Schedule for Exposure Visit of Administrators / Civil Servants of District Solan, Himachal Pradesh

Date Location of visit Time Purpose

10 Sept.

2014

CSWCRTI,

Udhagamandalam

10.00 -

11.00

Ice breaking session / discussion

11.00 -

13.00

Visit to CSWCRTI - Museum and Research Farm. Advancements in science and technology of soil and

water conservation and watershed development.

Model Watershed Iduhatti,

The Nilgiris

14.30 –

18.00

How to increase the ground water which is so far more useful to the stakeholders of the mountainous

region of the Himachal Pradesh, through watershed management. Improve the quality of structures

developed under IWMP and process ways and means for monitoring the same in sustainable manner by

village level institutions. Different ways and means to deal with the menace of wild animals under

watershed management. Process and ways to change the land use pattern from barren and fallow land to

cultivable land. A convergence model with the forward and backward linkages with the government

sponsored schemes with Integrated Watershed management programme.

11 Sept.

2014

RVP watershed, Elada, The

Nilgiris

10.00 –

13.00

Development of suitable technology for increasing the production from eroded and degraded lands and to

find out suitable remedial measures for checking accelerated erosion and conserve Soil and Water in high

rainfall hilly regions in order to obtain higher yields on sustained basis from unit area in unit time without

affecting soil fertility.

Landslide site Acchanakal

and

Khirada village

14.30 –

17.30

A convergence model with the forward and backward linkages with the government sponsored schemes

with Integrated Watershed management programme. Different bio-engineering measures that can be

carried out in rocky topography.

12 Sept.

2014

Ayalur Watershed, Erode 08.00 –

20.30

Different techniques and principles of water harvesting techniques to tackle the problems of the portable

water. Development of irrigation techniques in rain fed farming areas with efficient water management.

Process and ways to change the land use pattern from barren and fallow land to cultivable land. Different

ways to promote increase income generation activities through the introduction of farm and off farm based

activities under watershed management, to increase the economic condition of the landless and asset less

under IWMP linking it with other schemes.

Annexure 1 Scanned copy of list of participants along with their names and designations

An exposure visit of civil servants of District Solan Himachal Pradesh

(10th -12th Sepetember, 2014)

At CSWCRTI Fernhill PO Udhagamandalam-643004 The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu

Facilitated by People’s Science Institute, 653 Indiranagar Dehradoon Uttrakhand

Agronomical management practices for higher productivity, resource use efficiency sand farm income in

semi-arid region

Model watershed – Iduhatti, The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu developed under Hill area

Development Programme.

The CSWCRTI, research centre udhgaamandalam had taken up Iduhatti micro watershed for developing a

model watershed in the Nilgiris district with funding support from Hill area development programme

(HADP), with the following objectives:

Objectives of the project

Participatory planning and demonstration of suitable conservation measures and land use options

for sustainable production.

Improvement in socio-economic conditions of resource poor section of the watershed community.

Monitoring and assessment of hydrological, bio- physical and socio economic impacts on

watershed basis.

General Description of Iduhatti watershed

Iduhatti micro watershed belonging to Thuneri macro watershed (58/57) is located about 20 kms from

Udhagamandalam and lies between 76 º 45’ 58.5” to76 º 47’ 42.5” E longitude and 11 º 26’ 42.7” to11 º

29’ 10.7” N latitude. This micro watershed with an area of 715.7 ha comprises of eight hamlets viz.

Doddanni, Trichigadi, Iduhatti, periyarnagar, Bharathinagar, Ganganagar, Morakutti and

Muthusaminagar. The watershed area belongs to two panchayats namely Ebanad and Kagguchi in

Udhagamandalam taluk.

Watershed characterstics

Iduhatti micro watershed has two sub- watersheds, iduhatti and morakutti whose characteristics are

presented below:

S.No. Parameter Iduhatti Morakutti

1 Area (ha) 440.2 275.5

2 Perimeter (km) 13.423 7.668

3 Total length of stream (m) 12046.3 12147.6

4 Watershed relief (m) 400 410

5 Aerial length (m) 3661.2 2399.8

6 Length of the main stream

(m)

3914.7 2848

7 Drainage density (km/km2) 2.73 4.4

8 Average slope (%) 20.22 24.4

Household and population

There are 761 households in the hamlets of Iduhatti watershed with a total population of 2796 out of

which the male and female population are 1366 and 1430, respectively. In iduhatti and Morakutti villages

most of the hoseholds belong to Badga community (BC)and all the households of Muthusamynagar,

Ganganagar, Bharathinagr, Periyar nagar Doddani belong to SC Community. In Trichigadi all the house

holds belong to Kotha tribe (ST).

Occupation

Agricultural labour accounts for 47% of the population followed by only agriculture (29%) and

agriculture + agricultural labour (22%). The population in business and service category is negligible.

Average land holding in the watershed is 0.3 ha which falls under marginal category.

Livestock

The livestock population in the micro watershed is very less with only 128 goats, 71 cows and 10 horses.

Horses are used for transportation of agricultural inputs/ produce. It was reported that Average milk

production is 3.41 litres/day/cow.

Soil

Details about the soils and fertility status under different land uses are presented below:

Major soil group Red laterite and lateric soils

Major textural classes Clay loam, silty clay loam and silty loam.

Soil structure Granular

Permeability Moderate to rapid

Internal drainage Moderate to well drained

Soil reaction Strongly acidic (PH 4.14-5.78)

Salinity/Alkanity Nil

Fertility status Concentrates of organic carbon is high, available nutrients in the soil

ranges to N medium, P medium to high and K medium to high.

Major land uses in Iduhatti watershed

S.No. Land Use Area (ha) Percent

1. Agriculture 363.1 50.7

1.1 Annual vegetable crops 143.7 20.1

1.2 Tea 219.5 30.7

2 Forest 315.0 44.0

2.1 Revenue forest 309 43.2

2.2 Shola 6 0.8

3 Swamps and grass

land

4.6 0.6

4 Habitation 33 4.6

Total 715.7 100

Agriculture

Annual vegetable crop cultivation and tea cultivation are the major agricultural activities in the watershed.

The most commonly grown annual vegetables are potato, cabbage, carrot, peas beans, beetroot,

cauliflower, radish etc. Beans and double beans are grown as inter crop with potato and carrot. On flat

lands where water source is available, carrot, beans and peas are grown during summer under irrigated

conditions. Potato, beans, cabbage and carrot are grown during monsoon season both under rainfed and

irrigated conditions. No prominent agro- forestry systems are found in the watershed.

Tea occupies an area 219.5 ha in the watershed. Double hedge staggered planting of tea is most common

with silver oak as shade tree. Maintenance level is poor to good. Most of the farmers are using sickles for

harvesting tea leaves.

Forest, grass land and swamps

The entire revenue forest is degraded and at places encroached for tea cultivation. Only shoal forest is

under protection since it serves as a perennial source of drinking water to Iduhatti hamlet. Swamps and

grassland are in degraded condition.

Soil and water conservation measures

The following measures are being practiced by farmers in the watershed for soil erosion control.

Maximum area of annual crops is under outward slopping terraces (72.46 ha), followed by level terraces

(52.66 ha) and sloping land (18.54 ha). Conservation measures for sloping land area under annual

vegetables, majority of the farmers follow up and down cultivation with cross drains.

Hydrology and water resources

Four drop structures in the gullies for surface runoff harvesting (water storage/ impounding capacity of

270 cum) and 60 numbers of unlined open wells in middle and lower reaches for sub- surface runoff

water harvesting exist in the watershed. The depth of wells ranges from 3.0 to 4.0 meters and diameter

from 2.5 to 3.5m.

Community organization activities

In the initial stage, during 2008 eight village resource management committees (VRMCs) were formed at

the hamlet/village level and Iduhatti watershed association and it’s executive committee at watershed

level. Meetings of watershed executive committee were regularly conducted and records are maintained

in proper manner by the office bearers of the committee. All social and technical interventions were

thoroughly discussed with the watershed community in the general body and executive committee

meetings and beneficiaries were selected before implementation on farmer’s fields. Also, various issues

pertaining to effective implementation of the watershed programme were discussed in those meetings.

One user group- small tea grower society which had been formed with 240 members during 2008 and

linked with tea board Coonoor, The Nilgiris, is successfully functioning and with the support from tea

board, the Nilgiris, had bought two small pick up vehicles for transporting tea leaves directly to the tea

factory. Other benefits were also incurred by the society apart from above said benefits like better price

for quality leaves, no cheating in weighing of tea leaves, loans to members for purchase of inputs. Two

more user groups have been formed for spraying of insecticides and pesticides in the watershed.

Livelihood support activities

With the concurrence of the executive committee, 19 SHGs were formed in the project period for taking

up income generating activities among the resource poor sections of the micro watershed community.

Among these groups, 13 SHGs were initially formed with a revolving fund of Rs. 3,15,000 and six more

SHGs were formed from the amount paid pack by the initial groups. A total amount of Rs. 1, 92,800 had

been paid back by these 19 SHGs till date out of which Rs. 1,10,020 had been ploughed back to form the

new groups. The overall repayment is 45.4 percent. Through these SHG activities 5108 man days of

employment and a net income of Rs. 13,82,356 have been generated.

Livestock improvement

Around 170 farmers with 177 animals (cows, goats, calves ) were treated by the veterinarians for various

ailments and disorders in the 2 animal health camps. Vaccination was given for foot and mouth diseases,

pregnancy diagnosis was carried out, de-worming was done for animals and mineral mixtures were

distributed to weak as well as yigh yielding animals in Iduhatti watershed.

Trenching in new tea plantation

With the technical assistance of CSWCRTI, Udhagamandalam scientific approach of taking up trenches

and planting tea on contour in new plantations were observed. The design of staggered contour trenches

were ( 2m x 0.3m x0.45m) with 2m spacing between a pair of trenches in a row were taken up in the 12

ha of new tea plantation in Iduhatti watershed as a project intervention. Farmers were trained to maintain

correct spacing (0.65 m between two paired rows and 0.75m between the plants) using a triangular frame

(measuring 0.75m on all three sides( devised for that purpose.

Bench terracing

Inward sloping bench terraces are the recommended soil and water conservation measure for cultivation

of annual crops in steeply sloping lands of Nilgiris. This measure was demonstrated in 0.6 ha of sloping

land in Trichigadi village of Iduhatti watershed. The terraces wer constructed with an inward slope of

2.5% and longitudinal gradient of 1%. Toe drains were installed in all the terraces and the riser portion

was shaped with a slope of 1:1. Tea was planted in the riser portion of the first two terraces. The water

from the toe drains was led through a vertical dran into a surface pond created in the valley portion.

Sub surface water harvesting

A total of sixteen collection wells were installed in Iduhatti watershed. 4 in Iduhatti village and 5 in

Doddanni viallge, 7 in Trichigadi village for harvesting sub surface flow and increasing the water

availability during the lean season.

Stream widening

Stream alignment, widening and deepening had been done for a total length of 1013.5 m in Iduhatti

watershed to increase its carrying capacity. Apart from these check dams were constructed in the main

stream which is perennial in nature and provides water for irrigation during summer season.

Introduction of Sprinkler Irrgation

Ten units of sprinkler irrigation systems have been introduced in the watershed during the project period

with a total cost of Rs. 240240 out of which Rs. 160240 was met from the project side and Rs.80000 from

the farmer’s side as contribution.

Runoff Measurement in Iduhatti watershed

Runoff monitoring is being carried out through gauging station constructed at the outlet of Iduhatti

subwatershed, where agriculture is the major land use. The total runoff from this sub watershed during

Jan- Dec, 2009 was 222.61mm (18.31% of rainfall) while during the period from July to Dec, 2010 it was

178.2mm which works from Iduhatti watershed during 2011 was 95.2 mm which works out to 8.8% of

rainfall received during this period. The total run off from this sub watershed during the year 2012 was

74.9mm which works out to 9.5 % of rainfall received during this period.

Interventions through convergence approach

One community hall in Trichagadi village and one gabion retaining wall in Doddanni village were

constructed through convergence approach wherein proposals were submitted to Hill area development

programme. The Nilgiris by CSWCRTI, Udhagamandalam on behalf of the villagers and the works

executed through Agricultural Engineering department, the Nilgiris.

2. Impact of watershed Project taken up under River Valley Project (RVP) in Nilgiris District

Background

The lower Bhavani River Valley Project in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnatka initiated under the

centrally sponsored soil plan period with the objective of planning soil conservation measures in the

catchments of river valley projects for effective treatment of the problematic areas in order to minimize

the yield of silt from the catchment ultimate goal. Overall agricultural development has been envisaged as

the ultimate goal. The lower Bhavani project which is mainly envisaged as river Bhavani at a place called

Bhavnisagar in Avinashi Taluk in the Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. The total extent of the catchment

of the lower Bhavani reservoir is 2,67,200 ha below Pillur dam. It spreads over parts of Gundulpet and

Chamarjnagar taluks of Mysore district in Karnatka (23000 ha) and Udhagamandalam and Coonoor

taluks of Nilgiris ditstrict and Gobichetiipalayam and Avinashi taluks of Coimbatore district in Tamil

Nadu (2,44,200 ha)

Storage created and Ground water status in RVP watersheds in TN

Surface storage capacity created

A total of 368 ha-m additional surface water storage capacity has been created through construction of

different type of water harvesting structures under this project. The additional water storage capacity has

helped in improving ground water recharge and water availability for cattle and other non domestic uses

in the watershed.

Additional storage capacity 368 ha-m out of this 55% is water harvested through farm ponds followed by

25% water harvested by water harvesting structures like minor check dams, major check dams,

percolation ponds, farm ponds, community wells and other water harvesting structures. In addition to this

fixed capacity, storage capacity repeatedly available for different fillings after the filled water was

percolated. It helped in improving the ground water recharge and water availability for supplemental

irrigation and other non domestic uses in the watershed.

Ground water recharge

Impact of percolation ponds on ground water recharge in the influence zone at velliakadu watershed has

been gauged by observing recharge from October 2010 to February 2011. It was observed that due to high

rainfall during October, 2010, the percolation ponds got filled in full capacity and increased the recharge

which could be gauged from sufficient water availability during the month of February. It shows that

percolation ponds constructed under RVP projects has made direct impact on increasing the ground water

recharge in the region.

Increase in water table

On the basis of data collected from observation wells and perception of the farmers obtained during the

field visit, it was found that the water table has increased in the range of 0.3 to 0.5 m in the influence zone

of percolation ponds (generally found limited from 480m to 590m). it clearly shows that the percolation

ponds made visible impact on increased ground water table. The response of the structures was quite

quick showing its effect on recharge within 20-30 days and this was almost maintained beyond the end of

January.

Increased water availability duration in wells

Duration of water availability in wells over the years was taken as a measure to examine as to how the

watershed management works have helped in improving ground water availability. The duration of water

availability in wells has gone up from 3-6 months before watershed interventions to 9-12 months (38%-

45%) after watershed interventions. It shows the combined positive effect of water harvesting and gully

control structures constructed in the watersheds under this RVP project.

Improvement in perenniality of the streams

Based on visual observations (photographs) and local enquiry, it was revealed that after the project

implementation the duration of flow in most of the hill streams in a year has increased substantially.

Similar improvement was observed in the perenniality of streams in upper and middle reaches also. This

is due to the fact the gully control structures and silt detention tanks constructed in the upper and middle

reaches of the catchment have increased the sub surface flow resulted the perennial flow of streams.

Stabilization of Gullies

Most of the engineering measures were carried out in the upper and middle reaches of the watershed

which had contributed in larger way for reduction in gully enlarging. Due to sediment deposition in the

upstream side of the structures constructed in the streams and reduced the flow quantity and velocity, the

gully beds were stabilized.

Increased irrigation area

Based on the interpersonal communication with the farmers in the influence zone of percolation ponds in

Velliangadu watershed, it was observed that the irrigated area under well command is increased up to 18

%. Farmers also has the opinion that they are able to give the life saving irrigation to vegetable crops

during water stress period due to water harvesting structures created under RVP watershed development

project activities.

Changes in Land Use Pattern

Land use under different agricultural activities during pre and post project period is given in table.1. in

general, area under vegetable crops reduced and area under tea cultivation is increased in watersheds in

Nilgiris. Vegetable and coffee area has been converted to tea land use during 1996-2003 due to there was

huge hike in green tea leaves prize in the market and assured revenue obtained from this perennial crop.

But, in plain watersheds, area under Sorghum and Kambu is reduced and area under Ragi and other

millets were noticed in increasing trend. This may be due to tht the farmer’s started to adopt the strategy

of less water requirement crops with more yields. It is also come out in the discussion that the area under

irrigated crop like banana and sugarcane is increased. This can be the impact of the RVP activities that

increased water availability made the farmers to go for more area under irrigated crop. Few farmers told

us that there is no change of cropping pattern. However, the farmers agreed that the additional area is

brought under irrigation due to additional surface water harvesting structures created by watershed

development project.

Production and productivity

The average yield of different crops for pre and post project period is shown in the table appended below.

The yield of dry land crops has been increased considerably for all the crops. This may be partly

attributed due to supplemental irrigation provided from water harvesting structures. Similar trend was

noticed in case of irrigated crops also. The increased crops yield was in the range of 3 to 29 %. In Nilgiris,

the yield of vegetable crops has shown drastic increase in yield, which may be due to supplemental

irrigation given to farmers from the collection wells created under watershed development project.

Similarly, yield of millets, sugarcane and banana has also shown in the increasing trend which can be

considered as impact of RVP activities in terms of increased water availability for irrigation.

Table showing Land Use average yield of crops for pre and post project period in RVP watersheds

in lower Bhavani catchments

Crops Area in (ha) Average yield (t/ha)

Before After Before After

Agricultural crops

Potato 2277 2167 21.50 24.00

Cabbage 1394 1285 70 79

Carrot 1026 878 25 23

Raddish 153 167 20 23

Beans 266 321 16 17.50

Brinjal 24 27 13.42 14.81

Tomato 40 57 6 6.50

Chilly 12 39 6.05 6.48

Sorghum 1625 1428 1.28 1.35

Ragi 310 359 1 1

Pulses 355 317 0.20 0.23

Sugarcane 325 419 125 137

Banana 402 658 29.70 32

Tapico 69 65 29.6 38.9

Samai 4 16 1 0.78

Cotton 12 0 0.65 0

Kambu 205 68 0.96 1.06

Plantation crops

Arecanut 134 185 0.80 0.92

Coffee 89 48 0.62 0.60

Tea 8193 9148 7.50 8.30

Coconut 98 168 8365 nuts 8626 nuts

Agri-horticultural crops

Mango 32 47 4.42 5

Guava 41 58 5.02 5.95

Sapota 17 18.5 9.04 10.15

Jack 85 95 14 17

Orange 292 283 2 2

Lime 22 9 2 2.07

Tamarind 5

3. Ayalur watershed at a glance

Particulars Status

Name of the micro watershed Ayalur

Area of the micro watershed 782 ha (729 ha costing to 87.48 lakhs)

Total hamlets Five revenue villages: Mallipalayam, Kulaimuppanur, Palapalayam,

Semmandampalaiyam and Pulliyandgadu are located in the micro

watershed.

Total Population 3610 Numbers.

Major occupation Agriculture

Average Land holdings 1.2 ha

Land use and Agriculture

Agricultural area (ha) 708 ha

Irrigated area 144.53 ha (20.6 ha)

Rainfed area 430.53 ha (60.3 ha)

Waste land 18.22 ha

Habitation 23.86 ha

Major crops grown in the area Groundnut, tobacco, sugarcane, Turmeric, Banana and Maize.

Water Related data

Rainfall 600mm

Open wells 126 numbers

Tube wells 285 numbers

Depth of water table 700-900 feet

Technical Interventions at a glance of Ayalur Watershed

Details Status

Entry point activities Community hall (Rs. 3,45,562)

Capacity buildings Exposure visit- 3 in numbers

Soil and moisture conservation

measures

1. Earthen Bunding-1557 running meters.

2. Field bunding (stone) 340.5 running meters.

3. Trenches- 226 Numbers.

4. Farm ponds- 2 Numbers.

5. Dug out ponds- 5 Numbers.

6. Surface Pond with Silpaulin lining – 10 Numbers.

Agronomic conservation 1. Dry land horticulture-10.5 ha

2. Agro- horticulture-14.5 ha.

3. Crop demonstration- 50 Numbers.

Runoff Management structures 1. Percolation Pond- new 8 Numbers.

2. Percolation Pond (Rejuvenation)-4 Numbers.

Development of waste land 1. Live fencing- 1213 running meters.

2. Agroforestry- 3.7 ha

Drainage line treatment measures 1. Loose boulder Check Dam-3 Numbers.

2. Gabion check dams- 3 Numbers.

3. Random Rouble Check dams- 3 Numbers.

4. Renovation of check dams- 3 Numbers.

Livelihood support system 1. Household production system-38 HHs.

2. Small entrepreneurship/ small business-31 Numbers.

Major activities includes: Dairy, backyard poultry, goatry, carpentry,

barber shop, small daily needs based shops, turmeric boiler,

sparayers, lending out utensils, tailoring, wet grinders, laundry,

workshops.

Production sysem and micro

enterprises

1. Crop diversification-4 Numbers.

2. Integrated farming system-12 Numbers.

3. Drip irrigation for fruit trees- 34 Numbers.

4. Sprinkler irrigation-8 Numbers.

5. Introduction of improved fodder-36 Numbers.

6. Animal health camps- 3 Numbers.

7. Live stock improvement measures-30 Numbers.

Amount deposited in watershed

development fund

Rs. 1, 33, 575. (Though exit protocol after withdrawl for utilizing

the WDF has not framed yet.

Backround:

Soil and water are the most precious natural resources, which sustain our life. In rain fed area watershed

management is the approach used for conservation of water and other natural resources as well as for

sustainable management of natural resources. A watershed is a hydrologically defined area that is drained

by a network of streams, which meet together in such way that the water leaves through a common point.

Soil and water conservation including micro-scale water resource development is the foundation of any

watershed development programme supported by a number of other protection, production and livelihood

support interventions therefore, watershed management is the process of guiding and organizing land use

and use of other resources in a watershed to provide desired goods and services to people while

enchancing the resource base without adversely affecting natural resources and the environment (Wani et

al; 2001)

In india, though rainfed areas account for about 67 percent of the cultivated area (Singh et al; 2000) their

contribution is only about 45 percent of total food grain production. A major part of the coarse cereals,

pulses and oilseeds are cultivated in the rainfed regions. Crop productivity in these areas is low and highly

variable, depending on the vagaries of monsoon. This has led to wide regional disparities in the income

and living standards of farmers. Irrigation facilities in these areas are limited due to lack of suitable sites

for large storage, high cost involved and environmental considerations. There is a general tendency to

exploit ground water for food crops by few resourceful farmers.

Watershed programmes in India so far have mainly focused on natural resource conservation and

interventions such as soil and rain water conservation and to some extent afforestation in the government

forest lands. As far as the production aspect is concerned, no much important has been given. Mostly it

was confined with the distribution of inputs like, fertilizers, seeds and organic manures for agriculture and

distribution of fruit and tree seedlings as horticulture and agro forestry interventions respectively.

However, watershed projects should move from purely soil and moisture conservation and water

harvesting interventions to approach which includes production aspects also. For meaningful

interventions in the production aspects, it is important to design the interventions as technical package as

per the constraints identified for various production system in a particular area. This approach not only

increases the productivity but also helps in conserving the natural resources. In the backdrop of this, the

research cum development effort was focused here on increasing productivity, resources use efficiency

and farm income in the semi-arid area.

Ayalur Watershed

This dryland development project was undertaken during 2008-09 to 2012-13. The Ayalur watershed is

located in Gobichettipalayam taluk, Erode district, Tamilnadu state at 21 kms from Sathymangalam –

Perudurai road. It is about 120 kms from Ooty and 8 kms from Gobichettipalayam between 77 º 22’ 43”

to77 º 24’ 10” E longitude and 11 º 25’ 19” N latitude. Five revenue villages namely Mallipalayam

(including the hamlet puthucolony) Kulaimuppanur (including the hamlet Anna colony) palapalayam

(including hamlets Odaimedu, Kattusalai, papathikadu) Semmandampalaiyam and Pulliyandadu are

located in the micro watershed. It lies in the tropical zone characterized with scanty rainfall and dry

climate. The average annual rainfall is about 600 mm. most of the annual rainfall (51%) is received

during (NE monsoon) in the months of October to December accompanied with high intensity storms.

30% of rainfall is received through SW monsoon also. The uncertainty of NE monsoon and not favorable

contribution from SW monsoons make the plight of local agriculturists miserable. Even though NE

monsoon contributes more than the SW monsoon, farmers take up rainfed sowing during SW monsoon

only as the distribution of rainfall is poor in case of NE monsoon.

Socio-Economic conditions in the watershed

The total population of five villages of the watershed is 3610 with average family size of 6 persons.

Majority of the watershed farmers are in the category of small and marginal with average land holding of

1.2 ha. These small land holdings are further scattered in 3-4 different places which makes cultivation

very difficult. Small farmers (1-2 ha) contribute 50.2 % followed by marginal (< 1ha) farmers (32.5%)

Annual net income from agriculture and allied activites in dryland area ranges from Rs 15000 to 65000.

Out of which only 56% is contributed by the agricultural crops. Land less labourers constitutes 30% of

the population who resides mainly in the small hamlets. Their livelihoods are mainly depends on the

labour demand on day to day basis.

Rain fed Agriculture

In the watershed, out the total area (782 ha), about 90% area (708.38 ha) is under agriculture, of which

60.1% (430.47 ha) is under rainfed agriculture. Only single cropping is followed in this area. Groundnut-

either fallow or fodder sorghum is main crop sequence in the watershed. Crop failure is very common in

this area. Crops are sown during the second week of July and harvested in the last week of September to

first week of October. Quite often late onset of monsoons, early withdrawal of monsoon rainfall and large

intervening gaps adversely affect the germination, growth and productivity of kharif crops. The low water

holding capacity of soils present in this area (gravely red sandy soil) also causes soil moisture stress.

Average productivity of groundnut crop is around 625 kg per ha. This watershed was characterized by

low input use and even farm yard manure was applied in little quantity. Appropriate dry land technologies

could considerably increase efficiency of the rainfed Kharif cropping for achieving higher productivity.

Agriculture with supplementary irrigation

Out of 708.38 ha of total agricultural area, 17.27 % (122.35 ha) is under partial irrigation. Bore well is the

main source of irrigation. Average depth of bore well is about 650 feet. Water yield of bore well is largely

depends on monsoon. Bore well water is pumped into open well before irrigating the crops. Lot of energy

was wasted in this system. Some farmers were pumping water into surface ponds from where irrigation is

given to field crops leading to low water use efficiency. In this method also lot of water is wasted as deep

percolation and evaporation. Since the water yield is poor in bore wells, crops are not fully irrigated. Only

supplementary irrigation is given along with the rainfall. These wells remain in dry condition for most

part of the year. Crops often experience moisture stress. Depending on the yield in bore wells, few

farmers take up three crops per year. Groundnut- tobacco, maize- tobacco, groundnut- fallow are the crop

sequences followed in this areas. The yield level is not up to the irrigated crop as only supplementary

irrigation is practiced and the input use is also less compared to irrigated agriculture. Soil of this area is

red sandy to red sandy loam. Crops often express micro nutrient deficiencies (boron in groundnut and

zinc in maize). Average yield of ground nut and maize was 1.5 t ha and 3.0 t ha respectively under

supplementary irrigated conditions.

Agro-forestry and horticulture

The watershed does not have much organized orchards. However, farmers have planted fruit plants

(tamarind, citrus, mango, pomegranate etc) in the homesteads and kitchen gardens. Palmyra trees are

scattered in few farm lands especially in the rainfed areas as natural/plantation trees. The climate and soil

is suitable for growing spota, aonla, tamarind, drumstick, guava and mango. Neem and erythrina indica

are the main multipurpose agro- forestry trees grown along the field boundaries, trees like leucaena

leucocephala and gliricidia spp. Were found in the few fields as scattered trees.

Problem identification and prioritization

Certain problems related to natural resources management in the watershed was identified and prioritized

during the PRA exercises and through the transect walk the available resources and their scope of

interventions were for better natural resources management were identified.

Following problems were prioritized as per the ranking suggested by the community

1. Low water yield in the bore wells.

2. Lack of water resources.

3. Low productivity.

4. Low soil depth and massive soil erosion.

5. Gravel soil with low fertility.

6. Open grazing during rabi season.

7. Lack of fodder availability.

8. Low employment for landless labour.

Less rainfall, increased water demand and more dependence on ground water further leads to faster

ground water depletion. Rapid run off due to poor vegetation cover and lack of water conservation

measures led to poor ground water recharge.

Most of the red soils in the watershed are gravelly, light and are prone to erosion. Poor ground cover of

vegetation and improper management add more severity to the erosion problem. Soils of the watershed

have low water holding capacity and low nutrient status. Hence, it required a careful crop management

programme ideal for shallow red soils and also soil fertility maintenance measures in an integrated

manner. In irrigated areas, efficient water use management practices were needed to save scarce water

resources. A sizeable area in the watershed with least productive soils was put under occasional crops.

This could be considered for alternative land use including agri-horticulture, agro-forestry, horticulture

etc. there was no forest as such in the watershed and the open pasture or vegetation on rocky and

degraded wastelands with sparse grassy vegetation are used for grazing. Land less labourers form a

significant part of population and need employment or other income generation activities.

Approach and technology plan

One of the major short comings/reasons of non adoption of technology by rainfed farmers is the

incompatibility of technology with their socio economic conditions and risk taking capacity. Thus it is

essential to identify different levels of package of practices to give the farmer an option to choose the

level of technology as per the site condition and socio economic conditions and risk taking capacity.

Demonstrations were carried out successfully by the central soil and water conservation research and

training institute Udhagamandalam. Certain bio engineering measures were carried out to improve

productivity, resource use efficiency and farm income in Ayalur Model Micro-watershed of Erode

District, developed under macro management of agriculture under NWDPRA programme of the ministry

of Agricutlure, Govt of India. Watershed management plan for Ayalur watershed with an outlay of Rs.

89.76 lakhs, was prepared with specific objectives of increasing farm income, productivity, employment

generation and water use efficiency. In micro plan preparation due importance was given to problems,

needs, priorities of the villagers, topographic fragility, land use suitability, irrigation potentiality and

prevailing farming systems. Technologies option was blended with the indigenous knowledge based on

the successful experience gained by PIA in the Salaiyur watershed in Tamilnadu, where similar situation

exists.

Efficient Land use system

Considering the huge livestock population and absence of livestock based agro- forestry/farm forestry and

pasture land, emphasis was given to increase the land under agro-forestry by introducing tree species

suitable for dry land system. Due to less soil depth only

those horticulture and agro forestry interventions were

proposed which were best suited for taking up in

dryland, taking into consideration the soil

conservation measures and micro site improvement.

Emphasis has been given on maximum use of

farmyard manure (FYM) and suitable modifications

are suggested for increasing the quality of soil which

is having low nutrient content, low water holding

capacity and poor soil depth. Enrichment of FYM by

suitable technologies would further increase the soil

productivity. Under partially irrigated agriculture

owing to the poor yield of water in the bore wells,

considerable area was allotted to agri-horticulture for

achieving higher water use efficiency and farm income. Since there is a little scope for the creation of

water resources, it is proposed to convert the partial irrigated area to assured irrigation area by micro-

irrigation and better water recharge through conservation structures. Stress was given to increase the yield

and water use efficiency of sugarcane, rice, turmeric and banana by micro- irrigation, better varieties and

other improved agro techniques.

Water resource development and soil conservation measures

Check dam apart from percolation tank was constructed for

assured irrigation and to augment ground water.

Hydrologic characterstic of semi arid watershed typically contain ephemeral streams having flow mostly

during the NE monsoon. In this micro watershed after the cessation of rains, sub surface flow contribution

could also be noticed in these streams but for a limited time. Rapid surface run off due to poor vegetation

cover, light soil, graveliness/stoniness, low rainfall and high evaporation causes reduced sub surface flow

and ground water recharge. Water deficit or moisture stress

is expected except of a little water surplus during the

month of October. The stored water is utilized in the

subsequent months. Maximum water harvesting of rain

water for storage and ground water recharging exists.

There also exists ample scope to check and store runoff in

the watershed by constructing a series of check dams,

percolation tanks and ponds.

Water conservation through irrigation system

management

Farmers in the watershed are going for the bore wells to a depth greater than 200 meter to get water.

These bore wells are mostly fitted with 7.5 horse power air compressor pumps in

order to fill water in open wells and

surface ponds, where it is pumped

through centrifugal pump or under

gravity flow to irrigate fields. Thus

very low overall irrigation efficiency

is

Achieved. Temporary storage in shallow ponds is estimated

to have recurring seepage loss of the order of 30-40 percent.

In view of the existing water scarcity, lining of the ponds,

each with silpaulin sheet was demonstrated at three ponds to

prevent seepage losses. In order to to utilize the water

resources more efficiently in the watershed, the system needs

to be made more efficient from water management point of

view by minimizing the conveyance losses in bore

well irrigation system. In partial irrigated area, laying

high density polyethylene (HDPE) irrigation pipelines, sprinkler irrigation for field crops and drip

irrigation was introduced to increase water use efficiency, in turn increase the irrigated area.

The upgradation of existing system results in

1. Minimization of conveyance losses.

High density polyethylene tank constructed by the

villagers

Micro irrigation technology i.e. drip irrigation technique is adopted by a progressive

farmer of Ayalur micro watershed

Drip irrigation unit for ferti-irrigation established by

a progressive farmer in their farmland

2. Increase in irrigation frequency.

3. Assured cultivation of cash crops.

4. Increase in cropping intensity.

Crop production

In the light of land capability classification of the watershed and need of the farmers, the reallocation of

the watershed area under rain fed, partial irrigated area was done for improving productivity, generating

income and maintaining ecological balance.

Organic farming system (OFS)

In the context of rainfed semi arid agriculture, organic farming system has been specially recommended

for achieving high productivity. This is more important in view of the fact that the soils of the watershed

have large proportion of inert gravels, meager fine soil and generally low nutrient status. Demonstrations

were conducted to train the farmers on preparation of compost using locally available materials.

Management of major crops with improved cultivation methods

Farmers participated research on improved cultivation practices pertaining to the dryland agriculture were

taken up involving introduction of improved varieties, biofertilizer, integrated nutrient management,

micronutrients, intercropping in groundnut and maize based cropping systems for increasing productivity

and rain water use efficiency. In the rain fed areas INM with the use of drought tolerant high yielding

variety approach was adopted to enable good crop growth and get the maximum yield in the watershed.

Emphasis was given for inter cropping for insurance against the crop failure and increasing rain water use

efficiency in groundnut crop. In partial irrigated area, crop diversification options were explored for

Micro irrigation technology of ferti irrigation through

drip irrigation system in the farmlands.

higher income. Considering the huge livestock population and absence of sufficient fodder, importance

for given for the introduction of high yielding fodder grasses.

Horticulture and Agri-horticulture

About 32 ha area of watershed constituted cultivable and uncultivable wastelands. Rehabilitation of these

areas through alternative, sustainable, economical and perennial system of biomass production was

envisaged by putting these areas under horticulture, agri-horti, agro- forestry and forestry plantations

covering marginal and degraded lands with shallow gravelly soils of rainfed, partial irrigated area and

cultivable waste. Under dryland horticulture, mango and tamarind were planted whereas coconut, sapota,

mango and lemon were planted under agri-horticulture. Improved micro-site condition for soil working

and planting by adopting 1metre cube pit size, back filling pit with gravel free soil mixed with pond silt

and FYM was demonstrated.

Agro-forestry

Under afforestation works, species like leucaena leucocephala, albizia lebbeck and Acacia leucophloea,

Erthring, teak were planted in 7 ha of waste land, cultivable waste and field bunds in the private land with

the spacing of 3 x 3m by following a pit size of 0.45 metre cube.

INTERVENTIONS TO ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY AND INCOME

Integrated Nutrient Management

Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers for the supply of major nutrients and declining use of secondary

nutrients and organic sources of inputs over time led to the secondary and micronutrient deficiencies,

particularly boron and zinc are emerging as one of the major constraints for sustainable production in

rainfed areas.

Groundnut is the major crop under oilseeds accounting for 8.36% of the total cropped area in Tamilnadu.

But the average yield of groundnut in most of the areas is still extremely low when compared to those

prevailing in other areas of the country. The reasons for low groundnut yield are the use of low yield

potential varieties, poor soil fertility and nutrient management. Groundnut performs better in terms of

yield and quality when good cultivar sown under optimum nutrient management coupled with organic and

inorganic nutrient management. Groundnut is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen with the help of the

bacteria Rhyzobium. Biofertilisation, in contrast to the use of chemical fertilizers, is receiving steadily

increased attention.

Even though use of improved variety is common in case of maize, zinc deficiency reduces the maize yield

by 20 percent. Nutrients such as boron and zinc are important to plant growth and yield of groundnut and

maize respectively, which are deficient in watershed. Traditional cultivation practices, coupled with poor

quality seeds and varieties resulted in low crop yields. Average productivity of groundnut crop during

good rainfall year is around 800-900 kg ha against the potential yield of 1916 kg ha in rainfed region.

In groundnut, along with the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (10:10:45 kg NPK ha) for rainfed

groundnut and for irrigated groundnut (17:34:54 kg NPK ha) Rhyzobium and phosphobacteria (each 2 kg

ha), gypsum (200kg ha) and boron (5kg ha) were used in the demonstrations fields. Farmers used

improved VRI-2 and CO 6 variety of groundnut under rainfed condition and VI-2 under irrigated

condition.

The average yield and additional benefit obtained from different farmers for different interventions in

groundnut under irrigated condition is appended below:

Table-1. Response of groundnut to INM

Interventions Yield (kg ha) Additional yield

(kg ha)

Additional cost

(Rs. ha)

Additional income

(Rs. ha)

Farmer’s

practice

1650 - - -

Local variety

with INM

2400 750 3668 12832

Improved

variety (VRI-2)

1950 300 2400 4600

Improved

variety with

INM

2850 1200 4668 21732

An average additional yield (31%) was obtained when the farmers practiced INM with their local variety.

And a additional yield of 15% was realized when they used improved variety even without INM

compared to their practice of using local variety without INM. The increase in groundnut was still higher

(42%) when they practiced both improved variety and INM. Additional return of Rs. 12832, Rs. 4600 ad

Rs. 21732 per ha was achieved respectively with the practice of INM, use of improved variety and both

improved variety and INM.

Rainfed Groundnut

Eight crop demonstrations on improved seed and integrated nutrient management were conducted in the

farmer’s field. The average yield and additional benefit obtained from different farmers for different

interventions in groundnut under irrigated condition is appended below in Table-2.

Table-2. Response of groundnut to INM under rainfed condition

Interventions Yield (kg ha) Additional yield

(kg ha)

Additional cost

(Rs. ha)

Additional income

(Rs. ha)

Farmer’s

practice

1078 - - -

Local seed

with INM

1345 267 (24%) 3470 5875

Improved seed

(CO 5) without

INM

1265 187 1100 5445

Improved seed

(CO 5) with

INM

1650 572 4570 15450

Improved seed

(VRI 2)

without INM

1184 106 1100 2610

Improved seed

(VRI 2) with

INM

1583 505 4570 13105

Maize

In case of maize, along with the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (60:30:30 kg NPK ha) , bio

fertilizer (Azospirillum and phosphobacteria each (2kg ha) and ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha were applied.

Improved variety COH (M) 4 was introduced. About 22 percent increase in yield (5500 kg ha) was

achieved with improved practices. Rain water use efficiency (RWUE) was also 22% higher compared to

the farmer’s practice. An additional benefit of Rs. 8000 ha was achieved over farmer’s practice when

hybrid seeds and INM were adopted.

Response of maize to INM is shown in the table 3 which is appended below

Table 3

Particulars Farmer’s Practice INM

Yield (kg ha) 4500 5500

Additional yield - 1000

Additional cost (Rs) - 2747

Additional benefits (Rs) - 8000

RWUE (kg/ha mm) 10 12.2

Intercropping in Groundnut

Adverse weather conditions like delay in the onset of rains and /or failure of rains for few days to weeks

some time or other during the crop period is very common in the rain fed groundnut growing areas.

Adverse weather conditions result in economic losses to the farmers due to the partial or total failure of

groundnut crop. To overcome this situation there is need to adopt or follow groundnut based cropping

systems like intercropping or mixed cropping in rain fed groundnut growing areas. Even though the

Ayalur watershed receives both southwest and northeast monsoon, cropping activities in dry land

confined to kharif only as the number of rainy days during NE monsoon is very less. In order to utilize

both monsoon effectively, long duration(180 days) red gram variety CO-6 was intercropped with

groundnut variety VRI-2 (110 days) duration 10:1 ratio. Groundnut was harvested in the month of

October and red gram was harvested in the month of February. Cow pea was intercropped with groundnut

at 6:1 ratio for insurance against crop failure. In this system, 20% and 10% higher groundnut + red gram

and groundnut+ cowpea intercropping respectively Table-4 which is appended below. Higher rain water

use efficiency (RWUE) and land equivalent ratio (LER) were also achieved due to the intercropping

system.

Table 4 Intercropping in groundnut on productivity and RWUE

Intervention Groundnut

yield (kg/ha)

Red gram

yield (kg/ha)

Groundnut

Equivalent

yield (kg/ha)

RWUE

(kg/ha-mm)

Land

equivalent

ratio (LER)

Groundnut

alone 2840 - 2840 3.32 1

Groundnut+

red gram

intercropping

10:1 ratio

2840 250 3408 3.98 1.2

Groundnut

+cow pea

intercropping

6:1 ratio

2720 150 3129 3.65 1.1

Crop diversification

At present, our agricultural system is dominated by a certain group of crops as more than 80% of our food

comes from about 10 species only (Sharda et al, 2006). Under circumstances, crop diversification will be

a boon from ecological as well as nutritional point of view. Concept of diversification is need based as

well as economically viable. Crop diversification is intended to give a wider choice in the production of a

variety of crops in a given area so as to expand production related activities on various crops and also to

lessen risk. Crop diversification in India is generally viewed as a shift from traditionally grown less

remunerative crops to more remunerative crops to more remunerative crops.

Groundnut –tobacco or maize- groundnut is the cropping pattern followed in the partially irrigated area in

the watershed. In orde to diversify the crops and increase the net income, cultivation of marigold and

cabbage was introduced for groundnut crop. The price of groundnut pod, marigold and cabbage during

the intervention is Rs 23, Rs 15 and Rs 4 per kg of produce. Among three crops cultivated, marigold

produced the highest income (Rs 70850 per ha) which was followed by cabbage (Rs 63240 per ha).

Marigold and cabbage produced 62.4% and 57% higher net income compared to the conventional crop

groundnut.

Table 5 Economics (Rs ha) of crop diversification ( Average of three farmers)

Particulars Groundnut Marigold Cabbage

Yield (kg ha) 1875 8120 28560

Cost of cultivation 16500 50950 51000

Gross income 43125 121800 114240

Net income 26625 70850 63240

Additional income - 55225 36615

Compost production

with the introduction of the farm machinery and commercial fertilizers, the reliance of the animal power

as cultural tool has substantially reduced in the recent past and has thus reduced the availability of farm

yard manure availability in the farm. Environmental degradation is a major threat and the rampant use of

chemical fertilizers contributes largely to the deterioration of the environment through depletion of fossil

fuels.

Coir pith compost is a good source of organic manure for dry land agriculture as it can absorb water five

times its weight and thereby when applied to soil increase the water holding capacity of soil. Coir industry

in Tamilnadu generates nearly 4.5 lakh tones of organice waste (coir pith) every day which needs safe

disposal. Coir pith contains constituents like lignin (30%) and Cellulose (26%), which do not degrade

quickly but cane be decomposed by employing the fungus pleurotus sojar-caju with urea

supplementation. At the end of the composting period, the coir pith is changed into a well decomposed

black mass. The C:N ratio is reduced to nearly 24:1 with the N content enhanced from 0.26 to 1.06%. the

advantages of coir pith compost over other compost materials are that it adds micronutrient to the soil,

enhances microbial activity and reduces soil erosion. In addition to the higher moisture content, coir pith

compost is known to supply micro and secondary nutrients such as magnesium, sulphur, calcium besides

nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

Preparation of coir pith compost

One ton of coir pith, 5kg of urea and 5 bottles of pleurotus spawn is required to prepare one ton of coir

pith compost. First 100 kg of coir pith waste should be spread over a shady place. Then one bottle of

spawn should be applied over this layer uniformly, this procedure of alternate application of pleurotus and

urea should be done for the whole one tone of coir pith waste. Sufficient moisture should be ensured for

speedy decomposition in this composting process, takes nearly on month for complete decomposition of

coir pith indicated when its colour changes to black.

Fodder improvement

Considering the importance of animal husbandry in increasing the farm income in dry land areas, efforts

were taken o introduce improved fodder grass like hybrid napier in the watershed as pur and intercrop in

coconut garden.

ALTERNATE LAND USE SYSTEM

Horticulture and agri- horticulture

The watershed does not have any organized or compact orchard block. The scattered fruit plants present

in the farm and homestead are mango, tamarind pomegranate and oranges. About 32 ha area of the

watershed constituted cultivable and uncultivable wastelands. Rehabilitation of these areas through

alternative, sustainable, economical and perennial system of biomass production envisaged by putting

these areas under horticulture, agri-horti, agro – forestry and forestry plantations.

Agro- Forestry

Under afforestation works, species like Melia dubea, teak and Ailanthus Leucaena were planted as block

plantation and field bunds to increase the farm income.

Income generating activities

Considering the presence of large number of land less poor in the watershed, alternative income

generating activities were taken up through formation of SHGs for the upliftment of landless poor and

resource poor farming families in the watershed.

Community organization activities

As a part of community organization activities, five Village Resource Management Committees

(VRMCs) had bee initially formed for the five major villages/ hamlets located in Ayalur watershed viz.

Semmandampalayam, Mallipalayam, Kulaimoopanur, Puducolony/Annanagar colony and

Palapallayam/Pulliyangadu/Odaiemedu. Twenty five members had been selected from these VRMCs to

act as embers of Ayalur watershed executive committee. President, Vice president, Secretary and

Treasurer were then elected from these 25 members to function as office bearers of Executive Committee.

Bye- laws for the watershed committee were then framed and during the month of July, 2009 , Ayalur

watershed Association was registered under the society registration act. Regular meetings of watershed

executive committee were conducted in which all watershed development works were discussed before

implementing them on the farmers fields. The beneficiaries for the various project interventions in

different villages were identified by the members of the respective VRMCs. All records pertaining to the

watershed are being maintained in proper manner by the office bearers of the executive committee. Two

accounts for Ayalur watershed viz Ayalur watershed project fund and Ayalur watershed development

fund were opened at Canara bank, Kollapallur, Gobi taluk which is the nearest nationalized bank. All

financial transactions pertaining to watershed works were operated through the former account while

contributions received form beneficiaries and membership fee from members of the watershed association

are being deposited in the latter.

Entry point activities

As a rapport building measure, a community hall for the SC community of the watershed was constructed

at a total cost of Rs. 3,45,562 in the pudu colony hamlet of Ayalur watershed as EPA. District panchayat

Chairman, District Collector and Project officer (DRDA), Erode district were approached for convergence

of their development schemes to suppor this EPA in the watershed at an outlay of Rs. 2.75 lakhs. This

cost includes provision of electricity and water supply to the community hall and addition of a kitchen

and toilet which will enhance its utility. The concerned officials have agreed in principle for completing

these works with panchayat funds.

Technology interventions

Bio – physical technology were tested with the following objectives

1. To increase the productivity and farm income of dryland areas.

2. To augment the groundwater recharge in the dryland areas.

3. To harvest the rainwater for supplemental irrigation

4. To find the means to the efficient use of irrigation water

5. To create livelihood opportunities for the landless labourers in the dry land area.