Abstract :
There is a wide spread consensus that the sustainability of dryland area is endangered due to over exploitation of natural resources beyond their carrying capacity. Rainwater and soil, being the key natural resources of dryland agriculture, this seminar emphasizes on management practices that can maximize the usefulness of limited rainwater by imposing relevant conservation measures and land uses matching with the water availability period. First step for improving the dryland crop yields is the conservation of rainwater, which cannot be separated from soil conservation (Prihar, 1994). Intercropping is one of the important cropping systems recommended to mitigate the aberrant climatic conditions. Livestock are other resources in dryland areas. Nearly two-third of the total 450 million heads of livestock in India thrive in rainfed regions. Rainfed farming mixed with livestock farming provides a dependable source of income to dryland farmers.Implementation of all these practices on farm situation is, however, constrained by several factors such as poor enterprising ability of the rainfed farmer, lack of knowledge, lack of training of farmers and extension workers on overall dryland practices etc. Therefore, treatment of dryland areas on a watershed basis has been adopted as a comprehensive approach to manage natural resources through effective techniques. Mineral resources like limestone, gypsum, sand stone, dolomite, calcite, silica sand, marble, etc. and fossil fuels such as crude oil, oil shale, sand tar, coal and natural gas are other natural resources in dryland areas. Systematic and planned mining operations, suitable site selection for waste disposal, proper exploration and utilization of these resources would help in socio-economic development of the dryland areas.
