Introduction, Types, and History of Rainfed Agriculture and Watershed Management in India

Rainfed agriculture is a type of farming that relies on rainfall for water. It provides much of the food consumed by poor communities in developing countries. Out of 143 m ha cultivated land about 43 m ha are under irrigation and the rest of the area (about 70%) is rainfed, but all is not too dry and is the food basket for the poor, with a millet-dominant crop pattern. Rain-dependent areas can be broadly split into two: “dryland areas,” which receive less than 750 mm (75 cm) of rain a year; and rainfed areas, which receive more than 750 mm (75 cm). On the basis of yearly rainfall, dryland agriculture can be divided into three classes: rainfed farming, dryland farming, and dry farming.