The Farm Ponds Scheme was introduced during the first stint of the BJP rule in 1995-96 with the primary objective of providing a source of supplementary irrigation to farmers if the monsoon failed. The scheme also aimed at improving recharging of groundwater and soil-moisture profile of farm lands.

The scheme was conceptualised by former Agriculture Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, under which the government provided 85 per cent subsidy of the total cost ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 17,000 to farmers to make ponds in their private farms. It was especially meant for those ryots who would otherwise not afford investing in private wells and small irrigation schemes.

Besides the failed monsoon this season, what appears to have prompted the government to revive the Farm Ponds Scheme is the success story of the scheme, as revealed by the Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR) in a recent survey conducted into the functioning of farm ponds in different parts of the State.

``I have gone through the survey report submitted by the GIDR. Its findings are encouraging. I will discuss the contents of the report with the persons concerned in the government, including Agriculture Minister Becharbhai Badhani, to ensure the scheme is revived,'' Chudasma told the Express Newsline here on Monday. A farmer himself, Chudasma is presently chairman of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL). When contacted, Agriculture Minister Badhani said, ``I also look forward to meeting Bhupendrasinh Chudasma and discussing with him measures on how best the Farm Ponds Scheme could be revived and implemented to mitigate the woes of farmers who confront frequent spells of drought in the State''. The results of the survey conducted by the Ahmedabad-based research institute are fairly encouraging, proving that the farm ponds technology is environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially feasible for farmers who have implemented it.

Since its inception, over 12,000 ponds were created in private farms under the scheme, covering about 3,000 villages across the State, with drought-prone districts of Sabarkantha, Surendranagar and Banaskantha accounting for 2,097, 1,674 and 1,192 farm ponds. The research institute surveyed as many as 708 of the farm ponds located mainly in talukas such as Tharad (Banaskantha), Kheralu (Mehsana), Babra (Amreli), Kalyanpur (Jamnagar) and Lakhtar (Kutch), where the monsoon has been erratic.

In the survey, most of the beneficiaries of the scheme have conceded that farm ponds have not only worked as a major source of supplementary irrigation, but have also helped improve, though marginally, the depleted groundwater resources and the soil-moisture profile in and around their private farms.

A large proportion of farmers in Saurashtra-Kutch region, except Rajkot, did not have any source of irrigation till they received benefits from the Farm Ponds Scheme. In many cases, the recharging of farm wells was realised and at least 50 per cent of farm owners interviewed by the research team even expressed their willingness to dig wells beside their farm ponds. As brought out in the survey, the most important benefit of the scheme seems to have been in terms of availability of water in the hour of crisis for animals -- 70 per cent of the cases confirmed this during the survey.

Besides, the direct access to irrigation water has resulted in significant increase in crop-yield, fertilizer use and net returns. These results are evident mainly on the kharif crops as the additional water from farm ponds tend to sustain for four months, especially in the dry region. And, 25 per cent of the respondents reported even change in cropping pattern. However, the survey report says, ``The process of selecting the beneficiary farmers appears to be ad hoc. Since the scheme involves a huge subsidy, the lack of properly laid out norms for beneficiaries, selection of beneficiaries etc might lead to unnecessary conflict and also create space for political manoeuvering.''

The survey also suggests that economically and socially marginalised farmers should be given priority in the Farm Ponds Scheme. The report also suggests rationalisation of the subsidy structure and efforts to revitalise institutional finance through agencies like NABARD.