Module 4 - India: Community Organization to Reclaim Sodic Lands

• Human resources development and institutional capacity building of support services focuses on staff training and institutional strengthening in the Panchayats (village governance institutions), NGOs, and executing government agencies.
  
  
• Adaptive research verifies and refines available technologies to suit the specific needs of local farmers and to bring about sustainable increases in the productivity of sodic lands through reclamation. Support for additional research on improving the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of land reclamation is made available through a Competitive Agricultural Research Fund accessible to both the private sector and national institutes.

Beneficiary participation occurs through targeted project interventions, including:

• Formation of water user groups (WUGs) consisting of 10-15 farmers responsible for a pump set and shared wells. WUG formation is supported by local NGOs that are also supported through project activities (capacity building).
  
  
• Establishment of Site Implementation Committees comprising two members (one male and one female) from every sodic landholder household, in combination with WUG representatives and indirect beneficiaries such as schoolteachers and local leaders. These committees have a mandate for resolving conflicts, monitoring progress, selecting resource people and trainers, and maintaining infrastructure.

Benefits and Impacts

Yields of rice and wheat doubled as compared to original project estimates, wage rates doubled, and land values increased by a factor of four. By the end of the first project, cropping intensity had increased from 62 to 222 percent, wheat and rice yields had reached 2.7 and 3.0 tons per hectare, respectively, and more than one million people had directly benefited from project activities.

Lessons Learned and Issues for Wider Applicability.

Success has been attributable to flexibility in project design; strong commitment of project management and staff; strong beneficiary participation, facilitated by effective use of NGOs as supporting and motivating agencies; and a systematic approach to a full reclamation package including beneficiary involvement, construction of drains, on-farm development, application of chemical amendments, and crop production. Some of the key lessons include:

• Mobilization and involvement of communities in project implementation is essential. An important ingredient for motivating beneficiaries was that they were able to see returns in a short period by participating in the project.
  
  
• Joint partnership with all organizations that have key roles in project implementation helps to ensure that they are fully supportive and complete their functions on time.
  
  
• Public corporations/societies have more flexibility than line departments.
  
  
• Capable NGOs are important for forming, training, and supporting farmer groups.