Improved conservation techniques
Enhanced awareness and adoption of soil and water conservation practices across all seven project districts.
PMKSY watershed development
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana — a centrally sponsored scheme on which Coodu Trust is entrusted with capacity building and skill enhancement, working with the District Watershed Development Agency across seven districts of Tamil Nadu.
2,408
Participants trained
7
Districts covered
5
Training focus areas
4
Host institutions for exposure visits
The project
What this project set out to do
Project mission
Improve the productive potential of rainfed and degraded lands through an integrated watershed management approach — strengthening community-based institutions and promoting sustainable livelihoods for long-term agricultural sustainability.
The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) is a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at improving the productive potential of rainfed and degraded lands through integrated watershed management. Coodu Trust has been entrusted with the capacity-building and skill-enhancement programmes — not the civil works — and runs them in collaboration with the District Watershed Development Agency. In 2021–22 the programme covered 7 districts: Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Perambalur, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri, with over 2,000 beneficiaries gaining better access to irrigation and water resource management.
Training reaches the people who keep a watershed working after the project team leaves: watershed committee members, farmers and Self-Help Group members — the local stakeholders responsible for the sustainable management of land and water resources in their own villages. A total of 2,408 participants have completed block-level training under the scheme, with the exposure-visit cohorts drawn from Dindigul, Perambalur, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi.
- Community governance
- Soil & water conservation
- Micro-enterprise skills
- Organic practices
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
Committees expected to govern without training
Watershed committees are asked to manage land and water for whole villages — yet most members never receive formal training in governance or conservation.
Our response
Block-level capacity building at scale
2,408 committee members, farmers and SHG members trained — on governance, soil and water conservation, agri micro-enterprises, vermicomposting and organic farming, and micro-irrigation.
The challenge
Techniques that stay in the classroom
Lecture-only training rarely changes practice in the field — farmers need to see modern cropping and water management working first-hand.
Our response
Exposure visits to leading institutions
Training-cum-exposure visits to KVK Gandhigram, TNAU Coimbatore, TNAU Killikulam and Horticulture College Periyakulam put working practices in front of participants.
At a glance
The essentials
- Scheme
- PMKSYPradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana — centrally sponsored
- Period
- 2021–2025Recorded in the 2021–22, 2023–24 and 2024–25 annual reports — still running
- Coverage
- 7 districtsDindigul, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Perambalur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri (2021–22). Exposure-visit cohorts drawn from Dindigul, Perambalur, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi.
- Beneficiaries
- 2,408 trainedWatershed committee members, farmers & SHG members. Over 2,000 beneficiaries with improved irrigation access were reported in 2021–22.
- Our role
- Capacity building & trainingEntrusted with capacity-building and skill-enhancement programmes with the District Watershed Development Agency; exposure visits hosted by KVK Gandhigram, TNAU Coimbatore, TNAU Killikulam & Horticulture College Periyakulam
- Part of
- Watershed portfolioOne of 6 government watershed programmes worked on since 2001
Outcomes
What the project changed
Strengthened communities
Empowered watershed committees now lead resource management in their own villages — governance that outlasts the project.
Economic opportunities
New livelihood pathways opened through agriculture micro-enterprises and sustainable farming practices.
Get involved
Support watershed development
Join us in implementing watershed projects that strengthen communities, improve agricultural sustainability and enhance water security across Tamil Nadu.