From farm ponds to AI chatbots: India's blueprint for revitalising dryland agriculture

Drylands are characterized by the slow accumulation of vulnerability, rather than sudden disasters. Covering nearly half the world's land surface, these regions support over two billion people and account for more than 40% of global cultivated land. In India, drylands constitute 60-68% of net sown area, contributing 40-44% of total food-grain production. Historically, these regions have been constrained by water scarcity but are now diversifying towards pulses, oilseeds, horticulture and livestock.

The resilience of dryland agriculture is not created by a single technology or intervention, but through a layered and mutually reinforcing system of measures. Over six decades of experience demonstrates that resilience is built from the ground up, with water and land systems strengthened before crop-level interventions can deliver lasting gains.

This principle is exemplified by the solarisation of nearly 1.4 million pumps and the use of digital advisories and markets that serve over 2.75 crore farmers across 3.4 lakh villages.

The evidence from successive droughts reveals a compelling story of resilience. The depth of production decline has narrowed markedly, with losses dropping from 13% in 1987 to below 6% in 2009 and to just 0.22% in 2014. During the same period, rainfed food-grain production increased from 56 million tonnes to 130 million tonnes, representing a 133% increase.

This improvement is primarily attributed to system-level adaptation, including the use of climate-resilient technologies and the release of nearly 3,000 crop varieties with drought, heat and salinity tolerance.