ABSTRACT
Globally rainfed agriculture is very important as 80% of the world’s agricultural land area is rainfed and generates 58% of the world’s staple foods (SIWI 2001). Most food for poor communities in the developing countries is produced in rainfed areas; for example, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) more than 95% of the farm land is rainfed, while the corresponding figure for Latin America is almost 90%, for South Asia about 60%, for East Asia 65%, and for Near East and North Africa 75%. In India, 66% of 142 million ha arable land is rainfed.
