Community-approach for Soil and Water Conservation.
Soil and water conservation programme is highly essential for the village in Bhalot, a village in Kutch region which receives a rainfall of just 350 mm. Agricultural land of the village is highly undulating.Hence, it requires land leveling and bunding as per contour lines. This required significant resources which is difficult for small farmers. Shri Karshan Bijal Chavda contacted different NGOs and government departments for the development of his village. As a result of his efforts NGOs - World Vision adopted this village and completed eight check dams, two water reservoirs and farm bunding and leveling in 40 ha land. Organizations like AKRSP (Agakhan Rural Support Programme), IFFCO, DWDU Project started their programmes in this village. He himself installed micro-irrigation systems in three ha land and started efficient use of irrigation water. Looking to the benefits of micro-irrigation systems, other farmers also started adoption of micro-irrigation systems (MIS). The innovation is the collective approach for conservation and involving communities in water conservation efforts in the village.