Dissemination of outcome of climate resilient agricultural technologies in a tribal village of Tripura

North Pulinpur a water stress village with 100 per cent tribal farmers is under undivided West Tripura district. Cropping system is mainly rainfed rice based mono-cropping. Unavailability of irrigation water in the area has forced the farmers towards practice of Jhum cultivation. Considering this some climate resilient agricultural technologies were disseminated through a village climate risk management committee (VCRMC) guided by KVK, West Tripura during the financial year 20112014. Main objectives of the study were to develop required skills of the tribal people for alternate agricultural and allied livelihood adoptions against shifting climate. Under this approximately 1,75,000 ft³ rainwater was harvested by construction of four community water reserves, two farm ponds, two Jalkunds and rejuvenation of fifteen old silted ponds all of which provided life saving irrigation during Kharif dry spell as well as during Rabi summer season covering an area of about 50 ha. A total area of 1.0 ha wasteland was converted to cultivable land using water from newly created community water reserves. Farmers could develop their skills with huge success to utilize Kharif paddy fallow land with less water requiring potato var HPS II/67, short duration vegetable pea var Arkel 1, draught tolerant lentil var WBL 77, bitter gourd var Jyoti Bolder with straw mulching, maize var HQPM and its inter-cropping with paddy straw mulched bitter gourd, watermelon var Sugar Baby as various alternative second crops. Harvested water was also utilized for integrated duck cum composite fish culture. The cropping intensity was raised from 115 to 135 per cent. The pond embankment was utilized scientifically by growing broad bean, drumsticks, banana, coconut and arecanut. All these interventions based on harvested rainwater ultimately have resulted as live model of integrated farming system (IFS) under climate resilient agriculture. Benefited women farmers of the area are also earning through rearing of improved poultry birds, scientific pig rearing, vermicomposting etc.