Water Users Association and Irrigation Management - Institute for ...

percent of the farmers felt that the localized irrigation pattern was incompatible with the
given soil conditions in which light irrigated crop cultivation results in further developllll:nt
of alkalinity and waterlogging in the soil. Therefore, the WUA supported thl: cultivation of
paddy. Another important reason for the violation was availability of water (48.3 percent).
An interesting observation is that the areas localized for paddy also sutler from
waterlogging and salinity.
Table 5.10: Reasons for Violation of Cropping Pattern by Location
Reasons Head Middle Tail Total (ID a/a)
Gundur Hagedal Gundur Hagedal Gundur Hagedal GUDdur Hagedal
Adequate 2 16 10 12 13 16
supply of water (33.3) (69.6) (52.6) (70.6) (59.1) (55.2)
48.3 65.1
Land not suited 4 6 12 6 II 9 59.9 30.8
for ID (66.7) (26.1 ) (632) (35.3) (50) (31 )
Assured 2 II 8 12 II 14 41.8 55.5
Crop (33.3) (47.8) (42.1 ) ( 70.6) (50) ( 48.3)
Consumption I 2 2 9 7 4 19.6 25.1
(16.7) (8.7) (10.5) (52.9) (31.8) ( 13.8)
Relative price 2 I I 6 I I II 12 38.3 51.3
and (33.3) (47.8) (31.6) (647) (50) (41.4)
profitability
All are growing 6 4 14 5 18 5 85.1 21.5
paddy (100) (17.9) (73.7) (29.4) (81.8) ( 172)
Poor 0 5 3 5 3 5 9.8 22.7
knowledge of (0.0) (21.7) (15.8) (29.4) (31.6) ( 17.2)
other crop
Note. FIgures In parentheSIS IndIcate percentage.
One of the key features of the local farming practice. which has also been reported in other
studies (Talawar & Rhoades 1997), is the careful matching of crops and crop varieties to
soil potential. The farmers considered the cropping pattern recommended by C ADA to be
incompatible to the soil conditions and their respective farming systems. Until 1970. the
main cash crop was cotton and only one third of the area was under paddy. which was
grown as subsistence and a cash crop. When farmers started noticing alkalinity and salinity
they stopped cultivating cotton and jowar. Further. the black s(lil which is mOIsture
retentive made irrigated dry crops almost impossible to cultivate fix long. Cotton and jowar
were replaced by paddy. which performed better on soils affected with waterlogging and
salinity. This shows that the farmers see soil fertility as a dynamic characteristic of soib.
and not as an inherent quality in itself (see also Data 1998). Lands that were affected bv
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