Impact of Sodic Land Reclamation Technology on Crop Productivity, Farm Income and Livelihood Security of Resource-poor Farmers: Evidence from Indo-Gangetic Plains

The study has explored the impact of sodic land reclamation technology on crop productivity, farm income and livelihood security of resource-poor farmers in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh. The study has revealed that sodic land reclamation technology has contributed substantially to improve soil health, crop productivity and farm income. All the uncultivated degraded lands in the pre-reclamation period have been put under cultivation in the post-reclamation period and the cropping intensity has increased by 62.32 per cent. The income loss was reduced by 61.58 per cent in the post-reclamation period. Farm-productivity improvement has enhanced the food-security status of the resource-poor farmers after land reclamation. The reclamation technology has helped in narrowing the income inequality among the farm households. The study has concluded that sodic land reclamation technology has made a significant contribution to livelihood security of resource-poor farmers in salt-affected regions. The study has suggested that a large part of agricultural land is being abandoned in India due to severe sodicity-related problems and need to be reclaimed on priority basis to improve land productivity and farm income of resource-poor farmers.