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Publisher's version (útgefin grein) ; Objective: To explore genetic and lifestyle risk factors of MRI-defined brain infarcts (BI) in large population-based cohorts. Methods We performed meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and examined associations of vascular risk factors and their genetic risk scores (GRS) with MRI-defined BI and a subset of BI, namely, small subcortical BI (SSBI), in 18 population-based cohorts (n=20,949) from 5 ethnicities (3,726 with BI, 2,021 with SSBI). Top loci were followed up in 7 population-based cohorts (n = 6,862; 1,483 with BI, 630 with SBBI), and we tested associations with related phenotypes including ischemic stroke and pathologically defined BI. Results: The mean prevalence was 17.7% for BI and 10.5% for SSBI, steeply rising after age 65. Two loci showed genome-wide significant association with BI: FBN2, p = 1.77 × 10-8; and LINC00539/ZDHHC20, p = 5.82 × 10-9. Both have been associated with blood pressure (BP)-related phenotypes, but did not replicate in the smaller follow-up sample or show associations with related phenotypes. Age- and sex-adjusted associations with BI and SSBI were observed for BP traits (p value for BI, p[BI] = 9.38 × 10-25; p [SSBI] = 5.23 × 10-14 for hypertension), smoking (p[BI]= 4.4 × 10-10; p [SSBI] = 1.2 × 10 -4), diabetes (p[BI] = 1.7 × 10 -8; p [SSBI] = 2.8 × 10 -3), previous cardiovascular disease (p [BI] = 1.0 × 10-18; p [SSBI] = 2.3 × 10-7), stroke (p [BI] = 3.9 × 10-69; p [SSBI] = 3.2 × 10 -24), and MRI-defined white matter hyperintensity burden (p [BI]=1.43 × 10-157; p [SSBI] = 3.16 × 10-106), but not with body mass index or cholesterol. GRS of BP traits were associated with BI and SSBI (p ≤ 0.0022), without indication of directional pleiotropy. Conclusion: In this multiethnic GWAS meta-analysis, including over 20,000 population-based participants, we identified genetic risk loci for BI requiring validation once additional large datasets become available. High BP, including genetically determined, was the most significant modifiable, causal risk factor for BI. ; CHAP: R01-AG-11101, R01-AG-030146, NIRP-14-302587. SMART: This study was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research–Medical Sciences (project no. 904-65–095). LBC: The authors thank the LBC1936 participants and the members of the LBC1936 research team who collected and collated the phenotypic and genotypic data. The LBC1936 is supported by Age UK (Disconnected Mind Programme grant). The work was undertaken by The University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, part of the cross-council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative (MR/K026992/1). The brain imaging was performed in the Brain Research Imaging Centre (https://www.ed.ac.uk/clinical-sciences/edinburgh-imaging), a center in the SINAPSE Collaboration (sinapse.ac.uk) supported by the Scottish Funding Council and Chief Scientist Office. Funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the UK Medical Research Council is acknowledged. Genotyping was supported by a grant from the BBSRC (ref. BB/F019394/1). PROSPER: The PROSPER study was supported by an investigator-initiated grant obtained from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Prof. Dr. J.W. Jukema is an Established Clinical Investigator of the Netherlands Heart Foundation (grant 2001 D 032). Support for genotyping was provided by the seventh framework program of the European commission (grant 223004) and by the Netherlands Genomics Initiative (Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Aging grant 050-060-810). SCES and SiMES: National Medical Research Council Singapore Centre Grant NMRC/CG/013/2013. C.-Y.C. is supported by the National Medical Research Council, Singapore (CSA/033/2012), Singapore Translational Research Award (STaR) 2013. Dr. Kamran Ikram received additional funding from the Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council (NMRC/CSA/038/2013). SHIP: SHIP is part of the Community Medicine Research net of the University of Greifswald, Germany, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grants no. 01ZZ9603, 01ZZ0103, and 01ZZ0403), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, as well as the Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, and the network "Greifswald Approach to Individualized Medicine (GANI_MED)" funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant 03IS2061A). Genome-wide data have been supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant no. 03ZIK012) and a joint grant from Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany, and the Federal State of Mecklenburg–West Pomerania. Whole-body MRI was supported by a joint grant from Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany, and the Federal State of Mecklenburg–West Pomerania. The University of Greifswald is a member of the Caché Campus program of the InterSystems GmbH. OATS (Older Australian Twins Study): OATS was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC)/Australian Research Council (ARC) Strategic Award (ID401162) and by a NHMRC grant (ID1045325). OATS was facilitated via access to the Australian Twin Registry, which is supported by the NHMRC Enabling Grant 310667. The OATS genotyping was partly supported by a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Flagship Collaboration Fund Grant. NOMAS: The Northern Manhattan Study is funded by the NIH grant "Stroke Incidence and Risk Factors in a Tri-Ethnic Region" (NINDS R01NS 29993). TASCOG: NHMRC and Heart Foundation. AGES: The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) (N01-AG-12100), Hjartavernd (the Icelandic Heart Association), and the Althingi (the Icelandic Parliament), with contributions from the Intramural Research Programs at the NIA, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Z01 HL004607-08 CE). ERF: The ERF study as a part of European Special Populations Research Network (EUROSPAN) was supported by European Commission FP6 STRP grant no. 018947 (LSHG-CT-2006-01947) and also received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/grant agreement HEALTH-F4-2007-201413 by the European Commission under the programme "Quality of Life and Management of the Living Resources" of 5th Framework Programme (no. QLG2-CT-2002-01254). High-throughput analysis of the ERF data was supported by a joint grant from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (NWO-RFBR 047.017.043). Exome sequencing analysis in ERF was supported by the ZonMw grant (project 91111025). Najaf Amin is supported by the Netherlands Brain Foundation (project no. F2013[1]-28). ARIC: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study was performed as a collaborative study supported by NHLBI contracts (HHSN268201100005C, HSN268201100006C, HSN268201100007C, HHSN268201100008C, HHSN268201100009C, HHSN268201100010C, HHSN268201100011C, and HHSN268201100012C), R01HL70825, R01HL087641, R01HL59367, and R01HL086694; National Human Genome Research Institute contract U01HG004402; and NIH contract HHSN268200625226C. Infrastructure was partly supported by grant no. UL1RR025005, a component of the NIH and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. This project was also supported by NIH R01 grant NS087541 to M.F. FHS: This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study (contracts no. N01-HC-25195 and no. HHSN268201500001I), and its contract with Affymetrix, Inc. for genotyping services (contract no. N02-HL-6-4278). A portion of this research utilized the Linux Cluster for Genetic Analysis (LinGA-II) funded by the Robert Dawson Evans Endowment of the Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. This study was also supported by grants from the NIA (R01s AG033040, AG033193, AG054076, AG049607, AG008122, and U01-AG049505) and the NINDS (R01-NS017950, UH2 NS100605). Dr. DeCarli is supported by the Alzheimer's Disease Center (P30 AG 010129). ASPS: The research reported in this article was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) grant nos. P20545-P05, P13180, and P20545-B05, by the Austrian National Bank Anniversary Fund, P15435, and the Austrian Ministry of Science under the aegis of the EU Joint Programme–Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) (jpnd.eu). LLS: The Leiden Longevity Study has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2011) under grant agreement no. 259679. This study was supported by a grant from the Innovation-Oriented Research Program on Genomics (SenterNovem IGE05007), the Centre for Medical Systems Biology, and the Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Ageing (grant 050-060-810), all in the framework of the Netherlands Genomics Initiative, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), UnileverColworth, and by BBMRI-NL, a Research Infrastructure financed by the Dutch government (NWO 184.021.007). CHS: This CHS research was supported by contracts HHSN268201200036C, HHSN268200800007C, N01HC55222, N01HC85079, N01HC85080, N01HC85081, N01HC85082, N01HC85083, N01HC85086, N01HC15103, and HHSN268200960009C and grants U01HL080295, R01HL087652, R01HL105756, R01HL103612, R01HL120393, R01HL085251, and R01HL130114 from the NHLBI with additional contribution from NINDS. Additional support was provided through R01AG023629 from the NIA. A full list of principal CHS investigators and institutions can be found at CHS-NHLBI.org. The provision of genotyping data was supported in part by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, CTSI grant UL1TR001881, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease Diabetes Research Center grant DK063491 to the Southern California Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Rotterdam Study: The generation and management of GWAS genotype data for the Rotterdam Study is supported by the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO) Investments (no. 175.010.2005.011, 911-03-012). This study is funded by the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (014-93-015; RIDE2), the Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI)/NWO project no. 050-060-810. The Rotterdam Study is funded by Erasmus MC Medical Center and Erasmus MC University, Rotterdam, Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. M.A.I. is supported by an NWO Veni grant (916.13.054). The 3-City Study: The 3-City Study is conducted under a partnership agreement among the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the University of Bordeaux, and Sanofi-Aventis. The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale funded the preparation and initiation of the study. The 3C Study is also supported by the Caisse Nationale Maladie des Travailleurs Salariés, Direction Générale de la Santé, Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale (MGEN), Institut de la Longévité, Conseils Régionaux of Aquitaine and Bourgogne, Fondation de France, and Ministry of Research–INSERM Programme "Cohortes et collections de données biologiques." C.T. and S.D. have received investigator-initiated research funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) and from the Fondation Leducq. S.D. is supported by a starting grant from the European Research Council (SEGWAY), a grant from the Joint Programme of Neurodegenerative Disease research (BRIDGET), from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 643417 & No 640643, and by the Initiative of Excellence of Bordeaux University. Part of the computations were performed at the Bordeaux Bioinformatics Center (CBiB), University of Bordeaux. This work was supported by the National Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, the Institut Pasteur de Lille, the Labex DISTALZ, and the Centre National de Génotypage. ADGC: The Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium is supported by NIH. NIH-NIA supported this work through the following grants: ADGC, U01 AG032984, RC2 AG036528; NACC, U01 AG016976; NCRAD, U24 AG021886; NIA LOAD, U24 AG026395, U24 AG026390; Banner Sun Health Research Institute, P30 AG019610; Boston University, P30 AG013846, U01 AG10483, R01 CA129769, R01 MH080295, R01 AG017173, R01 AG025259, R01AG33193; Columbia University, P50 AG008702, R37 AG015473; Duke University, P30 AG028377, AG05128; Emory University, AG025688; Group Health Research Institute, UO1 AG06781, UO1 HG004610; Indiana University, P30 AG10133; Johns Hopkins University, P50 AG005146, R01 AG020688; Massachusetts General Hospital, P50 AG005134; Mayo Clinic, P50 AG016574; Mount Sinai School of Medicine, P50 AG005138, P01 AG002219; New York University, P30 AG08051, MO1RR00096, UL1 RR029893, 5R01AG012101, 5R01AG022374, 5R01AG013616, 1RC2AG036502, 1R01AG035137; Northwestern University, P30 AG013854; Oregon Health & Science University, P30 AG008017, R01 AG026916; Rush University, P30 AG010161, R01 AG019085, R01 AG15819, R01 AG17917, R01 AG30146; TGen, R01 NS059873; University of Alabama at Birmingham, P50 AG016582, UL1RR02777; University of Arizona, R01 AG031581; University of California, Davis, P30 AG010129; University of California, Irvine, P50 AG016573, P50, P50 AG016575, P50 AG016576, P50 AG016577; University of California, Los Angeles, P50 AG016570; University of California, San Diego, P50 AG005131; University of California, San Francisco, P50 AG023501, P01 AG019724; University of Kentucky, P30 AG028383, AG05144; University of Michigan, P50 AG008671; University of Pennsylvania, P30 AG010124; University of Pittsburgh, P50 AG005133, AG030653; University of Southern California, P50 AG005142; University of Texas Southwestern, P30 AG012300; University of Miami, R01 AG027944, AG010491, AG027944, AG021547, AG019757; University of Washington, P50 AG005136; Vanderbilt University, R01 AG019085; and Washington University, P50 AG005681, P01 AG03991. The Kathleen Price Bryan Brain Bank at Duke University Medical Center is funded by NINDS grant NS39764, NIMH MH60451, and by GlaxoSmithKline. Genotyping of the TGEN2 cohort was supported by Kronos Science. The TGen series was also funded by NIA grant AG041232, the Banner Alzheimer's Foundation, The Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Institute, the Medical Research Council, and the state of Arizona and also includes samples from the following sites: Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource (funding via the Medical Research Council [MRC], local NHS trusts, and Newcastle University), MRC London Brain Bank for Neurodegenerative Diseases (funding via the Medical Research Council), South West Dementia Brain Bank (funding via numerous sources including the Higher Education Funding Council for England [HEFCE], Alzheimer's Research Trust [ART], BRACE, as well as North Bristol NHS Trust Research and Innovation Department and DeNDRoN), The Netherlands Brain Bank (funding via numerous sources including Stichting MS Research, Brain Net Europe, Hersenstichting Nederland Breinbrekend Werk, International Parkinson Fonds, Internationale Stiching Alzheimer Onderzoek), Institut de Neuropatologia, Servei Anatomia Patologica, and Universitat de Barcelona). ADNI: Funding for ADNI is through the Northern California Institute for Research and Education by grants from Abbott, AstraZeneca AB, Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai Global Clinical Development, Elan Corporation, Genentech, GE Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Innogenetics, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Co., Medpace, Inc., Merck and Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc, F. Hoffman-La Roche, Schering-Plough, Synarc, Inc., Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, the Dana Foundation, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and NIA grants U01 AG024904, RC2 AG036535, and K01 AG030514. Support was also provided by the Alzheimer's Association (LAF, IIRG-08-89720; MAP-V, IIRG-05-14147) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs Administration, Office of Research and Development, Biomedical Laboratory Research Program. SiGN: Stroke Genetic Network (SiGN) was supported in part by award nos. U01NS069208 and R01NS100178 from NINDS. Genetics of Early-Onset Stroke (GEOS) Study was supported by the NIH Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI) grant U01 HG004436, as part of the GENEVA consortium under GEI, with additional support provided by the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (P30 DK072488); and the Office of Research and Development, Medical Research Service, and the Baltimore Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Genotyping services were provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR), which is fully funded through a federal contract from the NIH to Johns Hopkins University (contract no. HHSN268200782096C). Assistance with data cleaning was provided by the GENEVA Coordinating Center (U01 HG 004446; PI Bruce S. Weir). Study recruitment and assembly of datasets were supported by a Cooperative Agreement with the Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and by grants from NINDS and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (R01 NS45012, U01 NS069208-01). METASTROKE: ASGC: Australian population control data were derived from the Hunter Community Study. This research was funded by grants from the Australian National and Medical Health Research Council (NHMRC Project Grant ID: 569257), the Australian National Heart Foundation (NHF Project Grant ID: G 04S 1623), the University of Newcastle, the Gladys M Brawn Fellowship scheme, and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation in Australia. E.G.H. was supported by a Fellowship from the NHF and National Stroke Foundation of Australia (ID: 100071). J.M. was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. BRAINS: Bio-Repository of DNA in Stroke (BRAINS) is partly funded by a Senior Fellowship from the Department of Health (UK) to P.S., the Henry Smith Charity, and the UK-India Education Research Institutive (UKIERI) from the British Council. GEOS: Genetics of Early Onset Stroke (GEOS) Study, Baltimore, was supported by GEI Grant U01 HG004436, as part of the GENEVA consortium under GEI, with additional support provided by the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (P30 DK072488), and the Office of Research and Development, Medical Research Service, and the Baltimore Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Genotyping services were provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR), which is fully funded through a federal contract from the NIH to the Johns Hopkins University (contract no. HHSN268200782096C). Assistance with data cleaning was provided by the GENEVA Coordinating Center (U01 HG 004446; PI Bruce S. Weir). Study recruitment and assembly of datasets were supported by a Cooperative Agreement with the Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and by grants from NINDS and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (R01 NS45012, U01 NS069208-01). HPS: Heart Protection Study (HPS) (ISRCTN48489393) was supported by the UK MRC, British Heart Foundation, Merck and Co. (manufacturers of simvastatin), and Roche Vitamins Ltd. (manufacturers of vitamins). Genotyping was supported by a grant to Oxford University and CNG from Merck and Co. J.C.H. acknowledges support from the British Heart Foundation (FS/14/55/30806). ISGS: Ischemic Stroke Genetics Study (ISGS)/Siblings With Ischemic Stroke Study (SWISS) was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIA, NIH project Z01 AG-000954-06. ISGS/SWISS used samples and clinical data from the NIH-NINDS Human Genetics Resource Center DNA and Cell Line Repository (ccr.coriell.org/ninds), human subjects protocol nos. 2003-081 and 2004-147. ISGS/SWISS used stroke-free participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) as controls. The inclusion of BLSA samples was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIA, NIH project Z01 AG-000015-50, human subjects protocol no. 2003-078. The ISGS study was funded by NIH-NINDS Grant R01 NS-42733 (J.F.M.). The SWISS study was funded by NIH-NINDS Grant R01 NS-39987 (J.F.M.). This study used the high-performance computational capabilities of the Biowulf Linux cluster at the NIH (biowulf.nih.gov). MGH-GASROS: MGH Genes Affecting Stroke Risk and Outcome Study (MGH-GASROS) was supported by NINDS (U01 NS069208), the American Heart Association/Bugher Foundation Centers for Stroke Prevention Research 0775010N, the NIH and NHLBI's STAMPEED genomics research program (R01 HL087676), and a grant from the National Center for Research Resources. The Broad Institute Center for Genotyping and Analysis is supported by grant U54 RR020278 from the National Center for Research resources. Milan: Milano–Besta Stroke Register Collection and genotyping of the Milan cases within CEDIR were supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (grant nos.: RC 2007/LR6, RC 2008/LR6; RC 2009/LR8; RC 2010/LR8; GR-2011-02347041), FP6 LSHM-CT-2007-037273 for the PROCARDIS control samples. WTCCC2: Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2) was principally funded by the Wellcome Trust, as part of the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 project (085475/B/08/Z and 085475/Z/08/Z and WT084724MA). The Stroke Association provided additional support for collection of some of the St George's, London cases. The Oxford cases were collected as part of the Oxford Vascular Study, which is funded by the MRC, Stroke Association, Dunhill Medical Trust, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford. The Edinburgh Stroke Study was supported by the Wellcome Trust (clinician scientist award to C.L.M.S.) and the Binks Trust. Sample processing occurred in the Genetics Core Laboratory of the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. Much of the neuroimaging occurred in the Scottish Funding Council Brain Imaging Research Centre (https://www.ed.ac.uk/clinical-sciences/edinburgh-imaging), Division of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, a core area of the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, and part of the SINAPSE (Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence) collaboration (sinapse.ac.uk), funded by the Scottish Funding Council and the Chief Scientist Office. Collection of the Munich cases and data analysis was supported by the Vascular Dementia Research Foundation. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements no. 666881, SVDs@target (to M.D.) and no. 667375, CoSTREAM (to M.D.); the DFG as part of the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (EXC 1010 SyNergy) and the CRC 1123 (B3) (to M.D.); the Corona Foundation (to M.D.); the Fondation Leducq (Transatlantic Network of Excellence on the Pathogenesis of Small Vessel Disease of the Brain) (to M.D.); the e:Med program (e:AtheroSysMed) (to M.D.) and the FP7/2007-2103 European Union project CVgenes@target (grant agreement no. Health-F2-2013-601456) (to M.D.). M.F. and A.H. acknowledge support from the BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Oxford and the Wellcome Trust core award (090532/Z/09/Z). VISP: The GWAS component of the Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) study was supported by the US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), grant U01 HG005160 (PI Michèle Sale and Bradford Worrall), as part of the Genomics and Randomized Trials Network (GARNET). Genotyping services were provided by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR), which is fully funded through a federal contract from the NIH to Johns Hopkins University. Assistance with data cleaning was provided by the GARNET Coordinating Center (U01 HG005157; PI Bruce S. Weir). Study recruitment and collection of datasets for the VISP clinical trial were supported by an investigator-initiated research grant (R01 NS34447; PI James Toole) from the US Public Health Service, NINDS, Bethesda, MD. Control data obtained through the database of genotypes and phenotypes (dbGAP) maintained and supported by the United States National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine. WHI: Funding support for WHI-GARNET was provided through the NHGRI GARNET (grant no. U01 HG005152). Assistance with phenotype harmonization and genotype cleaning, as well as with general study coordination, was provided by the GARNET Coordinating Center (U01 HG005157). Funding support for genotyping, which was performed at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, was provided by the GEI (U01 HG004424). R.L. is a senior clinical investigator of FWO Flanders. F.W.A. is supported by a Dekker scholarship-Junior Staff Member 2014T001–Netherlands Heart Foundation and UCL Hospitals NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. ; Peer Reviewed

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Chik Sulikeri microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 540 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 93 per cent is covered by soils, 5 per cent by rock outcrops and 2 per cent is by water bodies. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 18 soil series and 35 soil phases (management units) and 8 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is 150 cm).  About 4 per cent area in the microwatershed has sandy soils, 36 per cent area in the microwatershed has loamy soils and 54 per cent clayey soils at the surface.  About 23 per cent area has non-gravelly (200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  About 13 per cent area of the microwatershed has nearly level (0-1% slope) lands, 73 per cent area of the microwatershed has very gently sloping(1-3% slope) lands and 7 per cent area of microwatershed has gently sloping (3-5% slope) lands.  An area of about 52 per cent area is moderately (e2) eroded and about 41 per cent area is slightly (e1) eroded.  An area of about 0.75%) in 15 per cent area.  An area of about 93 per cent is medium (23-57 kg/ha) and 57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus.  An area of about 33 per cent is low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm) in 5 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available boron is low (4.5 ppm) and 16 per cent is deficient (1.0 ppm) in available manganese content.  Entire cultivated area is sufficient (>0.2 ppm) in available copper content.  An area of about 25 per cent is deficient (0.6 ppm) in available zinc content.  The land suitability for 31 major crops grown in the microwatershed was assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 24(4) 188(35) Sapota 15(3) 65(12) Maize 15(3) 198(37) Pomegranate 15(3) 97(18) Bajra 37(7) 235(44) Guava 15(3) 65(12) Groundnut 37(7) 227(42) Jackfruit 15(3) 65(12) Sunflower 24(4) 60(11) Jamun - 111(20) Cotton 9(2) 204(38) Musambi 24(4) 88(16) Red gram 15(3) 69(13) Lime 24(4) 88(16) Bengalgram 13(2) 218(40) Cashew 13(2) 52(9) Chilli 15(3) 151(28) Custard apple 59(11) 294(54) Tomato 15(3) 151(28) Amla 59(11) 294(54) Brinjal 36(7) 216(40) Tamarind - 61(11) Onion 36(7) 164(30) Marigold 15(3) 198(37) Bhendi 36(7) 216(40) Chrysanthemum 15(3) 198(37) Drumstick 28(5) 136(25) Jasmine 15(3) 166(31) Mulberry 28(5) 155(29) Crossandra 15(3) 141(26) Mango - 29(5)  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 8 identified LMU s by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserves soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. SALIENT FINDINGS OF THE STUDY  Results indicated that 37 farmers were sampled in Chik Sulikeri micro watershed among them 5(13.51%) were landless, 4 (10.51%) were marginal farmers, 15 (40.54%) were small farmers, 7 (18.92%) were semi medium farmers, 5 (13.51%) were medium farmers and 1 (2.70%) were large farmers.  The data indicated that there were 101(59.06%) men and 70 (40.94%) women among the sampled households. The average family size of landless farmers' was 3, marginal, small, medium and large farmers' was 5b and semi medium farmers' was 6.  The data indicated that, 29 (16.97%) people were in 0-15 years of age, 80 (46.78%) were in 16-35 years of age, 51 (29.82%) were in 36-60 years of age and 11(6.43 %) were above 61 years of age.  The results indicated that Chik Sulikeri had 37.43 per cent illiterates, 44.44 per cent of them had primary school education, 1.17 per cent of them had middle school education, 6.43 per cent of them had high school education, 5.26 per cent of them had PUC education, 1.17 per cent of them did diploma, 2.34 per cent of them had degree education and 1.75 persons were doing others.  The results indicate that, 91.89 per cent of households practicing agriculture and 8.11 per cent of the households were agricultural laborers.  The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 25.73 per cent of the household members, 51.46 per cent were agricultural laborers, 20.47 per cent were students and 1.17 housewives and children. In case of landless farmers, 21.43 per cent were doing agriculture, 64.29 per cent were agricultural laborers, and 14.29 per cent were housewives. In case of marginal farmers 26.32 per cent were agriculturists, 31.58 per cent were agricultural laborers and 36.84 per cent were students. In case of small farmers, 28.99 per cent were agriculturists, 53.62 per cent were agricultural laborers and 17.39 per cent were students. In case of semi medium farmers, 25.64 per cent were agriculturists, 48.72 per cent were agricultural laborer and 23.08 per cent were students. In case of medium farmers, 20 per cent were agriculturists, another 60 per cent were agricultural laborers and 20 per cent were students. In large farmers 20 per cent were agriculturists, another 40 per cent were agricultural laborers and 40 per cent were students.  The results show that 100 per cent of the populations in the micro watershed have not participated in any local institutions.  The results indicate that 13.51 per cent of the households possess thatched house, 75.68 per cent of the households possess Katcha house and 10.81 per cent of them possess Pucca house.  The results shows that 89.19 per cent of the households possess TV, 67.57 per cent of the households possess Mixer grinder, 32.43 per cent of the households possess 2 bicycle, 37.84 per cent of the households possess motor cycle, and 97.30 per cent of the households possess mobile phones.  The results showed that the average value of television was Rs.4151, mixer grinder was Rs.1396, motor cycle was Rs.1500 and mobile phone was Rs.31285 and mobile was Rs.1472.  The data showed that, about 10.81 per cent of the households possess bullock cart, 18.92 per cent of them possess plough and sprayer, 94.59 per cent of them possess weeder and 2.70 per cent of them possess harvester and chaff cutter respectively.  The results show that the average value of bullock cart was Rs.18250, plough was Rs.1250, the average value of weeder was Rs. 23, the average value of sprayer was Rs.4571, the average value of harvester was Rs.45000 and the average value of chaff cutter Rs.3000.  The results indicate that, 16.22 per cent of the households possess bullocks, 24.32 per cent of the households possess local cow and 2.70 per cent of the households possess buffalo and sheep respectively. In case of marginal households, 25per cent possess local cow. Among small farmers, 33.33 per cent of the households possess bullock and 26.67 per cent possess local cow. In case of semi medium farmers, 14.29 per cent of households possess bullock, 28.57 per cent of households possess local cow and 14.29 per cent of households possess buffalo. In medium farmers 20 per cent local cow and in large farmers 100 per cent of the household possess local cow.  The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 9.19, average own labour (women) available was 5.66, average hired labour (men) available was 8.05 and average hired labour (women) available was 9.13.  In case of marginal farmers, average own labour men available was 31, average own labour (women) was 16, average hired labour (men) was 7 and average hired labour (women) available was 7.25. In case of small farmers, average own labour men available was 1.81, average own labour (women) was 1.69, average hired labour (men) was 9.27 and average hired labour (women) available was 11.63. In case of semi medium farmers, average own labour men available was 25, average own labour (women) was 15.71, average hired labour (men) was 11.29 and average hired labour (women) available was 10.57. In case of medium farmers, average own labour men available was 2.20, average own labour (women) was 2.60, average hired labour (men) was 9 and average hired labour (women) available was 10. In case of large farmers, average own labour men available was 1, average own labour (women) was 1, average hired labour (men) was 7 and average hired labour (women) available was 8. 3  The results indicate that, 8.11 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was adequate and 94.59 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was inadequate.  The results indicate that, households of the Chik Sulikeri micro watershed possess 22.83 ha (35.54%) of dry land and 41.42 ha (64.46%) of irrigated land. Marginal farmers possess 2.06 ha (80.95%) of dry land and 0.49 ha (19.05%) of irrigated land. Small farmers possess 13.89 ha (77.44%) of dry land and 4.05 ha (22.56%) of irrigated land. Semi medium possess 6.88 ha (52.80%) of dry land and 6.15 ha (47.20%) of irrigated land. Medium farmers possess 12.52 ha (100%) of irrigated land, large farmers possess 3.64 18.21 ha (100%) of irrigated land.  The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 262,672.81 and average value of irrigated was Rs. 183,427.89. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 435,882.36 for dry land and was Rs. 1,029,166.63 for irrigated land. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 251,893.94 for dry land and Rs. 592,800. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 232,470.59 for dry land and Rs. 325,000 for irrigated land. In case of medium and large famers, the average irrigated land value was Rs. 215,546.22 and Rs. 220,000 respectively.  The results indicate that, there were 17 functioning and 16 de-functioning bore wells in the micro watershed.  The results indicate that, bore well was the major irrigation source in the micro water shed for 45.95 per cent of the farmers.  The results indicate that, the depth of bore well was found to be 77.04 meters.  The results indicate that, marginal farmers were having 0.40 ha irrigated land, small farmers were having 3.24 ha of irrigated land, semi medium were having 9.39 ha of irrigated land and medium farmers had irrigated area of 12.52 ha and large farmers were having 1.62 ha of irrigated land respectively. On an average there was 27.17 ha of irrigated land.  The results indicate that, farmers have grown groundnut (17.05 ha), maize (12.55 ha), bajra (4.05 ha), paddy (3.68 ha), navane (3.24 ha), mango (1.62 ha), sorghum (1.30 ha), horsegram (1.21 ha), groundnut (1.21 ha), cotton (0.81 ha) and tomato (0.40 ha) in kharif season and also grown groundnut (1.21 ha) in Rabi season. Marginal farmers have grown maize, navane and tomato. Small farmers have grown groundnut, bajra, paddy, navane, horsegram and cotton. Semi medium farmers have grown groundnut, maize, bajra, navane and groundnut. Medium farmers have grown groundnut, maize and paddy. Large farmers have grown mango.  The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Chik Sulikeri micro watershed was found to be 88.79 per cent. In case of marginal farmers it was 98.36 per cent, for small farmers it was 99.54 per cent, in case of semi medium farmers it was 4 89.11 per cent, and medium farmers had cropping intensity of 72.90 per cent and in large farmers it was 100 per cent.  The results indicate that, 86.49 per cent of the households have bank account and 86.49 per cent of the households have savings.  The results indicate that, 86.49 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for maize was Rs. 31771.63. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 34174.67. The net income from Maize cultivation was Rs. 2403.04, thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.08.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for bajra was Rs. 35771.59. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 48158.68. The net income from bajra cultivation was Rs. 12387.09. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.35.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for sorghum was Rs. 27138.83. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 33379.73. The net income from sorghum cultivation was Rs. 6240.91. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.23.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for horsegram was Rs. 14751.82. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 32604. The net income from horsegram cultivation was Rs. 17852.18. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.21.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for groundnut was Rs. 43450.70. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 73850.81. The net income from groundnut cultivation was Rs. 30400.12. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.7.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for cotton was Rs. 48854.75. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 74100. The net income from cotton cultivation was Rs. 25245.25. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.52.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for tomato was Rs. 45006.53. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 98800. The net income from tomato cultivation was Rs. 53793.47. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:2.2.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for navane was Rs. 19144.78. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 25177.99. The net income from navane cultivation was Rs. 6033.21. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:1.32.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for mango was Rs. 30875.21. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 203775. The net income from 5 mango cultivation was Rs. 172899.79. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:6.6.  The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for paddy was Rs. 141928.82. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 137399.96. The net income from paddy cultivation was Rs. -4528.86. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1:0.97.  The results indicate that, 21.62 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 13.51 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was inadequate. Around 2.70 per cent of the households opined that green fodder was adequate.  The results indicate that, in landless farmers, the average annual gross income from wage was Rs. 103,000, in marginal farmers, the average annual gross income from wage was Rs. 27,500 and agriculture was Rs.42837.50. In small farmers, the average annual gross income from service/salary was Rs. 2000, wage was Rs.22333.33, agriculture was Rs.71713.33 and dairy farm was Rs.5060.67.In semi medium farmers, the average annual gross income from wage was Rs. 32,142.86, agriculture was Rs. 71,542.86 and dairy farm was Rs. 1,285.71. In medium farmers, the average annual gross income from wage was Rs. 19400 and agriculture was Rs. 298400 and dairy farm was Rs. 600. In large farmers, the average annual gross income from wage was Rs. 10000 and agriculture was Rs. 30000.  The results indicate that, in land less farmers, the average annual expenditure from wage was Rs. 42000. In marginal farmers, the average annual expenditure from wage was Rs.8333.33 and agriculture was Rs. 23,750. In small farmers the average annual expenditure from service/salary was Rs.20000, wage was Rs.9000, agriculture was Rs.32266.67 and dairy farm was Rs.6600. In semi medium farmers, the average annual expenditure from wage was Rs.9500, agriculture was Rs.31428.57 and dairy farm was Rs.2000. In medium farmers, the average annual expenditure from wage was Rs.9,250, agriculture was Rs. 59,000 and dairy farm was Rs.1000. In large farmers the average annual expenditure from wage was Rs.5000 and agriculture was Rs.10000.  The results indicate that, sampled households have grown 2 areca nut, 11 coconut and 607 mango trees in their field and also planted 2 coconut trees in their back yard.  The results indicate that, households have planted 3 teak trees and 43 neem trees in their field and 1 neem trees in their backyard.  The results indicate that, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 7243.24 for land development, Rs. 2513.51 in irrigation facility and 162.16 for improved crop production. Marginal households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 7000 for land development. Small farmers have an average 6 investment capacity of Rs. 7866.67 for land development, Rs. 3066.67 in irrigation facility and Rs.400 for improved crop production. Semi medium farmers have an average investment capacity of Rs. 8571.43 for land development and Rs. 3285.71 in irrigation facility. Medium farmers have an average investment capacity of Rs. 10,400 for land development and Rs. 3,200 in irrigation facility. large farmers have an average investment capacity of Rs. 10,000 for land development and Rs. 8,000 in irrigation facility.  The results indicate that, for land development, 31.58 per cent of the farmers were dependent on government subsidy and 42.11 per cent of the farmers were dependent on loan from bank. For irrigation facility 15.79 per cent of the farmers were dependent on government subsidy and loan from bank respectively. For improved crop production 2.63 per cent of the farmers were dependent on loan from bank.  The results indicated that, bajra, cotton, horsegram, maize, mango, navane, paddy, sorghum and tomato crops were sold to the extent of 100 per cent. Groundnut was sold to the extent of 95.50 per cent.  The results indicated that, about 8.11 per cent of the famers have sold their produce in agent/traders. 91.89 per cent farmers also sold their produce in cooperative marketing society.  The results indicated that, 2.70 per cent of the households have used cart as a mode of transportation for their agricultural produce, and 97.30 per cent have also used tractor.  The results indicated that, 62.61 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm i.e., 50 per cent of marginal farmers, 80 per cent of small farmers, 57.14 per cent of semi medium farmers, 80 per cent of the medium farmers and 100 per cent of large farmers have experienced soil and water erosion problems.  The results indicated that, 75.68 per cent have shown interest in soil test.  The results indicated that, piped supply was the major source of drinking water for 89.19 per cent of the households and bore well was the source of drinking water for 10.81 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, 100 per cent of the households used fire wood as a source of fuel.  The results indicated that, Electricity was the major source of light for 100 per cent of the households in micro watershed.  The results indicated that, 51.35 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet i.e. 100 per cent of the landless, marginal, medium and large farmers, 13.13 per cent of small farmers and 28.57 per cent of the semi medium farmers.  The results indicated that, 97.30 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL card and 2.70 per cent did not possess PDS card. 7  The results indicated that, 64.86 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme.  The results indicated that, cereals were adequate for 97.30 per cent of the households, pulses were adequate for 54.05 per cent, oilseeds were adequate for 35.14 per cent, vegetables were adequate for 48.65 per cent, fruits were adequate for 78.38 per cent, milk was adequate for 54.05 per cent, eggs were adequate for 54.05 per cent and meat was adequate for 5.41 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, cereals were inadequate for 2.70 per cent of the households, pulses were inadequate for 45.95 per cent, oilseeds were inadequate for 56.76 per cent, vegetables were inadequate for 45.95 per cent, fruits were inadequate for 24.32 per cent, milk was inadequate for 13.51 per cent and eggs were inadequate for 16.22 per cent of the households.  The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the soil was the constraint experienced by 75.68 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (64.86%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (29.73%), inadequacy of irrigation water (16.22%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (43.24%), high rate of interest on credit (8.11%), low price for the agricultural commodities (16.22%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (13.51%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (24.32%), less rainfall (40.54%) inadequate extension services (24.32%) and source of agri technology information (13.51). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Jack Solowey and Jennifer J. Schulp


Last Wednesday, July 12, an updated version of the Lummis‐​Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) became public. The updated RFIA, like its predecessor, looks to tackle crypto regulation comprehensively, covering in its 274 pages major topics including market structure, crypto exchanges, stablecoins, illicit finance, and taxation.
The proposal confronts the reality of longstanding legal uncertainty for American crypto market participants. Last week's highly anticipated order in the case of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., along with both the RFIA in the Senate and ongoing efforts in the House, all demonstrate that there's still significant work to be done before the United States can credibly claim regulatory clarity for crypto.
The RFIA takes important steps toward providing more legal certainty to U.S. market participants, but on some of crypto policy's most nettlesome questions there remains room for improvement. We offer our initial thoughts on the RFIA's market structure, crypto exchange, and stablecoin components below. (Our colleague Nicholas Anthony will cover the illicit finance and taxation portions in additional posts.)
Market Structure
One of the most hotly contested issues in crypto policy is the seemingly endless debate over whether and when a crypto token is properly considered to be a security or a commodity under U.S. law. The RFIA takes a swing at this issue by seeking to establish the concept of a crypto token as an "ancillary asset." The idea is that while a crypto token may be sold pursuant to a type of securities transaction known as an investment contract, the token itself need not be considered a security.
Under the RFIA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would have exclusive jurisdiction over a crypto token that qualifies as an ancillary asset but not the "security that constitutes an investment contract." To qualify as an ancillary asset, the token must not offer the holder any financial rights in a business, such as to debt or equity, liquidation, or interest or dividend payments.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), however, would have a role to play: where the average daily aggregate value of transactions in the ancillary asset exceeds a certain threshold and where the issuer engaged in "entrepreneurial or managerial efforts that primarily determined the value of the ancillary asset," the issuer would be required to file detailed disclosures with the SEC. (Where the issuer certifies—and the SEC does not reject—that those efforts have ceased, disclosures are no longer required.) When the issuer complies with the disclosure requirement, ancillary assets owned by the issuer or affiliates will be "presumed" to be commodities and not securities. This presumption could be overturned by a court finding that an ancillary asset does confer a financial right.
Required disclosures to the SEC hinge on whether the issuer is engaged in relevant entrepreneurial or managerial efforts. This "efforts" language is familiar; the third prong of the Howey test for investment contracts asks whether the purchaser "is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party." This element is frequently key to thinking about whether a crypto token should be treated as a security. One reason is that crypto technology allows token projects to develop such that the issuer's efforts are no longer essential to the functioning or benefits of the project—in other words, projects can become decentralized.
The RFIA does not explicitly invoke decentralization when it comes to classifying crypto tokens as securities or commodities, but it implicitly grapples with the concept to some extent by incorporating the third prong of Howey. Perhaps for that reason, the RFIA's co‐​author Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D‑NY) told Yahoo! Finance that, at least in general, decentralization is relevant in determining a token's legal character: "If it meets the Howey test, then it's a digital security. If it does not, and it is fully decentralized and has the hallmarks of a commodity, then it's a digital commodity."
One benefit of the "ancillary asset" approach is that it potentially streamlines the token classification process. Nonetheless, as the RFIA's effort to implement the approach demonstrates, it remains difficult in practice to avoid the "efforts of others" concept given the realities of existing (and convoluted) capital markets regulation and the characteristics of crypto. And in incorporating the idea of entrepreneurial or managerial efforts without further defining it—such as by more explicit reference to and definition of a decentralized token network—the current version of the RFIA leaves important questions unanswered.
Fortunately, one place to turn for such a definition—in addition to other proposals—would be the RFIA itself, which defines a decentralized crypto asset exchange (DEX). The RFIA largely defines DEXs as software where no person, or group of people agreeing to act together, can unilaterally control that protocol, including by altering transactions or functions. That's a sound place to begin defining a decentralized token network as well.
In addition, distinguishing the token from the investment contract "arrangement or scheme" through which the token is offered or sold can leave questions about the investment contract itself. As noted above, under the RFIA, the SEC would retain jurisdiction over the investment contract. Yet the bounds of that jurisdiction are not clearly circumscribed. For example, would SEC jurisdiction over the investment contract be strictly limited to primary market token sales between the issuer and the counterparty, or could the SEC also extend its investment contract jurisdiction to secondary market token sales on theories related to the overall arrangement or scheme? Nothing about the SEC's recent crypto enforcement activity suggests anything other than a willingness to aggressively assert, or expand, its jurisdiction. And the recent Ripple opinion, while containing important implications for secondary markets in crypto assets, expressly left open the question of whether secondary market token sales constituted offers and sales of investment contracts. If the RFIA envisions SEC crypto jurisdiction as covering only primary—not secondary—market token sales, it should say so unequivocally.
Exchanges
The RFIA contains provisions addressing both centralized and decentralized crypto asset exchanges. The bill requires any trading facility offering a market in crypto assets or stablecoins to register with the CFTC as a crypto asset exchange. Registered exchanges must both confirm that ancillary assets meet applicable disclosure requirements before they're listed, as well as comply with core exchange principles, including safeguarding systems and customer assets, monitoring trading to provide an efficient market and prevent manipulation, and providing price and trade volume information.
While making important strides to define decentralized exchanges, as described above, the RFIA leaves somewhat uncertain their ultimate regulatory obligations. On the one hand, some sections regulate DEXs only indirectly by imposing risk management requirements on the centralized institutions that interact with DEXs, not the DEXs themselves. That registered crypto asset exchanges are subject to specific requirements regarding their interactions with decentralized crypto asset exchanges also suggests that the former (registered exchanges) does not necessarily include the latter (DEXs). Similarly, the RFIA defines a crypto asset exchange to expressly include a "centralized or decentralized platform" only for purposes of a tax provision, implying that the term crypto asset exchange is not generally meant to cover both centralized and decentralized platforms when used elsewhere in the bill.
On the other hand, by amending the Commodity Exchange Act's definition of "trading facility," which excludes systems that allow for bilateral transactions, to clarify that decentralized crypto asset exchanges that allow for multiple bids and offers to interact are distinguishable from such excluded systems, the RFIA suggests that at least some DEXs could be considered trading facilities subject to crypto asset exchange registration requirements. How exactly a DEX that enables trading pairs of crypto assets would mesh with this provision is perhaps open to interpretation.
Given these questions, the RFIA should make more explicit that disintermediated crypto exchange protocols are not subject to inapt requirements designed for centralized intermediaries.
Stablecoins
The RFIA would only permit "depository institutions," such as banks, credit unions, and savings associations, to issue payment stablecoins (tokens redeemable on a 1‑to‑1 basis with instruments denominated in U.S. dollars). Notably, the RFIA would amend the definition of depository institution under the Federal Reserve Act to incorporate a category of "covered depository institutions" that includes non‐​banks exclusively engaged in issuing payment stablecoins and approved to operate by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) or a similar state authority. Under the RFIA, such OCC‐​authorized payment stablecoins would not be required to maintain federal deposit insurance.
It's welcome when a bill allows for the operation of stablecoin issuers beyond federally insured depository institutions. Nonetheless, in giving federal banking regulators discretion to reject applications of prospective stablecoin issuers on the basis of subjective and open‐​ended criteria beyond basic reserve and disclosure requirements, the RFIA risks further constraining future payment services competition.
Concluding Thoughts
Providing clarity to crypto entrepreneurs, developers, and users in the United States remains a work in progress. Even with important case law evolving in the courts, Congress ultimately must provide a stable and practical framework for U.S. crypto policy.

Throughout the history of contemporary feminism, women's presence in the public sphere has been a perennial issue, demanding all sorts of strategies to promote women's inclusion in the economic and political arenas. Starting in the 1980s, feminist scholars in International Relations have questioned the absence of women in the international arena, alongside the pervasive gender hierarchies of the international system. Not only was it that women had been systematically excluded from politics, but the scholarship in IR had largely ignored feminist claims about the gendering of international politics. Largely animated by feminist movements and the nascent feminist debates in IR, the World Conferences on Women (1975, 1980, 1985, and 1995) stressed the paramount need for taking women's demands seriously. Such demands encompassed social, economic, and political domains, echoing decades of feminist struggles in the first, second and third worlds. The United Nations played a crucial role in fostering an agenda of gender equality and women's rights as human rights, which have been a quintessential part of the Millennium Development Goals and, more recently, the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, gender-oriented policies have been promoted in myriad UN agencies and international organisations, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Despite all these efforts purporting to raise awareness about gender equality and women's rights, as well as about the need for more inclusive policies for women in the international arena, women's presence in international fora as leaders has been remarkably low. As for the United Nations, until now no woman has been elected to the organisation's highest post, that of secretary general, and only recently the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have had female managing directors. These sobering results show a different picture of international organisations that promote gender equality as their political and social commitment, whilst failing to comply with the very same discourse when it comes to women's leadership in their formal structures. In this context, the present article aims to assess quantitatively and qualitatively women's presence in leadership roles at the United Nations and international economic organisations (namely, the IMF, WB and World Trade Organisation). It departs from the following research question: What is the current state of affairs of women's participation in the highest posts of the United Nations and the international organizations of the global economic system? Methodologically, we resort to descriptive statistical data of women's presence at various agencies of the United Nations and the aforementioned economic institutions from 1990-2018. Of greatest concern will be those occupying the posts of presidency and vice-presidency. Counting women is a traditional approach in feminist studies in IR, and it is a paramount step in making women count. The second goal of our paper, thus, derives directly from the data: by mapping the few women occupying positions of leadership in international organisations, we can assess the gender structures operating to the disadvantage of women. In order to do so, we resort to feminist theories as developed in political science and IR, for they provide the conceptual tools to provide data with meaning. We focus primarily on how gendered institutions confine women to specific gendered roles that emanate from the private sphere of domesticity. This means that women suffer from various exclusionary dynamics: firstly, they are excluded from leadership roles for the fact of being women; secondly, the few who manage to break through the glass ceiling of a masculine international arena are assigned positions that mimic the elements of the private sphere. Frequently, female leaders are responsible for social issues, childhood, food security, education, and culture, all of which are labeled as soft issues, or belonging to the domain of low politics. Feminist IR scholars have extensively denounced these gendered structures as part of how men preserve their privileges under the framework of hegemonic masculinity. Therefore, we draw on the work of several IR feminists who are concerned with the theoretical questioning and empirical unravelling of such gender hierarchies to interpret our data beyond the mere counting of women. We contend that women in leadership roles in the United Nations and international economic organisations more frequently occupy portfolios that are seen as soft issues or low politics. Likewise, these roles are often associated with the care for others, which reinforces gender roles and hierarchies. Women are more likely to occupy the presidencies and vice-presidencies of agencies such as UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, and OHCHR, all of which deal with issues associated with childhood, education, culture, food security and human rights. We conclude that an apparent glass ceiling – the invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching higher and more prestigious posts in their professional careers – still remains in international institutions, limiting the participation of women in decision-making fora. The few female leaders who manage to reach the highest posts in the international arena are more likely to be exceptions of a pervasive phenomenon of gender inequality and lack of representativeness. The discourses embraced by the United Nations and international economic organisations fail to meet the minimal criteria for gender parity within these organizations' structures, and even where women have been assigned leadership roles, gender stereotypes still prevail. Further evidence revealed in our research refers to the regional representativeness of the few female leaders in these international organisations: about 55% of them come from Western Europe and North America. Latin American and African women are strongly underrepresented in the United Nations system, as well as in the Bretton Woods institutions, which is itself problematic because the particular perspectives of women from the Global South are also excluded from debates in these international fora. Therefore, international organisations also face the challenge of fostering the diversity of feminist perspectives by developing strategies to include Global South women in their formal structure, ideally as leaders. In this sense, our paper draws attention to the importance of pluralism not only in terms of gender parity, but also of a feminist worldview. In order to make women count in the international arena, the United Nations and international economic organisations have to fully commit themselves to concrete policies for women's inclusion, not only as heads of the institutions, but also in lower hierarchies where policies are designed. Only by acknowledging that women's perspectives matter, can we achieve the goals of gender equality. ; Aunque el debate sobre la presencia femenina en los espacios políticos haya empezado antes de los años setenta del siglo veinte, el contexto de las Conferencias Mundiales sobre la Mujer profundizó las demandas de las mujeres en distintos dominios, entre ellos la participación en las esferas políticas y de decisión. Las Naciones Unidas han fomentado discursos sobre el empoderamiento de las mujeres y su participación activa en roles políticos, reconociendo que la paridad de género en la política es un objetivo esencial para alcanzar la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres. Sin embargo, la propia organización no cumple su discurso: hasta el presente momento, no hay registros de mujeres que hayan ocupado el cargo de secretaria general y pocas ocupan otros cargos en la organización. Un escenario semejante se observa en las demás organizaciones internacionales, nombradamente las que se ocupan de temas económicos, considerados de alto prestigio en la arena internacional. En este artículo, nuestro objetivo consiste en investigar la presencia femenina en los órganos de Naciones Unidas y organizaciones económicas internacionales. Tal investigación se centra en dos enfoques: por un lado, contabilizamos la presencia feminina en distintos organismos a lo largo de tres décadas, siguiendo un abordaje tradicional de los estudios de género: counting women to make women count; por otro lado, utilizamos los datos recolectados para evaluar cómo las estructuras de género en los organismos internacionales operan en detrimento de las mujeres. Para esto, iniciamos con la siguiente cuestión: ¿Cuál es el actual estado de participación de las mujeres en los más altos cargos de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas y de los organismos del sistema económico global? Para responder a esta pregunta, estructuramos en artículo en cuatro secciones. Primeramente, presentamos el contexto de la presencia feminina en las organizaciones internacionales y de las Conferencias Mundiales sobre la Mujer. Enseguida discutimos los ejes teóricos que informan nuestras interpretaciones. Adoptamos una perspectiva teórica feminista que dialoga con los principales ejes conceptuales manifestados en las disciplinas de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política. En la tercera sección, discutimos nuestro diseño metodológico de investigación. En la cuarta sección, presentamos datos estadísticos del sistema de Naciones Unidas y de instituciones económicas internacionales entre 1990-2018 acerca de la participación de las mujeres en los cargos de presidencia y vicepresidencia de órganos y organismos especializados, argumentando que la presencia de mujeres en dichos espacios sigue baja. Las teorías feministas nos permiten evaluar la presencia más allá de los datos cuantitativos, ofreciendo una lectura acerca de los roles esperados de las (pocas) mujeres que ocupan espacios de liderazgo en las organizaciones internacionales. Verificamos que las mujeres suelen ocupar cargos asociados a temas de la baja política y el cuidado, como los asuntos sociales, de infancia y alimentos, lo que refuerza roles y jerarquías de género. Además, los datos demuestran que las pocas mujeres que ocupan estos cargos provienen principalmente de América del Norte y Europa Occidental, lo que per se limita las perspectivas feministas que acceden a las agendas internacionales.

The article analyzes the relationship between compliance with the rule of law and inflation. Annual data for the period of 2013—2019 of the Rule of Law Index from the non-governmental organization World Justice Project (WJP) for 40 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Latin America were used. By means of cross-section estimates and panel data using a random effects model (RE), the dependence of inflation on individual WJP sub-indices was empirically estimated, taking into account a wide analytical spectrum of different aspects of the rule of law. Recently, the issue of the rule of law is increasingly used in economic research. First of all, it concerns the dependence of transaction funds and trust on legal factors, which has a direct impact on the funds of production and inflation, as emphasized by the representatives of the new institutional school (New Institutional Economics). Instead, Neoclassical economics economists mainly analyze the influence of the rule of law mechanisms on the formation of trust in such institutions as the independent central bank or the state administrative apparatus. There is no lack of empirical evidence that the anti-inflationary influence of the central bank significantly depends on the concomitant conditions of compliance with the rule of law. Keynesian economics experts state that the importance of legal and regulatory norms increases significantly with a low interest rate (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), which has been the case recently in most industrialized countries. Since the academic interpretation of the rule of law is quite broad, it is of practical interest to study the relevant macroeconomic effects in terms of such individual components as the system of counterbalances and checks for government, the fight against corruption, maintenance of law and order, efficiency of regulatory mechanisms, etc. The study showed that there is no reason to deny the anti-inflationary impact of the rule of law in general and in terms of individual components, but the obtained empirical estimates may be vulnerable to data aggregation and differ in terms of individual groups of countries. If we use the general index of the rule of law of the WJP, the anti-inflationary effect can be traced both for the general sample of 40 countries, and separately for both subgroups of countries: 1) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union, 2) Asia and Latin America. The use of WJP sub-indices shows an anti-inflationary effect for the general sample of countries and subgroups of CEE countries and the former Soviet Union (with a few exceptions), but the corresponding effect is completely lost for the countries of Asia and Latin America (it can mean that only complex simultaneous introduction of all components of the rule of law is anti-inflationary). This feature draws attention to the possibility of erroneous use of panel data estimates for large groups of countries that may not meet certain regional characteristics and incline to erroneous recommendations for economic policy. Among other results, weak signs of accelerating inflation have been observed over time in the CEE countries and the former Soviet Union, but not in Asia and Latin America. Also in these countries, inflation does not depend on GDP dynamics. In contrast, in the CEE and former Soviet Union countries, on average, each percentage point of GDP growth (lag per year) is marked by a 0.3-percentage-point decrease in inflation. ; Проанализирована связь между соблюдением норм верховенства права и инфляцией. Использовались годовые данные за период 2013—2019 гг. индекса верховенства права от неправительственной организации World Justice Project (WJP) для 40 стран Центральной и Восточной Европы, бывшего Советского Союза, Азии и Латинской Америки. С помощью оценок перекрестной регрессии (cross-section) и панельных данных с использованием метода с переменной постоянной (англ. а random effects model — RE) эмпирически оценена зависимость инфляции от отдельных субиндексов WJP, учитывающие широкий аналитический спектр разных аспектов верховенства права. В последнее время проблематика верховенства права все шире используется в экономических исследованиях. Прежде всего это касается зависимости трансакционных средств и доверия от правовых факторов, что имеет непосредственное влияние на средства производства и инфляцию, как это отмечается представителями новой институциональной школы (New Institutional Economics). Зато экономисты неоклассической школы (Neoclassical economics) преимущественно анализируют влияние механизмов верховенства права на формирование доверия к таким институтам, как независимый центральный банк или государственный административный аппарат. Достаточно эмпирических свидетельств, что антиинфляционное влияние центрального банка существенно зависит от сопутствующих условий с соблюдением верховенства права. Экономисты кейнсианской школы (Keynesian economics) утверждают, что важность правовых и регулятивных норм существенно возрастает в условиях низкой процентной ставки (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), как это характерно в последнее время большинству промышленных стран. Поскольку академическое трактовки верховенства права достаточно широкое, становит практический интерес изучение соответствующих макроэкономических эффектов в разрезе таких отдельных компонент, как система противовесов и сдержек для правительства, борьба с коррупцией, поддержания правопорядка, эффективность регуляторных механизмов и тому подобное. Проведенное исследование показало, что нет оснований отрицать антиинфляционное влияние верховенства права — как в целом, так и в разрезе отдельных компонент, но полученные эмпирические оценки могут быть уязвимыми к агрегации данных и отличаться в разрезе отдельных групп стран. Если использовать общий индекс верховенства права WJP, антиинфляционное влияние прослеживается и для общей выборки 40 стран, и отдельно для обеих подгрупп стран: 1) Центральной и Восточной Европы (ЦВЕ) и бывшего Советского Союза; 2) Азии и Латинской Америки. Использование субиндексов WJP показывает антиинфляционное влияние на общую выборку стран и подгруппы стран ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза (за несколькими исключениями), но соответствующий эффект полностью теряется для стран Азии и Латинской Америки (это может означать, что антиинфляционным есть только комплексное одновременное введение всех компонентов верховенства права). Такая особенность привлекает внимание к возможностям ложного использования оценок панельных данных для больших групп стран, что могут не соответствовать отдельным региональным особенностям и склонять к ошибочным рекомендациям для экономической политики. Среди других результатов, слабые признаки ускорения инфляции со временем прослеживаются в странах ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза, но этого нет в странах Азии и Латинской Америки. Также в этих государствах инфляция не зависит от динамики ВВП. В свою очередь, в государствах ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза в среднем каждый процент роста ВВП (с лагом в год) сказывается снижением инфляции на 0,3-процентного пункта. ; Проаналізовано зв'язок між дотриманням норм верхо­вен­ства права та інфляцією. Використовувалися річні дані за період 2013—2019 рр. індексу верховенства права від неурядової організації World Justice Project (WJP) для 40 країн Цент­ра­ль­ної і Східної Європи, колишнього Радянського Союзу, Азії і Латинської Аме­ри­ки. За допомогою оцінок перехресної регресії (cross-section) і панельних даних з використанням методу зі змінною сталою (англ. а random effects model — RE) емпірично оцінено залежність інфляції від окремих субіндексів WJP, що враховують широкий аналітичний спектр різноманітних аспектів верховенства права. Останнім часом проблематика верховенства права все ширше використовується в економічних дослідженнях. Передусім це стосується залежності трансакційних коштів і довіри від правових чинників, що має безпосередній вплив на кошти виробництва та інфляцію, як це наголошують представники нової інституційної школи (New Institutional Economics). Натомість економісти неокласичної школи (Neoclassical economics) переважно аналізують вплив механізмів верховенства пра­ва на формування довіри до таких інститутів, як незалежний центральний банк чи державний адміністративний апарат. Не бракує емпі­ри­чних свідчень, що антиінфляційний вплив центрального банку істотно залежить від супутніх умов з до­три­манням верховенства права. Економісти кейнсіанської школи (Keynesian economics) стверджу­ють, що важливість право­вих і ре­гуляторних норм істотно зростає за умов низької про­цент­ної ставки (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), як це притаманно останнім часом більшості промислових країн. Оскільки академічне трактування верховенства права досить широке, становить прак­­ти­чний інтерес вивчення відповідних макроекономічних ефектів у розрізі таких окре­мих компонент, як система противаг і стримувань для уряду, боротьба з корупцією, підтримання правопорядку, ефективність регуляторних механіз­мів тощо. Проведене дослідження показало, що немає підстав заперечувати антиін­ф­ляційний вплив верховенства права — як загалом, так і в розрізі окремих компонент, але отримані емпіричні оцінки мо­жуть бути вразливими до агрегації даних та відрізнятися у розрізі окремих груп країн. Якщо використати загальний індекс вер­хо­венства права WJP, антиінф­ля­ційний вплив просте­жує­ть­ся і для зага­ль­ної вибірки 40 країн, і окремо для обох підгруп країн: 1) Цент­ра­ль­ної і Схід­ної Європи (ЦСЄ) та колишнього Радянського Союзу, 2) Азії і Ла­тин­ської Аме­ри­ки. Використання субіндексів WJP показує антиінфляційний вплив для зага­ль­ної вибірки країн та підгрупи країн ЦСЄ і колиш­ньо­го Радянського Союзу (за декількома винятками), але від­повідний ефект пов­ністю втра­ча­­ється для країн Азії і Латинської Америки (це може означати, що антиінф­ля­ційним є лише комплексне одночасне запровадження всіх ком­по­нент верхо­вен­ст­ва права). Така особливість привертає увагу до можливостей хибного вико­ри­с­­тан­ня оцінок панельних даних для великих груп країн, що можуть не відповідати окремим регіональним особливостям і схиляти до хибних рекомендацій для економічної політики. З-поміж інших результатів слабкі ознаки прискорення інфляції з часом простежуються у країнах ЦСЄ і колишнього Радянського Союзу, але цього немає у країнах Азії і Латинської Аме­рики. Також у цих краї­нах інфляція не залежить від динаміки ВВП. Нато­мість у краї­нах ЦСЄ і колишнього Радянського Союзу в середньому кожен відсоток зрос­тан­ня ВВП (з лагом у рік) позначається зниженням інфляції на 0,3-процентного пункту.

The article analyzes the relationship between compliance with the rule of law and inflation. Annual data for the period of 2013—2019 of the Rule of Law Index from the non-governmental organization World Justice Project (WJP) for 40 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Latin America were used. By means of cross-section estimates and panel data using a random effects model (RE), the dependence of inflation on individual WJP sub-indices was empirically estimated, taking into account a wide analytical spectrum of different aspects of the rule of law. Recently, the issue of the rule of law is increasingly used in economic research. First of all, it concerns the dependence of transaction funds and trust on legal factors, which has a direct impact on the funds of production and inflation, as emphasized by the representatives of the new institutional school (New Institutional Economics). Instead, Neoclassical economics economists mainly analyze the influence of the rule of law mechanisms on the formation of trust in such institutions as the independent central bank or the state administrative apparatus. There is no lack of empirical evidence that the anti-inflationary influence of the central bank significantly depends on the concomitant conditions of compliance with the rule of law. Keynesian economics experts state that the importance of legal and regulatory norms increases significantly with a low interest rate (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), which has been the case recently in most industrialized countries. Since the academic interpretation of the rule of law is quite broad, it is of practical interest to study the relevant macroeconomic effects in terms of such individual components as the system of counterbalances and checks for government, the fight against corruption, maintenance of law and order, efficiency of regulatory mechanisms, etc. The study showed that there is no reason to deny the anti-inflationary impact of the rule of law in general and in terms of individual components, but the obtained empirical estimates may be vulnerable to data aggregation and differ in terms of individual groups of countries. If we use the general index of the rule of law of the WJP, the anti-inflationary effect can be traced both for the general sample of 40 countries, and separately for both subgroups of countries: 1) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union, 2) Asia and Latin America. The use of WJP sub-indices shows an anti-inflationary effect for the general sample of countries and subgroups of CEE countries and the former Soviet Union (with a few exceptions), but the corresponding effect is completely lost for the countries of Asia and Latin America (it can mean that only complex simultaneous introduction of all components of the rule of law is anti-inflationary). This feature draws attention to the possibility of erroneous use of panel data estimates for large groups of countries that may not meet certain regional characteristics and incline to erroneous recommendations for economic policy. Among other results, weak signs of accelerating inflation have been observed over time in the CEE countries and the former Soviet Union, but not in Asia and Latin America. Also in these countries, inflation does not depend on GDP dynamics. In contrast, in the CEE and former Soviet Union countries, on average, each percentage point of GDP growth (lag per year) is marked by a 0.3-percentage-point decrease in inflation. ; Проанализирована связь между соблюдением норм верховенства права и инфляцией. Использовались годовые данные за период 2013—2019 гг. индекса верховенства права от неправительственной организации World Justice Project (WJP) для 40 стран Центральной и Восточной Европы, бывшего Советского Союза, Азии и Латинской Америки. С помощью оценок перекрестной регрессии (cross-section) и панельных данных с использованием метода с переменной постоянной (англ. а random effects model — RE) эмпирически оценена зависимость инфляции от отдельных субиндексов WJP, учитывающие широкий аналитический спектр разных аспектов верховенства права. В последнее время проблематика верховенства права все шире используется в экономических исследованиях. Прежде всего это касается зависимости трансакционных средств и доверия от правовых факторов, что имеет непосредственное влияние на средства производства и инфляцию, как это отмечается представителями новой институциональной школы (New Institutional Economics). Зато экономисты неоклассической школы (Neoclassical economics) преимущественно анализируют влияние механизмов верховенства права на формирование доверия к таким институтам, как независимый центральный банк или государственный административный аппарат. Достаточно эмпирических свидетельств, что антиинфляционное влияние центрального банка существенно зависит от сопутствующих условий с соблюдением верховенства права. Экономисты кейнсианской школы (Keynesian economics) утверждают, что важность правовых и регулятивных норм существенно возрастает в условиях низкой процентной ставки (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), как это характерно в последнее время большинству промышленных стран. Поскольку академическое трактовки верховенства права достаточно широкое, становит практический интерес изучение соответствующих макроэкономических эффектов в разрезе таких отдельных компонент, как система противовесов и сдержек для правительства, борьба с коррупцией, поддержания правопорядка, эффективность регуляторных механизмов и тому подобное. Проведенное исследование показало, что нет оснований отрицать антиинфляционное влияние верховенства права — как в целом, так и в разрезе отдельных компонент, но полученные эмпирические оценки могут быть уязвимыми к агрегации данных и отличаться в разрезе отдельных групп стран. Если использовать общий индекс верховенства права WJP, антиинфляционное влияние прослеживается и для общей выборки 40 стран, и отдельно для обеих подгрупп стран: 1) Центральной и Восточной Европы (ЦВЕ) и бывшего Советского Союза; 2) Азии и Латинской Америки. Использование субиндексов WJP показывает антиинфляционное влияние на общую выборку стран и подгруппы стран ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза (за несколькими исключениями), но соответствующий эффект полностью теряется для стран Азии и Латинской Америки (это может означать, что антиинфляционным есть только комплексное одновременное введение всех компонентов верховенства права). Такая особенность привлекает внимание к возможностям ложного использования оценок панельных данных для больших групп стран, что могут не соответствовать отдельным региональным особенностям и склонять к ошибочным рекомендациям для экономической политики. Среди других результатов, слабые признаки ускорения инфляции со временем прослеживаются в странах ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза, но этого нет в странах Азии и Латинской Америки. Также в этих государствах инфляция не зависит от динамики ВВП. В свою очередь, в государствах ЦВЕ и бывшего Советского Союза в среднем каждый процент роста ВВП (с лагом в год) сказывается снижением инфляции на 0,3-процентного пункта. ; Проаналізовано зв'язок між дотриманням норм верхо­вен­ства права та інфляцією. Використовувалися річні дані за період 2013—2019 рр. індексу верховенства права від неурядової організації World Justice Project (WJP) для 40 країн Цент­ра­ль­ної і Східної Європи, колишнього Радянського Союзу, Азії і Латинської Аме­ри­ки. За допомогою оцінок перехресної регресії (cross-section) і панельних даних з використанням методу зі змінною сталою (англ. а random effects model — RE) емпірично оцінено залежність інфляції від окремих субіндексів WJP, що враховують широкий аналітичний спектр різноманітних аспектів верховенства права. Останнім часом проблематика верховенства права все ширше використовується в економічних дослідженнях. Передусім це стосується залежності трансакційних коштів і довіри від правових чинників, що має безпосередній вплив на кошти виробництва та інфляцію, як це наголошують представники нової інституційної школи (New Institutional Economics). Натомість економісти неокласичної школи (Neoclassical economics) переважно аналізують вплив механізмів верховенства пра­ва на формування довіри до таких інститутів, як незалежний центральний банк чи державний адміністративний апарат. Не бракує емпі­ри­чних свідчень, що антиінфляційний вплив центрального банку істотно залежить від супутніх умов з до­три­манням верховенства права. Економісти кейнсіанської школи (Keynesian economics) стверджу­ють, що важливість право­вих і ре­гуляторних норм істотно зростає за умов низької про­цент­ної ставки (Zero Lower Bound — ZLB), як це притаманно останнім часом більшості промислових країн. Оскільки академічне трактування верховенства права досить широке, становить прак­­ти­чний інтерес вивчення відповідних макроекономічних ефектів у розрізі таких окре­мих компонент, як система противаг і стримувань для уряду, боротьба з корупцією, підтримання правопорядку, ефективність регуляторних механіз­мів тощо. Проведене дослідження показало, що немає підстав заперечувати антиін­ф­ляційний вплив верховенства права — як загалом, так і в розрізі окремих компонент, але отримані емпіричні оцінки мо­жуть бути вразливими до агрегації даних та відрізнятися у розрізі окремих груп країн. Якщо використати загальний індекс вер­хо­венства права WJP, антиінф­ля­ційний вплив просте­жує­ть­ся і для зага­ль­ної вибірки 40 країн, і окремо для обох підгруп країн: 1) Цент­ра­ль­ної і Схід­ної Європи (ЦСЄ) та колишнього Радянського Союзу, 2) Азії і Ла­тин­ської Аме­ри­ки. Використання субіндексів WJP показує антиінфляційний вплив для зага­ль­ної вибірки країн та підгрупи країн ЦСЄ і колиш­ньо­го Радянського Союзу (за декількома винятками), але від­повідний ефект пов­ністю втра­ча­­ється для країн Азії і Латинської Америки (це може означати, що антиінф­ля­ційним є лише комплексне одночасне запровадження всіх ком­по­нент верхо­вен­ст­ва права). Така особливість привертає увагу до можливостей хибного вико­ри­с­­тан­ня оцінок панельних даних для великих груп країн, що можуть не відповідати окремим регіональним особливостям і схиляти до хибних рекомендацій для економічної політики. З-поміж інших результатів слабкі ознаки прискорення інфляції з часом простежуються у країнах ЦСЄ і колишнього Радянського Союзу, але цього немає у країнах Азії і Латинської Аме­рики. Також у цих краї­нах інфляція не залежить від динаміки ВВП. Нато­мість у краї­нах ЦСЄ і колишнього Радянського Союзу в середньому кожен відсоток зрос­тан­ня ВВП (з лагом у рік) позначається зниженням інфляції на 0,3-процентного пункту.

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Bettageri-1microwatershedwas conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 391ha in Koppaltalukand district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 91 per cent is covered by soils, 9 per cent byhabitation and water bodies. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 8soil series and 9soil phases (management units) and 7 land use classes.  The length of crop growing period is 200mm/m) in available water capacity.  Entire area has very gently sloping (1-3%) lands.  About 33per cent area is slightly eroded and about 58 per cent area ismoderately eroded (e2) lands.  About 6 per cent area is slightly acidic (pH 6.0-6.5) about 18 per cent neutral, 67 per cent area is slightly alkaline (pH 8.4 to 9.0)to very strongly alkaline (pH>9.0)in soil reaction.  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils are dominantly 0.75%) in organic carbon.  About 6 per cent area is low (57 kg/ha) available phosphorus.  Major area of about 86 per centismedium (145-337 kg/ha) in available potassium and a small area of about 5 per cent has high (>337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm).  Available boron is low (0.5 ppm) in about 60 per cent area and medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) in 31per cent area.  Available iron is sufficient (>4.5 ppm)in40 per cent area and deficient (<4.5 ppm) in about 51 per cent area.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) inan area of about 36 per cent and sufficient in 55per cent area.  Available manganeseand copper are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 25 major crops grown in the microwatershedwere assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 20 (5) 143 (37) Guava - 101 (26) Maize - 142 (36) Jackfruit - 101 (26) Bajra 88 (23) 54 (14) Jamun - 108 (28) Groundnut - 142 (36) Musambi 20 (5) 101 (26) Sunflower 20 (5) 101 (26) Lime 20 (5) 101 (26) Chilli - 142 (36) Cashew - 160 (41) Tomato - 142 (36) Custard apple 108 (28) 127 (32) Drumstick - 121 (31) Amla 88 (23) 147 (37) Mulberry - 193 (49) Tamarind - 20 (5) Mango - - Marigold - 163 (42) Sapota - 101 (26) Chrysanthemum - 163 (42) Pomegranate - 121 (31) Jasmine - 143 (37) Crossandra - 145 (36) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the7identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder,fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Bettageri-1 is located at North latitude 150 13' 35.664" and 160 11' 29.015'' and East longitude 760 3' 22.648'' and 760 2' 6.455" covering an area of about 391.08 ha coming under bettageri village of Koppal taluk.  Socio-economic analysis indicated that, out of the total sample of 35 respondents, - 5 (14.29%) were marginal, 11(31.43%) were small and 10 (28.57%) were semi medium, 7 (20%) were medium.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 84 (57.14%) men and 62 (42.18%) were women.  Majority of the respondents (40.82%) were in the age group of 35-60 years. Education level of the sample households indicated that, majority there were 17.69 per cent illiterates and only 11.56 per cent attained graduation.  About, 54.29 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 31.43 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 36.73 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 91.43 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 2.86 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 80 per cent possess TV, 37.14 per cent possess mixer grinder and 100 per cent possess mobile phones.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that 11.43 per cent of the households possess plough.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 17.14 per cent possess local cow and 5.71 per cent possess buffalo respectively.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 7.71 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.58.  Further, 8.57 per cent of the households opined that hired labour was inadequate during the agricultural season.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents (66.25 ha), 73.68 per cent of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 26.21 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 9 bore wells and 0 dry bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore well was the major source of irrigation for 25.71 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Bajra, Groundnut, Bengalgram, Sorghum and Maize and cropping intensity was recorded as 98.47 per cent.  The sample households possessed 5.71 per cent bank account and 5.71 per cent of them have savings in the account. 2  About 5.71 per cent of the respondents borrowed credit from various sources.  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Bajra, Groundnut, Bengalgram, Sorghum and Maize was Rs.28756.92 , 101401.12, 40347.70, 30650.44, and 27142.57 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.20, 1:0.80, 1:0.90, 1:1.50, and 1:1.60, respectively.  Further, 28.57 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 28.57 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 122345.71 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 69631.43 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown horticulture crops has planted 9 coconut trees in the fields and forest species have grown 33 neem trees and 1 banyan trees together in both field and backyard.  Regarding marketing channels, 94.29 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 17.14 per cent have sold by Agents/Traders.  Further, 114.29 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (57.14 %) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 88.57 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Firewood connection was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 94.29 per cent of the households and 5.71 per cent households has LPG.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 91.43 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 40 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 88.57 per cent of the households possessed BPL card and 11.43 per cent do not possess PDS card.  Cereals (105.71%), pulses (80%), oilseeds ( 0%) were adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (88.57%) wild animal menace on farm field ( 11.43%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (80%), inadequacy of irrigation water (28.57%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (80%), high rate of interest on credit (65.71%), low price for the agricultural commodities (77.14%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (60%), inadequate extension services (0%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (11.43%), Less rainfall (8.57%) and Source of Agri-technology information(Newspaper/TV/Mobile) (5.71%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Haligeri-4 & Haligeri-5 microwatersheds was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatersheds. The present study covers an area of 472 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 96 per cent is covered by soils, 4 per cent water bodies, settlements and others. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 4 soil series and 5 soil phases (management units) and 2 land use classes.  The length of crop growing period is 150 cm) in soil depth.  Entire area of the microwatersheds has clayey soils at the surface.  About 59 per cent of the area has non-gravelly (200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  Entire area has very gently sloping (1-3%) lands.  An area of 25 per cent has soils that are slightly eroded (e1) and 71 per cent moderately eroded (e2) lands.  An area of 85 per cent has soils that are strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0) and 11 per cent are very strongly alkaline (pH > 9.0).  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the entire soils 337 kg/ha) in available potassium content.  Available sulphur content is low (20 ppm).  Available boron is medium (0.5-1.0 ppm) in about 23 per cent area and high (>1.0 ppm) in about 72 per cent.  Available iron is sufficient (>4.5 ppm) in 0.6 ppm) in about <1 per cent area.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 28 major agricultural and horticultural crops grown in the microwatersheds were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatersheds Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 223 (47) - Pomegranate - 223 (47) Maize - - Guava - - Bajra - - Jackfruit - - Red gram - 223 (47) Jamun - 120(25) Bengalgram 223 (47) - Musambi 120 (25) 103 (22) Groundnut - - Lime 120 (25) 103 (22) Sunflower 120 (25) 103 (22) Cashew - - Cotton 223 (47) - Custard apple 223 (47) - Chilli - - Amla - 223 (47) Tomato - - Tamarind - 120 (25) Drumstick - 223 (47) Marigold - 223 (47) Mulbery - 165 (35) Chrysanthemum - 223 (47) Mango - - Jasmine - - Sapota - - Crossandra - 120 (25) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 2 identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops that helps in maintaining productivity and ecological balance in the microwatersheds.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. DINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Haligeri-4 & 5 is located at North latitude 150 25' 3.888" and 150 22' 24.782" and East longitude 760 6' 4.369" and 760 4' 8.663" covering an area of about 472.48 ha coming under Halageri village of Koppal taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Haligeri-4 & 5 micro watersheds of Haligeri subwatershed, Koppala taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 35 total respondents, 8 (22.86 %) were marginal, 10 (28.57%)were small, 11 (31.43 %) were Semi medium and 6 (17.14 %) were medium farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 89 (53.94%) men and 76 (46.06 %) were women.  Majority of the respondents (43.03%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 21.82 per cent illiterates, 83.63 per cent pre university education and 4.85 per cent attained graduation.  About, 97.14 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 59.39 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 77.14 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 28.57 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 65.71 per cent possess TV, 60.00 per cent possess mixer grinder, 97.14 per cent possess mobile phones and 31.43 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 20.00 per cent of the households possess plough, 2.86 per cent possess tractor and 11.43 per cent possess bullock cart.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 28.57 per cent possess local cow and 11.43 per cent possess buffalo.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 6.58 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.40.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents 84.81 per cent (75.20 ha) of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 15.19 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 9.00 live bore wells and 9.00 dry bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore/open well was the major source of irrigation for 28.57 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Maize, Sorghum, Green gram, Bajra and Groundnut and cropping intensity was recorded as 79.37 per cent. 2  Out of the sample households 80.00 percent possessed bank account and 80.00 per cent of them have savings in the account.  About 80.00 per cent of the respondents borrowed credit from various sources.  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Maize, Sorghum, Green gram, Bajra and Groundnut was Rs.28404.75 , 30176.41, 29266.76, 17385.92 and 47167.65 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.80, 1: 0.90, 1: 1.70, 1: 2.70 and 1:1.60 respectively.  Further, 45.71 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 42.86 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 117160.00 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 84588.57 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 16 horticulture trees and 36 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Regarding marketing channels, 117.14 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 22.86 per cent have sold in regulated markets.  Further, 140.00 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (91.43%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 100.00 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Fire was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 74.29 per cent of the households and 25.71 per cent households has LPG connection.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 91.43 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 62.86 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 94.28 per cent of the households possessed BPL card, 2.86 per cent of the household's possessed APL card and 2.86 per cent of the household's were not having ration cards.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (100.00%), pulses (100.00%) and oilseeds (94.29%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (100.00%) wild animal menace on farm field (100.00%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (100.00%), inadequacy of irrigation water (5.71%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (97.14%), high rate of interest on credit (97.14%), low price for the agricultural commodities (91.43%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (100.00%) and lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (42.86%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Badal Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 587 ha in Yadgir taluk & district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 866 mm, of which about 652 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 76 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 572 ha in the microwatershed is covered by soils, 16 ha by others (water bodies). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 5 soil series and 6 soil phases (management units) and 4 land use class.  The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 1st week of June to 4th week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing 26 major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  Entire area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture.  About 96 per cent area of the microwatershed has soils that are moderately deep to very deep (75 - >150 cm) and 200 mm/m) in available water capacity, 21 per cent is medium (101-150 mm/m) and about one per cent area is very low (9.0)  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils in the entire area of the microwatershed is dominantly 0.75).  About 54 per cent area is low in available phosphorus, 36 per area is medium (23-57 kg/ha) and 8 per cent is high (>57 kg/ha).  About 11per cent is medium (145-337 kg/ha) in available potassium and 87 per cent is high (>337 kg/ha).  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm) in 1 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available boron is low (1.0 ppm) in 24 per cent area.  Available iron is sufficient (>4.5 ppm) in 24 per cent area and deficient in 74 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (0.6 ppm) in 2 per cent area of the microwatershed.  The land suitability for 26 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 332(57) 231(39) Sapota - - Maize - 564(96) Pomegranate - 564(96) Bajra - 563(96) Musambi 386(66) 178(30) Groundnut - 563(96) Lime 386(66) 178(30) Sunflower 278(47) 285(49) Amla 332(57) 231(39) Redgram - 564(96) Cashew - - Bengal gram 440 (75) 124(21) Jackfruit - - Cotton 440(75) 124(21) Jamun - 440(75) Chilli - 456(78) Custard apple 564(96) - Tomato - - Tamarind - 440(75) Drumstick - 564(96) Mulberry - - Mango - - Marigold - 564(96) Guava - - Chrysanthemum - 564(96)  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in not only supplementing the farm income but also provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Badal is located at North latitude 160 31' 39.345" and 160 29' 32.556" and East longitude 770 15' 51.422" and 770 14' 3.803" covering an area of about 587.10 ha coming under Kondapura, Badiyala and Sangavara villages of Yadagiri taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Badal micro watersheds of Mungal sub-watershed, Yadgir taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 33 total respondents, 11 (33.33 %) were marginal, 13 (39.39%)were small and 5 (15.15 %) were Semi medium farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 68 (55.74%) men and 54 (44.26 %) were women.  Majority of the respondents (40.16%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 46.72 per cent illiterates, 50.01 per cent pre university education and 4.92 per cent attained graduation.  About, 78.79 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 9.09 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 60.66 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 90.91 per cent of the households possess katcha house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 84.85 per cent possess TV, 42.42 per cent possess mixer grinder, 66.67 per cent possess mobile phones and 9.09 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 42.42 per cent of the households possess plough, 6.06 per cent possess tractor, 33.33 per cent possess bullock cart and 9.09 per cent possess sprayer.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 6.06 per cent possess local cow.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 14.79 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.72.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents 100.00 per cent (38.39 ha) of the area is under dry condition.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are and cropping intensity was recorded as 99.22 per cent.  Out of the sample households 6.06 percent possessed bank account.  About 6.06 per cent of the respondents borrowed credit from various sources.  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Cotton, Redgram and Sorghum of Rs.50497.60, 40293.72 and 54888.46 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.30, 1: 1.30 and 1: 1.30 respectively. 2  Further, 81.82 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 9.09 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 109253.03 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 61828.79 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 51 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Regarding marketing channels, 87.88 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants.  Further, 87.88 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (87.88%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 84.85 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Fire was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 93.94 per cent of the households and 3.03 per cent households has LPG connection.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 12.12 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 100.00 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 100.00 per cent of the households possessed.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (100.00%), pulses (81.82%) and oilseeds (24.24%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (90.91%) wild animal menace on farm field (87.88%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (78.79%), inadequacy of irrigation water (12.12%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (81.82%), high rate of interest on credit (45.45%), low price for the agricultural commodities (66.67%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (57.58%), inadequate extension services (3.03%) and lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (39.39%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Katarki West-3 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 581 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area 98 per cent is covered by soils and two per cent is by water bodies. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 7 soil series and 9 soil phases (management units) and 2 land use classes.  The length of crop growing period is 150 cm).  Entire area has clay soils at the surface.  Entire area has non-gravelly (200 mm/m) in available water capacity.  An area of about 73 per cent has very gently sloping (1-3%) lands and 25 per cent area has nearly level (0-1%) lands.  About 29 per cent area is slightly eroded (e1) and about 69 per cent area is moderately eroded (e2) lands.  Entire area is strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0) to very strongly alkaline (pH >9.0) in soil reaction.  The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils are dominantly 337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm) in 13 per cent area.  Available boron is low (4.5 ppm) in 47 per cent area and deficient (<4.5 ppm) in about 51 per cent area.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in the entire area.  Available copper and manganese are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 28 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 511 (88) 60 (10) Pomegranate - 547 (92) Maize - - Guava - - Bajra - 36 (6) Jackfruit - - Groundnut - - Jamun - 436 (75) Sunflower 400 (69) 147 (25) Musambi 400 (69) 147 (25) Cotton 511 (88) 60 (10) Lime 400 (69) 147 (25) Red gram - 547 (94) Cashew - - Bengalgram 511 (88) 60 (10) Custard apple 511 (88) 60 (10) Chilli - - Amla - 571 (98) Tomato - - Tamarind - 436 (73) Drumstick - 547 (94) Marigold - 571 (98) Mulberry - 366 (63) Chrysanthemum - 571 (98) Mango - - Jasmine - 24 (4) Sapota - - Crossandra - 330 (57) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 2 identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Katarki West-3 is located at North latitude 150 16' 32.303" and 150 15' 8.181" and East longitude 760 2' 48.78'' and 760 0' 43.888" covering an area of about 581.60 ha coming under Alavandi, Mynahalli and Bettageri Villages of Koppal taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Katarki West-3 micro watersheds of Katarki subwatershed, Koppala taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 35 farmers were sampled in Katarki West-3 micro-watershed among households surveyed 6 (17.14%) were marginal, 13 (37.14%) were small, 8 (22.86 %) were semi medium and 3 (8.57 %) were medium farmers. 5 landless farmers were also interviewed for the survey.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 71 (52.21%) men and 65 (47.79 %) were women. The average population of landless was 2, marginal farmers were 3.7, small farmers were 4.5, semi medium farmers were 4.5 and medium farmers were 5.3.  Majority of the respondents (31.62%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 25.74 per cent illiterates, 68.39 per cent pre university education and 2.94 per cent attained graduation.  About, 97.14 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 27.21 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 48.57 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 2.86 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 97.14 per cent possess TV, 74.29 per cent possess mixer grinder, 77.14 per cent possess mobile phones and 5.71 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that 2.86 per cent of the households possess Bullock Cart and 2.86 per cent possess Weeder.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 5.71 per cent possess local cow and 2.86 per cent possess buffalo.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.3, women available in the micro watershed was 1.15, hired labour (men) available was 4.57 and hired labour (women) available was 4.71.  Further, 100 per cent of the households opined that hired labour was inadequate during the agricultural season.  There were 6.00 live bore wells and 6.00 dry bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore well was the major source of irrigation for 17.14 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Maize, Bajra, Groundnut, Sunflower and Red gram and cropping intensity was recorded as 81.78 per cent. 2  Out of the sample households 82.86 percent possessed bank account and 82.86 per cent of them have savings in the account.  About 82.86 per cent of the respondents borrowed credit from various sources.  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Maize, Bajra, Groundnut, Sunflower and Red gram was Rs.31001.17, 26035.85, 36120.73, 46884.21 and 37551.71 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.30, 1: 0.90, 1: 1.60, 1: 0.70 and 1:0.90 respectively.  Further, 2.86 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 91645.14 in micro-watershed, of which Rs. 69208.57 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 8 horticulture trees and 16 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 657.14 for land development.  Source of funds for additional investment is concerned, 8.57 per cent depends on own funds.  Regarding marketing channels, 20.00 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 80.00 per cent have sold in regulated markets.  Further, 100 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (97.14%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 80.00 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Firewood was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 100.00 per cent of the households.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 71.43 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 88.57 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 97.14 per cent of the households possessed BPL card, 2.86 per cent of the household's possessed APL card.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (97.14%), pulses (42.86%) and oilseeds (14.29%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (85.71%) wild animal menace on farm field (71.43%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (28.57%), inadequacy of irrigation water (17.14%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (28.57%), high rate of interest on credit (8.57%), low price for the agricultural commodities (20.00%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (22.86%), inadequate extension services (14.29%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (40.00%), Less rainfall (57.14%) and Source of Agri-technology information (Newspaper/ TV/Mobile) (37.14%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Yadgir RF2 Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 760 ha in Yadgir taluk & district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 866 mm, of which about 652 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 76 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 159 ha in the microwatershed is covered by soils, 521 ha by forest and 80 ha by others (habitation and water bodies). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 4 soil series and 10 soil phases (management units) and 3 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 1st week of June to 4th week of October.  From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated.  Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 320 m grid interval.  Land suitability for growing 29 major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated.  Entire cultivated 159 ha area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture.  About 12 per cent area of the microwatershed has soils that are deep to very deep (100 - >150 cm) and 9 per cent soils are shallow (25-50 cm).  About 200 mm/m) in available water capacity and 9 per cent area very low (0.75%) in organic carbon content, medium (0.5-0.75%) in 9 per cent area and low (57 kg/ha), 337 kg/ha) and 18 per cent is medium (145-337 kg/ha) in available potassium in the microwatershed.  Available sulphur is low (1.0 ppm) in 1 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available iron is sufficient (>4.5 ppm) in 21 per cent and deficient (<4.5 ppm) in <1 per cent area of the microwatershed.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in the entire cultivated area of the microwatershed.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in the entire area of the microwatershed.  The land suitability for 29 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum - 93(12) Guava - - Maize - 93(12) Sapota - - Bajra - 93(12) Pomegranate - 2(<1) Groundnut - - Musambi - 2(<1) Sunflower - 2(<1) Lime - 2(<1) Redgram - 93(12) Amla - - Bengal gram - 2(<1) Cashew - - Cotton - 2(<1) Jackfruit - - Chilli - 2(<1) Jamun - - Tomato - - Custard apple - 2(<1) Brinjal - - Tamarind - - Onion - - Mulberry - - Bhendi - 2(<1) Marigold - 2(<1) Drumstick - - Chrysanthemum - 2(<1) Mango - -  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and sub marginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in not only supplementing the farm income but also provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Yadgir Rf-2 is located at North latitude 160 50' 8.071" and 160 47' 43.531" and East longitude 770 21' 14.235'' and 770 19' 26.504" covering an area of about 749.26 ha coming under Chinthanapalli and Gunjanura Villages of Yadagiri taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Yadgir Rf-2 micro watersheds of Mokadampur subwatershed, Yadgiri taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 40 total respondents, 15 (37.50 %) were marginal, 16 (40.00%)were small and 7 (17.50 %) were Semi medium farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 112 (58.33%) men and 80 (41.67 %) were women.  Majority of the respondents (43.23%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 50.52 per cent illiterates, 0.52 percent were functional literates, 49.49 per cent pre university education and 1.56 per cent attained graduation.  About, 95.00 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 5.00 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 72.92 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 97.50 per cent of the households possess katcha house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 92.50 per cent possess TV, 52.50 per cent possess mixer grinder, 95.00 per cent possess mobile phones and 12.50 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 50.00 per cent of the households possess plough.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 30.00 per cent possess local cow and 7.50 per cent possess buffalo.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.63, women available in the micro watershed was 1.47, hired labour (men) available was 8.71 and hired labour (women) available was 11.74.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents 94.48 per cent (48.52 ha) of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 5.52 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 5.00 live bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore/open well was the major source of irrigation for 12.50 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Red gram, Onion, Paddy, Sorghum and Groundnut and cropping intensity was recorded as 92.93 per cent. 2  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Red gram, Onion, Paddy, Sorghum and Groundnut was Rs.25892.53, 335673.90, 246937.31, 37110.54 and 64347.66 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.20, 1: 0.70, 1: 0.70, 1: 0.80 and 1:0.90 respectively.  Further, 0.00 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 0.00 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 64750.00 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 46625.00 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 250 horticulture trees and 32 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 3925.00 for land development and Rs. 250.00 for irrigation facility.  Source of funds for additional investment is concerned, 10.00 per cent depends on own funds and 37.50 per cent depends on bank loan for land development activities.  Regarding marketing channels, 105.00 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants.  Further, 105.00 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (67.50%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 90.00 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Fire was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 100.00 per cent of the households.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 100.00 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 92.50 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 100.00 per cent of the households possessed BPL card.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (100.00%), pulses (85.00%) and oilseeds (5.00%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (95.00%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (92.50%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (87.50%), high rate of interest on credit (12.50%), low price for the agricultural commodities (72.50%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (10.00%), inadequate extension services (2.50%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market(57.50%) ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Hankunti-2 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characterstics, classification, behaviour and use potentials of the soils in the microwartershed. The present study covers an area of 391 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. Entire area is covered by soils. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 6 soil series and 6 soil phases (management units) and 6 land use classes.  The length of crop growing period is 150 cm).  About 7 per cent area has loamy soils, 93 per cent area has clayey soils at the surface.  About 28 per cent of the area has non-gravelly (0.75%) in organic carbon.  About 18 per cent area is low (57 kg/ha) available phosphorus.  An area of about 2 per cent is low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium.  Available sulphur is low (4.5 ppm) in 36 per cent area and deficient (<4.5 ppm) in about 64 per cent area.  Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in an area of about 86 per cent and sufficient in 14 per cent area.  Available copper and manganese are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 28 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 109 (28) 107 (27) Pomegranate 109 (28) - Maize 109 (28) 107 (27) Guava 109 (28) - Bajra 109 (28) 107 (27) Jackfruit 109 (28) - Groundnut - 107 (27) Jamun 109 (28) - Sunflower 109 (28) - Musambi 109 (28) - Cotton 109 (28) 107 (27) Lime 109 (28) - Red gram 109 (28) - Cashew - 131 (34) Bengalgram - 216 (55) Custard apple 109 (28) 129 (33) Chilli 109 (28) 107 (27) Amla 109 (28) 129 (33) Tomato 109 (28) 107 (27) Tamarind 109 (28) - Drumstick 109 (28) - Marigold 109 (28) 107 (27) Mulberry 109 (28) 22 (6) Chrysanthemum 109 (28) 107 (27) Mango 109 (28) - Jasmine 109 (28) 107 (27) Sapota 109 (28) - Crossandra 109 (28) 107 (27) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 6 identified LUCs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which inturn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. Findings of the socio-economic survey  The survey was conducted in Hankunti-2 is located at North latitude 150 12' 20.596" and 150 10' 38.087" and East longitude 760 3' 14.596'' and 760 1' 41.401" covering an area of about 391.64 ha coming under Hanakunti and Betageri Villages of Koppal taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Hankunti-2 micro watersheds of Bettageri sub-watershed, Koppal taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 37 total respondents, 12 were marginal, (32.43 %) were small 5 (13.51%), 7 (18.92 %) were Semi medium and 7 (18.92 %) were medium and 1 (2.70 %) were large farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 90 (55.56%) men and 72 (44.44 %) were women.  Majority of the respondents (42.59%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 17.90 per cent illiterates, 21.60 per cent of them had primary school education, 8.02 per cent middle school education, 24.07 per cent high school education, 10.49 per cent of them had PUC education, 9.88 per cent attained graduation.  About, 62.16 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 32.43 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 39.51 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 81.08 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 10.81 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 75.68 per cent possess TV, 43.24 per cent possess mixer grinder, 97.30 per cent possess mobile phones and 37.84 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 10.81 per cent of the households possess plough, 5.41 per cent possess tractor and 13.51 per cent possess bullock cart.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 16.22 per cent possess local cow and 5.41 per cent possess buffalo.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 8.88 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.44.  Further, 5.41 per cent of the households opined that hired labour was inadequate during the agricultural season.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents 71.99 per cent (70.91 ha) of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 24.11 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 8.00 live bore wells and 1.00 dry bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore/open well was the major source of irrigation for 21.62 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Maize, Bajra, Sorghum, Groundnut, Bengal gram and Sunflower and cropping intensity was recorded as 93.98 per cent. 2  Out of the sample households 5.41 percent possessed bank account and 5.41 per cent of them have savings in the account.  About 5.41 per cent of the respondents borrowed credit from various sources.  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Maize, Bajra, Sorghum, Groundnut, Sunflower and Bengal gram was Rs.32568.16, 19035.23, 18433.29, 27266.34, 34457.13 and 34399.77 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.50, 1: 0.90, 1: 1.30, 1: 1.60, 1:1.40 and1:1.60 respectively.  Further, 27.03 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 29.73 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 117078.38 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 57375.68 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 26 horticulture trees and 128 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Regarding marketing channels, 86.49 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 5.41 per cent have sold in regulated markets.  Further, 91.89 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (45.95%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 83.78 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Fire was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 81.08 per cent of the households and 18.92 per cent households has LPG connection.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 89.19 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 37.84 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 91.89 per cent of the households possessed BPL card and 10.81 per cent of the household's were not having ration cards.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (105.41%), pulses (91.89%) and oilseeds (2.70%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (45.95%) wild animal menace on farm field (40.54%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (62.16%), inadequacy of irrigation water (37.84%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (70.27%), high rate of interest on credit (51.35%), low price for the agricultural commodities (75.68%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (64.86%), inadequate extension services (2.70%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (13.51%), Less rainfall (5.41%) and Source of Agri-technology information (Newspaper/ TV/Mobile) (2.70%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Kidadhala-1 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the Microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 522 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south –west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 89 per cent is covered by soils, 150 cm).  About 7 per cent of the area is having sandy soils, 81 per cent loamy soils and 1 per cent has clayey soils at the surface.  About 7 per cent of the area has non-gravelly (200mm/m).  An area of about 0.75%) in 49 per cent area of the soils.  Available phosphorus is low (57 kg/ha) in 39 per cent of the soils.  Available potassium is low (337 kg/ha) in 21 per cent of the soils.  Available sulphur is low (20 ppm) in 49 per cent area of the soils  Available boron is low (4.5 ppm) in the entire area.  Available zinc is deficient (0.6 ppm) in 75 per cent of the area.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in the entire area.  The land suitability for 28 major agricultural and horticultural crops grown in the microwatershed was assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (class S1) and moderately suitable (class S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price, and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 12(2) 99 (19) Pomegranate 4(<1) 364(70) Maize 4(<1) 121(23) Guava 2(<1) 364(70) Bajra 4(<1) 349(67) Jackfruit 4(1) 363(70) Redgram 4(<1) 101(19) Jamun 2(<1) 365(70) Bengal gram 7(1) 103 (20) Musambi 4(<1) 364 (70) Groundnut 2(<1) 386 (74) Lime 4(<1) 370 (71) Sunflower 4(<1) 108(21) Cashew - 373(71) Cotton 9 (2) 101(20) Custard apple 56 (11) 378(73) Chilli 4(<1) 99(19) Amla 49(9) 385(74) Tomato 4(<1) 65(12) Tamarind 2(<1) 62 (12) Drumstick 4(<1) 165(31) Marigold 4(<1) 107 (20) Mulberry 4(<1) 425(81) Chrysanthemum 4(<1) 107(20) Mango 2(<1) 62(11) Jasmine 4(<1) 107(20) Sapota 4(<1) 357(68) Crossandra 4(<1) 99(19) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 6 identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops.  Maintaining soil-health is vital to crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.,  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Kidadhala-1 is located at North latitude 150 21' 47.551" and 150 20' 28.719" and East longitude 760 13' 39.692'' and 760 11' 46.69" covering an area of about 521.98 ha coming under under Kidadhala, Koppala and Basapura Villages of Koppala taluk.  Socio-economic analysis of Kidadhala-1 micro watersheds of Bhagyanagar subwatershed, Koppal taluk & District indicated that, out of the total sample of 35 total respondents, 12 (34.29 %) were marginal, 7 (20.00%) were small, 5 (14.29 %) were Semi medium and 5 (14.29 %) were medium and 1 (2.86 %) were large farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 91 (50.28%) men and 89 (49.17 %) were women.  Majority of the respondents (39.78%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, there were 49.17 per cent illiterates, 1.10 percent were functional literates, 45.30 per cent pre university education and 1.66 per cent attained graduation.  About, 28.57 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 68.57 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 9.94 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 88.57 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 2.86 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 91.43 per cent possess TV, 85.71 per cent possess mixer grinder, 100.00 per cent possess mobile phones and 22.86 per cent possess motor cycles.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 2.86 per cent of the households possess plough, 2.86 per cent possess tractor and 5.71 per cent possess sprayer.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 22.86 per cent possess local cow and 11.43 per cent possess buffalo.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 6.40 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.97.  Further, 22.86 per cent of the households opined that hired labour was inadequate during the agricultural season.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents 81.64 per cent (77.81 ha) of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 16.14 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 9.00 live bore wells among the sampled households.  Bore/open well was the major source of irrigation for 31.42 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Maize, Bajra, Cotton, Red gram and Sunflower and cropping intensity was recorded as 77.86 per cent. 2  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Maize, Bajra, Cotton, Red gram and Sunflower was Rs.45125.41, 27940.51, 38832.25, 29911.57 and 37509.54 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.10, 1: 1.50, 1: 2.60, 1: 0.90 and 1:0.80 respectively.  Further, 31.43 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 42.86 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 90614.57 in micro-watershed, of which Rs. 65941.43 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown 19 horticulture trees and 103 forestry trees together in the fields and back yards.  Households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 3142.86 for land development and Rs. 1200.00 for irrigation facility.  Source of funds for additional investment is concerned, 14.29 per cent depends on own funds and 45.71 per cent depends on bank loan for land development activities.  Regarding marketing channels, 82.86 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 25.71 per cent have sold in regulated markets.  Further, 111.43 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (57.14%) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 57.14 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Fire was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 94.29 per cent of the households and 5.71 per cent households has LPG connection.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 77.14 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 45.71 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 88.57 per cent of the households possessed BPL card, 5.71 per cent of the household's possessed APL card and 0.00 per cent of the household's were not having ration cards.  Households opined that, the requirement of cereals (94.29%), pulses (80.00%) and oilseeds (5.71%) are adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (31.43%) wild animal menace on farm field (37.14%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (68.57%), inadequacy of irrigation water (22.86%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (57.14%), high rate of interest on credit (42.86%), low price for the agricultural commodities (60.00%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (54.29%), inadequate extension services (5.71%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (5.71%), Less rainfall (22.86%) and Source of Agri-technology information (Newspaper/ TV/Mobile) (22.86%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Kunikeri-1 microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and these physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 515 ha in Koppal taluk and district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought - prone with an average annual rainfall of 662 mm, of which about 424 mm is received during south–west monsoon, 161 mm during north-east and the remaining 77 mm during the rest of the year. An area of about 93 per cent is covered by soils and 7 per cent by habitation and water bodies, settlements and others. The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below.  The soils belong to 12 soil series and 19 soil phases (management units) and 4 land management units.  The length of crop growing period is 0.75%) in 18 per cent of the soils.  Available phosphorus is medium (23-57 kg/ha) in about 59 per cent and high (>57 kg/ha) in 34 per cent in the microwatershed.  About 29 per cent of the soils are low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium content.  Available sulphur is low (4.5 ppm) in 62 per cent and deficient (0.6 ppm) in about 27 per cent area.  Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils.  The land suitability for 31 major agricultural and horticultural crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum 103 (20) 71 (14) Sapota 131 (25) 99 (19) Maize 102 (20) 72 (14) Pomegranate 131 (25) 99 (19) Bajra 148 (29) 93 (18) Musambi 131 (25) 99 (19) Groundnut 29 (6) 335 (65) Lime 131 (25) 99 (19) Sunflower 102 (20) 60 (12) Amla 162 (31) 230 (45) Red gram 102 (20) 60 (12) Cashew 45 (9) 182 (35) Bengalgram - 174 (34) Jackfruit 131 (25) 98 (19) Cotton 58 (11) 116 (22) Jamun 58 (11) 172 (33) Chilli 103 (20) 71 (14) Custard apple 162 (31) 230 (45) Tomato 103 (20) 71 (14) Tamarind 58 (11) 160 (31) Brinjal 74 (14) 246 (48) Mulberry 161 (31) 218 (42) Onion 45 (9) 275 (53) Marigold 102 (20) 72 (14) Bhendi 45 (9) 275 (53) Chrysanthemum 102 (20) 72 (14) Drumstick 145 (28) 140 (27) Jasmine 102 (20) 72 (14) Mango 58 (11) 103 (20) Crossandra 102 (20) 72 (14) Guava 44 (9) 186 (36)  Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the 4 identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops that helps in maintaining productivity and ecological balance in the microwatershed.  Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc.  Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required.  As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. That would help in supplementing the farm income, provide fodder and fuel, and generate lot of biomass which in turn would help in maintaining the ecological balance and contribute to mitigating the climate change. FINDINGS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY  The survey was conducted in Kunikeri-1 is located at North latitude 150 18' 3.842" and 150 15' 42.427" and East longitude 760 13' 44.407'' and 760 12' 27.153" covering an area of about 514.95 ha coming under Kunakeri and Lachanakeri Villages of Koppal taluk.  Socio-economic analysis indicated that, out of the total sample of 32 respondents, 10 (31.25%) were marginal, 7(21.88%) were small and 6 (18.75%) were semi medium and 4 (12.50%) were medium farmers.  The population characteristics of households indicated that, there were 86 (58.90%) men and 60 (41.10%) were women.  Majority of the respondents (42.47%) were in the age group of 16-35 years.  Education level of the sample households indicated that, majority there were 44.52 per cent illiterates and only 6.16 per cent attained graduation.  About, 68.75 per cent of household heads practicing agriculture and 28.13 per cent of the household heads were engaged as agricultural labourers.  Agriculture was the major occupation for 48.63 per cent of the household members.  In the study area, 81.25 per cent of the households possess katcha house and 3.13 per cent possess pucca house.  The durable assets owned by the households showed that, 71.88 per cent possess TV, 53.13 per cent possess mixer grinder and 90.63 per cent possess mobile phones.  Farm implements owned by the households indicated that, 21.88 per cent of the households possess plough and only 15.63 per cent sprayer.  Regarding livestock possession by the households, 12.50 per cent possess local cow and 3.13 per cent possess buffalo respectively.  The average labour availability in the study area showed that, own men and women labour availability in the micro watershed was 9.27 each, while the hired labour (men) availability was 1.77.  Out of the total land holding of the sample respondents (39.77 ha), 63.21 per cent of the area is under dry condition and the remaining 32.97 per cent area is irrigated land.  There were 4.00 bore wells among the sampled households. Bore well was the major source of irrigation for 12.50 per cent of the households.  The major crops grown by sample farmers are Maize, Bajra, Red gram, Bengal gram, cotton, sugarcane and Groundnut and cropping intensity was recorded as 68.89 per cent. 2  The per hectare cost of cultivation for Maize, Bajra, Red gram, Bengal gram and Groundnut was Rs.33504.09, 31123.35, 26149.12, 15712.88 and 42321.08 with benefit cost ratio of 1:1.30, 1: 1.00, 1: 1.90, 1: 1.80 and 1:2.20 respectively.  Further, 6.25 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 28.13 per cent of the households have opined that the green fodder was adequate.  The average annual gross income of the farmers was Rs. 78946.88 in microwatershed, of which Rs. 53700.00 comes from agriculture.  Sampled households have grown horticulture crop 1 coconut trees in the fields and 30 neem and 3 tamarind forest species in their field.  Households have an average investment capacity of Rs 6.25. for land development.  Source of funds for additional investment is concerned, 3.13 per cent depends on own funds and 6.25 per cent depends on bank loan for land development activities.  Regarding marketing channels, 93.75 per cent of the households have sold agricultural produce to the local/village merchants, while, 6.25 per cent have sold by Agents/Traders.  Further, 71.88 per cent of the households have used tractor for the transport of agriculture commodity.  Majority of the farmers (9.38 %) have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the watershed and 65.63 per cent of the households were interested towards soil testing.  Firewood connection was the major source of fuel for domestic use for 93.75 per cent of the households and 6.25 per cent households has LPG.  Piped supply was the major source for drinking water for 84.38 per cent of the households.  Electricity was the major source of light for 100.00 per cent of the households.  In the study area, 87.50 per cent of the households possess toilet facility.  Regarding possession of PDS card, 87.50 per cent of the households possessed BPL card and 9.38 per cent do not possess PDS card. Cereals (90.63%), pulses (81.25%), oilseeds (25.00%) were adequate for consumption.  Farming constraints experienced by households in the micro watersheds were lower fertility status of the soil (65.63%) wild animal menace on farm field (62.50%), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (50.00%), inadequacy of irrigation water (25.00%), high cost of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (59.38%), high rate of interest on credit (43.75%), low price for the agricultural commodities (50.00%), lack of marketing facilities in the area (46.88%), inadequate extension services (18.75%), lack of transport for safe transport of the agricultural produce to the market (37.50%), Less rainfall (31.25%) and Source of Agri-technology information(Newspaper/TV/Mobile) (3.13%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project

"Europa está pasando por un momento amargo. La gran bonanza que posibilitó la unión, está en declive desde finales del 2008 y principios del 2009. El modelo de integración regional mejor logrado de todos los tiempos es ahora puesto en duda, así como su moneda, el mismo símbolo de su éxito. La realidad de una Europa desigual, con una moneda única pero existiendo como un conjunto heterogéneo de economías interrelacionadas, pone la integración sobre la mesa de análisis. ¿Es posible concebir una economía integrada que no responde a un sistema político integrado? ¿La moneda común es soberanía de qué entidad? Un cierto arrepentimiento callado se palpa en algunos sectores de la sociedad, los gobiernos no dan señas de abandonar el sueño de la integración mientras lidian con grupos sociales y políticos euro-escépticos y separatistas. Muchos jóvenes sin empleo pierden las esperanzas de participar en la bonanza que les permitieron sus padres, mientras el Banco Central Europeo trata de tomar el liderazgo y hacerse cargo de la situación. Se identifica la crisis de la UE con una crisis de deuda soberana. Algunos países han sobrepasado los límites permitidos por el Pacto de Estabilidad y Crecimiento (SGP, sus siglas en inglés), esto es, el déficit presupuestario de un país no debe sobrepasar el 3% su PBI, así como su deuda no puede ser mayor al 60% del producto bruto. Este pacto, el SGP, fue firmado por los 27 miembros de la UE y adoptado en 1997 como una manera de, a grandes rasgos, "asegurar" la estabilidad de la unión monetaria y evitar la inflación. Se entiende que el comienzo de la crisis se dio cuando Grecia incumplió con el SGP. La deuda contraída por ese país se hacía cada vez más insostenible; el riesgo de cesación de pagos respondía a una serie de incautas políticas de gasto público, que hacía juego sólo con el pedido de préstamos por encima de sus posibilidades. "La gran sacudida" se dio cuando el interés de los bonos de deuda pública, a diez años, de Italia, la tercera economía de la UE, superó el 7%. La deuda italiana alcanzaba el 120% de su producto bruto. Una declaración de default por parte de este país tendría catastróficas consecuencias en el euro y en la economía internacional. No obstante, el incumplimiento del SGP ha sido el síntoma de la crisis mas no la causa. Análisis más recientes demuestran que la acumulación de deuda por parte de los sectores privados era insostenible y fue la primera pieza del efecto dominó. ¿Qué ocurrió? Comencemos por el euro. Cuando un país perteneciente a la UE cumple con los criterios de convergencia económica y se le considera apto para ingresar a la unión monetaria, adopta, una moneda con dos caras. Por un lado, adquiere una moneda fuerte a nivel internacional, muy posiblemente más fuerte que la moneda nacional acuñada anteriormente (como en el caso de Grecia o España, por ejemplo). Esta moneda fuerte no forma parte de la soberanía de una entidad política definida y quedaría exenta de controles políticos, sino que es el instrumento de cambio de una asociación de Estados. Si bien esto último incentivó grandemente la inversión, presenta un serio inconveniente, la segunda cara, no es una moneda sobre la que se tenga poder para devaluar ante un caso de balanza comercial deficitaria. El Estado que adopta el euro pierde el poder soberano sobre su moneda.Sucedió entonces que el euro se apreció grandemente en el período que va desde el 2002 al 2008, en el que su valor aumentó en un 85%. Esto derivó, en los países afectados, en una pérdida de competitividad y finalmente en la creación de un modelo importador; modelo que era sustentado además por préstamos a bajas tasas de interés. Se generó así, en muchos casos, un estado de "bonanza", un "boom"en el consumo y una burbuja económica en el mercado de inmuebles. El endeudamiento del sector privado derivó luego en un estado de deuda-deflación. En el momento en que los gobiernos salieron a salvar a sus propios sectores privados, fue cuando la deuda pasó a ser soberana. Ya sea por el hecho de hacerse cargo de las deudas privadas, ya por el mismo efecto de la recesión, el ratio deuda PBI de los Estados afectados comenzó a crecer sistematicamente luego de la erupción de la crisis.Un hecho que es necesario destacar es la desunión en las políticas fiscales, lo que refuerza aún más el problema de la no soberanía monetaria. Grandes divergencias se notaron en las "concepciones macroeconómicas", esto es, mientras que Alemania temía por la salud de su economía y llevaba adelante (aún hoy lo hace) políticas económicas austeras, en España e Irlanda el optimismo impulsaba el gasto y el consumo.La inexistencia de consenso se ha visto también a la hora de actuar, una vez que la burbuja estalló. La falta de un pronto acuerdo se hizo notar cuando, ante la toma de las primeras medidas, en vez de buscar políticas en común, los Estados optaron por actuar en el plano nacional.La acumulación de deuda por parte de los sectores privados no fue contrarrestada por medidas presupuestales anti-cíclicas por parte de los Estados. Las autoridades monetarias tienen su cuota de responsabilidad en tanto que no llevaron adelante un control adecuado de los créditos que ofrecían los bancos. "Since bank credit is a more proximate cause of the bubbles and bombs, and since the monetary authorities can control bank credit, it can be argued that the responsibility of the European monetary authorities in development of unsustainable private debt levels is stronger then that of the national governments." (1)Con todo, es muy posible afirmar que uno de los mayores retos que debe afrontar Europa hoy es la desconfianza en sus sistemas financieros y políticos. Lo que muchos analistas temen es que se haya instalado el miedo a que las instituciones ya no sean capaces de afrontar sus responsabilidades como deben. Se hace imperativo combatir la irresponsable idea de que sin importar los resultados, sin importar que se gaste desmesuradamente y se acumule deuda, el Estado siempre saldrá al rescate. en una union monetaria y politica es razonable pensar en la existencia de "moral hazard".Otro de los problemas más urgentes es el desempleo. En toda la UE, según su oficina de estadística, cerca de 23 millones de personas se encuentran sin empleo.Los jóvenes son los que más sufren por esta problemática. En Italia, por ejemplo, más de un cuarto de los jóvenes entre 16 y 24 años están desempleados. De unos 908.000 griegos sin empleo, 44% tienen entre 15 y 24 años de edad.A pesar de que muchos de esos jóvenes cuentan con estudios terciarios, la falta de empleo para ellos hace que el pesimismo se sienta: en Europa se habla de una "generación perdida". En el peor de los escenarios posible, se requieran cerca de 10 años para sobreponerse de esta generación perdida y volver a encausar la economía. Actualmente existen dos pronósticos: el más oscuro plantea que tanto el euro como la UE se desplomarán en los siguientes años, el más alentador dice que para que siga funcionando se deberá retirar de la zona económica a los países "infectados". Muchos analistas plantean que bajo ningún concepto se debe dejar caer a la UE, que ese hecho puede ser mucho más nefasto que cualquier crisis. En tal caso, como lo plantea Thomas Klau (director de la oficina en París del European Council on Foreign Relations) para la BBC: "Habría una cadena de bancarrotas, tendríamos un desempleo muy alto, países europeos entrarían en cesación de pago y los sistemas de bienestar tendrían tanta presión que el dinero para el desempleo, la salud o las pensiones no podría mantenerse". Asimismo, Klau remarca que: "no deja de ser importante recordar que la guerra en Yugoslavia empezó con la disolución de una unión monetaria. No digo que el colapso del euro llevaría a una guerra, pero sí que el nivel de tensiones sería mayor que cualquier cosa que hayamos visto desde la Guerra Fría, exceptuando Yugoslavia". (2)El futuro de la UE como la conocimos hasta ahora es incierto, pero es de esperar que trate de mantenerse como tal. Sus fuerzas recaen ahora en mitigar los efectos de la burbuja mediante políticas austeras, incentivadas por el Banco Central Europeo, con el consejo de Alemania. La austeridad ha sido la cláusula de garantía entendida como necesaria para el "salvataje" económico, ya que miles de millones de euros han sido puestos en un fondo de ayuda. Se busca entonces eliminar las diferencias causadas por las distintas "concepciones macroeconómicas" y dispersar por toda la Unión una política monetaria unificada. (1) De Grauwe, Paul. 2010. "The Financial Crisis and the Future of the Eurozone".(2) BBC Mundo. Edición web del Jueves, 10 de noviembre de 2011."Europa ante la perspectiva del colapso del euro". Disponible en la web en: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2011/11/111109_crisis_europa_posteuro_tsb.shtml*Estudiante de la Licenciatura en Estudios Internacionales. FACS, Universidad ORT Uruguay