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

in the operation and maintenance of drainage canals or natural drainage has, by and large,
not received the required attention.
Studies on impact of waterlogging and salinity on agricultural and farm productivity
The relationship between waterlogging / salinity and agricultural productivity is complex
and involves geographic, hydraulic, social and economic factors. There are only few
comprehensive studies, which have addressed such issues.
The study by Joshi & Jha (1991) in the Sharda Sahayak irrigation project In India is
comprehensive enough, and covers 110 farm households in the Gauriganj Block of
Sultanpur District in 1985-86. Its investigation reveals that there had been a decline in the
yield of paddy and wheat to the extent of nearly 51 percent and 56 percent, respectively on
the degraded soils. The net income per hectare in the salt affected lands was 82-97 percent
lower than the unaffected land. Paddy remained as the only option on waterlogged soils,
though the net incomes are reduced by 54-55 percent when compared to paddy b'Town in
normal soils. Productivity losses were a result of the increased costs of production where
per unit costs for paddy rose by about 60 percent, while for wheat per unit costs increased
by about 85 percent in saline lands. Using a decomposition analysis, the study found that
salinity accounted for as much as 72 percent of the difference in gross income between
normal and salt-affected plots. The study also found that farmers reverted to low- input
traditional varieties and practices as soil conditions deteriorated.
Similarly, other farm-level studies of major irrigation projects in India like the Bhakra
(Singh 1992) have shown that on degraded lands, decline in yield levels of paddy, wheat,
cotton and sugarcane were 1.90, 1.10, 1.60 and 4.30 metric tonnes per hectare, respectively.
The Indira Gandhi irrigation project (Joshi 1993) has shown that the yield and income
effects on saline soil were quite high where the decline in wheat was 0.80 metric tonncs per
hectare on salt affected lands. A study by Gajja and Joshi on the Kakarpar project (1992)
revealed that the decline in yield levels of paddy, wheat, cotton and sugarcane was 1.90,
1.10, 1.60 and 4.30 metric tonnes per hectare, respectively. These studics clearly show that
the decline in yield levels of paddy and wheat were at a maximum in the Bhakra project
whereas the Kakarpar irrigation project showed a maximum decline in yield levels of
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