Young Cotton Farmers in Odisha Build Village Water Budgets and Digital Maps at Fairtrade NAPP Training

A New Generation Takes on the Village Water Question

Nineteen young farmers from Chetna Organic Agriculture Producer Company, Pratima Agro & Paper, Samaira Development Initiative for Agriculture Producer Company and Maa Bastaren Jaibik Krushak Sangha Producer Company spent two days learning to measure, map and plan the water their villages depend on. The Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (Fairtrade NAPP) organized the training in response to concerns the youth raised themselves: unpredictable rainfall, reliance on groundwater and water shortages at critical crop stages. The activity was co-funded by the European Union under the European Commission Funding Framework Partnership Agreement (EC FFPA).

Water Budgets Drawn Up for Real Villages

Working in groups, the youth estimated how much water households, livestock and crops need, then set this against what rainfall, wells, ponds and check dams supply. Simple Excel calculators turned those figures into village-level water budgets built on one rule- water available minus water demand equals water balance . The exercise led straight to a crop planning question- if a village has limited water, should its cropping pattern stay the same?

"The training program was very informative and helped me develop a better understanding of water resources, water resource planning, and water budgeting."

-Om Priya Khameri, youth member, Pratima Agro & Paper Pvt. Ltd., India

Villages Seen from Above on Bhuvan and India-WRIS

On the second day, the groups located their own villages on Google Earth, Bhuvan and India-WRIS, and marked farms, water bodies, irrigation sources, conservation structures and areas under water stress. These free public platforms give producer organizations a practical way to combine community knowledge with mapped evidence when deciding where recharge measures and water-saving investments are most needed.

Climate-Smart Options Matched to Local Conditions

Starting from changes they had seen in local weather, the youth mapped the climate risks facing their areas, the crops most exposed and the coping methods already in use. Sessions on climate-smart and natural farming covered mulching, crop diversification, soil moisture conservation, pre-monsoon dry sowing, Jeevamrutham (a fermented liquid organic fertilizer and microbial culture) and living compost. The groups agreed that no single package fits every farm: practices have to be affordable, workable and suited to local soil and rainfall.

From Raw Data to Farmer-Friendly Messages

A session on data-driven decisions traced the path from collecting and checking data to analysis, decision and monitoring. The youth then designed digital content around five principles: simple, relevant, visual, local and action-oriented. Short videos, posters and voice messages built this way can carry technical advice to fellow farmers in their own language, a role the youth see for themselves as digital knowledge facilitators within their producer organizations.

Clear Roles for Youth Inside Their Cooperatives

The youth set out where they can contribute: sharing weather information, collecting data on water sources, preparing water budgets and joining producer organization planning committees. Each group drafted a Village Water Action Plan and a 90-day action plan. All material was delivered in English and Hindi, so the plans and tools can be shared easily back home.

"I also gained valuable knowledge about agricultural technologies and how they can contribute to more efficient and sustainable farming practices."

-Om Priya Khameri, youth member, Pratima Agro & Paper Pvt. Ltd., India

Next Stop: 90-Day Plans in the Villages

The Fairtrade NAPP Gender and Youth team, will hold regular virtual follow-up calls as the youth put their plans into practice. Water scarcity and changing rainfall call for more than a two-day training, and the end-of-training assessment marked drinking-water sources as a topic to revisit. Village data collection, mentoring and youth-led knowledge sharing are the next steps named in the training report.

“Learning about Water Mapping, water budgeting and water resources, water technologies and Agriculture technologies was very informative. Overall it was a very well organized program.”

- Akshaya Bag, Maa Bastaren Jaibik Krushak Sangha Producer Company Limited, India