Determinants of discontinuance of soil and water conservation technologies implemented in watershed management programmes in India

Abstract

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) and its Research Centres have developed many model watersheds in the country and implemented large number of soil and water conservation (SWC) technologies for sustainable watershed management. Though many evaluation studies were conducted on these watershed projects in the past, assessment of discontinuance of the SWC technologies has not been done yet. This research study was conducted during 2012-15, with the specific objective to measure the extent of discontinuance of SWC technologies and also ascertain the factors responsible for discontinuance. Indices of discontinuance of SWC technologies from 38 watersheds revealed that more than one-fourth (27.01%) of SWC technologies were discontinued by farmers of different watersheds. Technologywise data revealed that 11.4% farmers discontinued bunding, 8% farmers discontinued land leveling, 6.5% farmers discontinued terracing, 3% farmers discontinued check dam and 1.3% farmers discontinued pond technologies. Important reasons were costly measures to maintain, regular maintenance requirement, labour constraints and marginal and small land holdings of farmers. Results imply that financial support to poor farmers for repair and maintenance of SWC structures may reduce discontinuance. Adoption of check dam, pond and bunding technologies is more beneficial in medium and large land holdings rather than marginal and small. Making farm equipment available for common use on hiring basis could help in repair and maintenance of SWC structures by overcoming the non-availability of labour.