Indigenous Practices for Soil and Water Conservation - Agropedia

The Logic of Recommended and Indigenous
Soil and Water Conservation Practices
N.K.Sanghi
and J.M.Kerr
While researchers and farmers both understand the importance of soil and
water conservation (SWC) measures, their perceptions regarding the worth of
each other's practices differ. If future strategies for research and development
are to be truly relevant, these differences in approaches and perceptions must
be understood and reconciled.
Recommended Practices
The two main practices recommended by researchers for SWC in the plains are
contour bunding (for low-rainfall areas) and graded bunding (for high-rainfall
areas). The essential features of these technologies include diversion drains,
continuous bunds, contour farming, centralized water courses, stone checks in
gullies, and water harvesting in farm ponds.
Field experience in Andhra Pradesh has indicated that conventional graded
bunding is not suitable for small farms. The centralized water disposal system
creates a clash among the participants, as the farmers whose fields are located
towards the terminal end of each bund suffer due to the diversion of water from
the upper fields.
Farmers' Practices
The m a i n features of t h e f a r m e r s ' SWC efforts are:
• Field bunds and drains on boundaries,
• Boundary waterways along the major slopes,
• Criss-cross cultivation where the desi plow is used,
• Gully control structures on boundaries for soil deposition, and
• Water harvesting measures depending on rainfall and soil type.
Soil conservation. Farmers minimize soil erosion in cultivated fields w i t h :
• Field bunds with or without waste weirs,
• Perennial vegetation on field bunds,
• Small stone checks across rills in fields,
• Subdividing land holdings into smaller fields, and
• D i v e r s i o n d r a i n s for safe disposal of r u n o f f f r o m upper reaches.
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