LAND RESOURCE INVENTORY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS FOR WATERSHED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT KESALAPURA-1 (4D4A2Q1e) MICRO WATERSHED Alavandi Hobli, Koppal Taluk and District, Karnataka

Abstract

The land resource inventory of Kesalapura-1 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 575 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 96 per cent is covered by soils and 4 per cent by habitation and water bodies, settlements and others. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 12 soil series and 18 soil phases (management units) and 5 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is <90 days and starts from 2nd week of August to 2nd week of November.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 320 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing 31 major agricultural and horticultural crops were assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  Entire area is suitable for agriculture.  About 15 per cent of the soils are moderately shallow (50-75 cm), 43 per cent of the soils are moderately deep (75-100 cm), 21 per cent area has deep (100-150 cm) and 17 per cent area has very deep (>150 cm) soils.  An area of about 55 per cent has loamy soils and 41 per cent has clayey soils at the surface.  About 42 per cent of the area has non-gravelly (<15%) soils, 44 per cent gravelly (15-35% gravel) and 10 per cent very gravelly (35-60%) soils.  About 24 per cent are very low (<50 mm/m), 20 per cent low (51-100 mm/m), 36 per cent medium (101-150 mm/m), 15 per cent high (151-200 mm/m) and 2 per cent very high (>200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  About 1 per cent area has nearly level (0-1%) and 95 per cent area has very gently sloping (1-3%) lands.  An area of about 37 per cent has soils that are slightly eroded (e1) and 59 per cent moderately eroded (e2) lands.  An area of about 61 per cent are moderately alkaline (pH pH 7.8-8.4), 29 per cent are strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0) and 5 per cent are very strongly alkaline (pH >9.0) in soil reaction.  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils is <2 dS m-1 and as such the soils are non-saline.  Organic carbon is low (<0.5%) in 18 per cent, medium (0.5-0.75%) in 70 per cent and high (>0.75%) in 8 per cent area of the soils.  Available phosphorus is medium (23-57 kg/ha) in the entire area of the microwatershed.  About 96 per cent are medium (145-337 kg/ha) and <1 per cent soils are high (>337 kg/ha) in available potassium content.  Available sulphur is low (<10 ppm) in 94 per cent and medium (10-20 ppm) in 2 per cent in the microwatershed.  Available boron is low (0.5 ppm) in about 2 per cent, medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) in 82 per cent and high (>1.0 ppm) in 12 per cent area.  Available iron is deficient (<4.5 ppm) in the entire area of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in 6 per cent and sufficient (>0.6 ppm) in about 90 per cent area.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 31 major agricultural and horticultural crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 192 (33) 227 (39) Sapota 123 (21) 224 (39) Maize 85 (15) 333 (58) Pomegranate 123 (21) 282 (49) Bajra 266 (46) 226 (39) Musambi 132 (23) 273 (47) Groundnut 38 (7) 457 (80) Lime 132 (23) 320 (56) Sunflower 132 (23) 273 (47) Amla 300 (52) 252 (44) Red gram 123 (21) 234 (41) Cashew 99 (17) 286 (50) Bengalgram 10 (2) 435 (76) Jackfruit 123 (21) 272 (47) Cotton 96 (17) 323 (56) Jamun 86 (15) 356 (62) Chilli 219 (38) 153 (27) Custard apple 300 (52) 252 (44) Tomato 219 (38) 153 (27) Tamarind 86 (15) 119 (21) Brinjal 204 (36) 212 (37) Mulberry 147 (26) 307 (53) Onion 61 (11) 298 (52) Marigold 123 (21) 296 (52) Bhendi 61 (11) 355 (62) Chrysanthemum 123 (21) 296 (52) Drumstick 147 (26) 221 (39) Jasmine 123 (21) 239 (42) Mango 86 (15) 62 (11) Crossandra 123 (21) 239 (42) Guava 74 (13) 320 (56)  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 5 identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops that helps in maintaining productivity and ecological balance in the microwatershed.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. SALIENT FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY  The data indicated that there were 82 (50.31%) men and 81 (49.69%) women among the sampled households.  The average family size of landless farmers’ was 4.67, marginal farmers’ was 5.71, small farmers’ was 6.29, semi medium farmers’ was 4.40, medium farmers’ was 4 and large farmers’ was 5.  The data indicated that, 30 (18.40%) people were in 0-15 years of age, 71 (43.56%) were in 16-35 years of age, 44 (26.99%) were in 36-60 years of age and 18 (11.04%) were above 61 years of age.  The results indicated that Kesalapura-1 had 20.86 per cent illiterates, 36.81 per cent of them had primary school education, 9.82 per cent of them had middle school education, 20.25 per cent of them had high school education, 4.91 per cent of them had PUC education, 0.61 per cent of them did ITI, 4.29 per cent of them had degree education and 0.61 per cent did Maters.  The results indicate that, 84.38 per cent of households were practicing agriculture, 12.50 per cent of the households were agricultural labourers and 3.13 per cent were in government service.  The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 62.58 per cent of the household members, 14.72 per cent were agricultural laborers, 0.61 per cent was in government service, 20.25 per cent were students, 1.23 per cent were children and 0.61 per cent were housewives.  The results show that 99.39 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has not participated in any local institutions and only 0.61 per cent have participated in raitha sangha.  The results indicate that 3.13 per cent of the households possess thatched house, 71.88 per cent of the households possess Katcha house and 25 per cent of the households possess pucca/RCC house.  The results show that 65.63 per cent of the households possess TV, 75 per cent of the households possess Mixer grinder, 12.50 per cent of the households possess bicycle, 65.63 per cent of the households possess motor cycle, 6.25 per cent possess refrigerator, another 6.25 per cent possess car/four wheel and 93.75 per cent of the households possess mobile phones.  The results show that the average value of television was Rs. 2595, mixer grinder was Rs.1362, bicycle was Rs. 12850, motor cycle was Rs.33272, refrigerator was Rs.13500, car/wheeler was Rs.150000 and mobile phone was Rs.1264.  About 6.25 per cent of the households possess bullock cart, 21.88 per cent of the households possess plough, 3.13 per cent of them possess seed/fertilizer drill, 9.38 per cent of them possess power tiller, 37.50 per cent of them possess tractor, 37.50 per cent of them possess sprayer, 9.38 per cent of them possess sprinkler, 12.50 per 2 cent possess harvester, 50 per cent of them possess chaff cutter, 18.75 per cent of them possess earth remover/duster and 71.88 per cent of them possess weeder.  The results show that the average value of bullock cart was Rs.16500, the average value of plough was Rs.823, seed/fertilizer drill was Rs.25000, irrigation pump was Rs.21250, power tiller was Rs.15000, tractor was Rs.296000, the average value of sprayer was Rs.1900, weeder was Rs.24, harvester was Rs.13333, earth remover/duster was Rs.19500 and chaff cutter was Rs.817.  The results indicate that, 21.88 per cent of the households possess bullocks, crossbred cow and buffalo. About 43.75 per cent of the households possess local cow and 18.75 per cent of the households possess poultry birds.  The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 2.07, average own labour (women) available was 1.93, average hired labour (men) available was 7.79 and average hired labour (women) available was 7.36.  The results indicate that, 87.50 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was adequate.  The results indicate that, households of the Kesalapura-1 micro-watershed possess 24.74 ha (45.42%) of dry land and 29.73 ha (54.58%) of irrigated land. Marginal farmers possess 3.04 ha (70.92%) of dry land and 1.25 ha (29.08%). Small farmers possess 4.3 ha (57.97%) of dry land and 3.12 ha (42.03%) of irrigated land. Semi medium farmers possess 2.83 ha (17.02%) of dry land and 13.81 per cent (82.98%) of irrigated land. Medium farmers possess 1.62 ha (12.29%) dry land and 11.56 (87.71%) of irrigated land. Large farmers possess 12.95 ha (100%) of dry land.  The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 187078 and average value of irrigated land was Rs. 416878. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 526232 for dry land and Rs. 1443506 for irrigated land. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 146525 for dry land and was Rs. 737792 for irrigated land. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 211714 for dry land and Rs. 419748 for irrigated land. In case of medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 370500 for dry land and Rs. 216211 for irrigated land. In case of large farmers, the average land value for dry land was Rs. 92625.  The results indicate that, there were 20 functioning bore wells in the micro watershed.  The results indicate that, bore well was the major irrigation source in the micro water shed for 62.50 per cent of the farmers.  The results indicate that, the depth of bore well was found to be 44.10 meters.  The results indicate that, marginal, small, semi medium and medium farmers had irrigated area of 1.21 ha, 7.65 ha, 12.01 ha and 11.48 ha respectively. 3  The results indicate that, farmers have grown sugarcane (15.91 ha), groundnut (4.45 ha), maize (7.03 ha), sunflower (2.86 ha), pearlmillet (5.19 ha), bengalgram (2.05 ha), chilly (1.21 ha), cotton (0.4 ha), mulberry (0.03 ha) and jowar (0.4 ha).  Marginal farmers have grown sugarcane, maize, sunflower, pearlmillet, bengalgram, jowar and mulberry. Small farmers have grown sugarcane, maize, groundnut, sunflower, pearlmillet, groundnut and cotton. Semi medium farmers have grown sugarcane, maize, bajra, pearlmillet, bengalgram and chilly. Medium farmers have grown sugarcane, maize, groundnut, sunflower and chilly. Large farmers have grown bajra only.  The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Kesalapura-1 micro-watershed was found to be 72.08 per cent. In case of marginal farmers it was 92.48 per cent, small farmers it was 94.18 per cent, in case of semi medium farmers it was 74.11, medium farmers it was 62.52 per cent and in case of large farmers it was 50 per cent.  The results indicate that, 46.88 per cent of the households have bank account.  The results indicate that, 46.88 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for sugarcane was Rs. 60569.99. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 525781.85. The net income from sugarcane cultivation was Rs. 465211.86. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:8.68.  The total cost of cultivation for groundnut was Rs. 42208.67. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 102827.47. The net income from groundnut cultivation was Rs. 60618.81. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.44.  The total cost of cultivation for maize was Rs. 43481.62. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 54611.46. The net income from maize cultivation was Rs. 11129.85. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.26.  The total cost of cultivation for bajra was Rs. 19721.25. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 22622.75. The net income from bajra cultivation was Rs. 2901.51. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.15.  The total cost of cultivation for Jowar was Rs. 61598.57. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 55328. The net income from Jowar cultivation was Rs. - 6270.57. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:0.9.  The total cost of cultivation for chilly was Rs. 223901.85. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 322643.75. The net income from chilly cultivation was Rs. 98741.90. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.44.  The total cost of cultivation for Bengalgram was Rs. 52147.87. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 97556.48. The net income from Bengalgram cultivation was Rs. 45408.62. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.87. 4  The total cost of cultivation for Sunflower was Rs. 32268.06. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 64321.25. The net income from Sunflower cultivation was Rs. 32053.20. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.99.  The total cost of cultivation for Mulberry was Rs. 849677.77. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 2161250.05. The net income from Mulberry cultivation was Rs. 1311572.28. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.54.  the total cost of cultivation for cotton was Rs. 48650.76. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 118560. The net income from cotton cultivation was Rs. 69909.24. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.44.  The results indicate that, 65.63 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 40.63 per cent opined that green fodder was adequate.  The results indicate that the average annual gross income was Rs. 37667 for landless farmers, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 181857, for small farmers it was Rs. 118516, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 225550, for medium farmers it was Rs. 355000 and for large farmers it was Rs.120000.  The results indicate that the average annual expenditure is Rs. 33462. For landless households it was Rs. 6889, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 68184, for small farmers it was Rs. 16335, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 16350, for medium farmers it was Rs. 58750 and for large farmers it was Rs.60000.  The results indicate that, households have planted 69 coconut trees, 2 lemon trees, 2 lime trees and 7 mango trees in the field and 8 coconut trees in the backyard.  The results indicate that, households have planted 75 neem tree, 1 banyan tree and 29 teak trees in their fields.  The results indicated that, cotton, maize, mulberry, sugarcane and sunflower were sold to the extent of 100 per cent. Bajra was sold to the extent of 86.67 per cent, Bengal gram to the extent of 54.55 per cent, chilly to the extent of 94.29 per cent, groundnut to the extent of 52.38 per cent and jowar was sold to the extent of 68.75 per cent.  The results indicated that, about 18.75 per cent of the famers have sold their produce in regulated markets, 53.13 per cent of the farmers have sold to local/village merchants and another 53.13 per cent of the farmers have sold to agents/traders.  The results indicated that, 87.50 per cent of the households have used tractor, 25 per cent of the households have used cart, 9.38 per cent of the households have used truck and 3.13 per cent have carried head loads as a mode of transportation for their agricultural produce.  The results indicated that, 46.88 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm i.e., 71.43 per cent of the marginal farmers, 28.5 per cent of the small farmers, 40 per cent of semi medium farmers and 75 per cent of medium farmers and 100 per cent of large farmers have experienced soil and water erosion problems. 5  The results indicated that, 50 per cent have shown interest in soil test.  The results indicated that, 53.13 per cent of the households used firewood and 46.88 per cent have used LPG as a source of fuel.  The results indicated that, bore well was the major source of drinking water for 34.38 per cent of the households and piped supply was the source of drinking water for 59.38 per cent of the households in the micro watershed.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100 per cent of the households in micro watershed.  The results indicated that, 43.75 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet.  The results indicated that, 90.63 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL card and 9.38 per cent of the households did not possess any PDS cards.  The results indicated that, 46.88 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme.  The results indicated that, cereals were adequate for 100 per cent of the households, pulses were adequate for 62.50 per cent, oilseeds were adequate for 68.75 per cent, vegetables were adequate for 62.50 per cent, fruits were adequate for 6.25 per cent, milk was adequate for 90.63 per cent, eggs were adequate for 56.25 per cent and meat were adequate for 46.88 per cent.  The results indicated that, pulses were inadequate for 37.50 per cent of the households, oilseeds were inadequate for 31.25 per cent, vegetables were inadequate for 37.50 per cent, fruits were inadequate for 53.13 per cent, eggs were inadequate for 28.13 per cent, milk was inadequate for 9.38 per cent of the households and meat was inadequate for 37.50 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the soil was the constraint experienced by 50 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (59.38%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (71.88%), inadequacy of irrigation water (31.25%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (84.38%), high rate of interest on credit (71.88%), low price for the agricultural commodities (43.75%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (65.63%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (43.75%), inadequate extension services (9.38%), less rainfall (53.13%) and source of agri-technology information (15.63%).