Welcome to SAWAL project
SAWAL stands for: Science into Action for Water, Agriculture and Livestock – and also means ‘question’ in hindi.
Our focus
In the Ganga Basin, millions of small farmers have to cope with physical and economic water scarcity for sustaining their livelihood. In this area, as in many other parts of the world, smallholder farming systems are usually mixed crop-livestock systems, combining agriculture and animal husbandry. Agriculture provides households with subsistence food and seasonal income while livestock provides draught power, cooking fuel and fertilizer for crops, supplements household nutrition and contributes to financial security.
Until recently, there has been little systematic research to assess the interrelationships between water use, crop cultivation and livestock farming. For instance, water needs for livestock have usually considered drinking water without accounting for the water used to grow feed.
Addressing water productivity in farming systems has become a critical challenge in the context of a growing competition for water and land resources in the region.
Our goal
SAWAL project aims at optimizing the productive use of water in mixed crop-livestock farming systems byadopting an integrated approach that considers the strong interaction between water, crop and livestock.
Our overall goal is to improve livelihoods and decrease social inequities related to water access and use for agriculture in the semi-arid areas of the Ganga Basin.
Our objectives
- Improve the understanding of total water needs for different crop-livestock combinations
- Identify institutional arrangements that support the improvement of water productivity in crop-livestock systems
- Identify specific entry points and methods to optimize water productivity
- Evaluate gender, livelihood and poverty impacts of technology and governance options
- Increase capacity and develop policy, technology and governance recommendations for improving water productivity in crop livestock systems
This project is sponsored by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). Its full title is“Improving water productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing equity in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Ganga Basin” (CP68).
