IMPACT OF NATIONAL WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ON LEVEL OF ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDED PRACTICES IN BLOCK PATHAPATNAM OF SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT, ANDHRAPRADESH

The study was conducted purposively selected in Pathapatnam block of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. Six villages were selected purposively and from each selected village 20 respondents were selected randomly thus 120 respondents constituted the sample size for present study. Ex-post Facto research design was followed and data was collected by using personal interview method. The collected data were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted with the appropriate statistical tools. Majority of respondents had medium level of knowledge and adoption towards paddy crop production by watershed project. Education, Family Type, Annual Income were found positive and significant correlation with their knowledge and adoption of paddy under Watershed project. Two types of Respondents were selected from these villages, beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of Watershed Project. The major constraints faced by the respondents are Time consuming operation, Fragmentation of land into unconventional shape, Water stagnation near bunded area etc. The prominent suggestions given by the respondents were the provision of subsidy for the practices. Govt. should encourage cooperative farming, training should be provided for water conservation and input should be made available at proper time to overcome these constraints.