In Chhatwan village of Tikari block in Gaya district, 60-year-old farmer Awadhesh Manjhi is irrigating his wheat field along with his 12-year-old grandson. Carrying food from home, he spends the day in the field. While eating lunch beside his crop, he says, “Farming has now become completely dependent on motor pumps. Those who own one can manage farming properly, but poor farmers like us are left at God’s mercy.”
Awadhesh owns less than one bigha of land. “Installing a motor pump costs around Rs 1.5 lakh. If I had 5-10 bighas, I could have taken a loan somehow. But in the current situation, no one will lend me money. So I have to pay others to irrigate our fields using their pumps. Sometimes, even timely irrigation is not available,” he says.
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Across most districts of South Bihar, wheat, mustard and gram crops are currently standing healthy in the fields and are close to harvest. Farmers fear that intense wind activity or unseasonal rainfall at this stage could damage the crop.
Every farmer is grappling with the impact of climate change and shifting weather patterns, but the worst-hit are those who lack access to irrigation facilities.
Earlier, villages relied on traditional irrigation systems such as Ahar, Pokhar and Pyen. Rainwater would collect in these reservoirs and gradually flow into the fields. But this system has weakened over time. Awadhesh recalls, “Earlier, even by using a ‘chaad’, water could be lifted into the fields, and rains also arrived on time. But things have changed over the past few years.”
A chaad is a tin container tied with ropes on both sides, traditionally used in villages to manually lift water from ponds or reservoirs into agricultural fields.
Another farmer from Awadhesh’s village, Pradeep Sharma, says, “Earlier, irrigating one bigha of paddy required diesel worth Rs 250-300 because fuel was cheaper. Now there’s a fixed electricity charge. During one paddy season, we have to pay Rs 7,000-8,000 to the Bijli Office. Once the connection is fixed, the payment has to be made whether it rains or not.”
Farmer Mahesh Kumar adds that those who own pumps often irrigate others’ fields on contract, charging around Rs 2,000 per bigha in a season, sometimes more or less. “Even if it rains, one has to pay the full amount,” he says.
Historically, this region has always received low rainfall, which is why the Ahar-pyen irrigation system evolved here centuries ago. The system was designed to collect rainwater and floodwater to ensure irrigation and drinking water supply. Historians believe the Ahar-Pyen system existed even during the time of the Buddha. References to Ahar also appear in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Greek traveller Megasthenes, who visited India during Chandragupta Maurya’s reign, also documented the presence of the Ahar-Pyen system in South Bihar.
Data shows that in 1930, around 9,40,000 hectares of farmland in South Bihar were irrigated through the Ahar-Pyen network. By 1997, this had declined drastically to around 5,30,000 hectares.
From Drought to Sudden Heavy Rainfall
Gaya district lies in South Bihar, a region that traditionally receives below-average monsoon rainfall. As a result, large parts of the area frequently face drought-like situations.
Recent trends show increasing instability in rainfall patterns. Falling groundwater levels, delayed monsoons, sudden downpours, lightning incidents and strong winds all point toward the growing impact of climate change.
Last year (2025), sudden intense rainfall across Gaya, Aurangabad, Patna and other Magadh region districts caused water levels in rivers such as the Falgu and North Koel to rise sharply. According to the Bihar Water Resources Department, the discharge level of the Falgu river in Gaya increased from 5,693 cusecs to 97,763 cusecs during that period, highlighting the intensity of rainfall.
According to the Meteorological Department, Dobhi area in Gaya district recorded 82.4 mm rainfall within just 24 hours, while Konch block received 57.8 mm rainfall. Last Year (2025) the IMD repeatedly issued alerts for heavy rainfall and wind speeds of 30-40 kmph in Gaya, Aurangabad and Rohtas districts.
A study published in the Groundwater for Sustainable Development journal found significant changes in rainfall and temperature patterns in South Bihar between 1958 and 2019. During this period, average temperatures rose by nearly 0.5 degrees Celsius, while monsoon rainfall became increasingly erratic. The study also reported a water deficit of over 600 mm in both surface and groundwater systems across the region, putting additional pressure on agriculture and water resources.
Rainfall is now concentrated within fewer days but in much larger quantities. Long dry spells are followed by sudden episodes of intense rainfall. Government data supports this trend. Last year, Gaya district recorded rainfall far above average within just a few rainy days.
Professor Hemant Kumar Singh from the Department of Agriculture at the Central University of South Bihar says, “Over the last few years, the monsoon in South Bihar including Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Nalanda and Rohtas has become increasingly irregular and unstable. There are prolonged dry spells followed by excessive rainfall within a short duration. In several recent years, total monsoon rainfall remained 25-50 percent below normal. In the last decade, Bihar has recorded below-normal rainfall in seven years. The number of rainy days is declining, while incidents of intense rainfall within short periods are increasing.”
Such extreme weather events are becoming a growing challenge for farmers. Sometimes fields remain dry for long periods, while at other times sudden flooding damages crops. Every year, hundreds of farmers suffer losses because of these unpredictable conditions.
Rising Costs, Falling Returns
Awadhesh says paddy cultivation has become especially difficult because the crop requires continuous irrigation.
“Paddy needs a lot of water. Two or three rounds of irrigation are not enough. Farmers without motor pumps have only two choices: either depend on God or pay someone else for irrigation. But even that has become expensive now,” he says.
Farmer Pradeep Sharma from Chiraili village in Gaya district is also struggling with the rising cost of cultivation. He owns around eight bighas of land and says farming once brought decent savings, but expenses have increased sharply over the years. “Now all the money goes into ploughing, irrigation, transplantation, labour wages, fertilisers and seeds,” he says.
Pradeep says irrigation was not such a major concern during paddy cultivation earlier. “One or two rounds of irrigation were enough, and the rest depended on rainfall. But now farming without a motor pump has become nearly impossible.”
Although he has installed a motor pump for his fields, irrigation still remains a challenge because his farmland is scattered across different locations.
Professor Hemant also believes that the traditional paddy-wheat cropping cycle is no longer as stable as it once was. “Paddy transplantation usually takes place between mid-June and July. When the early monsoon remains weak, nurseries dry up and transplantation gets delayed. In several years, farmers could cultivate paddy on less land than planned,” he says.
“After the paddy harvest, low moisture in the soil affects rabi sowing. Rising temperatures also lead to smaller and lighter wheat grains, reducing productivity. Irregular rainfall and increasing heat have directly affected both crop yield and cultivation costs,” he adds.
The story of 55-year-old Rajkumari Devi from Konch block also reflects the double burden of rising costs and changing weather patterns. She owns around six bighas of farmland and lives with her husband, three sons and two daughters.
Earlier, the family used to work together on the farm and managed household expenses through farming. But over the years, Farming became increasingly difficult due to erratic weather and rising costs. Despite months of hard work, farming income remained very low. Later, two of her sons migrated to other cities for work, but one died in an accident.
“Now both my sons stay at home. We are afraid to send them outside for work again,” she says Rajkumari’s family has leased out a part of their land, which helped them arrange some money. With that, her sons opened small shops in a nearby market.
“This is better than farming. They earn Rs 500-800 daily from the shop, and whatever crops we grow on the remaining land is enough for household consumption,” she says.
Climate change has not only changed farming practices but has also transformed the lives of farmers in rural Bihar. Many people now see daily wage work as a more reliable option than farming, as cultivation costs have increased sharply over the years.
Over the last few years, In most parts of Gaya and South Bihar, installing electric motor pumps has now become almost essential for farming. Farmers who have little land and those who have good land both are struggling with changing agricultural conditions and rising expenses.
As surface water sources continue to weaken, farming is increasingly dependent on groundwater. This trend is visible across large parts of South Bihar. Studies show that over the last three decades, farmers’ dependence on groundwater has grown alongside increasing uncertainty in the monsoon.
In areas like Gaya, excessive groundwater extraction has also led to falling water levels in many places. Under these conditions, electric motor pumps have become the farmers’ primary support system. Those who own pumps but for marginal farmers,
Those who own pumps somehow manage irrigation, but for marginal farmers, it remains an expensive option.
Traditional Water Resources Seen as th Only Sustainable Solution
According to a report prepared jointly by the Gaya administration and Asar Foundation, farming in South Bihar could become even more difficult in the coming years if traditional water systems such as Ahar, Pokhar and Pyen canals are not revived.
The Ahar-Pyen system is a nearly 2,000-year-old water management practice in Bihar. Under this system, rainwater or floodwater is channelled through small canals called Pyen and stored in Ahars- reservoirs surrounded by earthen embankments. The stored water is then used to irrigate both kharif and rabi crops.
Recognising the importance of this traditional system, the Bihar government has launched a campaign under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali scheme to restore damaged water bodies across districts.
Munna Jha, Director of State Climate Action (Bihar-Jharkhand) at Asar Foundation, says, “Earlier, farmers in many parts of Bihar depended mainly on rainfall and traditional irrigation systems. But over the years, these systems have been destroyed in different ways, some dried up due to declining rainfall, while others were encroached because of land disputes. Bihar already has limited land compared to its population, so people often occupy dried-up ponds and reservoirs. This has become a major issue.”
“Many ponds and reservoirs created by the government were filled up or turned into dumping sites for waste, eventually becoming unusable. There is a need for greater public awareness and behavioural change. If that happens, traditional water systems can be revived, which would help maintain groundwater levels and support irrigation for farmers,” he adds.
Professor Hemant also recommends crop diversification alongside restoring traditional water bodies. “If diversification is ignored, the paddy-wheat farming model could become even more unstable in South Bihar.
Potential alternatives include pigeon pea, moong, urad, millet and maize during kharif, and gram, lentils, mustard and linseed during the rabi season. Vegetable and fruit-based farming such as gooseberry, guava and drumstick can also be promoted. These crops require less water while offering better resilience,” he says.
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