Attitude of farmers towards participation in watershed management programme: A case study

The study was conducted during 1998–2001 in the Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP), Antisar watershed, located in Kapadwanj Taluka of Kheda district in semi-arid tropics of Gujarat state to assess the attitude of farmers towards participation in soil and water conservation program for watershed development. A data collection schedule was developed regarding attitude of farmers towards participation in watershed program. Statement Intensity Index (SII) was also developed in the study and intensity indices scores towards each attitude statement regarding participation in watershed program were measured. The study revealed that majority (71.83%) of the male farmers had shown moderately favourable attitude towards Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) program, followed by 16.90% of them with low favourable attitude and hardly 11.27% of the male farmers showed high favourable attitude towards participation in SWC program. Similarly, among the female farmers, majority (74.04%) of them had moderately favourable attitude, followed by about 11.89% of the female farmers with low favourable attitude and 12.04% had high favourable attitude towards participation in SWC program for watershed development. Among the overall majority (72.70%) of both male and female farmers, more than two-third exhibited moderately favourable attitude, followed by 16.07% of them had low favourable attitude and only about 10.0% (11.23%) exhibited high favourable attitude towards participation in watershed program.