Strip crop - A ray of hope for dry land farmers

Chinnahagari and Upparahalla watersheds of Chitradurga and Bellary districts belong to the dry belts of Karnataka. Moreover, these regions are prone to frequent droughts. Shallow soils, low organic matter in the soils and the prevalent poor moisture conservation practices could support production of only the resilient crop like groundnut and nothing else. Groundnut is the only crop grown through out the year. About 80% of the farmers depend on groundnut crop as their major livelihood option. There are hardly any other options excepting wage labour and migration. Monocropping of groundnut has been the trend prevalent since thirty years.