Low variable rainfall, high financial risk and poor physical and social infrastructure characterise these semi-arid tropics. Some 350 million poor people in 48 developing countries live in these fragile ecosystems on a budget of one US dollar or less a day. While the number of absolute poor living in the irrigated areas of India declined by 20% (from 37 million to 30 million) between 1972 and 1993, the figure has remained fairly constant in the rainfed areas between 75 and 80 million. Improving the productivity of land through sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources requires crop intensification and diversification. These steps are essential to improve the livelihoods of the poor and pull them out of the poverty trap. Watershed development is one viable option to manage the available natural resources sustainably in the rainfed areas.
