Innovation in Traditional Practices of Agriculture

In Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region, farmers are opting for innovations in traditional practices and adopted new techniques to turn their land into a profitable venture amid the decline in the groundwater level and erratic rainfall. 

Adopted techniques:

• Solar power panel running pumps, slim polyethylene hoses for drip irrigation, uniformly spaced trees, jets shoot water mixed with fertilizer directly at the roots; climate-controlled greenhouses, rainwater harvesting techniques, establishment of climate-controlled polyhouse for growing vegetables, organic farming with the help of vermicompost
  • Sundaram Verma of Danta village has developed techniques to grow crops with less water and conserve water in the arid regions. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020 for developing ‘dryland agroforestry’, a method to help tree plantation efforts.
• Technology in Agriculture: Sensor Data Used for Smart Farming, Climate Smart Agriculture Mechanization Using Robotics, GPS Technology for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Drones for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Precision Agriculture

Benefits for the farmers

• Increased income: The average income of farmers in the region, which was earlier about Rs 1 lakh per hectare in a year, has touched about Rs 8 lakh a year.
• Increased sowing area: The expertise at the farmland has led to significant expansion in the sowing area for crops and vegetables, higher yield, and enhanced annual income per hectare of land.