Fallowing, and a letter to the Councillor

Fallowing. The old woman's advice has a name in farming: fallowing: leaving land unsown for one or more growing seasons.

Why do it?

• the land gets back its nutrients and holds moisture;
• it breaks the cycle of crop diseases;
• it controls pests, which lose the plants they live on.

It is an old method, used for centuries: a field is divided into two halves, one planted and one left empty, and the halves are swapped the next year.

So Velu's six years without a break were the unusual thing, not the drought.

India's old weather knowledge. Traditional ways of forecasting rain go back a long way. Rain and weather are discussed in the Rigveda, the Shrimad Bhagavad, the Parashara Samhita, Panini's Ashtadhyayi and the Meghmala.

Today, the Agricultural Meteorology Division of the India Meteorological Department helps farmers: it tries to reduce the harm bad weather does to crops, and uses what we know about crops and weather to grow more.

Writing task: a formal letter to the Councillor of your ward about water shortage in your area in summer.

Layout:

• your address, then the date;
• the receiver's title and address ('The Municipal Councillor…');
• a subject line;
• 'Dear Madam,';
• the body;
• 'Yours sincerely,', your signature, and your full name in brackets.

Four paragraphs:

• 1. Point out the problem.
• 2. Give the causes and consequences: what people actually suffer.
• 3. Make your request and give suggestions (for example, rainwater harvesting).
• 4. Conclude.

Keep sentences short and the purpose clear.