Choosing not to Participate--Evidence from Drought-Prone Area Programme in Chitradurg, Karnataka

This paper examines the evidence on the constraints that farmers face in participating in a programme evolved by 'somebody else' viz, ‘the government’, . The paper begins with a discussion on the typologies on participation. In section two, the enquiry is located in the wider debate and the emerging critique of the participatory development discourse and the tyrannical nature that it is assuming. The paper then examines the historical ‘failure’ of the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP). Policy issues are raised in the context of the findings and discusses the possible ways in which the watershed development programmes should be designed and funded.