Farmers fight drought with UNDP rain harvesting tanks
IN drought-ridden Moneragala district, farmers in two villages are
brimming over with relief as they watch the prevailing seasonal showers
fill new cement rain harvesting tanks.
Kithulkote resident R. M. Padmawathie is egging on masons to complete
work on the huge globular tank in her yard, before the rains intensify
in coming weeks, while villager Mudalihami and his son have cleaned out
theirs in keen anticipation.
They are beneficiaries of a US $ 25,000 United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) pilot project to collect scarce water in one of the
island's most parched regions.
Using low-cost technology provided by the Intermediate Technology
Development Group (ITDG), the UNDP has helped several residents in
Kithulkote and Kotiyagala install and maintain the tanks to tide over
the annual dry season between June and November.
The project funds the setting up of 90 domestic, two community and
eight irrigation tanks which will supply household needs and prop up the
vulnerable agrarian economy in the district.
Masons and carpenters have been at work in the last four months
constructing the 7,000-litre wire mesh and cement receptacles in homes,
15,000-litre tanks for community use and ground-level tanks which store
rainwater for agricultural use.
"Globally, there has not been enough focus on disaster mitigation,
only on emergency responses to disasters,' said Ramraj Narasimhan,
UNDP's Program Officer in charge of Disaster Management. "This pilot
project is not going to change the face of the place, but it is a small
start."
In the rain-starved region, villagers would haul water from dwindling
rivers like the Kirinde Oya and Kuda Oya to their homes or desperately
dig numerous small wells by the rivers in search of water.
Farmers who traditionally cultivate chillies, onions and vegetables
in the main Maha season, languish during the rainless months for lack of
irrigation. Says ITDG's Ramitha Wijetunga: "Usually, the villagers'
drinking water needs are met with bowsers supplying water, but work in
the fields comes to a standstill. So, the people in these villages are
really positive about the effect this project will have."
Despite having to contribute labour and a part of the building
materials, villagers were eager to sign up as participants, seeing the
supervision and support provided by UNDP and ITDG officers.
Initiation to the project included training workshops for the
participants outlining the use and, more importantly, the long-term
maintenance of the tanks.
They are told to clear leaves and other debris from roofs, make sure
the gutters are unimpeded and to use the first fall of rain to flush out
the tanks. Users also have to guard against allowing the tanks to run
completely dry to prevent the structure cracking.
Besides their usual crops, farmers are encouraged to grow
high-yielding produce like jak fruit, bread fruit and mango trees which
do not require watering after maturing.
Field officers of the Janashakthi Development Centre, a regional
non-governmental organisation, help the UNDP and ITDG keep close tabs on
the ongoing work with the supervision extending to at least a year so
that the impact and benefits of the project can be assessed. |