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

irrigation channels is the responsibility of CADA, the farmers in both the study villages
have undertaken this activity with their own resources.
In Gundur, only 36 percent of the farmers kept their land fallow at least for two cropping
seasons to replenish soil fertility. Some farmers kept only small portions of the land fallow.
Later, these lands are ploughed to mulch weeds and grasses into the soil, which serve as a
source of green manure. This facilitates in regenerating the level of organic matter and
nutrients in the topsoil and is the most traditional method of regenerating exhausted soils,4
being the most common strategy employed in the past. The length of the fallow period
varied according to the type of soil. Farmers said that the yields on irrigated land decline if
they grow two crops a year continuously for five to six years. However, periods of fallow
are becoming shorter and are gradually disappearing due to increasing population pressure
and consequent economic compulsions. Sometimes the fallow lands are used as grazing
plots. It is found that land use intensiti is lower on large holdings and higher on small and
tenant holdings. Farmers have also started cultivating in areas close to the watercourse that
would not in the past have been considered as fit for cultivation. Farmers in Hagedal
explained that fallowing used to be the main way of improving soil fertility but now only
20 percent of the farmers keep their land fallow during the monsoon to combat
waterlogging problems. Although many farmers whose plots wcre located near the outlets
wanted to keep their land fallow during the monsoon, it was not possible due to breaching
of canals and illegal diversion of water.
Water is released on a continuous basis to distributary 3112, which serves thc lands of both
the villages. In Gundur, the WU A takes the responsibility of distributing water to farmers,
while in Hagedal, in the absence of a WUA, farmers are expected to take water from the
outlet on a tum basis. In Gundur, the physical boundary of the association has been defined
and all the fields falling within the boundary get timely and assured supply of water to grow
paddy. Farmers are informed in advance about the availability of water, the process of
4 However, some researchers considered seasonal fallow to be of limited use because it is of such short
duration. It is often only employed because they lack the necessary labor. oxen or fertilizers to cultivate the
land, rather than as a deliberate way of improving soil fertility (Campbell et al. 1997). ..
, Land use intensity represents the ratio between the land area that is sown and the land area that IS left tallow
in a given year. The area sown is the land that has been sown at least once In a gIven year and the fallow land,
on the other hand. is the land that has not been sown in a given year but was sown at least once In the
preceding year.
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