CHAPTER VI SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Transcription

1 CHAPTER VI SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

2 CONTENTS CHAPTER VI SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Organic Farming 255 Integrated Watershed Development Programme 276 LIST OF TABLES No. Title Page No. 6.1 Distribution of Land Area among families Percentage reduction in medical expenses Improvement in the quality of life Chi square Table Decrease in occurrence of pests and plant diseases Improvement in the quality of product Chi square Table Increase in yearly production Chi square Table Decrease in the overall cost of production Percentage increase in the labour cost 275 LIST OF FIGURES No. Title Page No. 6.1 Distribution of land area among families 264

3 CHAPTER VI SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT India has been considered as the land of village communities from the very early periods onwards. The predominantly rural character of India is understood from the fact that nearly 70% of its population is accommodated in the rural sector and it contributes about 29% of GDP 1. Agriculture provides direct employment to 65% of the people in the country and contributes 29% of the Gross Domestic Product and contributes a sizable share of India s exports. 2 As per the Census 2001 Report, out of million workers million workers are directly dependent on agriculture. In a vast country like India, which is marked by the existence of innumerable socio cultural, economic, educational, political and religious problems, the development of rural areas and rural people occupies a significant place in our efforts towards planned and directed social change. 3 This highlights the fact that a strategy of socio economic development for India that neglects the rural people and the rural areas, can never be successful. Hence the rural development occupies a very important role in the achievement of economic development of the country. Rural development is the over all development of the rural areas for improving the quality of life of the people in the rural areas. It encompasses the development of agriculture and allied activities, the village and cottage industries, socio economic infrastructure, the community services and facilities and the development of human resources.

4 249 Again, there is a widespread degradation of natural resources throughout the country and therefore country s food security and sustainable agricultural development can be achieved only by developing resource conserving technologies. The country wide adoption of resource conserving technologies can ensure sustainable food production and livelihood security. Only by developing new technologies there can be the production of more quality food materials at reduced cost from the marginal quality of lands and water resources. Similarly, the low cost new technologies are required in agriculture related activities like processing of agricultural food materials and other agricultural produces. The resource conserving technologies revitalize our natural resources thereby leading to the sustainable rural development of the country. In India, the resource conserving technologies have been developed and introduced by the National Agricultural Research System ( NARS ) guided by ( ICAR ) with the assistance from the various international agencies. In agriculture, the resource conserving technologies consist of zero till with the minimal soil disturbance and the compaction, the innovative cropping systems and the management of the crop residues rather than burning them. 4 The zero till refers to a complete soil and crop management system sensitive to the local situations and resource endowments of the farmers. 5 Its benefits are manifold to the small farmers as it lowers production costs, improves productivity, saves the irrigation water and avoids crop residues from burning. Furrow irrigated raised bed ( FIRB ) planting system is another resource conserving technology in agriculture which saves about 30 to 40 percent seed and water, reduces crop lodging, improves grain filling,

5 250 yield and grain quality and avoids temporary water logging problems. 6 Another resource conserving technology in agriculture is Laser Land Leveling. 7 In irrigated and rain fed environments Laser Land Leveling improves uniform application of water, nutrients and agricultural chemicals and improves environment quality and crop yields. The resource conserving technologies have to be popularized and widely adopted in order to conserve the natural resources and to achieve sustainable rural development. Kerala economy too, has a very high dependence on agriculture and allied activities. The state has a high intensity of cropping and utilizes about 58.31% of its land area for cultivation. 8 However, the agricultural sector has been showing a lack luster performance. The share of Kerala in the total agricultural production in the country was 0.3% in as against 1% in Kerala s share in the rice production of the whole country was 2.4% in but it decreased to 0.7% in Same is the case with many of the other crops in the state. The state experiences a negative trend in the share of agriculture towards the state GDP. The growth rate of primary sector has been negative for the recent past years except for The growth rate has been -.06 in , 1.47 in , -2.1 in and has been estimated to be 2.88 in The obvious result is the significant and growing dependency of the state on the rest of the country for food grains, which may have far reaching consequences. One of the major problems of Kerala is the problem of unemployment. There were 38 lakh unemployed persons registered with employment exchanges at the end of March The rate of unemployment in the state has been estimated to be 20.97%. The declining trend of agricultural operations and the growth of unemployment

6 251 have a coincidence in the case of Kerala. Further, the employment absorption capacity of the agricultural sector is on the decline due to the application of the labour saving technology, declining public investment and lifting of quantitative restrictions on the import of agricultural products. Moreover, agricultural productivity is on the decline. The decline in the agricultural productivity is partly due to variations in the rainfall and due to the lack of systematic means and methods of cultivation and irrigation. The compounded adverse effects of the over exploitation of the natural resources have reduced the productivity of the bulk of our usable lands and they are experiencing diminishing returns. There are increasing environmental problems due to deforestation and soil erosion, the siltation of channels and consequent flooding, over irrigation and the drainage congestion, the high yielding farming systems depending on the agricultural chemicals and stagnant yields at increasing input costs. Again, there is the lack of land literacy which leads to land degradation. Unsustainable agricultural practices have the effect of reducing soil fertility and extensive degrading of the cultivable land. Unsustainable agricultural practices are characterized by :- (1) Inefficient and wasteful use of land and water resources (2) Inappropriate crop intensification (3) Expansion of agriculture in to marginal lands (4) Use of farm machinery and farm practices that are not sustainable to local soil and water conditions. There is no sustained efforts at restoring the fertility of the degraded soil and water resources in the state at present The sustainability of the soil and resources

7 252 is vital for the survival of the vast masses of the rural population. Eco-inimical and the unsustainable methods of cultivation are often adopted in the state which have far the reaching consequences on the environment and on the health of the people in the state. Moreover, the water resources in the state are mismanaged and mis-utilized so that there has been a gradual decline in the availability of them. The challenge before us is how we can meet our present needs and at the same time conserve our natural resources and the eco system so that they can be available to the present and future generations on a long standing basis. It is actually called the sustainable development. Substantial resource investment, innovative solutions and the input of efforts of affected communities will be necessary to stop the spread of land degradation and begin restoring degraded lands. Agriculture and allied activities, being a major contributor to the economic development of the state, have to be promoted with steps at policy and action levels. For providing employment to the growing rural work force and to lessen the burden of work force on agriculture, there should be the expansion of the rural non farm sector so that the number of gainful employment opportunities may be increased in this sector. The land literacy becomes an essential means of survival for the rural population and it is to be realized that the sustainability of resources are vital for the future. For the economic development of the state there should be the rural development which may be brought about through enhancing the quality of life of the farmers, women, children and the other marginalized communities throughout the state. However, these have been confined to

8 253 the policy levels of the governance and the bureaucracy and they hardly come to the level of implementation. Again, examining the agricultural scenario of the state, there is a very big change over to the cultivation of cash crops, with food crops production coming down substantially. This increases the state dependence on the neighbouring states for cereals and other agricultural food materials which will have a far reaching effect upon the domestic economy of the state. There should be an effective intervention in the field of agriculture in the state to set things in the right direction, so that the quality of life of the farmers may be improved, methods of cultivation may be adopted which provide sustainability to the soil and resources and that environment friendly and sustainable technologies may be developed. People s participation must be an integral component of any measure to combat land degradation and unsustainable agricultural practices. The best strategy to deal with such problems is the formation of a partnership among social communities, non governmental organizations and the government. Therefore sustainable agricultural development has to be seen as the joint responsibility of the state, NGOs and other institutions in the society. Thus supportive interaction and collaboration from the side of NGOs are of great importance. It is in this context, the role of NGOs has to be specially highlighted. NGOs have been important link between people at the grass roots, civil society and the state. They were instrumental in creating awareness and implementing development programmes in agriculture, watershed development, women development and empowerment, education, health and family welfare. 2 There is a network of NGOs

9 254 throughout the state which work to accomplish the above mentioned objectives, activities and projects in agriculture and other related and allied sectors. The efforts of most of the NGOs in this sector is to improve the quality of life of the farmers, women, children and that of other marginalized communities through action plans based on decentralized institution building, participatory development processes and application of sustainable and eco-friendly technologies. A large number of NGOs have been working in the field of agriculture and community development, intending to launch the campaign for the production of food crops, to propagate organic farming methods and to promote the participatory technology development for sustainable agriculture. Peermade Development Society ( PDS ) is one of the major NGOs working in the field of agriculture and community development in the Idukki district thus intending to improve the quality of life of the people and leading to the over all economic and community development of the district. PDS has organized and popularized a large number of activities and programmes which intend to bring about the sustainable natural resources management. They include organic farming practices, the development of appropriate technology for the rural areas, development of resource conserving low cost technologies, the integrated watershed development and the proper conservation of the water resources in the rural areas. The present study has focused on two important programmes undertaken by Peermade Development Society in the field of sustainable natural resources management and they are :- 1. Organic Farming 2. Integrated Watershed Development.

10 255 ORGANIC FARMING India ranked the second in the world in the matter of population and hence the agriculture and food security are the most important concerns of the country. A lot of research and experiments have already been undertaken in this area and as a result of this agricultural production, especially that of food grains production, increased substantially in India over the past few decades. The substantial increase in agricultural production has been due to a lot of factors like modern farming system, improved varieties of crops and adoption of the modern agronomic practices. However, in the recent years, an increasing concern was expressed over the capability of chemical fertilizers in maintaining long term soil productivity and the growing environmental pollution caused by the application of chemical fertilizers. The modern inorganic farming methods and practices have created a lot of havoc to the environment and it has reduced the quality of agricultural products in the country at present. Hence there was the need for developing alternatives to the modern farming principles and practices. More over, in the era of globalization and WTO regime, there have to be more efficiency, competitiveness, cost effectiveness and also the sustainability for the Indian agriculture so that it can compete in the international market. An alternative method of farming called organic farming has been introduced recently in the country to improve the crop plants and to avoid the degradation to soil and the environment. With this intension, agriculture in the country is now shifting from modern to organic farming. It has been observed that the organic farming has great impact on the morphological characters compared to modern inorganic farming methods.

11 256 Organic agricultural system is based on ecological principles and applying ecological practices to maintain soil fertility, to manage crop and animal health and to keep soil and water in good condition without the use of chemical inputs. 13 Organic farming is a method of farming which excludes completely the application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides etc. and has been primarily based on principles of using natural organic inputs and biological plant protection measures. The proper practice of organic farming methods will eliminate or reduce water pollution and will help conserve water and soil on the farm thereby enhancing sustainability and agro bio diversity. There have been two motivating forces behind practicing organic farming methods and they are (1) growing global market for organic agricultural produce due to increased health consciousness and (2) the premium price obtained by the producers for the organic produce. Because of the above reasons, organic farming has become very popular in most of the western countries. In India, because the cost of chemicals and credit has increased and the agricultural commodity prices have stagnated, a large number of conventional farmers have searched for a viable alternative to reduce input cost. They have switched on to the organic farming practices because organic farming is characterized as low input farming and its result is economic survival. Organic farming practices have special significance in the case of India as she has a comparative advantage over several other countries of the world because of the vast cultivated area which has remained free of contamination from

12 257 the chemicals spread over distinctly varying agro climatic conditions. There are large of areas of cultivated land which are exclusively rain fed regions with very low or zero use of agro chemicals and they can be converted instantly to organic farming. The national programme for organic production has been implemented in the country by an agency under the Ministry of Commerce called Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority ( APEDA ), with the major responsibility for developing the standards for organic farming and regulatory mechanism for export purposes. At present, a large number of farm groups are actively engaged in exploring organic farming and the marketing opportunities in different parts of the country. Some major NGOs have taken leadership in this regard and they are active in linking organic farmers with health food activists in the country. The strategy of organic farming is to realize more value from a relatively low yield and capitalize on the inherent advantage of low input use by small farmers. By practicing organic farming, the value addition to health foods and bio fuels can contribute to improved profitability to the farmers. The major advantages of organic farming are :- * Reduction in the use of external inputs and increase in farm organic inputs with with the greatest potential benefit of farmers and consumers. * More productivity through the incorporation of natural process as nutrient cycle, nitrogen fixation and pest predator relationship in to the agricultural production process. * Greater productive use of the biological and genetic potential of plants and the animal species.

13 258 * Improvement of match between cropping patterns and the productive potential and physical limitations of agricultural lands to ensure long term sustainability of current production levels * Profitable and efficient production with the emphasis on improved management and conservation of soil, water and energy and the biological resources. 14 The organic food movement has been gaining importance due to the health consciousness of the people especially in the western countries. These countries are very much aware and conscious of the purity and quality of organic produce. The farmers in India can compete in the global market only by producing quality organic products, the farmers have the required organics certification and the products have met the quality standards. Here the farmers should get the help of NGOs and other agencies. NGOs are agencies capable of providing intensive training to farmers, encouraging them to achieve the certification of organic farming and facilitating the market access to certified organic products. In Kerala, the organic farming practices have been popularized by NGOs who have been working in the different parts of the state. The Peermade Development Society ( PDS ) has been popularizing organic farming in the Idukki district of Kerala and especially in the Peermade Taluk. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy in the district and it contributes about 62% of district s income. The lion share of the cultivable land is dominated by tea, coffee and cardamom plantations owned mostly by some non residents of the district. The majority of the people in the district are small and marginal farmers and plantation workers. Agriculture in the district is on the verge of a decline due

14 259 to several reasons like the environmental degradation, the natural resources depletion, the unbalanced, unscientific and unsustainable agricultural practices, low and unsteady prices of agricultural crops like tea, coffee and pepper and also due to the very poor marketing infrastructures. Again, there has been the excessive application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the district and also the mono cropping practices which have added to the set back on the agricultural front. The victims of the above said problems have been mostly the poor and marginal farmers. The small farmers are unable to recover even the cost of cultivation due to the lack of direct access to markets and due to the presence of middle men in most of the markets. As a fair solution to these problems and to ensure sustainable agricultural and economic development of the district, Peermade Development Society started the Sahyadri Farmers Consortium. The Consortium aimed at export marketing of the farm produce by procuring them directly from the small and marginal farmers. For the promotion of eco friendly and sustainable agricultural practices in the Idukki district, PDS has been propagating and popularizing organic farming. There has been an ever increasing demand for organic farm products world wide and adoption of organic farming could ensure reasonable prices for the produce of small and marginal farmers and also ensure eco friendly and sustainable agricultural practices. PDS has been able to form a network of small and marginal farmers in the Idukki district, especially in the Peermade Taluk, who follow organic farming practices. PDS has been pioneering the organic cultivation extensively in the state and the Society has become the leading exporter of organic spices in the state.

15 260 The contribution of PDS in organic tea farming has been very significant. Idukki district has the climatic condition and vegetation conducive to the tea cultivation. However, the tea sector has been dominated and controlled by the large tea plantation companies. The small tea growers were compelled to sell their produce to the companies at the price dictated by them. Again, during peak season the produce of the small farmers have been refused by the companies and they were forced to sell their produce either at the distress price or to leave the tea leaves unplucked, thereby leading to heavy economic losses on their part. Moreover, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has become rampant and excessive in the region, making the agricultural operation expensive with less return and also polluting the environment. In the light of the above problems PDS started a comprehensive organic tea promotion programme for the small and marginal tea farmers in the Idukki district, especially, in the Peermade Taluk. The large number of small tea farmers have been organized under the Sahyadri Tea Farmers Consortium. The two major aims of the Consortium have been, promotion of organic production methods for the long term good of the environment and to help the marginal farmers to get the premium prices for their produce. Thus, Sahyadri Organic Tea Factory was established as a joint venture of PDS and Sahyadri Tea Farmers Consortium. The factory was inaugurated on 28 th November The factory has been providing employment to 30 workers on a regular basis during the low cropping period per shift and to about 80 to 100 workers during the peak cropping months. However, it has provided indirect employment to a large work

16 261 force in the Idukki district. About 6000 to 8000 man days of indirect employment have been provided by the factory through the programme of collecting the leaf from the farmers on a regular basis. There have been five organic tea farming zones under the Peermade Development Society and they are :- Peermade Pambanar Valcode Pasuppara Kochukarimtharuvi Total hectares hectares hectares hectares hectares hectares Under organic farming seven organic cultivation practices have been promoted by PDS and Sahyadri Farmers Consortium and they are :- 1. Compost 2. Cow pat pit 3. Horn Manure 4. Liquid Manure 5. Bio dynamic Preparations 6. Bio dynamic Calendar 7. Pest and Disease Control It has been argued that the adoption of the organic farming practices has contributed positively to the betterment of quality of soil, environment and that of human

17 262 life. There has been a regular improvement in the quality and quantity of the product, an overall reduction in the cost of cultivation, a decrease in the occurring of pests and plant diseases, a decrease in the medical expenses and an increase in the quality of life of the farmers who adopted organic farming. In order to understand the impact of organic farming methods on the living conditions of the farmers and also on the farming conditions, in the present study, a field survey was conducted among the organic farmers under Sahyadri Farmers Consortium. A total of 705 families have adopted and remained under the organic system of farming promoted by PDS and Sahyadri Farmers Consortium. 100 families out of 705 families which have adopted organic farming have been surveyed. The survey has been conducted using the method of personal interview and for this interview schedules have been used. A model of the interview schedule has been given in the appendix. In the survey, information has been sought on the distribution of land area among the farmers, improvement in the quality of product after organic farming practices have been adopted, information on the occurrence of pests and plant diseases, change in the quantity of production, change in the amount of medical expenses incurred and the improvement in the quality of life after the adoption of organic farming methods. The majority of families disclosed the information on the above mentioned aspects as relative changes. The information could be obtained on the above variables as the percentage change and the families could not disclose the actual quantitative change in the variables as result of the adoption of organic farming practices and in that it has been a limitation of the study.

18 263 The distribution of the land area among the families which have adopted organic farming as observed in the survey has been shown in the table 6.1 below. Table 6.1 Distribution of Land Area Among the Families Land Area ( in acres ) Number of Families Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey. From the table 6.1 above, it may be understood that, apparently there has been much inequality in the distribution of land area among the families. The majority of families have a very low acrage of land. 44 families have the land area between zero and one acre, 26 families have land area between one and two acres, 16 families have the land area between two and three acres. Only 6 families have land area between three and four acres, only 4 families have land area between four and five acres, 1 family each has land area between six and seven acres and twelve and thirteen acres. However, in order to test whether this inequality is significant, the Lorenz Curve has been fitted to the data in table 6.1 as shown below.

19 264 Graph 6.1 Distribution of Land Area among the Families Lorenz Curve of Land Area cumilative Land Area Cumilative Frequency From the Lorenz curve above, it may be understood that there has been a high degree of inequality in the distribution of land among the people who have adopted organic farming practices in the Peermade Taluk. In the diagram, the central diagonal line shows the line of perfect equality in the distribution of land and the Lorenz curve shows the deviation from this central line and the inequality. In this case, the Lorenz curve of land distribution has deviated much from the line of perfect equality and therefore, it may

20 265 be understood that much inequality has prevailed in the distribution of land among the people in the locality. The reason for this has been understood as that the people in the Peermade Taluk have been very poor so that they could not have an access to more land under their possession. In the study it has been observed that the occurrence of diseases have been substantially reduced in the families which have adopted organic farming practices. The monthly medical expenses of the families have come down due to organic farming. The chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals have been completely avoided from the farm and it has naturally led to a reduction in the occurrence of diseases and to an improvement in the health conditions for each member of the family in the locality. The percentage reduction in the medical expenses as observed in the survey has been shown in the table 6.2 below Table 6.2 Percentage Reduction in the Medical Expenses Percentage reduction in medical expenses Number of families Total 100 Source : Primary data collected through field survey.

21 266 From the table 6.2 above, it may be understood that there has been an average 44 percent decrease in the medical expenses in the families that have adopted organic farming practices. Earlier, large medical expenses have been incurred due to the frequent occurrence of diseases consequent up on the application of large quantities of chemicals in the agricultural land. However, under organic farming, the application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and the other chemicals which create a lot of health problems, have been completely avoided and therefore, there has occurred a large reduction in the medical expenses for the families that have adopted organic farming. It has been generally observed that organic farming is eco friendly and conducive to human health keeping the soil and water away from pollution. Another observation made in the survey has been with respect to the improvement in the quality of life due to the adoption of organic farming. The income saved through a reduction in the medical expenses, could be utilized for acquiring better amenities of life which improved the living standards of the people. Again, different factors like improvement in the quality of product, increase in the yearly production and the better health conditions have all contributed to the improvement in the physical quality of life of the people who have adopted organic farming practices. The farmers got more income through premium prices for their better quality products and also through an increase in the quantity of yearly production both leading to higher standard of living and improvement in the physical quality of life of the organic farmers. Under the organic farming, as the chemical fertilizers and other chemicals are completely avoided, a lot of diseases can be kept away which leads to a decrease in

22 267 the medical expenses and improvement in the health conditions of the people who have adopted organic farming thereby leading to an improvement in the physical quality of life of the people. The table 6.3 below shows the average percentage increase in the quality of life of the people due to the adoption of organic farming. Table 6.3 Improvement in the Quality of Life Improvement in quality of life ( percentage ) Number of families below Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey. The field survey conducted among 100 families which have adopted organic farming has shown that the physical quality of life of the people has improved as a result of the adoption of organic farming practices. There has been an average 15.2 percent increase in the quality of life of the people after the adoption of organic farming in the Peermade Taluk. It has been observed in the field survey that there existed an apparent relationship between the reduction in the medical expenses and the improvement in the quality of life of the people in the locality. The reduction in the medical expenses has been a factor leading to an improvement in the quality of life of the people. However, in order to understand whether the reduction in medical expenses and the improvement in

23 268 the quality of life of the people are statistically related, chi square test of independence has been used as shown below. The null hypothesis formulated has been as follows :- Ho = Reduction in medical expenses and Improvement in the quality of life of the people are independent. Hi = Reduction in medical expenses and improvement in the quality of life of the people are not independent. Table 6.4 ( Chi-square Table ) Improvement in the quality of life Total E = E = E = E = E = E = E = E = E = Total χ 2 = ( O - E ) 2 E = = The table value of chi-square, for a table with degree of freedom equal to 4 at 5%

24 269 level of significance, is 9.49 while the observed chi-square value has been Since the calculated chi-square value has been much greater than the table value, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. Therefore, it may be concluded that the reduction in the medical expenses and the improvement in the quality of life of the people in the locality are related. We may take the conclusion from the above analysis that the reduction in medical expenses consequent upon the adoption of organic farming has definitely improved the physical quality of life of the people in the Peermade Taluk. Again, it has been observed in the field survey that the occurrence of pests and plant diseases has decreased as a result of the adoption of organic farming practices which ultimately led to the improvement in the quality of the product and increase in the quantity of yearly production. The table 6.5 below shows the percentage decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases as observed in the field survey conducted among 100 families which have adopted organic farming. Table 6.5 Decrease in the Occurrence of Pests and Plant Diseases Percentage decrease Number of families Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey.

25 270 From the table 6.5 above, it may be understood that there has been a reduction in the occurrence of pests and plat diseases as a result of the adoption of the organic farming in the Peermade Taluk. There has been an average percent decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases due to the adoption of the organic farming by the small tea growers in the locality. As a result of the adoption of organic farming the leaf strength of the tea plants has increased considerably which has led to the improvement in the quality of the product. Improved quality product fetched premium price for the produce of the farmers. The table 6.6 below shows the percentage increase in the quality of product due to the adoption of organic farming practices in the locality. Table 6.6 Improvement in the Quality of Product Percentage increase Number of families Source : Primary Data collected through field survey. It may be understood from the table 6.6 that there has been an increase in the quality of tea production as a result of the adoption of organic farming. There has been an average 24.2 percent increase in the quality of tea produced due to the switch over to the organic farming practices by the farmers in the locality.

26 271 In the study, it has been observed that there existed an apparent relation between the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the improvement in the quality of product under organic farming and that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases has contributed to the improvement in the quality of product. We have found it essential to test statistically whether the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the improvement in the quality of product are independent or not. For this the statistical tool of chi-square test has been applied. The null hypothesis has been formulated as Ho : Decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the improvement in the quality of product are independent. The alternative hypothesis has been as follows :- Hi : Decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the improvement in the quality of product are not independent. Table 6.7 ( Chi-square Table ) Improvement in the quality of product Total E = E = E = E = E = E = E = E = E = Total

27 272 χ 2 = ( O E ) 2 E = = The chi-square table value for a table with the degree of freedom equal to 4 at 5% significance level is 9.49 while the observed value of chi-square has been Since the observed value has been much higher than the table value, we have rejected the null hypothesis and accepted the alternative hypothesis. It may be noted that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the improvement in the quality of product are not independent. Therefore, it may be concluded that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases under organic farming, has contributed to an improvement in the quality of production in tea in the locality. Further, it has been observed in the survey that there has been an increase in the quantity of yearly production under organic farming mainly due to the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases. The table 6.8 below shows the percentage increase in the quantity of yearly production due to the adoption of organic farming practices. Table 6.8 Increase in the Yearly Production Percentage increase Number of families Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey.

28 273 It may understood from the table 6.8 above that there has been an increase in the yearly production as a result of the adoption of organic farming practices. There has been an average 11.7 percent increase in the yearly production after the adoption of organic farming by the farmers in the Peermade Taluk. It has been found in the study that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases has contributed to such an increase in the quantity of yearly production. Now, it became essential to test statistically whether the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the increase in the quantity of yearly production are independent or not independent. For this, the statistical tool of chi-square has been applied to the collected data. Table 6.9 ( Chi-square table ) Increase in the quantity of yearly production Total E = E = E = E = E = E = E = Total χ 2 = ( O - E ) 2 E = =

29 274 The chi-square table value for a table with degree of freedom equal to 4 at 5% level of significance is 9.49 while the observed chi-square value has been Since, the observed chi-square value is much greater than the table value, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. It may be seen from the above analysis that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases and the increase in the quantity of yearly production under organic farming are related. Therefore, it may be concluded that the decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases has led to an increase in the quantity of yearly production of the organic farmers in the locality. Further, it has been observed in the survey that there has been an overall Decrease in the cost of cultivation as a result of the adoption of organic farming practices. The table 6.10 below shows the percentage decrease in the overall cost of cultivation as observed in the survey. Table 6.10 Decrease in the overall cost of cultivation Percentage decrease in cost Number of families below and above 2 Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey. From the table 6.10 above it may be understood that there has been large decrease in the cost of cultivation due to the adoption of organic farming by the people in

30 275 the Peermade Taluk. There has been an average 15.9% decrease in the overall cost of cultivation as a result of organic farming in the locality. Even though, there has been an over all reduction in the cost of cultivation under organic farming due to the complete avoidance of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and chemicals for weed control, it has been observed in the survey that the labour charge has increased considerably under the organic farming. As chemicals are avoided under organic farming for weed control, there has been the manual removal of weeds and as a result the labour efforts and labour charges in cultivation have increased. The table 6.11 shows the percentage increase in the labour cost incurred by the farmers due to the adoption of organic farming, as observed in the survey. Table 6.11 Percentage increase in the labour cost Percentage decrease in Number of families labour cost and above 4 Total 100 Source : Primary Data collected through field survey. As may be understood from the table 6.11 above, there has been much increase in the labour charge in the cultivation due to the adoption of organic farming practices. There has been an average 26.2% increase in the labour cost under organic farming and it has been due to manual removal of weeds which required more number

31 276 of labour units in the cultivation. Moreover, under organic farming more regular care and attention have to be given to the plants for which more number of labourers have been required. Thus, it may be concluded that the adoption of organic farming practices have been advantageous to the farmers in particular and to the society in general. Organic farming has led to a reduction in overall cost of cultivation, a decrease in the occurrence of pests and plant diseases, an improvement in the quality of produce, an increase in the quantity of the yearly production and a reduction in the medical expenses by way of an environment and eco friendly cultivation,all of which have led to an improvement in the quality of life of farmers in the rural areas. PDS has been very successful in propagating and popularizing organic farming and in prompting the small and the marginal farmers of the Peermade Taluk in particular and the Idukki district in general to adopt the organic farming practices. INTEGRATED WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT In most of the studies on poverty in India have disclosed that poverty and distress are increasingly concentrated in the dry land areas of the country. Therefore, the impact of economic growth on poverty is the highest in such areas of the country. Such an impact on the poverty may be created largely by reversing the trend of public capital formation in agriculture and also by giving priority to the rain fed areas in the agricultural research and development. Again, there should be an alteration in the pattern of state support to agriculture in the form of price support and subsidies in favour of these areas.

32 277 What is important to the development of these areas is, the way in which such areas are governed and how programme implementation and service delivery take place in these areas. There should be the comprehensive approach towards the management of natural resources including the watershed development in order to bring about the development the above areas. In the natural resources management programme there should be greater consideration given to collective action, efficiency and sustainability. The monumental neglect of dry lands in India created a crisis of livelihood and governance. For the first time since mid 1960 s food grains production grew slower than population in 1990 s. 15 There was an absolute decline in the output of dry land crops and it has occurred due to the fall in the public investment in agriculture. The result is an obvious decline in the rate of employment generation and the rising starvation, debts and suicides. It was realized that a highly reformed and expanded watershed development programme could be the key to livelihood security in the rain fed areas in the country. 16 The watershed development is a key strategy in rain fed farming in the rural areas. Rain water conservation, the improved crop production technologies and income generating options for the rural landless people are essentially integrated to watershed programmes. The benefits from the water conservation technologies depend up on the quantity and also the distribution of rainfall and the end use of harvested water. In order to have the balanced and adequate supply of water for various purposes, various types of water conservation measures have to be adopted. The common measures adopted for the conservation of water resources and for increasing the supply of water resources, are creation of more water storages reservoirs, inter basin transfer of water and the measures

33 278 to raise the underground water level. Among the various water conservation methods, watershed development and rain water harvesting have become very popular. Watershed development is one of the basic approaches adopted in the country for poverty alleviation and rural development by stabilizing farm production at higher levels, provide more employment and income to the rural poor and also conserve the precious natural resources of the country. Watershed development approach has been eco friendly and at the same time, a hydrologically correct approach for the most efficient use of soil and water for more agricultural production. It has been a specific approach for the sustainability of people residing in the rain fed or drought affected areas. Watershed development approach aimed at the augmentation and the stabilization of production and productivity, minimizing the ecological degradation, reduction in regional disparity and opening up greater employment opportunities and means of livelihood to the poor people in the rural areas of the country. Raising the productivity of the rain fed areas has remained the most difficult challenge of agricultural development in India. The soil conservation and improved dry farming techniques were essential for this purpose. The concept of integrated watershed development came to prominence in the country after the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (I C A R) advocated it as the most appropriate strategy and implemented model projects to demonstrate the application of it in several locations. 17 In the country, the watershed development programme was started in the year, and since then the implementation of national level programmes and projects for the development of rain fed areas has been one of the major initiatives undertaken by the government.

34 279 Recently, a 25 year perspective plan was prepared by the Planning Commission in India for the holistic and integrated development of the rain fed areas which envisaged treating of 63 million hectares of land involving an estimated outlay of Rs crores, through the various watershed development projects under the three central ministries, ( Agriculture, Rural Development, Environment and Forest ) as well as externally aided projects. During the X Plan about 1.4 million hectares of land have been proposed to be developed at an outlay of Rs crores while 1.24 million hectares of land was to be treated under watershed development programmes at a cost of Rs crores through ongoing externally aided projects. 18 A watershed is a geographical unit that collects, stores and releases water. 19 It may be the rain, snow or the coastal fog that results in the collected water which may be stored in lakes, ponds and surface soils and geologic formations. The watershed may be the tributary of a river. It may or may not have a stream but when it rains, the water flows through it finally to join some stream. Thus watershed is a physiographic unit and can be used conveniently for the integrated development of small unit areas. Watershed development has been basically a holistic approach including programmes for soil and moisture conservation, water harvesting, afforestation, horticulture, pasture development and the up gradation of the community land resources. Such programmes are devised and implemented considering the land capability and the local needs of the people with the participation of the local people. Rain water harvesting is a technique of increasing the recharge of ground water by capturing and storing rain water by constructing structures such as dug wells, percolation pits, check dams etc. Rain water is stored in ground water

35 280 reservoirs by adopting artificial recharge techniques to meet the household needs through storage tanks. The immediate impact of watershed development is an increase in ground water and biomass. It leads to socio economic changes in the specified area especially in agriculture and animal husbandry. Watershed development has been identified as the most appropriate tool for reversing the ecological degradation by involving local communities in the process of the natural resources base rehabilitation and management. Watershed management is a concept that is getting wide popularity in India and it is associated with the storage and reharvesting of rain run offs by the appropriate management of natural and man made watersheds. The approach to watershed management is essentially participatory in nature and has been implemented to meet the needs and solve the problems of the local or rural communities. In India, the watershed development initiatives did not produce the desired results because an overwhelming proportion of watershed development programmes was implemented by the government officials in a manner unmotivated, overworked, corrupt and fragmented and without the proper participation of beneficiaries. So far the work in the watershed development was done by the voluntary sector in which the NGOs have the leadership role. Many NGOs have started innovative experiments in different parts of the country for the development of local land and water resources with the participation of the community and a greater role was now suggested for the NGOs for the desired and the successful implementation of the watershed development programmes. Considerable knowledge has been generated in the process of implementing watershed development