Watershed Development plans as an approach to re-invent lost crops in Sarguja division of Chhattisgarh, India

For the last three decades, the Government of India (GOI) has used watershed management to solve the issue of sustainable agricultural output in rainfed areas. Additionally, since 2003, the GOI has made watershed management a national policy. Much thought is given to all the significant crops that have disappeared from cropping systems in today's Indian development plans' watershed development programmes (WDPs), which are primarily focused on increasing and sustaining productivity levels. In the Surguja division of Chhattisgarh, the present study attempted to document the on-site and off-site effects of the watershed development programs as it observed an increase in groundwater level, rise in surface water and stream flow, reduction in runoff as well as soil erosion, change in land use and cropping patterns, increased agricultural and dairy production, improved livelihood and employment generation, and change in land use and cropping patterns. The findings showed that the percentage of cropland increased in both Kharif and Rabi, but in Zaid, they started planting crops, particularly cucumber, melon, and vegetables that had been kept fallow. The patterns of land usage in the WDP regions have improved. Due to farmers utilising more wasteland for productive reasons, there has been a rise in net sown area in these locations. Additionally, it has been claimed that many crops that were abandoned due to water shortages and other requirements are now being cultivated. Responses from the region have been in favor of the introduction of innovative techniques like agroforestry systems.