Why it matters
Cotton is water-intensive, and smallholder farmers face rising rainfall variability and groundwater stress. Water conservation reduces crop risk, lowers input costs, improves yields under drought, and supports long-term farm productivity and community wellbeing.
What we do
- Promote farmer-friendly water-saving practices such as drip irrigation, mulching, and proper irrigation scheduling.
- Implement soil-based solutions: compost, mulches and biochar to increase the soil’s water-holding capacity.
- Build and rehabilitate community water infrastructure: farm ponds, check dams, recharge pits and contour bunds.
- Train farmers on water budgeting, crop calendars and low-water agronomy.
- Monitor water use and outcomes using simple field measurements and farmer logs to track impact.