WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – FARMERS OF GOKULPURA

SHOW THE WAY

Dr. N.G. Hegde and Mr. B.K. Kakade

BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune

Gokulpura, Govardhanpura and Thana are three tiny villages located in the semi-arid zone of Hindoli tehsil in Bundi district of Rajasthan. Most of the 633 families living here are poor. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood but most of the 3286 ha lands are infertile and eroded. The average annual rainfall of 400-500 mm is erratic. Farmers generally cultivate one crop of maize, sorghum or bajra and harvest 800-1000 kg grains per ha. Paddy and Wheat are grown in a small area where minor irrigation support is available. Traditional social customs like purdah, denial of girl’s education, teenage marriages and male dominance have led to further backwardness and illiteracy.

BAIF had initiated the Cattle Development programme here in 1993, under the IRDP/SGSY programme. Looking to the plight of these villagers, the Water Resource Development and Energy Conservation Project was initiated in 1996 with the support of India Canada Environmental Facility (ICEF). The objective was soil and water conservation, improving agricultural productivity and building the capacity of local communities, particularly the women, to take active part in various development programmes.

The lands in these villages comprised of community pastures, village woodlots and private agricultural lands. In the absence of soil and water conservation on community lands, adjoining agricultural lands were also severely eroded. Hence the project aimed at the development of the total land area on watershed basis to address the twin problems of poverty and environmental degradation. The major emphasis was on motivation of the local people. Selected farmers, both men and women were taken to the on-going cattle development and silvipasture activities in Bhilwara district. Motivated by successful projects in the neighbourhood, they came forward to take active part in this programme.

The Community Pasture development involved contour trenching, gully plugging, fencing of the boundary, seeds of forage legume (Sylo) and grass species (Dhaman) and establishing saplings of fodder-cum-fuel species to improve the green cover. As finance was limited, they agreed to extend voluntary labour. With contour survey, several spots were identified to plug the gullies and to construct percolation tanks, both on community lands and private lands. To sustain their interest, village level pasture management committees andSHGs were formed. Various social and economic activities were introduced through these groups.

The instant success of the project was reflected in the confidence among the communities particularly the women. A total of 13 women Self Help Groups (188 members covering 30% of local families) started meeting regularly, initiated small savings and disbursing loans to meet their needs as well as development activities such as seasonal vegetable cultivation, tailoring shops, grocery shop and diesel operated flour mills. Presently, over Rs.85,000 collected by the members is in circulation and this has kept many families away from the traditional moneylenders. They also started discussing their problems related to agriculture, animal husbandry, domestic, social and health problems among themselves, and BAIF Field Officers came up with various alternatives to solve them. This was a process whereby mutual trust was also developed.

Conservation of soil and moisture on pasture lands well as on agricultural lands helped in enriching the soil productivity. The Village Panchayat not only permitted them to initiate silvipasture development but also extended maximum cooperation by clearing encroachment and laying out approach roads. Thus the work could be undertaken with good speed. Pasture lands which were eroded for decades started turning green in the first year itself. A separate committee was established giving representation to different sections of the community to manage the pastures. The committee permitted the villagers to cut the grass and take 50% of it for feeding their livestock while the rest of the grass was sold. Over the last three years, the committee has sold grass worth Rs. 83,000. With abundant supply of green fodder and birth of improved crossbreds, the milk production has also increased significantly. Before initiation of the project, milk production of local breed of cows and buffaloes was not adequate even for consumption, as over 80% of the cows and buffalos were non-descript and low yielders. With new born high yielding cows, and orientation of the farmers to adopt improved management practices, about 400 litres of surplus milk is being generated every day.

With improved water infiltration, ground water recharging was very significant. Three percolation tanks could retain water till the summer and recharge the open wells. This encouraged them to use improved seeds and necessary agricultural inputs during the second year. By the third year, there was a significant change in the cropping pattern. The water availability in the wells had also increased manifold. Over 84% of the cropping area under the watersheds had assured irrigation to grow two crops during the year. Presently about 10–15% of the area has been used for growing a third crop as well. The cropping intensity had enhanced by 100%. For the first time probably after 15-20 years, more than 60 families had cultivated Basmati rice on 40 ha. The gross annual income from these lands enhanced from Rs.8,000 to Rs.60,000 per ha. There was improvement in the yields of other crops as well. The maize crop yield increased from 1 ton to 1.9 ton per ha and the yield of wheat enhanced from 2.5 ha to 3.7 ha.

One of the percolation tanks named as Bheem Sagar, which was constructed at a cost of Rs.7.5 lakhs is able to retain water throughout the year. Looking to this resource, the villagers decided to help a few landless families to take up fishery. With efficient rainwater harvesting, the per capita water availability increased from 810 cum to 2194 cum (the region having per capita water availability below 1700 cum is considered as water stress region; below 1000 cum is water scarcity region and below 500 cum is considered as absolute water scarcity region). Looking to the surplus water situation in these three villages, these villages were eliminated from the list of drought affected villages in Bundi district during the famine of 2000, although the rainfall during that year was only 399 mm. With assured water resources, the village Panchayat installed tap water scheme to supply clean drinking water. School children and members of the SHGs were trained to chlorinate the well water regularly. This has helped most of the families to maintain good health.

Apart from fodder, the villagers were also able to cultivate fuelwood on their field bunds and they also adopted the use of improved smokeless wood stoves to save the fuelwood used for cooking. This has led to further saving in time, and reduction in the drudgery of women. Curbing alcohol consumption is on the top of their agenda.

Realising the importance of literacy, the villagers are sending their children to school. In 1996, the total school enrollment was 356 including 290 boys and 66 girls, which increased to 485 with 315 boys and 170 girls in 2001.

Over the last five years, the project invested about Rs. 2 crores on various development activities in these villages, averaging Rs.6,000 per ha. Apart from project funding, the contribution of the villagers was worth Rs.1000 per hain the form of labour and inputs. With this investment, the additional benefit in the form of enhanced agricultural production was around Rs.77 lakhs per year, from arable crops alone. With the commencement of fruit production in new orchards, the incremental income is expected to rise to Rs.85 lakhs per year.

During this process of development, the District Collector and officials of various Development departments visited the project regularly and extended good cooperation and morale support. They are providing financial support under various schemes to the farmers in the neighbouring villages. The local MLA from Hindoli has provided additional funds to develop the barren lands owned by Panchayat.

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