Impact

Abstracts from the surveys have been critical in analyzing the positive impact of the Art of Living's JalTara- a solution for the groundwater crisis in India. A summary of the impact assessment reports to establish the influence of the water conservation project in the villages of Maharashtra is discussed. The exclusive summary entails the impact generated in the rural belts by the construction of recharge structures on 1400 acres of land. 4 pilot villages have been covered since 2020. These structures intend to bypass the stored water into the ground to recharge water table. The groundwater recharge project identifies villagers as the direct beneficiaries of the watershed constructed in the arable regions.

The scope of the assessment converges to improved farm productivity, increased crop diversity and reduced spoilage of crops.

Increase of Water Level in Wells

Increase of Water
Level in Wells

Average increase in
Water Table is 14 ft
March 2021 - March 2022

Farmer Income is More Than Doubled

Farmer Income is More
Than Doubled

Average increase in
Farmer's Income is 120%

Increase in Crop Yield

Increase in Crop Yield

Average increase in Crop
Yield is 42%

Eliminated Crop Spoilage

Eliminated Crop Spoilage

Decrease in Crop Spoilage due to
Waterlogging by 100%

Increase in Employment

Increase in Employment

Average increase in Work
Availability (Rabi Season) is 88%

Improvement in Land Usage

Improvement in Land Usage

Average increase in Land Usage
(Rabi Season) is 58%

14ft Average Increase in Water Table

Average Increase in
Water Table

Post intervention of the scientific techniques of water conservation by JalTara, a 14 ft. rise in the level of water tables across rural belt has been observed. This constitutes a 48% rise as compared to the previous levels.

Average Increase in
Farmer's Income

JalTara led the Farmers to witness the average income rising by 120% in the villages. This could have been possible due to zero waterlogging during rains & availability of underground water. The forecasted farm profits measured at INR 6.08 cr. Increased cultivation has made the farmers to focus on more than one crop type in one season, improving their economies of scale with enlarged productivity. If we classify the crops by their types, Chana, Onion, and wheat crops saw an increased income per farmer by 330%, 270%, and 182%, respectively.

120% Average Increase in
Farmer's Income

120% Average Increase in Farmer’s Income

Average Increase in
Crop Yield

A favorable increase in the cultivation area across arable rural regions has been observed. After the intervention of the watershed structures in the rural areas, the cultivable land increased by 1% in the Kharif and 58% in the Rabi seasons. This has been possible due to the better availability of water resources in the vicinity. An average increase of 42% in crop yield is reported.

42% Average Increase in
Crop Yield

Note:Maximum increase in yield has been observed in cotton by 67% followed by 54% increase for onion,and an increase of 20% in soyabean

100% Decrease in
Crop Spoilage due to
waterlogging

Decrease in Crop Spoilage
due to Waterlogging

Crop loss has been reduced by a whopping value of 100% by eliminating the ever-existing problem of waterlogging in the arable lands of villages. With the help of JalTara recharge structures, rainwater that used to stay in the field now percolates through JalTara Structures in the underground aquifers resulting in zero crop spoilage and availability of underground water throughout the year.

Average Increase in
Labour (Rabi Season)

Since JalTara has enabled the upsurge in overall crop production & multiple crops every year due to availaibilty of groundwater & zero spoilage due to waterlogging. As a result, labour requirements has increased by 19% in the Kharif season and by 88% in the Rabi season. The average increase in land usage in the Rabi Season has also increased to 58% due to availaibility of water. Eliminating waterlogging has led to fertile lands with higher productivity and has also contributed to increased labour requirement.

88% Average Increase in
Labour (Rabi Season)

Note:
Labour requirement has increased by 19% during the kharif season and by 88% during Rabi season.The increased labour requirement is due to the enhancement in the cultivation area.*Since farmers have work all year long, they don't have to migrate from their village for livelihood.

58% Average Increase in
Land Usage (Rabi Season)

Average Increase in
Land Usage (Rabi Season)

An increase of 58% in the land use during Rabi Season has been witnessed, mainly due to the availability of groundwater in Rabi Season, while for the kharif season cultivation land use has increased by 1% after the JalTara implementation. In Rabi season the cultivation of Onion & Chana increased has increased significantly post intervention due to availability of water. Banana is added as the additional crop in Rabi season.

One Year SROI Of ₹ 19.21 Per Rupee Invested

*The SROI cannot be 100% attributable to the reference program intervention, as multiple ecological and anthropogenic factors could contribute to the same (beyond the current assessment’s scope)

*Reference year is the 1st year of the project initiation.

  • This assessment is driven by The Art of Living desire to evaluate the benefits generated by the JalTara Groundwater Recharge project for the local communities in Mantha Tehsil, Maharashtra.
  • This project was completed in summer of 2021, the JalTara team dug~ 1400 recharge Structures across 4 villages in Mantha tehsil, Jalna, Maharashtra. We surveyed 40 farmers from 2 villages (out of the 4) for this analysis.
  • Scope of this impact assessment is centered on the positive impacts generated by the watershed in terms of social and ecological aspects for a period of one year*.
  • Results show a high amount of economic benefit due to an increase in farm productivity and annual earings, water recharge, reduction in crop loss, avoided water purchase, fertilizer usage and monetary carbon savings.
  • The intervention generates an overall 'Social Return on Investment (SROI)' value of INR 19.21 (per INR invested).

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