Abstract

Irrigation is essential for assured agricultural yield. Regular water supply to crops along with other inputs goes to a long way in increasing the production and productivity of the agriculture sector. The areas of Maharashtra like Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Vidarba, Marathawada are permanently declared as district which is less than state average. This argument can be proved with the irrigation ratio, as it is only 17%. The present paper is base on primary data, and an attempt was made to evaluate the change due to irrigation, agricultural pattern, and land use, use of technology and irrigation intensity. It also deals with socio-economic effects on the drought affected regions in general and the farmers of Upper Krishna river basin in particular, with special reference to Karad Taluka. The statistical data of the 72% farmers are small and marginal farmers, whereas only 28% of farmers hold land above 5 acres. The average land holding in the region is 4.42% acres, overall skewed distribution of land holding is observed in the Upper Krishna river basin. The Herfindal Index was 0.87 in the region which suggests the mono-crop culture of sugarcane. The per capita income in the sample study was Rs. 42,207.46. It was much higher than national average. In the sample region, out of the total, 96.7% of the farmers used organic fertilizers in the year 2010 to 2011. Their S.D. and variance value was less than sugarcane. Correlation between cost of cultivation and income from sugarcane is 0.94. It is highly positive correlation. Moderate positive (0.45) correlation is observed between cultivation cost and income from Bhusar crops. And, the correlation between cultivation cost and income from vegetable is 0.96. It is highly positive and more than the sugarcane. The analysis of statistical data along with the evaluation of socio economic changes gives certain conclusions which add new dimensions to the existing body of the knowledge available on the subject. The paper is also significant in the context of agricultural planning and policy making.

Key words: Drought region, cropping pattern, land holding.