Like any other farmer, farmers in India hope and pry everyday for rain. India’s drought season lasts seven months, with most of their annual rainfall arriving in a 4-month period. The rain is brought in by the means of monsoons. Which means the rain could come in heavy down pours or light showers. The critical period for rain in India is so much shorter than other areas, because the climate is so hot and dry that if the seeds stay out there too long they will dry up and not germinate. The particular area in India the article discusses is Satichiwadi, which is in India’s rain shadow. Usually by the time the monsoons have reached the area the clouds have already broken up. Therefore the area receives little rain. One may ask the question why don’t they just use irrigation? Well even may of the ground wells in the small villages throughout India have dried up too. Some villages have signed a three-year watershed program called Watershed Organization Trust. The goal of the program is use what rain they receive more sustainably. Part of the program is to cut down fewer trees, plant more flora, and dig ditches. By doing these three things the water will slow down and have more time to absorb into the ground, therefore increasing the groundwater. As we have learned earlier if children don’t need to be used to for labor, instead they can be educated. The article briefly discusses how this program could give more children the opportunity to go to school. In developing countries such as India this could become important to empower women.
When reading the article I was shocked to read that the number of suicides among male farmers in one village tripled between 1994 and 2004. After looking at the pictures it is startling to see how dry and bare the land really is. But looking at the one picture where the watershed program has been used shows how changing a few small variables can make such a difference. One question I wonder after reading this is whether they experience many wildfires from the land being so hot and dry.
Victoria Pittman
Thats a scary lifestyle to imagine and the suicide statistics are really sad. I thought it was interesting how the article brought forward the idea of educatation- and not just for males but females too. Perhaps there aren't many fires due to to the lack of any vegetation since Mrs. George told us that in order for a fire to burn you need fuel, ignition, and oxygen so maybe they don't have the fuel of any growth or the weather patterns to produce the conditions appropriate for a burning pattern...
ReplyDeleteI knew that India experienced extreme drought seasons, but it is very disturbing to see how the weather deeply affects the farming population. This also helps explain poverty in India. Because it is dry most of the year, farmers are not able to produce the same amount of food, causing them physical and economic distress. The stress that many of the male farmers feel probably help contribute to the high suicidal rate among these poor people. I think that the organization is a great way to somehow bring more water into the farming areas, since small flora and other plants use up water. The move towards stregthening children's education is also a wonderful thing to see in a developing country, especially in females. When more females are educated, this can help to lower birth and infant mortality rates in India.
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