The current project is a research- for-development project that investigates the extent to which integrated water resource management can contribute towards alleviating poverty and increasing productivity among small and marginal land holding farm families in a semi-arid agro-climatic zone.    The overall objective of the project is to enhance food and income security of the rural poor in semi-arid agro-climatic zones through investments in integrated and sustainable small-holder water resource management and agriculture.  Its guiding proposition is that non-pesticide management (NPM) agricultural systems which harness pre-organic standard agricultural produce, along with efficient water governance, can provide cost-effective and sustainable solutions to the poverty and productivity problems that persist in those areas.There is persistence rural poverty due to low productivity among small and marginal farms, falling on-farm incomes and opportunities for off-farm employment. The project will explore the details with respect to issues and challenges faced by small and marginal farmers, measures for overcoming the obstacles and lessons learned in future, as the project experiences the challenges during implementation.