IMPACT OF JAL BHAGIRATHI FOUNDATION INTENSIVE WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ON ITS BENEFICIARY FARME by IASET Journals

InternationalJournalofHumanities andSocialSciences(IJHSS)

ISSN(P):2319–393X;ISSN(E):2319–3948

Vol.11,Issue2,Jul–Dec2022;49–56 ©IASET

IMPACTOFJALBHAGIRATHIFOUNDATIONINTENSIVEWATERSHED DEVELOPMENTPROJECTONITSBENEFICIARYFARMERSINJODHPURDISTRICT OFRAJASTHAN

MahiwalSinghSisodiya1&DipakKumarBose2

1ResearchScholar,DepartmentofAgricultureExtensionandCommunication,SHUATS,Prayagraj,UttarPradesh,India

2AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofAgricultureExtensionandCommunication,SHUATS,Prayagraj, UttarPradesh,India

ABSTRACT

ThestudywasconductedpurposivelyselectedinLuniblockofJodhpurdistrictofRajasthan.Fourvillageswereselected purposivelyandfromeachselectedvillage30respondentswereselectedrandomlythus120respondentsconstitutedthe samplesizeforpresentstudy.Ex-postFactoresearchdesignwasfollowedanddatawascollectedbyusingpersonal interviewmethod.Thecollecteddataweretabulated,analyzedandinterpretedwiththeappropriatestatisticaltools. Majorityofrespondentshadmediumlevelofknowledgeandadoptiontowardscropproductionbywatershedproject. Education,FamilyType,AnnualIncomewerefoundpositiveandsignificantcorrelationwiththeirknowledgeand adoptionofbajraunderWatershedproject.TwotypesofRespondentswereselectedfromthesevillages,beneficiariesandnonbeneficiariesofWatershedProject.ThemajorconstraintsfacedbytherespondentsareTimeconsumingoperation, Fragmentationoflandintounconventionalshape,Waterstagnationnearbundedareaetc.Theprominentsuggestionsgivenby therespondentsweretheprovisionofsubsidyforthepractices.Govt.shouldencourageco-operativefarming,trainingshouldbe providedforwaterconservationandinputshouldbemadeavailableatpropertimetoovercometheseconstraints.

KEYWORDS:LevelofKnowledge,Attitude,Relationship,Watershed,AridZone

ArticleHistory

Received:15Jul2022|Revised:18Jul2022|Accepted:22Jul2022

INTRODUCTION

Agriculturedevelopmentistoday’surgentneedofdevelopingcountry.Agricultureisnowbeingtreatedasbusinessand substantialeffortsarebeingmadetoincreaseproduction.Itisaknownfactthatimprovedtechnologiesevolvedbyeminent agriculturalscientistsdonotreachtothedoorofthefarmersinarightmannerandatarighttime.Indiaisblessedwith abundantwaterresources.

Watershedmanagementisoveralldevelopmentofparticularregionincludingwaterconservation,maintaining soilfertility,pastureland,agriculture,horticulture,forestryandalliedaspects.Watersheddevelopmentprojectshavebeen takenupunderdifferentprogrammeslaunchedbythegovernmentofIndia.Thebasicobjectiveislandandwaterresource managementforsustainableproduction.Watershedmanagementplanningisaprocessthatresultsinaplanorablueprintto improvethewaterqualityandothernaturalresourcesinawatershed.

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ForconservationandmanagementofnaturalresourcesJalBhagirathiFoundationwasestablishedasanonprofit organizationon15January2002inresponsetotheburgeoningwatercrisesfacingtheTharDesertinthestateof Rajasthan,WesternIndia,andthevastpotentialforparticipatorywatermanagementasapathtowatersecurity.Mainly carriedoutthefollowingactivitiessuchasaforestation,contour,gradedbunding,landshapingandfordryland developmentinwatershedbasis.Othergroupofcomponentareuseofimprovedseeds,applicationoffertilizer,useof improvedagronomicalpracticesandbetterfarmimplements.

JalBhagirathiFoundationisdrivenbyavisionofwatersecurity,sustainedbyresponsivegovernanceand inclusivegrowth,leadingtosustainabledevelopment.JalBhagirathiFoundationexiststoprovideanenablingenvironment inwhichthedesertcommunitiesoftheMarwarregioncanaccessadequatedrinkingwaterforhumansandanimalswithin theconstraintsofenvironmentalequilibriumbyleveragingtraditionalknowledgeandappropriatetechnology;facilitating villageinstitutionsofcollectivewisdomandbuildinglocalcapacitiesforcommunitymobilizationinanatmosphereof transparency,participationandaccountability,throughaprocessofnetworkingandadvocacy.

Thisapproachconcentratesnotonlyonagricultureandalliedactivitiesbutalsothehomesteadvocationsand situationspecificeconomicactivities.Watersheddevelopmentaimsatdevelopingareainanirrigatedmannerwhereeach activityinterlinkedwithotherandhasdefiniteroleincreatinganimpactonoverallproduction.Watersheddevelopmentis aimedatconservationofnaturalresourcesandmaintainingtheecologyoftheareabyusingthesimplesoilandwater conservationtechniques.Inotherwords,watershedmanagementisoveralldevelopmentofparticularregionincluding waterconservation,maintainingsoilfertility,pastureland,agriculture,horticulture,forestryandalliedaspects. (Anonymous,2013.Agritech.Tnau.ac.In/agriculture/agr)

Sustainabledevelopmentaimsatmaintainingequilibriumbetweenhumanneedsandeconomicdevelopment withintheparametersofenvironmentalconservationthroughthenaturalresourcessoil,waterandvegetationaremost importantnaturalresourcesforsurvivalofthemankind.Theyprovidefood,firewood,fiberandrawmaterialtosatisfya varietyofneedsofthepeople.Itiswellknownthatthepressureofhumanandbovinepopulationisthreateningtheland andwaterresources.Intherecentyearspressureonthelandresourcesonourplanethasincreasetremendously.Ifitgoes on,percapitalandavailabilityforfoodproductionandotherhumanneedswilldefinitelycontinuetodeclinesteeply becauseofincreasingpopulation.Density,thedeforestationiswarmingthegroundwaterisdepletingquicklyproblemof soilerosionandlanddegradationhavebecomeserve.Theseissueneedtoaddressedimmediately.

Watersheddevelopmentisanapproachtobuildandstrengthenthebasicresourcesinawatershedsoastoenable establishmentofsustainablelifesupports.Thisisanintegratedapproachonanaturalhydrologicunit.

Watershedisanaturalhydrologicalentitythatcoversaspecificareaexpandsoflandsurface,withinthese boundaries.Theentirerainfallrunoffultimatelypassesthroughaspecificallydefinedstream.Soitisaunitoflandon whichallwaterthatfallscollectsbygravity,runsviaacommonoutletitisthusanareaoflandthatcontributesrunofftoa commonpointandisseparatedfromadjoiningareabyanaturalelevationridgeline(Oswal1999).

50 MahiwalSinghSisodiya&DipakKumarBose ImpactFactor(JCC):7.0987 NAASRating3.17

Thekeydevelopmentobjectivesistoimprovetheproductivepotentialofselectedwatershedsandtheirassociated naturalresourcebaseandstrengthencommunityandinstitutionalarrangementsfornaturalresourcemanagement.This projectprimaryobjectiveistoincreasehouseholdincome,improveagriculturalproductivity,Improvevegetativecover, andIncreasemilkandhorticultureproduction.Increasefodderandfuelavailability,enhancequalityoflifeofvillage communities,reducingsoilerosionandrunofftoimprovewateravailabilityandtoconservethemoisturestatus.The WatershedDevelopmentProgrammeisthebasicneedforintegrateddevelopmentandmanagementofthelandandwater resourceswhichprovidelifesupportforruralcommunities.Theattentionhasbeenfocusedonthisprogrammeinorderto provideImpetustodevelopmentinthecountry.Increaseagriculturalproductionandcreateemploymentwithinthevillage andmakefoodavailabletothem.Migrationtourbanareascanbecheckedandreducetheproblemofgrowingcities.By conservingsoilandwaterecologicalbalancecanberestored.Heavysituationsindamshavegivenrisetomanyproblems relatedtoelectricitysupply,urbanwatersupply.Industriesdependuponthiswaterarealsofacingproblems.(Kansana VishwananathSingh.2008).

RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

ThesurveywasconductedinpurposivelyselectedWatershedDevelopmentProjectofLuniBlockofJodhpurdistrictin Rajasthan.Thewatershedprojectwasstartedduringtheyear2002inmostoftheAridlandintheprojectareaisunder rainfedfarmingandthisareaismostbackward.Hence,itrequiresmoreeffortstobringchangesinthesocio-economic conditionsofthefarmersofthisarea.Further,easyaccessibilityandconvenienceofthestudentresearcherwerealsotaken intoaccountforselectionofwatershed.Twotypesofrespondentswereselectedfromthesevillages:

 Beneficiariesofwatershed.

 Non-beneficiariesofwatershed.

Theparticularrespondentswhoareparticipatinginwatershedactivitiesandtheparticularrespondentswhoarenot participatinginwatershedactivities.Fromeachgroup,60farmerswererandomlyselected.Thetotalsample,therefore, consisted120respondents’farmersinboththegroupforcollectionofdata.Pretestedinterviewschedulewasusedforthe collectionofdata.Appropriatetoolswereusedtointerpretthedata.ThepresentstudywasconfinedtoEx-postfactorial researchdesign.TheEx-post

factoresearchdesignisaninquiryinwhichtheresearcherdoesnothavedirectcontrolof independentvariablebecausetheirmanifestationsoccurredandtheycannotbemanipulated.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

Table1:TodeterminetheknowledgeandattitudeoftherespondentstowardsactivitiesofJal BhagirathiFoundation.

ImpactofJalBhagirathiFoundationIntensiveWatershedDevelopmentProjectonitsBeneficiary 51 FarmersinJodhpurDistrictofRajasthan www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us

–

S.NO Statement FullyCorrect PartiallyCorrect NotCorrect f % f % f % 1. 45Constructionof Contourbunds. 4545 37.5 60 50 15 12.5 2. 35Constructionof GradedBunds 3535 29.1 65 54.1 20 16.6 3. 44Useoflive hedges 4444 36.6 57 47.5 17 14.1 4. 49Cultivation acrosstheslope 4949 40.8 63 52.5 8 06.6 5. 40UseofDrought Resistantvarieties. 4040 33.3 75 62.5 5 04.1

Theknowledgelevelofthebeneficiaryfarmershasbeendocumented,categorized,analyzedandpresentedintable.4.2.2 andfig.4.2.2.

Fromtable2,itcanbeunderstoodthatmorethantwo-thirdofthebeneficiarieshadmediumlevelofknowledge (67.50%),followedbyhigh(16.67%)andlow(15.83%)levelofknowledgerespectively.

52 MahiwalSinghSisodiya&DipakKumarBose ImpactFactor(JCC):7.0987 NAASRating3.17 Table1Contd., 6. 30Constructionof farmponds 3030 25.0 65 54.1 25 20.8 7. 21Pasture Development 2121 17.5 64 53.3 35 29.1 8. 15Constructionof diversionchannels 1515 12.5 78 65.0 27 22.5 9. 12Gullycontrol structures 1512 1.0 80 66.6 28 23.3 10. 27Afforestation programme 1227 22.5 77 64.1 16 13.3

2OverallKnowledgeLevelofRespondents

S.No.KnowledgelevelFrequency Percentage 1 Low(1) 19 15.83 2 Medium(3) 81 67.50 3 High(2) 20 16.67 Total 120 100.00 (n=120)

Table2:DistributionofRespondentsaccordingtotheiroverall KnowledgeLevel Figure1:DistributionofRespondentsaccordingtotheir OverallKnowledgeLevel.

S.S. No. S Statement Agree Undecided Decided f % f % f % 1. Adoptionofsoilandwater conservationpracticesisaboonto farmers 41 334.1 65 54.1 14 111.6 222.Soilandwaterconservationpractices giveshigheryields 3030 2225.065652254.1 225 2220.8 33.Adrylandfarmershouldbeawareof

practises 40 3333.3 60 650 20 1116.6

Table3:AttitudeleveloftheRespondentstowardsActivitiesofJalBhagirathiFoundation

recentsoilandwaterconservation

Fromtheabovetable3itcanbeobservedthatmajority(67.5%)oftherespondentsarecompletelyagreedthat Covercroppingcontributedtowatershedmanagement.(65.8%)oftherespondentsagreedthatTerracingcontrolledrunoff speed.(65%)oftherespondentsagreedthatNon-Adoptionofimprovedsoilandwaterconservationpracticeswilldeplete thesoilfertility.(61.6%)ofrespondentsuseSoilandwaterconservationworksimpedethegrowthofcropsinfields. (60.8%)ofrespondentsagreedbyBrassstripsreducetherunoffspeed.(55.8%)agreedthatCheckdamcancontrolsoil erosion.(54.1%)ofrespondentsagreedthatAdoptionofsoilandwaterconservationpracticesisaboontofarmers. (54.1%)respondentsagreedbySoilandwaterconservationpracticesgiveshigheryields.(51.6%)respondentsagreedthat Investinginsoilandwaterconservationonthefarmisimportant.(50%)respondentsagreedthatAdrylandfarmershould beawareofrecentsoilandwaterconservationpractices

OverallAttitudelevelofrespondents

Theattitudelevelofthebeneficiaryfarmershasbeendocumented,categorized,analyzedandpresentedintable.4.2.4and figure.4

Table4:DistributionofRespondentsaccordingtotheirOverallattitude Level

Fromtable.4,itcanbeevidentthathigherproportionofthebeneficiarieshadfavorablelevelofattitudetowards activitiesofJalBhagirathiFoundation(85%),followedbymostfavorable(8.33%)andleastfavorable(6.67%)attitude towardsactivitiesofJalBhagirathiFoundationrespectively.

ImpactofJalBhagirathiFoundationIntensiveWatershedDevelopmentProjectonitsBeneficiary 53 FarmersinJodhpurDistrictofRajasthan www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us 444.Checkdamcontrolsoilerosion 4545 37.5 67 55.8 1118 1115.0 555.Non-Adoptionofimprovedsoiland waterconservationpracticeswill depletethesoilfertility 332 26.6 78 665.0111009.1 666.Investinginsoilandwater conservationonthefarmisimportant. 3337 3330.8 62 5551.22211117.5 777.Terracingcontrolledrunoffspeed 1117 1114.1 7779 6665.8 2224 1117.5 888.Covercroppingcontributedto watershedmanagement 2222 1118.3 8881 6667.5 777 Hi05.8 999.Brassstripsreducetherunoffspeed 1414 1111.67773 6660.8 33332227.5 1110.SSoilandwaterconservationworks impedethegrowthofcropsinfields. 2221 1117.5 74 61.6 25 220.8

S.No.AttitudeLevel Frequency(n=120) Percentage 1 Leastfavourable 8 6.67 2 Favourable 102 85.00 3 Mostfavourable 10 8.33 Total 120 100.00

Theassociationbetweentheindependentanddependentvariablesarepresentedintable.5

Fromtable.5,itwasreportedthatvariableslikeeducationandsourcesofirrigationhadpositiveandsignificant associationwiththedependentvariableat5percentlevelofsignificance.Whereas,annualincomeandinnovativenessof thebeneficiarieshadnegativeandsignificantassociationwiththedependentvariablesat5percentlevelofsignificance. Meanwhile,massmediaexposurehadpositiveandsignificantassociationat1percentlevelofsignificance.Whereas,age, familysize,landholding,soiltypehadnosignificantassociationwiththedependentvariables.

CONCLUSION

Fromthestudy,itwasseenthatmostofthebeneficiariesfarmersbelongedtomiddleagewithjuniorhighersecondary schoolstatus,possesssmallsizeoffamilyandhadmorethan5acresoflandholdingwithshallowtypeofsoilandcanalas theirmajorirrigationsource.Fromthis,theyearnsmediumlevelofannualincomewithmediumlevelofmassmedia exposureandinnovativeness.Meanwhile,theyhadmediumlevelofknowledgewithfavorableattitudetowardsactivities ofJalBhagirathiFoundation.Hence,theyrevealedpositiveimpacttowardstheactivitiesofJalBhagirathiFoundation watersheddevelopmentprojectonitsbeneficiaryfarmers.Similarly,education,sourcesofinformation,annualincome, massmediaexposureandinnovativenesshadsignificantassociationwiththedependentvariableswhilethevariablesage, familysize,landholding,soiltypehadnosignificantassociationwiththedependentvariables.Eventually,lackofcoordinationamongthebeneficiarieswasthefirstandforemostconstraintexperiencedbythebeneficiarieswhereas

54 MahiwalSinghSisodiya&DipakKumarBose

NAASRating3.17

ImpactFactor(JCC):7.0987

Figure2:DistributionofRespondentsaccordingtotheir AttitudeLevel. 3.AssociationbetweenselectedIndependentandDependentVariables

Table5:AssociationbetweenIndependentandDependentVariables S.No. Variable r-value Regressioncoefficient Standarderror t-value X1 Age -0.141 -0.003 0.103 0.975NS X2 Education 0.112* 0.121* 0.054* 0.028* X3 Familysize 0.062 0.038 0.060 0.517NS X4 Landholding -0.038 -0.002 0.060 0.963NS X5 Soiltype -0.070 -0.060 0.050 0.236NS X6 Annualincome 0.046* 0.130* 0.062* 0.037* X7 Massmediaexposure 0.114** 0.118** 0.064** 0.071** X8 Innovativeness 0.148* 0.076* 0.031* 0.017* X9 Sourceofirrigation 0.181* 0.126* 0.071* 0.078* (*-Significantat5%,**-Significantat1%,NS –Notsignificant)

inadequacyofcapitalistheleastconstraint.Eventually,providingregularsupplyofcanalwaterforirrigationincropping seasonwasthemostsuggestedfactorgivenbythebeneficiaryfarmersforbetteradoptionoftheprogramme.

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ImpactofJalBhagirathiFoundationIntensiveWatershedDevelopmentProjectonitsBeneficiary 55 FarmersinJodhpurDistrictofRajasthan

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