Dryland Congress 2026 Focuses on Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Shri Narendra Bhooshan, Secretary of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), emphasized the need to shift from reactive drought response to proactive building of resilient dryland landscapes through integrated watershed development, technology, and community participation. He spoke at the Dryland Congress 2026 Partner Spotlight event at the National Agricultural Science Complex in New Delhi, which brought together over 800 participants from 25 countries including scientists, policymakers, development partners, and farmers.
Bhooshan highlighted that drylands are productive landscapes constrained by climatic variability, noting that rainfed agriculture covers 61.39 million hectares (43% of India's net sown area) and contributes approximately 40% of the country's food production. He stated that "if we restore the landscape, we restore the water cycle; if we restore the water cycle, we restore livelihoods," emphasizing the watershed approach as particularly relevant for integrating land, water, vegetation and livelihoods.
Watershed Development Program Achievements
The Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY), implemented by DoLR, has achieved significant results over the past 12 years. The program has implemented 7,602 watershed development projects covering approximately 34 million hectares. These interventions have created or rejuvenated around 900,000 water harvesting structures, provided protective irrigation to about 2 million hectares, and benefited nearly 6 million farmers. The projects have generated 67 million person-days of employment and covered 300,000 hectares under plantation.
Economic and Environmental Benefits
Completed watershed projects demonstrate a Benefit-Cost Ratio of approximately 2:1, representing an investment in natural capital that has yielded significant improvements in groundwater levels, cultivated area, cropping intensity, milk production, and farmers' incomes. Bhooshan emphasized that watershed development must evolve from GIS mapping to intelligence systems that monitor whether landscapes are becoming more resilient.
Digital Infrastructure and Future Vision
The proposed Watershed Portal will provide integrated Digital Public Infrastructure covering the entire lifecycle of watershed projects and incorporating key geospatial datasets. Bhooshan stressed that "digital tools can provide the evidence, institutions can provide the framework, and communities provide the ownership." He called for stronger partnerships among governments, research institutions, development partners and communities to develop a scalable Indian Dryland Development Roadmap, contributing to the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 by making watersheds platforms for restoring natural capital, securing water, strengthening agriculture, creating livelihoods and building climate resilience.