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Watershed Management and Farmer Conservation Investments in the Semi-Arid Tropics of India: Analysis of Determinants of Resource Use Decisions and Land Productivity Benefits. Socio Economic Policy Working Paper 16

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Title Watershed Management and Farmer Conservation Investments in the Semi-Arid Tropics of India: Analysis of Determinants of Resource Use Decisions and Land Productivity Benefits. Socio Economic Policy Working Paper 16
 
Creator Shiferaw, B A
Reddy, R V
Wani, S P
Nageswara Rao, G D
 
Subject Watershed management
Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description Integrated watershed management has been promoted as a suitable strategy for improving productivity and sustainable
intensification of agriculture in rainfed drought-prone regions. The paper examines the socioeconomic and biophysical factors influencing farmers’ soil and water conservation investment decisions and the resulting economic incentives (productivity benefits) from watershed management interventions in the semi-arid tropics of India. The paper develops a theoretical framework to test hypotheses and to explore (a) the interlinkages between land productivity, soil quality, input use and conservation investments, and (b) the influence of local market imperfections on production and conservation decisions. These relationships are analyzed using plot-level data in six semi-arid villages. A systems approach (3SLS) is used for the joint estimation of structural equations related to land productivity, input use, resource investments and land values. The results show that after controlling for input use and germplasm technologies, soil quality and access to supplemental irrigation significantly affect eproductivity of land. Off-farm income is negatively associated with resource investments and land productivity. The watershed program seems to have a greater impact on dryland crops (cereals and pulses) than on other crops not supported by the project. A plot-wise analysis found some degree of substitution between private and public investments in land and water management. Differential effects of family labor on the decision to invest in agriculture revealed that male labor plays a key role in this decision while female
workers significantly influence the level of labor use in production and resource conservation. This indicates that labor market imperfections, especially for female labor, are most likely to affect production and conservation investments.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 2003
 
Type Monograph
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/2466/1/wps16-793_2003.pdf
Shiferaw, B A and Reddy, R V and Wani, S P and Nageswara Rao, G D (2003) Watershed Management and Farmer Conservation Investments in the Semi-Arid Tropics of India: Analysis of Determinants of Resource Use Decisions and Land Productivity Benefits. Socio Economic Policy Working Paper 16. Working Paper. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics , Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.