OAR@ICRISATAn interdisciplinary framework for using archaeology, history and collective action to enhance India’s agricultural resilience and sustainabilityA SGreenauthorSDixitauthorK KGargauthorN RSandyaauthorGSinghauthorKVattaauthorA MWhitbreadauthorM KJonesauthorR NSinghauthorC APetrieauthorSouth Asia has a deep history of agriculture that includes a range of past farming systems in different climatic zones. Many of these farming systems were resilient to changes in climate and sustainable over long periods of time. India’s present agricultural systems are facing serious challenges, as they have become increasingly reliant on the unsustainable extraction of groundwater for irrigation. This paper outlines an interdisciplinary framework for drawing on patterns from the past to guide interventions in the present. It compares past and present strategies for water management and use in semi-arid and temperate Punjab with equatorial Telangana. Structural differences in water use in these two regions suggest that a range of interventions should be adopted to expand the overall availability of surface water for agricultural systems in India, in combination with empowering local communities to create their own water management rules. Active interventions focus on the efficient use of water supplies, and increasing surface water availability through renovation of collective ponds and reservoirs. We argue that this conceptual framework has significant potential for guiding agronomic and economic interventions in the future.Sustainable AgricultureSouth AsiaWater Resources2020-10IOP PublishingArticle

For work being deposited by its own author: In self-archiving this collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata, I grant OAR@ICRISAT the right to store them and to make them permanently available publicly for free on-line. I declare that this material is my own intellectual property and I understand that OAR@ICRISAT does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata. (All authors are urged to prominently assert their copyright on the title page of their work.)

For work being deposited by someone other than its author: I hereby declare that the collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata that I am archiving at OAR@ICRISAT) is in the public domain. If this is not the case, I accept full responsibility for any breach of copyright that distributing these files or metadata may entail.

Clicking on the deposit button indicates your agreement to these terms.