August 9, 2012

Worms for Water in India

Examples of success from the field are not only due to good practices, but also partnerships that Published as part of Reuters’ Alertnet ‘Battle for Water’ news coverage, a video by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) depicts an effort in India to improve soil fertility, water management, and rural livelihoods. Dungarpur is a small village in Rajasthan, in the northwest of India. Through a multi-stakeholder collaboration between government, researchers, NGOs, and local villagers, Dungarpur was able to shift towards a more sustainable agricultural model that focused on the use of vermicompost. Besides adding nitrogen and micronutrients to the soil, boosting crop yields, the practices builds soil water holding capacity. Villagers also built a communal water reservoir to help recharge the aquifer, and they began to plant vegetation surrounding fields to fix nitrogen.

Watch the video slideshow at Alertnet to learn more.

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