal education and was married at a young age. She's always been a farmer, but it was only a year ago that she began to notice a skill-change within her.“Before this, we had no idea how beneficial poultry farming could be for us,” the 40-year-old said. “With PRADAN coming to our village, the women who became associated with it were given education about the business. Over time, we learnt how we could benefit from it.”The Rajasthan government has framed a handful of farming-focused schemes like Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project (RWSLIP) launched in 2019 which aims at providing subsidies to marginal farmers for adopting modern agricultural techniques, but such schemes often fail to reach isolated villages like Dholi Fali."We do not know about any schemes of the government if our crop fails or if there is no water. How can we think of availing such schemes when we are clueless?" questioned Manisha.Casteism and gender-specific challengesWhile development is a major obstacle for these tribal women farmers, they have also had to fight patriarchy. “Before we started experimenting with various businesses, the men in our households were not supportive,” 40-year-old Vasuli Bai from Jamburi village told 101Reporters. “I'm not educated, but I now educate other women in these aspects. We are aware of how patriarchy affects our lives. The men in our society are just like all other men. In our community, while women and men work together in the field, it was difficult for us to start our own businesses.”Echoing Vasuli's views, Manisha emphasised: “We urge women to focus on the education of their daughters. We are not educated, but our daughters should be.”Casteism is yet another challenge these women face. For instance, the women of Doli Fali were not allowed to draw water from the well of an upper-caste man. They said this happened every time they tried to fetch water from the neighbouring villages. The women also claimed there were times they are not allowed to enter upper-caste inhabited areas when conducting surveys. For a clearer picture of caste-based differences, a comparison between Doli Fali and Tarungi village, a few kilometres away, can be made. While Doli Fali resembles a desert with a few acres of farmlands and mud houses, Tarungi — inhabited by the upper-caste Thakur community — has beautiful brick houses with clear signs of greater development. (Above) Land owned by Surabhi Devi, a 40-year-old woman farmer in Doli Fali village of Sirohi, Rajasthan; (Below) Manisha Devi (Left) and Surabhi Devi (Middle) are part of SHGs in Sirohi, Rajasthan and well-trained in poultry farming (Picture credits - Nikita Jain)Tackling water scarcityDry deciduous forests are common in this part of Sirohi district, while the higher elevations of Mount Abu are covered in coniferous forests. This difference in terrain has resulted in a major water crisis in the region, with many farmers losing their crops and plunging into severe debt.Devi Bai, one of the core members of the village and a member of an SHG, pointed out that this water scarcity was why they started growing vegetables along with bajra (pearl millets) and makkai (corn). “We grew only makkai earlier, but a year ago, it was suggested that we grow vegetables, too. The water shortage does create an issue for us, but we try to work through it,” the 40-year-old added.The crisis forces these women to travel far and wide to fetch water for their homes and farms. Moreover, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and delayed rains led most of these female farmers to lose their vegetable saplings. This was when Rekha Bai, a 28-year-old from Phoola Bai Khera village, put in even more effort on her vegetable farm. She now has one of the most successful farming businesses in the village.“I started tomato farming four years ago. It was very difficult initially, but I taught myself how to do it. Farming requires care and attention,” she said, emphasising on the water scarcity further.Water woes, gender bias, patriarchy and casteism notwithstanding, the tribal women of Sirohi have beaten the odds and emerged successful through sheer grit and determination. Edited by Gia Claudette Fernandes