Success Stories -AP - Final - Department of Land Resources

ANDHRAPRADESH

A.1. White Revolution: Amidalakunta prospers byincreasing milk productionAmidalakunta village is almost unrecognizable today. Situated around 10 Kms from theMandal headquarters in the Anantpur district of Andhra Pardesh, the small village ofAmidalakunta is a centre of attraction for nearby villages. People from the neighborhoodfrequently come to Amidalakunta to learn from the villagers here. So, what has Amidalakuntagot?Other people are interested to know from the residents of Amidalakunta the secret behindthe change. Today, Amidalakunta produces around 1000 litres of milk each day. Around 180acres of land is now irrigated. The village has 18 graduates, four of whom are engineers andeight are B.Ed. Besides, there are two post graduates in computers. The average monthlyhousehold income increased to around Rs 8400.(Photo 1: Women SHG members in action)But the situation in the village was not always like this. Back in 2002, only 75 out of around940 acres in the village had irrigation facility. Anantpur district frequently receives erratic andvery low rainfall keeping the agriculture production low and forcing people to move out oftheir villages to look for work. Though the village had around 45 milch animals, theirproduction was only about 15 litres per day. There were no graduates in the village and noneof the girls went to school. Households earned only around Rs 2000 per month on average.Most villagers borrowed regularly from the local moneylenders at very high interest rates andwere perpetually indebted as a consequence.Things began to change for the better when Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Project(APRLP) chose the village for a project for watershed treatment. Significantly, the Projectwas not just about soil and water conservation but it was equally about improving theagriculture productivity and livelihoods of the people.A key objective in the Project was to help the women of the village acquire new skills,develop capacities and take charge of their own as well as their families’ development.Towards this, all the women in the village were first helped to form Self Help Groups (SHGs).The seven SHGs thus formed were then federated into a higher order institution, the VillageOrganization (VO).2

(Photo 2: SHG meeting in progress)To get all the people in the village to participate in the Project, APRLP held series of regularmeetings with all villagers in all hamlets. In order for the benefits of the Project to continueeven beyond the Project’s life, it was important that everyone in the village participates andcontributes to the Project.These meetings also served another important purpose as several ideas were generated bythe people. One such idea was to develop the livestock in the village as an alternate meansof livelihood. APRLP arranged training programmes on animal husbandry for the women inSHGs.After the successful completion of the training, APRLP with the technical help from the localveterinary department helped the SHGs to purchase 25 cows of jersey breed. Each SHGreceived two to three cows. The purchase was entirely funded through a loan from thelivelihoods funds in the Project.Regular animal health camps were conducted in the village to ensure animal health andbreed improvement. CO1 and napier grasses were grown to improve the fodder availabilityin the village itself.(Photo 3: Improved fodder availability)The Project got a person from the village trained in basic animal husbandry and veterinarycare. The person was called as the veterinary para worker and looked after the health of theanimals and extended first aid. A veterinary medicine kit was also provided to the para-3

time and inputs. This also shows the increasing premium that the villagers are putting ontheir time. The VO has so far earned Rs.13000 from the visiting villagers and this money isused as revolving fund to extend loans to SHG members.(Photo5: Improved livelihood opportunities)The improved financial situation and the confidence of the VO is reflected in theircontribution of Rs.40,000 for construction of a reservoir for the drinking water purpose. Italso shows their social responsibility and commitment towards the development of thevillage.5

A.2.From poverty to prosperity- the Watershed wayThe land in Guntimadugu village in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh is undulating whichwas leading to rapid erosion of soil due to speedy runoff of rain water. The once fertile landswere gradually turning infertile. On top of it, the area receives poor rainfall and the village didnot have adequate water harvesting structures to store whatever rain it received. Due to this,the ground water recharge was also very limited which in turn further reduced theproductivity of the land. The poor agriculture production and productivity also meant therewasn’t sufficient fodder being grown in the village. Because of this the production of milk wasalso too little to provide alternative livelihood options to the villagers. Around 20 per cent ofthe people from this village regularly migrated to towns and cities in the lean seasons lookingfor manual labour work.(Photo1: Before treatment)The state government started a watershed development project in Guntimadugu under theDrought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP). The Project adopted a ‘complete areadevelopment’ approach by taking up series of physical measures to arrest soil erosion,reducing run off and increasing soil moisture. To check soil erosion, the Project built rock filldams, loose boulder structures, made earthen bunds and stone trenches across the slope oflands. To harvest and store the water from scanty rainfall DPAP constructed farm ponds,dugout ponds, sunken pits, check dams, gabion structures, percolation tanks and continuouscontour trenches. These significantly reduced the speed of run off and consequently led toincrease in ground water recharge in the area. The groundwater table rose from 12 metresto seven metres. Further, silt was applied to agriculture lands.(Photo2: Gabion structure)(Photo3: Horticultre plantation)All these measures directly contributed to increase in soil fertility that in turn led to revival ofagriculture in the village. An off shoot of this was that farmers started growing fodder for thefirst time. To help farmers make the most of the opportunity, the Project provided them withCO1 and napier varieties of fodder grass. The production of milk gradually went up. To6

increase greenery as well as to provide additional income source to the villagers, 3 hectares(ha) of block plantation, 3 Kms of avenue plantation and 62 ha of horticulture plantations likemango were taken up in the area.Besides building physical structures, the Project also invested in strengthening village levelsocial institutions. Self help groups (SHGs) were formed and strengthened through variousmeetings and capacity building programmes. With time, these SHGs became activeparticipants in the watershed development activities in the village.The Project brought the intended benefits to the people in Guntimadugu. The increasedwater table and soil fertility helped farmers improve their incomes from agriculture. The areaunder multiple crop registered 100 per cent increase while there was a seven fold increasein area under horticulture crops. The increased fodder production almost doubled the milkproduction in the village to more than 200 litres a day, providing people with supplementaryincome. The improved income in the village resulted in checking of migration to towns andcities.The quality of life in the village improved, particularly for women as drinking water was nowavailable round the year in the village due to the water harvesting structures. SHGs whichwere primarily of women, helped them participate in making decisions in the village. Thetable below depicts some of the results form the Project.Pre and post watershed development situation in the villageItem Unit Pre Project Post-ProjectStatus of water table Mtrs 10 – 12 7 to 9No. of ground water structures rejuvenated Nos. - 20Availability of drinking water Months 8 -12 12Increasing irrigation potential Acres 1015 1250Area under single crop Acres 585 640Area under double crop Acres 365 485Area under multiple crop Acres 65 125Net increase in crop production area Acres 1015 1250Increase in horticulture crop Acres 25 180Increase in area under vegetation Acres 6 15Increase in fodder production / fire wood Acres 0 6Increase in milk production Litres 113 207No. of SHGs, coops and thrift groups Nos 4 10People below poverty line Nos. 246 208No. of migrating people Nos. 287 93Women participation in decision making Nos 0 9Source: External evaluation report, 2007In 2007, an independent external evaluation of the Project was carried out by an externalagency. The agency conducted a survey in the area and interacted with all the stakeholders. The agency assessed the qualitative impact through focused group discussions andpersonal interviews with the stakeholders while some impacts like increase in water table,increase in irrigation potential etc. were measured technically.7

Due to the significant change and overall prosperity that this watershed project brought inGuntimadugu village, it received the status of Model watershed. The ‘ridge to valley’treatment method was replicated in other watersheds as well. The government arrangedexposure visits for district officials and members of other watershed committees to enablethem replicate the best practices from this project in other areas. Indira, an SHG membersays that the watershed programme has saved their village from the devil called poverty andhas brought prosperity in the village. She says that hard work and true efforts of all thestakeholders is the key to success of this project. The villagers now feel proud of theirvillage.8

A.3.Budlapur: powered by organic cotton“Action is the foundation to success”Budlapur, a small village of Ranga Reddy district of AP, is known for its cotton production.Cotton is one of the main crops in kharif season in the area. Cotton, a highly sensitive crop,is prone to insects and pests. The farmers of the villages relied on chemical pesticides andinsecticides to save their crop. But with improved resilience of the pests and insects to thesechemicals, farmers were forced to spray higher doses more frequently each year. This wasleading to steep increase in cost of cultivation. On the other hand indiscriminate use ofchemical inputs was reducing the soil fertility leading to a drop in the yields. The farmerswere very depressed with the decreasing yields and increasing costs. But they struggled tofind a solution of the problem.An opportunity arrived in the village in the form of the watershed project under ‘Hariyali’guidelines of Government of India (GoI). Realizing the problem of the cotton farmers as anacute one, the Project decided to tackle it head on. It introduced the farmers to the conceptsand practices of integrated pest management practices and organic fertilizers. Farmers werealso encouraged to take up trap crops which control pests and insects in natural manner.These practices were less costly and were not harmful for soil. The farmers were thus ableto reduce the cost of cultivation for cotton and the crop started giving higher yields.(Photo1: A view of the young cotton crop in the project area)However, convincing the farmers to give up long years of established practice and replace itwith an unknown practice was not easy. The farmers by this time were very wary of takingany risk. But the Project gradually convinced the farmers who were members of user groupsand Village Organization (VO) to at least attend the training programmes on Integrated PestManagement (IPM). They were taken to places where IPM measures were ondemonstration. Seeing the practice in action convinced the farmers who returned to theirvillage and tried out the natural methods of pest control in their fields. The Projectestablished convergence with local agriculture department to help the farmers get subsidyfor IPM and organic farming practices.These interventions under productivity enhancement component of watershed programmebrought the desired results. Farmers stopped using chemical fertilizers like DAP andpesticides. They started the practice of deep ploughing for better soil and pest management.Due to the intervention, the cost of cultivation was reduced by 50 per cent and the yields9

increased to 5 to 6 quintals from 3 to 4 quintals per acre. The farmers were able to managepests and insects in an effective manner.Now K. Shankriya who grows cotton in two acres of land spends only Rs. 500 annuallyinstead of Rs. 6000 which he used to spend earlier, mostly on chemicals. He adoptednatural pesticides like neem kernel spray, cow dung and cow urine, and chilli-garlic pastes tocontrol pests. He also adopted trap crops like marigold to attract and trap the pests.(Photo2: A farming couple)V. Namya who owns four acres and grows cotton used to get profit of Rs. 3000 to Rs. 4000per acre. But by using IPM practices, he now earns a profit of Rs.7000 per acre.Pochamma who owns two acres of land and grows cotton, earlier used to get a yield of onlythree quintals per acre. After using neem and cow dung based natural pesticides, deepploughing and using castor as a trap crop, her cost of cultivation is reduced by 50 per centand the yields have increased to 5 – 6 quintals per acre.On the whole, the experience in the Project suggest that use of organic fertilizers andmethods like IPM increased the yield of cotton by 50 per cent and reduced the cost ofcultivation to around Rs 2000 per acre from Rs.6000 per acre. In terms of quality, the colourand filling of the cotton ball improved fetching the farmers a better price for the same yield.Now the farmers from Bramanpally and other nearby villages come to see and learn thepractices adopted by Budlapur farmers.Raju, a technical officer for Budlapur watershed project says, “You see, in life, lots of peopleknow what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! Youmust take action”.10

A.4.Transformation of Majeedpur“Look for the good in every situation. You'll almost always find it”. This statement holds verytrue for Majeedpur village in Shameerpet mandal of Andhra Pradesh. The story ofMajeedpur is the story of rejuvenation, a story of transformation of an erstwhile aridlandscape to one with tanks full of water. This transformation began in the year 2000-01under the Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP).The lack of water meant large tracts of agriculture lands were left fallow every year in therabi season. Moreover, as the land holdings are fragmented the crop yields in the villagewere much lower than the other villages in the mandal. The fragmentation was so severethat the maximum single cultivable unit was not more than 0.5 acres. Fortunately for thevillagers, their proximity to the capital city of Hyderabad meant they were able to findsufficient manual labour work which was more remunerative than agriculture.Ironically Majeedpur was dry and lacked water despite there being two old tanks in thevillage. The reason was that the tanks were breached and feeder channels were in disrepairand of no use in the village. The key objective therefore in the IWDP project was to restorethese tanks which had the potential to meet the water requirements of the village.During the planning stage various strategies were discussed with the people of the village. Itwas then decided to convert the two old tanks; Gidde Kunta and Hanmandla Kunta intopercolation tanks. The watershed project repaired the breached regulatory channel of theGidde Kunta tank. The bund that had severely eroded was also repaired. The tank wasraised to a height of five metres (m) and its length extended to 80 m. New sluice gates werefitted giving the old tank a completely new make over as percolation tank.Hanmandla Kunta, another tank which was not having natural catchment area, got waterdiverted from near by Venkateshwarla Gutta by constructing an 85 metre long wall on sheetrock and digging trench for 30 m. The bund of this tank was strengthened and extended.Besides the two tanks, Devuni Bhavi, one of the ridges in the village was also rejuvenated.These restoration works had a very significant impact, both on the tanks and the villageitself. The capacity of Gidde Kunta increased to one lakh cubic metres. Now, it is the onlysource of drinking water for cattle of three villages - Majeedpur, Rajabollaram and Pudur.The tank is filled by first rain resulting in ground water increase in an area of about one sq.K.m.Photo1: Gidde Kunta Percolation TankAt the same time the capacity of Hanmandla Kunta increased to 0.80 lakh cubic metres.The ground water significantly increased in an area of about one sq. K.m. range. It is also11

[[[[source of drinking water to cattle in the village. The rejuvenation of the old Devuni Bhaviridge also helped improve the ground water recharge.Photo2: Hanmandla kunta Percolation TankAs a result of this intervention, ground water table in Majeedpur improved by two metres.The restored tanks changed the cropping pattern in the village. Previously where farmerswere growing Maize and Jowar at a subsistence level, now vegetables and paddy are beinggrown. Villagers have now taken agriculture as an enterprise. Now they are takingadvantage of their proximity to Hyderabad to sell their agriculture produce at a good price.BEFOREPhoto2: Devuni Bhavi ridgeAFTERKrishna, a small farmer with two acres of land is cultivating green vegetables on his land.Earlier he used to go to Hyderabad daily in search of labour work. He says that he goes toHyderabad now as well but not in search of work but to sell his vegetables. He manages toearn about Rs. 250 per day from the vegetables, more than he would have earned as alabourer. He says, “We were blind and could not recognize the potential of our own land.”The farmers from nearby villages like Thimmaipally in Keesara mandal came to see thetransformation of Majeedpur. They too have realized the potential of natural resources intheir villages and have decided to conserve and improve those.12

Photo 4: Gidde Kunta & Hanmandla Kunta tanks (one with electric posts shown)13

A.5.Stabilizing Incomes and Developing Resiliencethrough WatershedA Case Study from Chittoor district, Andhra PradeshBisanatham-I watershed is located in Gudipalle mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradeshalong the AP-Karnataka state border, about 16 kilometers from Kuppam town. There arethree habitations falling in this watershed, viz., Bisanatham, Athinatham andSalachintanapalli comprising a total population of 923. The population comprises of 14%Scheduled Castes (SC), 80% Backward Castes (BC) and 6% others. Majority of thepopulation was small and marginal farmers. The terrain was highly undulating, with redsandy soil. The livelihood situation was precarious for the mostly water-dependent agrarianpopulation due to water scarcity. Large scale migration was a common phenomenonoccurring due to lack of alternative livelihood options.The watershed development project was implemented from 1995 to 2001 – 02 withthe objectives of promoting economic development and restoration of ecological balance inthe area. Out of the total 1410 ha of the geographical area, 520 ha was treated with variousphysical works to augment land and water resources.To meet with the desired objectives, the key activities carried out included continuouscontour trenches, afforestation, check dams, percolation tanks and gully control worksadopting the ridge to valley approach.The Bisanatham watershed achieved excellentresults mainly due to a good combination oftechnical and social components. Thesecomponents were carried out by the communityadopting a well-thought out planning andimplementation strategy, while the implementingagency played the role of a facilitator.Fig 1: Changes in land use patternThe increased availability of soil moisture, surface and groundwater helped inexpanding land under cultivation (Fig.1) drawing from the fallows. Land productivity alsoincreased significantly. Diversification to more remunerative land use systems includinglivestock, horticultural and vegetable production improved sources and income levels whichled to poverty reduction of the rural poor and reduced labour migration.Photo 1 Percolation TankPhoto 2 Percolation tank14

Photo 3 CheckdamPhoto 4 Crop fieldThe percolation tank captured rainwater and recharged the ground water increasingwater levels in wells. Further, the check dams increased availability of stored water to beused as complementary irrigation during large dry spells while adding to ground water. Thus,the overall enhanced surface and groundwater helped in bringing more area undercultivation (Fig. 1) which was earlier lying fallow. 63% of the farmers, who left their landsfallow and worked as labourers, gradually started cultivating their lands due to enhancedwater availability. In addition to paddy and millets, vegetables, flowers and fodder were alsogrown by farmers which fetched them more returns thereby enhancing their income levelssignificantly by 2009 – 10 (Fig.4). Changes in the land use pattern, production and incomelevels from different sources are evident from the graphs.Fig. 2: Increase in Agriculture productionFig 3: Increase in Milk ProductionThere was considerable extent of common land in the watershed area, which wascritical to the non farmers as well. Afforestation and soil and water conservation activitieswere taken up on 800 acres of common land along the ridge area resulted in increase ofbiomass thus providing fodder security to the livestock. In normal years, the fodder fromcommons was available in addition to agricultural crop residue fodder. Increase of biomassalso helped in reducing soil erosion thus avoiding loss of fertility.15

Photo 5 Landscape before watershed projectPhoto 6 Landscape after watershed projectImproved natural resource regime including soil moisture and fodder availability helped instabilizing the income of the watershed inhabitants through agriculture and animalhusbandry. Many farmers also diversified into milk business while a few entered into settingup local enterprises.BEFORE WATERSHED PROJECT2009/10.Cash income from milk sale emergedas a major resilience measure for farmers tocope with uncertain rainfall conditions.There was a drastic decrease in bothoverall migration and duration of migrationcompared to the pre-watershed scenario.Earlier, 65% of the farmers used to migrateand used to work as agriculture labour; interms of duration, this reduced from severalmonths to a couple of months during 1995 andFig 4: Increase in Income levelsNow farmers have started makinginvestments in agriculture to buy crop inputsand machinery from their enhanced income.These include purchase of seeds, fertilizersand manure, and hiring/purchase of farmequipment. Many farmers have also purchasedmilch animals.Photo 7: Lady with milch cowsThe drainage line, which once used to be seasonal, has now become perennial; thus,the ground water recharge too has enhanced. Voluntary social regulations continue to playtheir role in protecting the resource. Before this programme only one bore well was drilled inthe catchment area of Peddavanka and found to be a failure. But after watershedintervention 21 bore wells were drilled and found all 21 Borerwells success. In addition tothis 43 formers are using surface water through centrifugal motors from the check dams. Thestream is not at all drying during summer season as well. 121 Acres of land belonging to 62farmers was brought under cultivation.16

Photo 8 CheckdamPhoto 9 streamLand use pattern and cropping pattern have witnessed positive changes due to theincreased water regime. Farmers are able to cultivate two crops, kharif and rabi. In addition,they have also started growing vegetables, mulberry, flowers etc.Plantation on common land has turned out be an asset for the Gram Panchayat.Money generated through sale of plants from common lands is used for public welfareactivities. For example – Rs.52.000/-, which were realized from auction of plants at commonland were utilized to construct concrete road in Athinatham habitation of BisanathamWatershed.Photo 10 : Concrete roadProper rules and regulations, framed by the watershed committee to protect commonresources, are being followed even after the watershed project is completed.Community has reposed its faith in the Chairman because of his honesty andcommitment. The benefits accrued to farmers and non farmers helped the Chairman gettingelected twice as the village Sarpanch.This documentation is based on sampled data collected for evaluating the successthrough different sources such as the agency records, transect, focused group discussions,and random sample 1 household survey. Improvement in the livelihoods throughdevelopment of natural resource condition, stabilized incomes and enhanced productivity, allpoint towards the success of the watershed program. Development of commons as part ofwatershed strategy took care of exclusion problems, in addition to reducing women’sdrudgery in collecting fodder. Cash flow due to milk income and vegetables, flowers etc.enhanced the coping capacity of both farmers and non farmers.1 10% of the beneficiaries have been covered under sample survey17

Continued protection and management of natural resources and the assets createdby respecting the rules and regulations framed during project period indicates sustainabilityof the project. Enterprise promotion such as dairy has helped build resilience to droughtconditions.18

A.6.Barren to FertilityWhile there's life, there's hope!"A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." It was the only motivatingstatement for facilitators of watershed project at Ragolu, a small village of Gurla mandal ofAP, as the villagers were very pessimistic about the project. But gradually throughcontinuous persuasion by the implementers and exposure visits to other successfulwatershed areas, villagers were ready to take up the project with confidence.Ragolu is surrounded by hills on three sides and situated at the foot of the hills.During rainy season the rain water with high velocity of run off used to bring tons of smallrocks and soils from the hills and due to high gradient percolation of water to the ground wasnegligible. At the same time it also caused erosion of top fertile soil which gradually turnedthe land into a degraded barren land. People lost faith in agriculture and started migrating insearch of livelihoods.At this juncture, with an objective to control the runoff, soil erosion and there byincreasing the percolating capacity to increase the ground water level and fertility of soil andto enhance livelihoods, the interventions of watersheds were launched under IWDP inRagolu.The Planning process for the project wascarried out through Participatory Rural Appraisal.The process involved the villagers and thepanchayat members in the transect walk foridentification of the interventions to be taken up.The interventions were planned in tune with thedesired objectives keeping in view the ‘Ridge toValley’ concept.Photo 1: Planning through PRAAt the foothill of hillocks continuous contour trench of 1000 mts was executed. Toarrest the soil erosion in the first order streams, loose boulder structures and Percolationtank were constructed. Due to the above structures the soil moisture had been increased tooptimum levels. Apart from this 20 small check dams were constructed in the third orderstreams to avoid the soil erosion and to improve the ground water level in the catchmentarea.Photo 2: Loose boulder Check dam Photo 3:This also facilitated the increase in the water levels in the surrounded Wells. Apartform the above interventions, horticultural plantations were encouraged and saplings were19

distributed to the villagers. Teak and other plantations were taken up in the fields as well ason the bunds of the fields. Mango and cashew plantation in 45 hectares were taken up.With all the above interventions there was remarkable improvement in the lives of thevillagers in terms of housing, food and children education.Photo 4 Photo 5Horticulture Plantation done under the projectB. Sreeramulu, a farmer having 4acres of land, explained that before thewatershed interventions, there was no watersource. There used to be no scope for anykind of agricultural practices. But with theinterventions he was able to get good yield.He said that the check dam shown in thepicture alone was catering the needs ofnearly 60 acres of land around and the cattlein the village. Prior to the construction of thesaid check dam, people used to walk up to 5km for catering the cattle needs. He proudlyclaimed that, he was getting 600 boxes ofMango yield which got him around Rs.1 Lakhper annum.Photo 6: Check dam under the projectM. Narasinga Rao, a small farmer owing 2.5 acres of land says the teak plantwhich he planted on the bund of his field in the past, gave him the good quality wood and hemade a double bed cot with the same and presented to his daughter in her wedding. Healso told that he had sold cashew crop for Rs.30,000/- for a year.The orchards, farm pond and other structures constructed in the farmers’ fields arebeing maintained by the individual farmers and the structures such as check dams andothers which were common for all are being maintained by the land holders around the saidstructures called as user groups.The village has become center for attraction for the near by villages. People fromnear by area come to see how Ragolu, a village cursed with barren land, has turned itsbarren land into fertile. They say “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energyand resolute courage, we move on to better things”. The same kinds of interventions arebeing planned for other watershed projects in the district.20

A.7.Land, Water and Livelihoods!!!Ginjeru village is located at 18 km west of Vizianagaram district of AndhraPradesh. The soils are red and sandy with pebbles. Low level of ground water table andinfertile lands due to erosion produce very low yield of crops. There were hardly any wageopportunities available in the village. If at all any of the villagers found wage labor, he usedto get 40 or 50 rupees for whole day of work. In this condition the last option that villagersare left with is migration.“If we don't start, it's certain we can't arrive.” With this thought Ginjeru was takenup under IWDP for watershed intervention. The Water was to be conserved right from thesource. Planning for the project was done with peoples’ participation. Villagers as well asthe pancayat representatives were involved in identification of works/interventions to betaken up in the project.Various natural resource management (NRM) activities like peripheral trenches(1.45 Kms), rock fill dams (35), gabion structures (1), check dams (24), percolation tanks(12) and farm ponds (25) were taken up in the area for soil and water conservation.Photo 1: Rockfill damPhoto 2: CheckdamConstruction of the soil moisture conservation and water harvesting structuresremarkably increased the ground water level and fertility of the land. With increased fertilityof land yields also increased significantly which ensured higher income to the farmers. Apartfrom construction of NRM structures, afforestration was done with eucalyptus, casuarinas,teak, mango, sapata and other plants.Under productivity enhancement component of the project foundation seeds for drycrops were promoted to increase production. Integrated nutrient and pest managementpractices were introduced to the farmers to reduce the cost of cultivation and enhanceproductivity of land. Fodder plantation (CO1 grass) and breed improvement programmethrough artificial insemination were also taken up to increase milk production in the village.Revolving funds were given to SHGs for livelihood and enterprise promotionparticularly for landless and marginal farmers. Through this revolving fund various livelihoodopportunities and micro enterprises like vegetable vending, tailoring, carpentry, basketmaking, fishing etc. were taken up. These activities helped significantly in improving socioeconomic conditions of the villagers.21

Vegetable vending: Group Name :Siva Parvathi Leader :Gedela Asiramma Members : 10 Each individual in the group is getting amonthly income of Rs.1500/- as againstRs.900/- previouslyPhoto 3: Vegetable vendingTailoring: Group Name : Kanaka Durga Leader : L.Sanyasamma Members : 10 Each individual in the group isgetting a monthly income ofRs.1350/- as against Rs.900/-previouslyThe Group used to commute toVizianagaram to work as tailoringassistants. But now with therevolving fund received as loan fromwatershed they have establishedtheir own tailoring equipment in theirvillage and their income level hasincreased.Photo 4: Tailoring by youthCarpentry: Group Name : Dayamaya Leader : L.Thavudu Members : 10 Each individual in the group is getting a monthlyincome of Rs. 1800/- as against Rs.1400/-previously The Group used to work as assistants tocarpenters and now with the revolving fundreceived as loan from watershed they haveestablished their own carpentry work shops.Photo 5: Carpentry by youthBasket Making:Villagers used to take loan from private financiers @ 30% PA to procure the raw materialand were forced to sell the product to the middle men at Rs.3/- per basket but now loanis available at meager interest @ 8% and the baskets are being sold directly in themarket @ Rs. 5/- per basket.22

Fishery:Besides life saving irrigation and recharge of ground water, farm ponds are being usedas fish ponds which give Rs.7000 net income per year to the farmers.Photo 6: a good catch of fish in the pondAn evaluation study (2009) for the project was taken up by an external agency toevaluate the impact of the project. The observations were carried out by comparing existingand pre watershed intervention situation by using various methods such as case studies,observations, interviews and other qualitative and quantitative methods.The study highlighted that due to the watershed intervention water level in wellsincreased by 2 Mts and agriculture productivity increased by 18% in the area as 80 Ha ofadditional area was brought under cultivation. Milk yield was increased by 125 Ltrs per day.The study showed that due to intervention of this project migration of 700 laborers waschecked. The overall income of the village was increased by 50%. The impacts of the projectwere evident in other important facets like education, health and nutrition status, sanitationetc. due to awareness among villagers, change in food habits etc.The villagers now understand that they have to work together to make the impactsustainable. The user groups and SHGs worked out their long term planning for utilization ofwatershed development fund to make sure that the growth engine of the village keepsrolling."Self-trust is the first secret of success." And it was the self trust of the villagers andfacilitators that made this change happen at Ginjeru.23

A.8. Gender Role in Watershed Development– A Case Study from Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh.Introduction:More than 2/3 rd of the total land area of Andhra Pradesh can be classified as dry landwith an annual rainfall of less than 800mm. The DPAP has been under implementationsince 1970-71 onwards¹. Under this watershed development programme, lot of money hasbeen invested every year on activities like land reclamation or levelling, and soil & moistureconservation activities. However, social justice and equity was lacking in the process ofplanning and implementation of various activities in the watersheds, as the guidelines forimplementation do not provide any preferential treatment to the lands owned by thedisadvantaged sections. The participation of women has been generally absent or verymeagre in the planning and implementation of various watershed developmental activities².Background:Geographic location:Anantapur District lies between 13°- 40’ & 15°-15’ North Latitude and 76°-50’ & 78°-30’ East longitude and it ranks second in India in terms of lowest rainfall received, with anaverage annual rainfall of 552 mm as against the state average of 940 mm. Analysis of past100 years show that 70 years were drought hit and due to over exploitation of groundwater,the water table below ground level is now more than 20 m in the southwestern parts, 11 min the central and 22 m in the northwestern parts of the district.Natural resources development schemes:To combat the recurring drought and to bring comprehensive development, theDPAP programme was introduced in 1975 covering all the blocks in the district. In 1994-95,DPAP was converted to DDP on account of the agro-climatic conditions existing in thedistrict. The natural resources development works are being taken up by watershedcommittees, and user groups under the supervision of watershed development projectimplementing agencies and multi-disciplinary teams.So far, 813 watersheds are under implementation covering 838 habitations out of3426 habitations in the district. Major objectives of each watershed development project isto promote economic development and restoration of ecological balance. Special emphasisis on resource-poor and the disadvantaged sections of the watershed community such aswomen through greater access to income generating opportunities and focus on theirhuman resources development.About the area of study:The area of study is the “Mallapuram Watershed” under Kalyanadurg Mandal of theDistrict having 248 households with a caste composition of 509 BC, 13 OC and 127 SCmembers. A total of 2224.79 acres of land has been under cultivation out of which 1820acres is under dry land agriculture while 230 acres is under horticulture. Twelve womenself help groups, and one youth association are existing in the village. Groundnut,Redgram, Sunflower & Paddy are the major crops.A brief history of the watershed development programme in the village:The watershed project was sanctioned in the year 1996 under EAS scheme by theDDP and a NGO called RDT was involved as PIA in facilitating and implementing theprogramme. Simultaneously, SHG formation also was undertaken and a watershedcommittee was formed with 15 SHG women as part of the committee consisting of 22members.24

Objectives:Watershed programmes should move from purely land based development to arange of activities that provide opportunities for development of women and landless poor.CPR development is critical; equity and gender are most important issues to be addressed.Human beings are born as female or male, but learn to be girls and boys, and in turngrow into women and men. This learned behaviour is what makes gender identity, anddetermines gender roles.Since women are the last among the poorest, women’s situation has to be classifiedin 2 ways: the social condition and the social position of women. The work contribution ofthe women on an average is 55% more than that of the men in low-income areas and 75%of women’s work is in un-paid activities which are not economically rewarded. Womenadjust their work patterns to accommodate their specific environments and family needs.Deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion etc., result in depletion of fuel wood, fodder andwater. These changes result in increase of time and energy of women for collecting water,fuel wood & fodder. Women work for longer hours than men and carry a disproportionateshare of burden to cope up with poverty.Certain major ailments engulfing these poor women are: lack of land ownership(entitlements), credit & capabilities, low degree of autonomy, low literacy, lack of newproductive skills and suitable technologies etc.Study of role of women in the society in context to watershed.It is proposed to study the position of women at house hold level & village level coveringvarious social, economic & ecological concepts in Mallapuram watershed village ofKalyanadurg Mandal. The study aims at:Identifying the needs of women with specific reference to available natural sources.Setting the objectives of the watershed project based on the needs of women topromote a fairer society for both women and men.Accessing & controlling the resources by women.Analyzing the impact of works already carried out in the watershed.Role of women SHGs in watershed development.Role of external facilitation by the government officials and NGOs to have betterparticipation of women in watersheds.Evolution of the water shed.How it was before 1984!Mallapuram was like any other backward village in the drought prone district ofAnantapur. There was no unity among the villagers. Political groups dominated the entirevillage. There were no community activities, no proper roads and no sufficientaccommodation in the school building. There was absolutely no say for the women andbankers were not willing to extend loans to Agricultural section as most of the farmers weredefaulters.What happened during 1984 to 1996?Social mobilization was started by the RDT and education was identified as a keyarea and an education committee was formed by conducting location wise meetings withwomen and men asking them to send their children to school and the committee wassuccessful in enrolling 49 children into school. An additional room was constructed bycollecting donations from the villagers with the financial assistance from RDT and throughShramdan. A community health worker Smt. Sarojamma was identified, trained and shestarted coordinating with ANMs & Anganwadi teachers. Institutional delivery and familyplanning were encouraged and SHGs were started.25

From 1996 onwards:The year 1996 was a watershed year in the village in the sense that naturalresources management activities were started under EAS watershed with RDT as PIA sincegood amount of social mobilization was already done by RDT in that village. Variousactivities and interventions were taken up in the villages and the women from watershedcommittee and SHG groups played a vital role in all these. One woman, Smt. G.Lingammawas elected as Watershed Committee Chairman and this has helped in creating moreaccess for the women to the resources, officials & NGO. Women took the men along withthem in their march towards development.Activities:Drinking water as entry point activity:With the help of WHIRL, India & RDT, trainings were given to women at householdlevel in the application of Alum & Tamarind for water treatment. As a result, the fluoridecontent of drinking water reduced from 1.65 PPM to 1.4 PPM.To provide drinking water facility to SC locality,an estimate costing Rs. 60,000/- was prepared and theNGO came forward to provide Rs. 40,000/- towardsentry point activity and SHG women went from houseto house to collect balance contribution of Rs. 20,000/-and the drinking water problem was solvedpermanently within a month. The collective action ofthe women solved a major problem in the village.Soil moisture conservation measures:Photo 2: Women involved in contour bundingPhoto 1: Water tank as entry pointactivitySoil bunding & field bunding activities were taken upthrough women user groups in 553 acres at a cost ofRs.5.9 lakhs and 239 rock fill dams were constructed inthe fields of farmers at a cost of Rs.2.13 lakhs duringthe year 1998. Between 1996 and 2002, a total of 1852acres were treated in a phased manner. Farmers hadsown glyricidia and pongamia on the field bunds.Totally, 315 nos. of rock fill dams were constructed tostop soil erosion.Water Harvesting Structures:Two additional checkdams were constructed in addition to the ones already existingat an estimated cost of Rs.2.55 lakhs.Barren Hill afforestation:Two barren hillocks devoid of any vegetation were treated (around 50 acres) bydigging CCT and seed dibbling on the mounds with seeds of glyricidia, pongamia andseetaphal. The women had contributed a lot in the above afforestation and a 3 Km. stretchof avenue plantation also was taken up.26

Horticulture:Photo 3: Women fetching water for PlantationArea under Mango has increased from 5 acres to 250 acres and the number offarmers undertaking horticulture has increased from 2 to 70. Orchards of Sapota (25 acres)and tamarind grafts (10 acres) also were undertaken.Vermiculture / Greenmanuring:Totally, 20 farmers had established vermiculture units and this compost was beingused for vegetable or horticulture crops.Photo 4: Dry Land HorticulturePhoto 5: Vermiculture training in progressNoticeable Changes in the Village economyIndependent livelihood activities:SHG group members with their savings and revolving fund extended by DRDAindependently took up independent livelihood activities like vegetable vending, fruit vending,petty shops, flour mill, STD booth etc.On-farm demonstrations:A demonstration package of practices and nutrient management for groundnut cropwas worked out and on-farm demonstration was conducted in the field of Smt. Lingammaand she used to explain about all the interventions like ploughing across the slope, seedtreatment with Dithane M-45, intercultivation with redgram and castor in 7:1 ratio, applicationof Trichoderma for controlling the fungal diseases, control of Tikka leaf spot, sowing of Bajra& Jowar in the periphery in a row etc., to reduce pest and disease incidence as well as tohave better moisture utilisation. These simple techniques were found to be very beneficialunder drought conditions and this has encouraged other farmers also to take up the aboveactivities.27

Photo 6: Crop DemonstrationMilk Cooperative Society:Some SHG members belonging to different SHGs formed a small milk producerssociety and elected a president, vice-president & secretary amongst themselves. Thiscommon interest group got involved in collection of milk from all the producers in the villageand sending the same to the chilling centre after conducting the fat test & fixing the price ina transparent way. Smt. K. Vasuramma who is the secretary of this society is supervisingthe entire milk procurement activity & money disbursement. Milk production has increasedfrom 60 litres a day to 300 litres.Fodder:The main fodder part in the village comes through crop residues and hay. As notmuch of importance was given to green fodder earlier women were oriented on importanceof scientific feeding practices in addition to motivating the farmers to cultivate green fodder.Interventions such as supplying CO1 variety Jowar planting material for 15 members tocover around 3 acres and 75% subsidized PC-23 Jowar in about 2 acres, motivated thefarmers to go for allocating part of their land for green fodder cultivation. Stylosantheshamata seeds were broadcast on bunds to provide legume fodder.Communication of information:Information regarding latest technologies in Agriculture, Horticulture, Animalhusbandry etc., is first communicated to SHG leaders and VO by the WDTS/PIA and in turnthey communicate to farmers and other stakeholders.Training programmes:Women were linked to ANTWA training programme sponsored by AgricultureDepartment to know about the preferred economic activities and other sustainablelivelihoods. Training programmes on sheep rearing helped women in knowing aboutmaintaining proper ratio of ewes & rams to encourage cross-breeding so as to get morebenefits.Health:A health organizer has been appointed to bring awareness among women regardingthe importance of Vitamin A & Iron tablets, communicable diseases, dietary measures,family planning etc. Incidentally, 100% family planning has been achieved in this villagedue to the total involvement of SHG women.Fuel:All the 246 families have shifted to smokeless chullahs with 30% cost subsidy and 6families have established biogas plants also. Besides, 38 cooking gas connections weregiven by the DRDA to SHG Women under the state government sponsored Deepamscheme.28

Sanitation:130 latrines were constructed in the village and here also women played a major rolein implementing this programme successfully.Literacy:All the women have started sending their children to schools and even the drop outs(9 girls & 4 boys) were made to rejoin in the school.Other livelihood activities:Tailoring, basket making, mat weaving etc., were taken up and a sum of Rs.5000/-was given to each livelihood group as revolving fund.Success stories of WomenPhoto 7: Training in Basket makingEntrepreneurship capabilities of women – Taking the tamarind plantation on lease.A contractor used to reap rich benefits on the avenue plantation (from Mallapur toPalvai road) by taking lease of the 80 fully grown tamarind trees from R&B Department.One fine morning in the year 1999 saw the women belonging to 4 SHGs’ sittingtogether and taking a decision to bid for the tamarind trees in the auction held by R&BDepartment and they decided to invest the savings of all the 4 groups in case theysucceeded in the bid. Accordingly, Smt.Jayamma participated in the auction on behalf ofall the four groups and she was declared as asuccessful bidder for an amount of Rs.40,000/-.The women shared the responsibility of carryingout the activities like watch & ward, harvesting,cleaning, drying, removal of seeds from thefruits, packing & marketing etc., The womencould get wage employment for 55 days besidesgetting a gross income of Rs.1,25,000/- and thenet profit has been worked out as Rs. 50,000/-.From that year onwards, it is these women whohave been emerging as the successful biddersin the auction.Collective strength of the women- A force to reckon with!Photo 8: Tamarind Plantation under LeaseA rich person encroached into the Masjid area which was a common property. Noact or village elder could stop him from pursuing the construction of a house there. Then itwas the turn of these women to register a protest with the local revenue officials & Districtcollector, and finally they succeeded in stopping the construction. This not only boosted themorale of the women but their efforts also were well recognized by the villagers.“When the Masjid encroachment was removed by us, our efforts were recognised bythe villagers and they started consulting us on several social issues” says K.Manoharammawith confidence while narrating the above incident.29

Solving the problems of of village washermen.5 Washermen families of the village had to walk down a distance at 3-5 km. forwashing the clothes and they were at the mercy of farmers for using the water fromagriculture borewells. They were in a dilemma as to whether to continue with their professionor not.At this stage, the generosity of thewatershed committee was visible where onceagain the women in the committee prevailedover to take a decision to help the washermenby constructing a dhobhighat with an incentiveamount of Rs.45,000/- which they had got fromthe NGO on account of being the bestwatershed. The estimates were prepared forRs. 58,000/- and Rs.13,000/- came in the formof shramadan and a dhobighat with powerconnection and motor came up adjacent to abore well which was having water with highfluoride content.The above stories only reflect the increasing confidence and financial independenceof the women in the village. “When my husband died in 1992, entire burden of running thefamily had fallen on me and I had to borrow money from money lenders at exorbitant rates ofinterest” recalls Smt. G.Lingamma, a SHG member. “After joining the Gandhi MahilaSangham in 1993, the situation changed and I no longer depend on the money lenders”explains this member who states that she has also helped several other women like her toform into SHGs.“All eligible women in the village have undergone family planning operation and all ourchildren are sent to school which has been only possible due to our collective efforts” saysanother SHG member C.Vasuramma.Several other women belonging to the watershed village express similar sentimentsand feel that the financial and social benefits that accrued to them is on account of theiractive participation in water shed programme and self help activities.Roles of various agenciesRole played by RDT:Photo 9: Dhobi GhatThe P.I.A. personnel played an important role in social mobilization, involving andempowering the women, carrying out capacity building programmes on technical,managerial and financial issues related to watershed implementation, animal husbandry,education, health, sanitation, formation of SHGs, strengthening of SHGs, formation of V.O.creation of awareness on various government schemes and programmes linkages tofinancial institutions & line departments, marketing arrangements etc. Exposure visits toweavers and farmers also were organised so as to adopt successful programmes.Role of the Government:DDP which is now called as D.W.M.A. has provided the much needed funding andguidance for proper watershed implementation and the multi disciplinary team membersprovided necessary technical help to the PIA. DRDA has extended necessary financialassistance in the form of revolving fund and facilitated bank linkages in case of womenSHGs. Time to time, training programmes on record maintenance and imparting new skillsor skill up gradation were conducted. Bankers also have extended full cooperation byextending loans to SHG women for pursuing various economic activities.This village has been chosen for enhancing livelihoods activities under completedwatersheds category under APRLP through DWMA and various capacity buildingprogrammes have been planned and one of the youth belonging to the village has been30

trained as a para worker in Agriculture & Animal husbandry and he has been found to bevery useful to the farmers and women. An amount of Rs. 2.00 lakhs towards RevolvingFund to be extended to V.O. and rupees two more lakhs towards other livelihood activitieshave been earmarked for providing further financial assistance to women, artisans &landless labourers. Plans are drawn to encourage farmers to adopt micro irrigation methods(Drip & Sprinkler) under APMIP so as to have better water utilisation and enhancement ofproductivity.Analysis of impact:Soil moisture conservation works resulted in increased groundwater availability, reducedsoil erosion and increased agricultural productivity. The quality of vegetables and fruitshas increased due to usage of vermicompost and nine farmers have established theirown vermiculture units.Diversion from groundnut to Horticulture has resulted in getting sustainable income and ithas also acted as an insurance against groundnut crop loss during drought years.On-farm demonstrations helped the farmers to know about improved agronomicpractices and adoption of the same.Women played a vital role in identification, prioritization and execution of all works andthe impact is effective since all the activities are carried out through participatoryapproach involving all sections of people like women, men, farmers, landless and wagelabour in the village.The collective social action of the women resulted in empowerment of women inachieving improved wage employment, improved agricultural productivity, enhancementof sustainable livelihoods, improved education, health & family planning, adoption of nonconventionalenergy resources to reduce drudgery etc.What next? Some of the future plans & ideas of the women:Construction of a small building for conducting meetings of SHGs.Establishing a Dal mill.Taking up value addition activities like Jam & Jelly making.Taking up pickle making as a group activity.Taking lease of mango and other fruit crops of farmers and earning some income.Training on certain activities like pickle making, preparation of mango Jam and Jelly,basket making, tailoring on new designs etc.,Value addition to tamarind by cleaning the pulp, packaging, storing in cold storage andmarketing at appropriate time to get more income.Further what needs to be done!Regular trainings have to be conducted on issues like wages equity, leadership qualities,gender sensitization and latest scientific technologies to provide sustainable livelihoods.Proper utilisation of opportunities under APRLP and NGO sponsored watershed whichhave been under implementation from the year 2000 onwards has to be done.Traditional water bodies treatment, soil and moisture conservation works, planning thelivelihood activities have to be carried out in a phased and a meaningful way to utilise theavailable resources with the active participation of women and this would definitely resultin more significant development of the village.31

Abbreviations:ANM : Auxiliary Nurse Midwife.ANTWA : Andhra Pradesh Training for women in Agriculture & AlliedactivitiesAPRLP : Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods ProjectCCT : Continuous Contour TrenchesCPR : Common Property ResourcesDDP : Desert Development ProgrammeDPAP : Drought Prone Area ProgrammeDRDA : District Rural Development AgencyDWMA : District Water Management AgencyEAS : Employment Assurance ProgrammeMDT : Multi Disciplinary TeamPIA : Project Implementing AgencyR&B : Roads & Buildings DepartmentRDT : Rural Development TrustSHG : Self Help GroupWHIRL : Water, Household and Rural Livelihoods32