WATERSHED MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE

IFFDC recognised the importance of integrating other thematic interventions like Water Resource Development into this activity. In particular, the IFFDC's experience of its watershed management programme for improving gender focused rural livelihoods of communities through natural resource management is noteworthy. Village Watershed Committees and Water Users Committees are developed for implementing this programme. Focusing on providing Water and Food Security, a comprehensive set of activities related to land use planning and development and other livelihood generation activities has been systematically integrated for building up the 'Ecosystem Resilience' of the community.

The purpose of watershed development is to rehabilitate and conserve land and water resources in order to develop resilience towards climate change to ensure food and livelihood security. For this, the IFFDC has joined hands with other agencies and is mobilizing resources directly from NABARD and through convergence with various Government agencies for the restoration of depleting water resources. 

The Watershed programme is being implemented with the financial support of NABARD. The focus is on land treatment with "Ridge to Valley" treatment concept, climate proofing, livelihood generation and building capacities of the rural community by developing sustainable community institutions like Village Watershed Committee (VWC) and ensuring gender equity in all stages of the project cycle. Total 17,740 ha area has  been treated by various soil & water conservation measures.

PROJECT DETAILS

Progress

50. Under soil-water conservation measures, 25 Farm Ponds were constructed in farmer field to harvest rain water and its utilisation for irrigating the crops.
50. 356 ha area has been treated with effective soil & water conservation measures like  Farm Bunding (FB), Continuous Contour Trench (CCT), Loose Stone Check Dam (LSCD), Gully Plugs (GP) and Check Dam.
50. 2,131 Cum Continuous Contour Trench (CCT), 8,433 Cum Farm Bund (FB), 155 Cum Stone outlet (SO), 2,196 Cum Water Absorption Trench (WAT) and 1,993 Cum Staggered Contour Trench (SCT), 72 No. Earthen Gully Plug (EGP), 135 Cum. Stone Gully Plug (SGP) and 120 Cum Loose Stone Check Dam (LSCD) have been constructed for Soil Water Conservation purpose.
50. 125 Kits of Vegetable seeds such as Bitter Gourd, Okra, Pumpkin and Bottle Gourd have been provided to 72 Farmers and SHG members to increase nutritive food availability in the area.
50. Two trainings Programme have been organized at Amriti village and educated them how to make Vermi Compost and Azola Cultivation. 35 farmers were participated.
50. 02 Units of Azola Cultivation have been set up for increasing availability of protein rich fodder for cattle in the area. It will help in improving the quality & production of the Cattle' Milk. One training on proper functioning & management for SHGs has been organized. 25 Self Help Groups Members were made aware on their roles and responsibilities, Method of organising meetings, benefits & importance of regular saving etc.
50. 2,000 forestry plants (Melia Composita and Neem) & 50 Horticulture plants have been planted in Sub-Pasture land.
50. A training cum exposure visit at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Rewa (M.P.) for 30 members was organised and imparted knowledge on benefits of the watershed approach, Crop rotation, Intercropping and benefits of Bee- Keeping to crop production etc.
50. One Veterinary Camps has been organized, in which, De-worming and Vaccination of 100 cattle were done.
50. 8 training of Village Watershed Committee members were organised at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) in which 282 members participated. The members were imported knowledge about Watershed approach, Climate Smart Agriculture, Water Use efficiency, Crop Insurance, Organic Farming and SHG Management, Climate Change Mitigation & resilience development.
50. One Health & Nutrition Camp was organised against the target of 01, in which, 60 patients were examined and free medicines were provided. The main diseases observed in the patients were Cold, Fever, Cough, Vitamin deficiency and Malnutrition etc.
50. One training on Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, Resilience Development and Climate Smart Cropping was organised at Amriti (M.P.), in which, 92 Farmers participated. The participants were imparted input on impact of climate change on Crop and the participants also learned how to protect crops from Climate Change.
50. For Income Generation, 30 Units of Poultry (30 Chicks of K.A.G Golden breed in each unit) alongwith feed, feeder box & water box were provided to 30 Landless families and SHG members. 16 Sewing Machines have been provided to SHGs Groups. An alternate source for generating income and livelihood for Landless family and SHG members have been developed.
50. One Awareness programme on climate change, risks and mitigation adaptation climate resilient crops & varieties, cropping system, promotion of System Wheat intensification (SWI) method for crop cultivation have been organized.

Outcome

50. Increase of water table of the wells has been observed and farmers are able to harvest their second crop successfully leading to more returns.
50. Additional area has been brought under cultivation by adopting various soil conservation measures.
50. Landless farmers and women have been endowed with employment opportunities in the area through skill development and various soil-moisture conservation activities.
50. Treated area has produced good quality fodder for cattle by which health of cattle has been improved.
50. The knowledge on "Climate Smart Agriculture" amongst the farmers of the project area has increased.
50. It helped in contributing to the objectives of Govt. of India i.e. "More Crop from Each Drop" and Doubling Farmers Income by 2022.