Agricultural water management interventions for enhancing water resources availability, cropping, intensity and various ecosystem services in Bundelkhand region of Central India

Bundelkhand region of Central India is hot spot of water scarcity, land degradation, low cropping intensity, poor crop and livestock productivity and poor socio-economic status. Nearly 70% of the population of Bundelkhand is dependent on agriculture and allied sectors for its livelihood. A National Sample Survey report of 2017 shows that the per capita income in Bundelkhand is nearly ₹25,000, far below the national average (₹103,000) and those of Uttar Pradesh (₹43,800) and neighboring Madhya Pradesh (₹56,200) and Rajasthan (₹76,900). Given that strategies that focus on transforming agricultural and allied sectors are key to improving livelihoods of rural populations, the Government of India laid the pathway for doubling farmer’s incomes by 2022.