For as long as he can remember, agriculture has sustained 52-year-old Narendra’s family through generations. Over the years, however, it has become more and more difficult to manage farming. “Until some time back, when there is heavy rain, my field would get flooded,” he said. Since the excess, standing water was not good for his crop, he used a pump to flush out the water. “By this time some of the damage to the crop would already be done, and even while pumping out the water, there would be more damage,” the farmer said. Not only would this put a dent in his harvest but the usage of the pump meant additional cost to bear. An intervention by WaterAid India and AB InBev, however, has changed Narendra’s life.
Narendra and his family of four members, including two children, live in Deepalpur in Haryana’s Sonipat district. He is the only earning member, hence the family’s lives are solely dependent on how good their harvest is in a particular year. “Years back we did not face the kind of problems we face today with regard to the weather,” Narendra said. When it rains, it rains so much at times that not just his, but other farmers’ fields also get flooded. In the dry season, the tables turn and they have to put in additional efforts to irrigate their crops.
