Contents & Foreword, Characterizing And ... - IRRI books

small percentage of the land (1–3%) was cultivated under a leasehold arrangement,mostly between families who lent and borrowed parcels of land for a given season.Land leasing and tenancy arrangements were not regularly practiced in the study areaand elsewhere.During the height of the monsoon season, low-lying areas, that is, deepwaterand lower terrace areas, were usually submerged. Floodwater normally rose to atleast 90 cm, covering an area of 69% and 66%, respectively (Table 6). In the rainfedvillage, however, flooding was not a big problem. Only 35% of the land area wasaffected by flood, of which 25% fell under 30 cm of water. Flooding also occurred inthe upper terrace areas, but with an even distribution of floodwater.Farmers’ assessments of soil quality conditions in their fields were solicited.Categories such as good, average, poor, and very poor were given as choices. Most ofthe farmers (82%) in the rainfed village claimed that soil quality on their farms wasgood (Table 7). In contrast, many of the farmers owning irrigated farms characterizedtheir lands as having poor soil quality (52–66%). This was expected since extensivecropping of the field can easily exhaust soil fertility. On average, about 14% of thehouseholds in all four villages considered their land to be of average quality. Cases ofvery poor soil quality were reported in the deepwater area, but were of negligibleproportion.Table 6. Distribution of land area (in ha) by depth of flooding, Nyaungdon Township, 1996.IrrigatedDepth of Rainfed Lower terrace Upper terrace DeepwaterfloodingTotal area % Total area % Total area % Total area %(ha) area (ha) area (ha) area (ha) areaNot flooded 9465 21 7 57 38 41 10Up to 30 cm 37 25 8 3 26 17 12 330–90 cm 5 3 68 2431 21 74 18>90 cm 11 7 190 66 36 24274 69Table 7. Distribution of land area (in ha) by soil quality, Nyaungdon Township, 1996.IrrigatedSoil qualityRainfed Lower terrace Upper terrace DeepwaterTotal area % Total area % Total area % Total area %(ha) area (ha) area (ha) area (ha) areaGood 120 82 51 18 53 35 97 24Average 17 11 47 16 19 13 66 16Poor 8 6 188 66 78 52 236 59Very poor 1 1 – – – – 2 1Socioeconomic and biophysical characterization of rainfed . . . 417