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RAINFED FARMING AS A DEVELOPMENT OPTION FOR THE DRY ZONE
J Handawala
From about 1930’s the development policy of Sri
Lanka has been discouraging Chena farming and promoting irrigation. The
main argument against Chena is felling of forest to clear Chena plots,
though in the case of Chena it is only contribution but in irrigation
it is a total sacrifice.
After many decades of irrigation development we
are still without enough food, intended double of cropping out of reach,
fuelwood and timber becoming scarce and costly and imbalance between flood
flow and base flow ever increasing.
Historically, Chena farming has been at least
at par with irrigation if not more important. Contrary to general opinion
the British rulers gave due credit to it and declared 1897 Wastelands
Act to facilitate it. In 1930’s they attempted stabilization of Chena
farming by introducing draught tillage as in Deccan Plateau. The experiment
failed and the effort was given up for good. Irrigation only was promoted
thereafter. Even the Moneragala IRDP that was specifically instituted
to help the Chena farmer has spent only Rs 1.86 million on rainfed farming
in comparison to Rs 57.2 million spent on irrigation, from 1984 to 1995.
Despite falling out of favour with the Government
rainfed farming continues on its own strength as the commonest farming
practice in the country. As much as 33% of paddy land in the country is
rainfed, more than half of it in the dry zone, recording a cropping intensity
comparable to minor irrigation and producing 25% of national paddy output.
It accounts for 80% of the country’s nonrice food production. In some
irrigation projects the settlers live more on rainfed farming than irrigation.
Rainfed sugar cane is doing better at Pelwatte and Sevanagala compared
to irrigated Hingurana and Kantalai.
Inspired by the rainfed farming potential, studies
conducted in southeast dry zone since 1994 show that it is possible to
improve on its merits and its demerits can be easily overcome by application
of appropriate and farmer adaptable technology. Following are some of
the technologies applied in farmers’ fields with farmer participation.
1. Construction of contour bunds with hillside ditches on contours traced
by graduated tube level.
2. Wind rowing of debris into contour bunds instead of burning.
3. Erasing the fear the people had of Gliricidia as a soil degrading plant.
4. Promotion of compost heap instead of pit.
5. Application of P fertilizer to legumes.
Results observed are;
1. Soil fertility improved and soil conserved.
2. Fodder, green manure, vegetable stakes, fuelwood etc from Gliricidia.
3. Weed flora changed from difficult to manage graminae to easy to control
broad leaved species.
4. Need for ploughing reduced and manual weeding costs reduced.
5. Crop yield increased. 6. Well water quality improved.
7. Farmer confidence in rainfed farming improved.
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science,
University
of Sri Jayewardenepura,Sri Lanka. 1999. All rights reserved.
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