Notes

1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the workshop on Farmers' Practices and Soil
 and Water Conservation Programs, held 19-21 June 1991 at ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra
 Pradesh, India. The summary proceedings of that workshop are available from John Kerr at
 ICRISAT. A version of the paper also appears in Natural Resource Economics of India: A
 Guide for Researchers, Policy Makers and Managers, Oxford and IBH Publishers, New Delhi,
 forthcoming in 1993. The views expressed are those of the authors only.

 The authors would like to thank all the farmers who have contributed to their understanding of
 indigenous soil and water conservation practices. P.J. George, G.D. Nageshwara Rao, V.B.
 Ladole, V.K. Chopde, officials of MYRADA-PIDOW, and many other people also helped
 collect data and offered important insights. Karen Seckler edited an earlier version of the
 paper. The authors are responsible for remaining errors.

2. Numerous conversations with SWC programme managers and scientists have revealed this
 sentiment.

3. Private profits are those calculated according to market prices. Social profits are calculated
 according to prices that would prevail if all resources were used in a socially optimal way.
 Private and social profits diverge when prices are distorted by either market failures or
 government policies. Market failures occur when people have short time horizons, putting too
 high a value on the present at the cost of the future, or when profitable investments require
 collective action that is not forthcoming, or when they do not undertake profitable but risky
 investments. Government policies that distort prices include taxes, subsidies and quotas that
 raise money or protect a certain industry. Such distorting policies need to be distinguished
 from those introduced in order to correct market failures. Private and social prices are
 discussed further in Gittinger (1982), Dasgupta (1982), Monke and Pearson (1989), and
 elsewhere.

4. The four states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The research sites
 include ICRISAT study villages (Walker and Ryan 1990) and villages where NGO, state and
 national watershed programs (Planning Commission) have been active.

5. Singh et al (1990) describe state of the art recommended SWC practices in India.

6. Field observations in Bangalore District, personal communication with P.D. Prem Kumar.

7. The World Bank's promotion of vetiver grass is the most notable of these programmes.

8. Discussions with watershed officials and visits to watersheds.

9. MYRADA and the Aga Khan Rural Support Program were among the pioneers in the field.
 Numerous other NGOs have taken up similar approaches. Innovative government programmes
 with which we are familiar include the Kabbalnala watershed in Karnataka and some of the


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