Incentives for Soil and Water Conservation on Farm in Ravines of Gujarat: Policy Implications for Future Adoption

The issue of incentives has been studied for the adoption of soil and water conservation in the ravines of Gujarat in the context of holistic development of small and marginal farms and their profitability. It is hypothesized that poor economic condition of farmers impedes their ability to make large-scale investment in conservation agriculture, in general and improvement of land, in particular. The study is based on two groups of farms- with and without conservation history. The results have substantiated the argument that under the present price scenario, farm profitability makes the marginal farms susceptible to a vicious poverty circle. The input and output prices prevailing in the region do not favour the farming enterprise. Thus, this policy variable would have little impact on farm profitability and the incentive to adopt conservation on farm. Hence, such farms need an initial dose of state help. This fact has been clearly brought out in the study area. The farms benefiting from past conservation programme of the state government have done better than those who were deprived of it. The former group of farms has been able to lease-in better piece of land and take cash crop to raise their profit level. This has positively affected their investment decisions. While land tenure has shown weak relation with decision of farm investment, farmers’ credit worthiness might play a greater role in helping adoption of conservation on farm. Thus, financial inclusion of these marginal farms could be an important incentive policy variable for adoption of conservation measures in this region.Soil and water conservation, conservation agriculture, credit worthiness, land tenure, farm investment, Gujarat ravines, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q25, Q28,

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Head, Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Vasad, District- Anand, GujaratNot AvailableNot Availabl

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Not AvailableCollective action and institutions govern the management of Community Based Water Storage structures (CBWS) and thereby, policy intervention in resolving the issues of management. Institutional factors not only have a direct bearing on the functioning of CBWS but also often interact with physical and technical factors to influence their sustainability. The present study has examined these issues with a framework where CBWS sustainability is taken as a function of two components, financial condition and functionality of resource to draw policy implications in Indian context. The study brought out factors such as Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) functionality, perception about change in water collection time and number of households served by the water resource significantly affecting financial viability of CBWS. The resource functionality was found to be significantly affected by factors like accessibility and use restriction with respect to the CBWS. PRI functionality was observed to be poor for want of proper representation of weaker section of rural poor in general and women in particular. These primarily are most affected by water resource management. PRI functionality in respect of community resource management, therefore, needs to be genuinely addressed. Technical factors such as catchment land use and storage to catchment ratio, which affected operational status of the source, are critical while designing location and size of the water resource such as pond.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableWith the government's initiatives, about resolving water issues, over time the community water storage structures have been losing their due importance. Nonetheless, these still play a role in meeting water demand of rural people. This is particularly so in villages where government source such as Narmada water supply has not yet over taken the community resource on a large scale. These community sources not only meet animal water and supplementary irrigation needs but also some non-cooking non-drinking water needs of the poor segment of rural society. Field surveys were conducted to assess the people's dependency, benefits drawn and their distribution across the socio-economic strata of rural society. The average household benefit drawn from these sources was estimated to be varying between -1 -1 ` 1,122 to `1,559 Hh annum (2010-11 prices). The direct contribution of CPWR on agricultural returns varied from 30% to 60% in some villages. Similarly, the water productivity -3 -3 in crop and livestock production varied between ` 1.3 to ` 9.5 m and ` 1.6 to ` 14.3 m , respectively in different villages surveyed. The gross benefits was estimated to be between ` 0.08 million to ` 3.34 million across the community water storage structures surveyed. An attempt was made to examine the institutions managing the community owned water storage structures. Poor representation of weaker sections in water management bodies and gender discrimination in community water resources decision making observed to have weakened the institutional mechanism. The panchayat/ water user associations need to be revived with bigger roles for these groups as the latter largely bear the brunt of water constraints. Strengthened institutions being a panacea for efficient resource management, technical design and scientific planning in creating/maintaining water resources, nevertheless, would go a long way in serving the rural community efficiently as these factors not only affected the ponds' functionality and financial viability but also people's perception about resource utility and efficiency in service delivery. There is, therefore, a need to create management systems where the formal decisionmakers such as PRI/ water user association interact with relevant members of the scientific community, users and other stakeholders for a coordinated approach that successfully orchestrates water uses towards hydro-geological and socio-cultural compatibility. Water st resources management in the 21 century requires a radical reorientation and an effective dialogue between decision-makers, stakeholders and the scientific water community. In view of the observations made during the course of the study, some of the interventions in the management of community water storage structures are as under: iv v List of Plates Summary 1 Village pond and Sim Talav 7 2 A profile of community based water storage structures 11 (community ponds and check dams) studied 3 Animal dependence on community village pond 12 4 Water lifted from community check dam for supplementary irrigation 12 5 Water table in open well in vicinity of pond 15 6 Domestic uses - Community check dam 17 7 Hydrologic information of selected ponds 18 8 Community ponds for commercial enterprises such as fishery 34 9 Maintenance status of community check dams at the time of survey 37 10 Different uses of community water storage structures 38 Plate Description Page No. Introduction Common Property Water Resources (CPWRs) are water bodies which are managed by rural community for distribution of water benefits to locals. These village surface water bodies are small water-storing structures, with rain water accumulating in low lying areas of various depths, having a catchment and slope where water is collected during the monsoon period and are basically meant for catering to the domestic water needs of the village community. These are good source of water, particularly in areas that receive low rainfall and where livelihood is mainly based on rain-fed agriculture. These resources play a vital role in providing income and employment to rural people in many different ways. The degradation of these resources has a direct negative impact on the livelihoods of the poor. At the same time their degradation also poses serious environmental problems to the society and country at large in the long run. Preserving these resources, therefore, paves the way for long lasting local solutions to livelihood issues. Equity and management aspects of utilization of CPWR have considerable social relevance in the changing paradigm of people's participation in the management of common property resources. While the problem of equity is common to all common property resources, this is more so in case of water, particularly groundwater. In the case of groundwater the emerging technology-driven scenario, such as Tube Wells, in the agriculture sector contains altogether different challenges and implications for the traditional institutional arrangements for sharing of and caring for the CPWRs.Beinginnumerableandvariableinsize,theylendthemselvestodecentralizedmanagement. Water has been regarded as a gift of nature to fulfill the basic needs for survival in the rural localities, irrespective of the existing social diversities. Water needs in villages are common and, therefore, water is seen as a common resource with universal rights to users. The water management traditions in rural India are followed within small-scale village communities. While certain needs such as drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning and bathing are common to all, those pertaining to certain productive purposes have traditionally been defined by ownership of assets. The land owning agricultural community uses water for irrigation, others like potters, washer men and cattle herders use it for specialized livelihoods. Historically, the common property resources have been well managed as a part of the traditional socio-cultural wisdom of the local people. Village surface water bodies, locally known as Johad, Poker, Kund, or Talab, are small water-storing structures basically meant for catering to the domestic water needs of the village community. These water bodies are the common property resource (CPR) with the basic philosophy of water for everybody in the rural setting. Tanks, similarly, are one of the oldest sources of irrigation in India. There are many WaterManagement Traditions in India 1 1 Emphasis on pond siltation through utilization of state government's de-siltation scheme managed by Gujarat State Land Development Corporation on regular basis. 2 Allowing surplus water in ponds, where available, for limited irrigation use. 3 Strengthening community resource governance to avoid over exploitation of resource in such cases. 4 Community ponds with sufficient water for a longer period during the year may be encouraged for commercial enterprises such as fishery to improve financial condition of panchayat managing them. 5 Improving participation of women and weaker section of rural community in the management of community water resource as these groups were observed to have high stake but poor representation in resource management. 6 Motivation of elected body's members, who manage Community Based Water Storage Structures, through sustained campaign to manage the community resources, is strongly emphasized. A lack of interest among executive members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI)/Water User Association (WUA) towards community water resource was observed during survey. 7 Involvement of Panchayat administration at higher levels, such as taluka and district, may be emphasized to ensure regular working of community water management bodies, sound fund availability and its management.Not Availabl

Incentives for Soil and Water Conservation on Farm in Ravines of Gujarat: Policy Implications for Future Adoption

The issue of incentives has been studied for the adoption of soil and water conservation in the ravines of Gujarat in the context of holistic development of small and marginal farms and their profitability. It is hypothesized that poor economic condition of farmers impedes their ability to make large-scale investment in conservation agriculture, in general and improvement of land, in particular. The study is based on two groups of farms- with and without conservation history. The results have substantiated the argument that under the present price scenario, farm profitability makes the marginal farms susceptible to a vicious poverty circle. The input and output prices prevailing in the region do not favour the farming enterprise. Thus, this policy variable would have little impact on farm profitability and the incentive to adopt conservation on farm. Hence, such farms need an initial dose of state help. This fact has been clearly brought out in the study area. The farms benefiting from past conservation programme of the state government have done better than those who were deprived of it. The former group of farms has been able to lease-in better piece of land and take cash crop to raise their profit level. This has positively affected their investment decisions. While land tenure has shown weak relation with decision of farm investment, farmers’ credit worthiness might play a greater role in helping adoption of conservation on farm. Thus, financial inclusion of these marginal farms could be an important incentive policy variable for adoption of conservation measures in this region

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Not AvailableThe action research study on non-formal trainings to needy farmers was carried out during 2003 to 2006 in villages of Mahi ravine area under Anand and Baroda districts of Gujarat state with the objective to increase the knowledge and adoption behaviour towards Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) technologies for ravine reclamation. The pre-training status of farmers regarding knowledge, symbolic adoption and adoption was moderate, low and very low level, respectively. Under the study, Target Groups (TGs) of farmers were imparted non-formal trainings on ravine reclamation during 2003-2006 through the selected individual, group and mass contact extension training methods to impart knowledge, skills and motivate farmers about different ravine reclamation SWC technologies for promoting adoption. Consequently, farmers of Mahi ravine area initiated different soil and water conservation practices by their own efforts on their farms. The post-training status of farmers was also evaluated and it was found that the knowledge level of farmers regarding SWC technologies improved from moderate to high level; symbolic adoption increased from low to moderate level; and the actual adoption of soil and water conservation technologies also improved from very low to moderate level. The overall impact of the non-formal trainings on targeted farmers was measured quantitatively with the help of the Training Index (TI) and 30.1% improvement was observed.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThe paper studies groundwater use under optimal and farmer's myopic groundwater extraction scenarios using a simple optimal control framework in semi arid watershed of Gujarat. Implications of this extraction pattern have been examined on the state of groundwater in terms of life of wells. The optimal control solution suggested a three times increase in well life, with an increase of two times in volume of groundwater extracted, increasing thereby, the net present value of benefits from well irrigation by 2.3 times under optimal extraction regime over the existing myopic regime of profit maximization. Sensitivity analysis done for varying potential recharge scenario suggested that these results are stable and marginally increase with higher potential recharge. An optimal extraction with desired change in cropping system and groundwater allocation based on marginal value of water has been suggested as the panacea for falling groundwater table.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTrenching is the most efficient practice for restoration of degraded non-arable lands. Government and various agencies put tremendous efforts and spend lot of money in the rehabilitation of degraded lands by carrying out trenching. Design and layout of trenches under different rainfall conditions involve lot of computation based on watershed information to derive maximum benefit of the technology. However, in the absence of clear guidelines for computation of trench specifications (spacing, cross section and density), desirable results are not achieved from this intervention. Under field conditions wide fluctuations in trench specifications are observed in different regions of the country, due to highly diverse land forms and climatic conditions. A Decision Support System is designed to bridge the knowledge gap between experts and actual field level implementers by helping the user to make decisions for the design and layout of Continuous Contour Trenches (CCT) and Staggered Contour Trenches (SCT) under varied land forms and climatic conditions. The DSS will be of immense importance and of practical use for persons working in State government agencies, NGOs and Forest Departments implementing watershed development programmes.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableBook chapter in "Managing Land Degradation for Enhancing Farm Productivity"Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThe rainfed agriculture is highly inconsistent due to temporal distribution of precipitation during the critical stages of crop growth leading to crop failure. The large spatial and temporal variation in precipitation distribution is observed in central Gujarat (Vaidya et al., 2008). The precipitation in Gujarat varies from 300 mm in the north and north-west to gradually increasing to 2500 mm in the Southern districts (Priyan, 2015). The spatial and temporal variability of precipitation is compounded due to increase in frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events due to global climate change (Ghosh et al., 2012). The analysis of daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal precipitation of a region is useful in designing of water harvesting structure, decision for agricultural operations like field preparation, sowing, irrigation, fertilizer application etc. (Sharma et al., 1979). To optimize agricultural productivity in any region, there is an urgent need to quantify temporal precipitation variability as a first step of combating extreme effects of persistent dry spells and crop failure (Kumar et al., 2014). The weekly water budget indirectly indicates the length of assured moisture availability for growing crops in the region (Singh et al., 2013). Therefore, keeping the above mentioned facts in mind, an attempt is made to analyze the daily precipitation data of sixty years at Vasad for initial, conditional and consecutive dry and wet week probability, weekly precipitation at different probability, monthly, seasonal, annual variations of precipitation and weekly soil water budget for crop planning in central Gujarat.Not Availabl