ANALYSIS OF CONSTRAINING FACTORS REGARDING ADOPTION OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN THE POTHOHAR, PUNJAB

The current study was conducted at Institute of Agri. Extension, Education and Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in 2022. Rawalpindi district was selected purposively as it receives maximum rainfall. Four out of seven tehsils of Rawalpindi were selected purposively based on maximum numbers of farmers. A sample size of 381 respondents was drawn using surveysystem.com. Proportionate sampling technique was used to interview 214, 104, 32 and 31 farmers from tehsil Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi, Kotli Satiyan and Kahuta respectively. Mix methods research design was used to conduct the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using well-structured interview schedule and a comprehensive interview guide respectively. Research findings revealed that awareness and adoption level of farmers regarding various soil and water conservation practices was unsatisfactory. High level adoption gap was found regarding different soil and water conservation practices: crop rotation (92.4%), intercropping (99.7%), cover cropping (99.8%), terracing (96.1%), broad bed and furrow system of land configuration (96.6%), sowing drought resistant varieties (86.3%), contour farming (85%) and mulching (97.9%). It was concluded that farmers were not only deprived of the advisory services but also the required trainings and technical assistance regarding adoption of conservation measures. Therefore, provision of trainings and demonstration facilities were strongly recommended to educate the farmers regarding basic soil and water conservation measures. Moreover, farmers should also be provided with financial assistance in form of subsidized input supply.