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).
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.
Theknowledgelevelofthebeneficiaryfarmershasbeendocumented,categorized,analyzedandpresentedintable.4.2.2 andfig.4.2.2.
Fromtable2,itcanbeunderstoodthatmorethantwo-thirdofthebeneficiarieshadmediumlevelofknowledge (67.50%),followedbyhigh(16.67%)andlow(15.83%)levelofknowledgerespectively.
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.
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
inadequacyofcapitalistheleastconstraint.Eventually,providingregularsupplyofcanalwaterforirrigationincropping seasonwasthemostsuggestedfactorgivenbythebeneficiaryfarmersforbetteradoptionoftheprogramme.
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