Assessment of Check Dam and Spillways Technologies as soil erosion measures in Rain-Fed Agriculture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Paper Details
Assessment of Check Dam and Spillways Technologies as soil erosion measures in Rain-Fed Agriculture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Abstract
Soil erosion affects the performance of crops and the livelihood of farming families in rain-fed areas. Technologies like check dams and spillways are effective measures for controlling soil erosion. These technologies are comparatively low in cost and easy to construct than conventional brick masonry structures. The study analyzes cost-benefit, carry outs feasibility assessments and projects the potential impact of these technologies in rain-fed areas of district Dera Ismail Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. In the study area, soil erosion is caused by monsoon rains, mainly in the months of July and August. Sampled adopter farmers of these technologies brought one-fourth of their operational land under irrigation with the adoption of these technologies. This has almost doubled the productivity of wheat, enhanced that of chickpea and mustard crops by 66% and 21%, respectively. In the second year of adoption, benefit-cost ratios of check dam and spillways technologies are 5.68 and 7.01 respectively. Adoption of these moisture saving technologies help farmers’ to diversify cropping patterns by planting vegetables, fruit and forest plants. Fish farming can further add to economic benefits for the farmers. As per rough estimates of the farmers, these technologies can be adopted on about ten thousand acres in the study area. Farmers in the area are resource-poor and might not afford to adopt these technologies on a large scale. Effective awareness, provision of technical services and ease in access to finances can result in large-scale adoption of these technologies.
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