LAND RESOURCE INVENTORY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS FOR WATERSHED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT O YADGIR RF-1 (4D2D6D2c) MICROWATERSHED Gurumitkal Hobli, Yadgir Taluk and District, Karnataka

Abstract

The land resource inventory of Yadgir RF1Microwatershed 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 the 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 486 ha in Yadgir taluk & district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 866 mm, of which about 652 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 76 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 335 ha in the microwatershed is covered by soils, 142 ha by forest and 9 ha by others (habitation and water body). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 8 soil series and 11 soil phases (management units) and 4 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 1st week of June to 4th week of October.  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 29 major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  About 69 per cent area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture.  About 5 per cent area is very shallow (<25 cm), 22 per cent area is moderately shallow (50-75 cm) 7 per cent area is moderately deep (75-100 cm) and 35 per cent area of the microwatershed has soils that are deep to very deep (100->150 cm).  About 17 per cent area in the microwatershed has loamy soils and 52 per cent clayey soils at the surface.  About 47 per cent area in the microwatershed is gravelly (15-35%) and 18 per cent is non gravelly (<15%).  About 5 per cent is very low (<50 mm/m) in available water capacity, 22 per cent area is low (51-100 mm/m), 7 per cent is medium (101-150 mm/m) and 35 per cent is very high (>200 mm/m).  About 68 per cent area in the microwatershed has very gently sloping (1-3% slope) lands and 1 per cent has gently sloping (3-5% slope) lands.  An area of about 68 per cent is moderately (e2) eroded and 1 per cent area is severely (e3) eroded.  An area of about 55 per cent is neutral (pH 6.5-7.3) in soil reaction, 14 per cent area is slightly to moderately alkaline (pH 7.3-8.4).  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of entire soils of the microwatershed is dominantly <2 dsm-1indicating that the soils are non-saline.  About 69 per cent area is high (>0.75%) in organic carbon content  An area of about 7 per cent is medium (23-57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus, 17 per cent is high (>57 kg/ha) and 45 per cent area is low (<23 kg/ha) in the microwatershed.  About 69 per cent area is medium (145-337 kg/ha) in available potassium in the microwatershed.  Available sulphur is medium (10-20 ppm) in 42 per cent area and low (<10 ppm) in 27 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available boron is low (<0.5 ppm) in an area of about 2 per cent and medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) in 67 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available iron is sufficient (>4.5 ppm) in the entire cultivated area of the microwatershed.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the cultivated soils of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in an area of 25 per cent and sufficient (>0.6 ppm) in 44 per cent cultivated area of the microwatershed.  The land suitability for 29 major 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 168 (35) 120 (25) Guava - 14 (3) Maize - 288 (59) Sapota - 14 (3) Bajra - 289 (59) Pomegranate - 14 (3) Groundnut - 73 (15) Musambi 166 (34) 17 (3) Sunflower 168 (35) 14(3) Lime 166 (34) 17 (3) Redgram - 183 (38) Amla - 288 (59) Bengal gram 168 (35) 106 (22) Cashew - - Cotton 168 (35) 106 (22) Jackfruit - 14 (3) Chilli - 289 (59) Jamun - 168 (35) Tomato - 286 (59) Custard apple 166 (34) 123 (25) Brinjal 3 (<1) 286 (59) Tamarind - 168 (35) Onion 3 (<1) 120 (25) Mulberry - 14 (3) Bhendi 3 (<1) 286 (59) Marigold - 289 (60) Drumstick - 183 (38) Chrysanthemum - 289 (60) Mango - 3 (<1)  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 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.  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. This would help in not only supplementing the farm income but also provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also contribute to mitigating the climate change. SALIENT FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY  The data indicated that there were 97 (56.4%) men and 75 (43.6%) women among the sampled households.  The average family size of landless farmers’ was 3, marginal farmers’ was 5.09, small farmers’ was 5.16, semi medium farmers’ was 4.66 and medium farmers was Rs.6.  The data indicated that, 31 (19.50 %) people were in 0-15 years of age, 69 (43.40 %) were in 16-35 years of age, 45 (28.30 %) were in 36-60 years of age and 14 (8.81 %) were above 61 years of age.  The results indicated that Yadgir Rf-1 had 50 per cent illiterates, 18.02 per cent of them had primary school education, 0.58 per cent of them had middle school education, 13.37 per cent of them had high school education, 4.07 per cent of them had PUC education, 4.65 per cent of them had diploma, 0.58 per cent of them had ITI and 5.81 per cent had degree education.  The results indicate that, 76.47 per cent of household heads were practicing agriculture and 26.47 per cent of the household heads were agricultural laborer.  The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 37.21 per cent of the household members, 26.16 per cent were agricultural laborers, 3.49 per cent were in private service, 22.09 per cent were students, 6.40 per cent were in housewives and 2.91 per cent were children.  The results show that, 1.16 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has participated in taluk panchayat, 1.74 per cent of the population has not participated in sthree shakthi sangha 97.09 per cent population has not participated in any local institutions.  The results indicate that 5.88 per cent of the households possess thatched house, 70.59 per cent of them possess Katcha house and 29.41 per cent of them possess pucca/RCC house.  The results show that 82.35 per cent of the households possess TV, 41.18 per cent of them possess mixer/grinder, 52.94 per cent of the households possess motor cycle and 82.35 per cent of the households possess mobile phones.  The results show that the average value of television was Rs. 5,892, mixer/grinder was Rs. 2,500, motor cycle was Rs. 49,526, and mobile phone was Rs. 2,424.  About 17.65 per cent of the households possess bullock cart, 29.41 per cent of them possess plough, 2.94 per cent of them possess transplanter/grinder, 5.88 per cent of them possess tractor and harvester, 20.59 per cent of them possess weeder.  The result indicated that the average value of bullock cart was Rs. 24,000, Plough was Rs. 1,700, transplanter/grinder was Rs. 12,000, tractor was Rs.800,000, weeder was Rs. 450 and harvester was Rs. 150. 2  The results indicate that, 35.29 per cent of the households possess bullocks, 8.82 per cent of the households possess local cow, 2.94 per cent of the households possess sheep, 5.88 per cent of the households possess goat and 2.94 per cent of the households possess poultry birds.  The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.58, average own labour (women) available was 1.58, average hired labour (men) available was 10.35 and average hired labour (women) available was 8.59.  The results indicate that, 94.12 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was adequate and 5.88 per cent of the households opined that the labour was inadequate.  The results show that, 4.65 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has migrated. The results show that, average distance of migration was 720 kms and average duration of migration was 10 months.  The results show that, job/wage/work are the main purpose of migration for 100 per cent of the population in micro-watershed.  The results indicate that, households of the Yadgir Rf-1 micro-watershed possess 40.16 ha (91.57%) of dry land and 3.69 ha (8.43%) of irrigated land. Marginal farmers possess 7.73 ha (95.03 %) of dry land and 0.40 ha (4.97%) of irrigated land. Small farmers possess 15.62 ha (90.33%) of dry land and 1.67 ha (9.67%) of irrigated land. Semi medium farmers possess 11.81 ha (87.94%) of dry land and 1.62 ha (12.06%) of irrigated land. Medium farmers possess 5 ha (100%) of dry land.  The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 411,957.07 and the average value of irrigated land was Rs. 649,288.05. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 736,734.69 for dry land and Rs. 1,482,000 for irrigated land. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 409,639.81 for dry land and the average value was Rs. 717,675.52. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 317,535.14 for dry land and the average land value was Rs. 370,500 of irrigated land. In medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 139,886.74 for dry land.  The results indicate that, there were 3 de-functioning and 4 functioning bore well in the micro watershed.  The results indicate that, there were 1 functioning bore well in the micro watershed.  The results indicate that, bore well was the major irrigation source in the micro water-shed for 11.76 per cent of the farmers and open well was the irrigation source in the micro water-shed for 2.94 per cent of the farmers.  The results indicate that, the depth of bore well was found to be 6.81 meters and the depth of open well was found to be 0.27 meters.  The results indicate that marginal and small, semi-medium farmers had an irrigated area of 0.4 ha and 2.43 ha, respectively. 3  The results indicate that, farmers have grown red gram (33.67 ha), jowar (4.96 ha), groundnut (1.62 ha), sorghum (1.34 ha), paddy (1.27 ha) and cotton (1.21 ha).  The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Yadgir Rf-1 micro-watershed was found to be 100 per cent.  The results indicate that, 100 per cent of the households have bank account and 79.41 per cent of the households have savings.  The results indicate that, 76.47 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources.  The results indicate that, 44.44 per cent of the households have borrowed from commercial bank, 11.11 per cent of the households have cooperative, fiends/relatives and moneylender and 100 per cent of the households have grameena bank.  The results indicate that, the average credit amount borrowed by households in micro-watershed was Rs, 179,833.33.  The results indicate that, 100 per cent of the households borrowed from institutional sources for the purpose of agricultural production.  The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households borrowed from private sources for the purpose of agricultural production.  The results indicated that 16.67 per cent of the households did not repay their loan borrowed from institutional sources.  The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households did not repay their loan borrowed from private sources.  The results indicate that, around 9.09 per cent opined that the loan amount borrowed from helped to perform timely agricultural operations.  The results indicate that, around 50 per cent opined that the loan amount was adequate to fulfill the requirement.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for red gram was Rs. 39113.16. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 56381.43. The net income from red gram cultivation was Rs. 17268.26. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.44.  The cost of cultivation for paddy was Rs. 57136.14. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 168377.46. The net income from paddy cultivation was Rs. 111241.32. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.95.  The total cost of cultivation for Groundnut was Rs. 25833.28. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 44460. The net income from Groundnut cultivation was Rs. 18626.72. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.72.  The total cost of cultivation for sorghum was Rs. 27477.74. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 39316.25. The net income from sorghum cultivation was Rs. 11838.50. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.43. 4  The total cost of cultivation for Coconut was Rs. 41867.21. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 82333.33. The net income from Coconut cultivation was Rs. 40466.13. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.97.  The results indicate that, 50 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder and 2.94 per cent of the households opined that green fodder was adequate.  The results indicate that the annual gross income was Rs. 42,666.67 for landless farmers, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 194,045.45, for small farmers it was Rs. 108,030.77, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 151,333.33 and medium farmers it was Rs. 364,000.  The results indicate that the average annual expenditure is Rs. 18,927.24. For landless households it was Rs. 13,000, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 18,158.80, for small farmers it was Rs. 15,398.42, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 19,100 and for medium farmers it was Rs. 90,000.  The results indicate that, sampled households have grown 4 coconut, 14 mango and 2 sapota trees in their field.  The results indicate that, households have planted 4 eucalyptus and banyan, 21 teak, 101 neem, 9 tamarind and 2 acacia trees in their field.  The results indicated that, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 5,882.35 for land development, Rs. 882.35 for irrigation facility and Rs. 676.47 for improved crop production.  The results indicated that own funds was the source of additional investment for 61.76 per cent for land development, 2.94 per cent for irrigation facility and 23.53 per cent improved crop production.  The results indicated that, coconut, groundnut and paddy was sold to the extent of 100 per cent, jowar was sold to the extent of 87.5 per cent, red gram was sold to the extent of 99.53 per cent and sorghum was sold to the extent of 94.29 per cent.  The results indicated that, about 91.18 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to to local/village merchants and 5.88 per cent of them sold in regulated markets.  The results indicated that, 97.06 per cent of the households have used tractor as a mode of transportation for their agricultural produce.  The results indicated that, 50 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm.  The results indicated that, 91.18 per cent have shown interest in soil test.  The results indicated that, 2.94 per cent of the households used dung cake, 85.29 per cent of the households used firewood and 41.18 per cent of the households used LPG as a source of fuel.  The results indicated that, piped supply was the major source of drinking water for 94.12 per cent of the households, 20.59 per cent of the household used bore well and 2.94 per cent of the households used lake/tank in the micro watershed. 5  Electricity was the major source of light for 100 per cent of the households in micro watershed.  The results indicated that, 69.44 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet facility.  The results indicated that, 100 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL card. The results indicated that, 76.47 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme.  The results indicated that, cereals and pulses were adequate for 79.41 per cent of the households, oilseed were adequate for 61.76 per cent, vegetables were adequate for 70.59 per cent, fruits and egg was adequate for 26.47 per cent milk were adequate were 61.76 per cent and meat were adequate for 20.59 per cent.  The results indicated that, cereals were inadequate for 23.53 per cent of the households, pulses were inadequate were 20.59 per cent, oilseed were inadequate for 38.24 per cent, vegetables were inadequate for 29.41 per cent, fruits was inadequate for 73.53 per cent, milk were inadequate for 32.35 per cent, egg were inadequate for 64.71 per cent and meat were inadequate for 70.59 per cent.  The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the soil was the constraint experienced by 100 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (97.06%). frequent incidence of pest and diseases (73.53%), high cost of fertilizer and plant protection chemicals (82.35%), high rate of interest on credit and lack of transport for safe transport of the Agril produce to the market (79.41%), low price for the agricultural commodities (67.65%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (38.24%), inadequate extension services (58.82%) and source of Agri-technology information (2.94%).