Watershed is a geographic area that drains to a common point which makes it an ideal planning unit for .conservation of soil and water. It may comprise of one or several villages.
It may also contain both arable and non-arable lands, various categories of Iandholdings. The watershed approach enables a holistic development of agriculture and allied activities, such as horticulture, agro-forestry, silviculture i.e. forests. Watershed approach is an important means to conserve water resources to increase agricultural production to stop ecological degradation in rainfed and resource poor areas.
The watershed development programme in India is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and Forests. The government is also giving importance to the utilization of full potential of rain fed areas which constitute 70% of our cultivated and, for realizing the requirement of food grains, reducing regional disparities between irrigated and vast rainfed areas, the restoring of ecological balance by greening rainfed areas through appropriate mix of trees, shrubs and generating employment of rural masses to reduce large scale irrigation from rural areas to cities and towns.
To achieve these objectives rainted farming system cell was created in the Department of Agriculture and cooperation as an independent unit in June 1987 by transferring schemes like Central Sector Scheme of Watershed Development Council which was created in 1983 for serving the world Bank Aided watershed Management Projects, National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas created in 1986, Bilateral projects in the field of Rainfed farming and watershed management.
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A centrally sponsored scheme for National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas was also launched in 1986-87 in 16 states with the objectives of increasing agricultural production through land and moisture management practices, improved cropping systems, dry land horticulture, fodder production and farm forestry. An area of more than 5 lakh hectare in 647 watersheds in 99 districts in the country has been covered during the Seventh Five Year Plan.
In the Eighth Five Years Plan, this programme has been restructured to achieve the twin objectives of sustainable production of biomass and restoration of ecological balance in the vast rainfed areas of the country which specially focused on conservation, up-gradation and utilization of natural endowments like land, water, plant, animal and human resources in harmonies and integrated manner with low cost and effective applicable technology.
World Bank aided Himalayan pilot project for Watershed Development in Rainfed Areas is also in operation. This project has been in operation since June 1984 with World Bank assistance in the states of A.P, Karnataka, M.P, and Maharashtra.
The main objective of this project is to increase and stabiles the production of crops, forage, fuel wood, and timber in selected rainfed areas through the use of proper technology and also to test and evolve appropriate organizational frame work for project implementation. This project area represent two major dry farming regions (a) Red soil regions to a Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and (b) Black soil regions in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.