A study on changes in agronomic practices of farmers to overcome drought situations in Namakkal district of Tamilnadu state

Tamil Nadu is facing worst drought due to uncertainty and failure of monsoon showers for the last few years. The state government declared the state as drought hit in 2012-2013, 2016-17 as per guidance from central committee (Tamil Nadu State Action Plan for Climate Change, 2017). Therefore, the study was conducted in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu state, with the objective to identify and document the changes in the agronomic practices that are currently adopted by farmers in the study area to overcome the adverse effects of drought. Simple random sampling method was used in selection of 100 farmers each 50 belongs to annual and seasonal crops respectively. The findings revealed among various changes in agronomic practices at farm level to cope up with drought situations, About 30 per cent of respondents, there is a change from a seasonal crop to another seasonal crop. In the annual crop growers, all of them are monocrop cultivators at present. Eminence of pure cropping method is observed both in past and present. At present, nearly two third (62.00%) of the respondents are having bore well followed by open well (38.00%) as there is no release of water through canal in recent years. But at present due to reduction in the water level 40 per cent of respondents were moved to drip method of irrigation from flood type. Because now a day's installation of drip system in farmers field became easy as government provide subsidy to small and marginal farmers under PMKSY programme. Among the seasonal crops growers due to drought, reduction in intercropping method of cropping system is being observed. However, most of the farmers who possessed with open well stick on to the same source by deepening it or by drill the bore in it. Only 16 per cent of respondents solely depend on rain for cultivation. During dry season they kept the land as fallow.