Growing up in an arid region of Rajasthan, Sundaram realized the value of agroforestry plantations. The survival rate in arid and semi-arid regions sapling is just 35%. The agroforestry in the dryland region augments farmers’ income and induces climate resilience. The dryland agroforestry technique by Sundaram Verma involves plowing the field up to one foot deep before the rains. The field is planked and pressed to break the capillaries after the rain. The rainwater has charged the soil, so it cannot evaporate easily. A 6 ft deep pit is made to sow the seeds, which are then covered with soil and water (one liter) in October-November. The idea behind this is that these trees will have to send roots deeper as there is no moisture in the upper layer of soil like in monsoon. This technique utilizes just 1 l of water; it is the best-suited method for water conservation in arid and semi-arid regions, along with avenues of agroforestry landing to land management and revenue generation. Apart from this amazing innovation, he pursued many other advancements in rainwater conservation in farming and evaluating crop varieties from Chili, mung beans, chickpeas, cluster beans, etc. In 2021, he was honored with Padmashree, among countless other awards.
