LAND RESOURCE INVENTORY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS FOR WATERSHED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MAVANAHALLI-2 (4D5B1Q1c) MICROWATERSHED Sydhapur Hobli, Yadgir Taluk and District, Karnataka

Abstract

The land resource inventory of Mavanahalli-2 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 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 937 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 about 869 ha in the microwatershed is covered by soils and 66 ha is under others (Habitation water body). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 14 soil series and 14 soil phases (management units) and 7 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.  An area about 869 ha (93%) in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture.  An area of about 27 per cent soils are deep and very deep (100- >150cm), about 35 per cent soils are moderately deep (75-100), whereas 19 per cent soils are moderately shallow (50 -75 cm) and 12 per cent soils are shallow (25 -50 cm) in the microwatershed.  About 2 per cent area in the microwatershed are sandy soils, 32 percent soils are loamy and 60 per cent clayey soils at the surface.  An area of about 93 percent soils are non gravelly (<15%), and 3 percent soils are gravelly (15-35%) in the microwatershed.  About 28 percent soils are high (>200mm/m), 27 percent soils are medium (101- 150), 27 per cent soils are low (51-100 mm/m) and 12 per cent soils are very low (<50 mm/m) available water capacity.  Entire cultivated area has very gently sloping (1-3% slope) lands in the microwatershed.  An area of about 93 per cent is moderately (e2) eroded and <1 percent soils are slightly eroded (e1).  An area of about 83 per cent soils is slightly to moderately alkaline (pH 7.3-7.8) and 10 per cent soils are strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0).  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils in entire cultivated area of the microwatershed is dominantly <2 dsm-1 indicating that the soils are non-saline.  An area of about 17 per cent is high (>0.75%), about 69 percent is medium (0.50- 0.75%) and 7 percent is low (0.50-0.75%) in organic carbon content.  An area of about 83 per cent is medium (23-57 kg/ha) and 10 percent soils are low (<23kg/ha) in available phosphorus.  An area of about 61 percent is medium (145-337kg/ha) and 32 percent is high (>337kg/ha) in available potassium.  An area of about 30 percent is high (10-20ppm), about 42 percent is medium (10- 20ppm) and 22 percent area is low (<10ppm) in available sulphur  Available boron is low (<0.5 ppm) in an area of about 5 per cent, medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) is about 80 per cent soils and high (0.5-1.0 ppm) is about 8 per cent soils.  Available iron content is sufficient (>4.5ppm) in entire cultivated area of the microwatershed.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in a maximum area of about 83 per cent and sufficient (>0.6 ppm) covering an area of about 10 percent in 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 91(10) 548(59) Guava - 236(25) Maize 79(8) 560(61) Sapota - 236(25) Bajra 79(8) 560(61) Pomegranate - 311(33) Groundnut - 410(44) Musambi 12(1) 299(32) Sunflower 12(1) 299(32) Lime 12(1) 299(32) Redgram - 465(50) Amla 79(8) 343(37) Bengal gram 12(1) 203(22) Cashew - 79(8) Cotton 12(1) 299(32) Jackfruit - 236(25) Chilli 79(8) 406(43) Jamun - 12(1) Tomato 79(8) 331(35) Custard apple 91(10) 394(42) Brinjal 79(8) 331(35) Tamarind - 12(1) Onion 79(8) 331(35) Mulberry - 236(25) Bhendi 79(8) 406(43) Marigold 79(8) 406(43) Drumstick 248(27) Chrysanthemum 79(8) 406(43) Mango - -  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, fiber and horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to 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 to 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 to 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 (62.18%) men and 59 (37.82%) women among the sampled households.  The average family size of landless farmers’ was 3.4, marginal farmers’ was 4, small farmers’ was 4.4 and semi medium farmers’ was 5.5.  The data indicated that, 14 (8.97%) people were in 0-15 years of age, 80 (51.28%) were in 16-35 years of age, 49 (31.41%) were in 36-60 years of age and 13 (8.33%) were above 61 years of age.  The results indicated that Mavanahalli-2 had 47.44 per cent illiterates, 21.79 per cent of them had primary school, 2.56 per cent of them had Middle school and PUC education, 12.82 per cent of them had high school, 1.92 per cent of them had ITI and masters, 5.77 per cent of them had degree education.  The results indicate that, 85.71 per cent of household heads were practicing agriculture, 8.57 per cent of the household heads were agricultural laborers and 2.86 cent of the household heads were government service.  The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 20.51 per cent of the household members, 65.38 per cent were agricultural laborers, 0.64 per cent were in government service, 1.28 per cent were private service and housewives, 8.33 per cent were student.  The results show that, 100 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has not participated in any local institutions.  The results indicate that 22.86 per cent of the households possess thatched, 62.86 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 14.29 per cent of the households possess pucca/RCC house.  The results show that 68.57 per cent of the households possess TV, 54.29 per cent of the households possess mixer/grinder, 45.71 per cent of the households possess motor cycle, 5.71 per cent of the households posses tempo, 2.86 per cent households possess landline phone and 68.57 per cent of the households possess mobile phones.  The results show that the average value of television was Rs. 13,841, mixer/grinder was Rs. 2,200, motor cycle was Rs. 46,764, tempo was Rs. 22,100, landline was Rs. 1,500 and mobile phone was Rs. 2,570.  About 8.57 per cent each of the households possess bullock cart and sprayer, 25.71 per cent each of the households possess Plough, 2.86 per cent each of the households possess seed/fertilizer drill, 5.71 per cent of the households possess power tiller, 11.43 per cent each of the households possess tractor and thresher, 60 per cent of the households possess weeder.  The results show that the average value of bullock cart was Rs. 18,666, plough was Rs. 4,197, seed/ fertilizer drill was Rs. 1,800, power tiller was Rs. 224,000, tractor was Rs.512,500, sprayer was Rs. 2,166, weeder was Rs. 63 and the average value of thresher was Rs. 180. 2  The results indicate that, 14.29 per cent of the households possess bullocks and 5.71 per cent of the households possess local cow.  The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.51, average own labour (women) available was 0.94, average hired labour (men) available was 8.29 and average hired labour (women) available was 8.8.  The results indicate that, 100 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was inadequate.  The results show that, 0.64 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has migrated.  The results show that, average distance of migration was 750 kms and average duration of migration was 7 months.  The results show that, 100 per cent of the population has migrated for the purpose of job/wage/work and business.  The results indicate that, households of the Mavanahalli-2 micro-watershed possess 45.98 ha (98.19%) of dry land, 0.45 ha (0.95%) of irrigated land and 0.4 ha (0.86%) of permanent fallow land. Marginal farmers possess 1.84 ha (80.5%) of dry land, 0.45 ha (19.5%) of irrigated land. Small farmers possess 28.42 ha (98.6%) of dry land and 0.4 ha (1.4%) of permanent fallow land. Semi medium farmers possess 15.72 ha (100%) of dry land.  The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 334,782.61, the average value of irrigated land was Rs. 1,347,272.70 and the average value of permanent fallow land was Rs.988,000. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 2,611,453.70 for dry land and the average land value was Rs.1,347,272.70. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 267,293.18 for dry land the average land value was Rs. 988,000 for permanent fallow. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 190,733.59 for dry land.  The results indicate that, farmers have grown cotton (24.62%), paddy (0.45ha) and red gram (21.36 ha). Marginal farmers have grown cotton and paddy. Small farmers have grown cotton and red gram. Semi medium farmers have grown cotton and red gram.  The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Mavanahalli-2 micro-watershed was found to be 96.75 per cent.  The results indicate that, 80 per cent of the households have bank account and savings.  The results indicate that, 68.57 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for Cotton was Rs. 26602.05. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 59305.33. The net income from 3 Cotton cultivation was Rs. 32703.29. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.23.  The total cost of cultivation for Paddy was Rs. 165008.37. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 58381.82. The net income from Paddy cultivation was Rs. -106626.55. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:0.35.  The total cost of cultivation for Red gram was Rs. 23304.27. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 42878.37. The net income from Red gram cultivation was Rs. 19574.09. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.84.  The results indicate that, 8.57 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and green fodder was inadequate and 5.71 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was inadequate and green fodder was adequate.  The results indicate that the annual gross income was Rs. 29,000, for landless farmers, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 58,500, for small farmers it was Rs. 138,042.11 and semi medium farmers it was Rs. 162,014.29.  The results indicate that the average annual expenditure is Rs. 5,927.43. For landless households it was Rs. 2,000, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 5,656.25, for small farmers it was Rs. 5,477.53 and for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 10,108.84.  The results indicate that, sampled households have grown 1 coconut and mango, 4 custard apple and lime, 2 lemon trees in their field.  The results indicate that, households have planted 9 eucalyptus and banyan, 2 teak, pongamia and acacia, 90 neem and 6 tamarind trees in their field and also 2 neem trees in their backyard.  The results indicated that, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 3,257.14 for land development, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 571.43, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 742.86 for improved crop production and households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 1,428.57 for improved livestock management.  The results indicated that government subsidy was the source of additional investment for 2.86 per cent for improved livestock management. Soft loan was the source of additional investment for 28.57 per cent for land development, 2.86 per cent for irrigation facility and 11.43 per cent for improved crop production.  The results indicated that, cotton was sold to the extent of 92.54 per cent, paddy was sold to the extent of 100 per cent and red gram was sold to the extent of 94.85 per cent.  The results indicated that, about 2.86 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to agent/traders and cooperative marketing society, 57.14 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to local/village merchant and 25.71 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to regulated market. 4  The results indicated that, 88.57 per cent of the households have used tractor as a mode of transportation.  The results indicated that, 85.71 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm.  The results indicated that, 80 per cent have shown interest in soil test.  The results indicated that, 100 per cent of the households used fire wood as a source of fuel.  The results indicated that, piped supply was the major source of drinking water for 22.86 per cent of the households in the micro watershed and bore well was the source of drinking water for 77.14 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, 66.67 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet facility.  The results indicated that, 100 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL cards.  The results indicated that, 82.86 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme.  The results indicated that, cereals and pulses were adequate for 91.43 per cent of the households, oilseed were adequate for 25.71 per cent, vegetables were adequate for 22.86 per cent, milk were adequate for 28.57 per cent, egg were adequate for 17.14 per cent and meat were adequate for 14.29 per cent.  The results indicated that, cereals and pulses were inadequate for 8.57 per cent of the households, oilseed were inadequate for 77.14 per cent, vegetables and meat were inadequate for 74.29 per cent, fruits were inadequate for 57.14 per cent, milk were inadequate for 51.43 per cent, egg were inadequate for 71.43 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, vegetables and egg were market surplus for 2.86 per cent of the households and meat were market surplus for 11.43 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the soil in the area was the constraint experienced by 82.86 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (85.71%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (57.14%), Inadequacy of irrigation water (28.57%), high cost of fertilizer and plant protection chemicals (22.86%), high rate of interest on credit and inadequate extension service (20%), low price for the agricultural commodities (11.43%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (8.57%), Lack of transport for safe transport of the Agril produce to the market (14.29%), less rainfall and Source of Agri-technology information (37.14%).