Social values of water use and their economic impact in Jakham irrigation project of Rajasthan India

A sample of 50 farmers was used from two different communities to assess their social values and the economic impact of related irrigation development. The studies were conducted in the Jakham irrigation project where more than 79.2% of the farmers are tribal people The cropping patterns showed that the first community were more interested in taking more remunerative crops than the second. The first community had introduced several new crops such as rice and mustard in their cropping pattern. The difference in cropping intensity was 96.3% between two communities. The second community was more interested in providing services and hiring out labour. Values of farm and family assets were also found to be greater in first community. The difference between average household income was found to be Rs. 49266 for the two communities. The first community was socially more strong, in resource base and also enriched in socio-economic conditions. Whereas, the second community was more in the grip of social evils, being poor in their resource base. The first community even did not like to marry their wards into the second community. The first community used water rationally, recognizing that water has social value for them. For some water is a God. This suggests that social values are an impotent tool in improving efficiencies in irrigation projects. So in the Indian context, misuse of water by farmers in command areas is due more to social rather than technical factors.