Integrated farming for rural prosperity and livelihood security based on watershed technology in Bundelkhand

Watershed is a topographically delineated area that is drained by a stream system and a hydrological unit that is often used as a physical-biological unit as well as a socio-economic-political unit for planning and management of natural resources. Watershed management is the process of guiding and organising the use of land and other resources on a watershed to provide desired goods and services without harming soil and water resources. The study was carried out during 2008–09 and 2009–10 in the pilot area of model Watershed, Rendhar, Jalaun, U.P., India under financial assistance of Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India. One descript breed of buffalo ‘Murrah’ was provided under each system. The seven selected cropping systems were diversified with companion crops of rabi season. Further, each sequence was integrated with one ‘Murrah’ buffalo for maintaining cash flow of resource poor farm families of Bundelkhand reeling below poverity line (BPL). Sesame-pea + mustard +one ‘Murrah’ buffalo; sesame-wheat+mustard+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo; sesame-lentil+mustard+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo; sesame-linseed+mustard+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo; sesame-lentil+linseed+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo sesame-gram+mustard+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo and sesame-gram+linseed+one ‘Murrah’ buffalo integrated farming system were tested on ravines affected farmers fields. Among the tested integrated farming systems, the maximum net income (Rs. 65819/ha) was obtained from sesame-lentil + mustard + one ‘Murrah’ buffalo and was closely followed by sesame-lentil + linseed (Rs. 64004/ha) in ravines degraded soils of Bundelkhand. The lowest net return of Rs. 35999/ha was recorded from sesame-wheat + mustard + one ‘Murrah’ buffalo farming system.