AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
PROGRAMMES of agricultural production lie at the base of the comprehensive approach to the reconstruction of the rural economy which is embodied in the Third Five Year Plan. Development of irrigation, from large as well as small works, soil conservation programmes and supplies of fertilisers, improved seed and credit, along with the provision of extension services reaching down to the village level, are measures undertaken directly to increase production. In support of these programmes, through the community development movement,the energies of each village community as a whole are sought to be harnessed and its manpower and other resources effectively mobilised. Land reform policies aim at removing impedi- ments to greater production due to the agrarian structure inherited from the past and to prepare the way for the development of a progressive agriculture organised on a cooperative basis. The various programmes of cooperative development which have been undertaken and will be given still greater emphasis in the Third Plan are intended to build up the necessary institutional framework for rapid economic development in rural areas such as will be of special benefit to the weaker sections of the rural population. Schemes for increasing agricultural production are closely bound up with the success of animal husbandry and dairying and the development of insheries and of rural industry. From the aspect of long-term development, care of forest wealth, conservation of soil and moisture and the growing of village fuel plantations are of great importance. In some parts of the country rural electrification is already beginning to make a significant impact on rural life through extension of irrigation and speeding up of technological change; this impact will become progressively larger. These various aspects of agricultural development and, in particular, the specific programmes for increasing agricultural production for which the Plan provides, gain in significance when seen against the wider background of the large-scale transformation in rural life which is being brought about through successive Five Year Plans.
PROGRESS UNDER THE FIRST AND SECOND PLANS 2. By the end of the Second Plan, the index of agricultural production (base-1949-50) rose to 135, the index for goodgrains being 132 and that for other crops 142. In the First Plan, agricultural production rose by about 17 per cent. During the Second Plan, two years out of five 1957-58 and 1959-60-were unfavourable, and the overall increase in agricultural production amounted to about 16 per cent. The following Table shows the production trends since 1949-50*.
3. Before the Second Plan took final shape, it was realised that the programme of economic development with special emphasis on heavy industries which the Plan embodied would demand a larger increase in agricultural production than had been at first envisaged. Accordingly, in consultation with State Governments, the initial targets were reviewed, and in November, 1956, the following revised targets were proposed : foodgrains, 80.5 million tons; oilseeds, 7.6
*The coverage of crop statistics gradually increased in the course of the First Five Year Plan and from time to time changes were also introduced in the techniques of estimation. The estimates of production of foodgrains in the table have been adjusted to suit these changes upto 1956-57
(a) Partially revised estimates.
(b) Final estimates.
(c) Provisional.
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millions tons, sugarcane (gur). 7.8 million tons cotton, 6.5 million bales; and jute, 5.5 million bales. The level of food production in 1960-61 which has been shown in the Table above at 76 million tons is expected to reach about 78 million tons when the revised estimates of crop production become available. The Second Plan target for the production of sugarcane has been exceeded; on the other hand, there has been stagnation in cotton and jute. In oilseeds also, production has fallen below the target. In view of the production trends during the Second Plan, it is of the highest importance that in the Third Plan, besides achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrains, substantial increases should be secured in commercial crops, specially cotton, oilseeds and jute. With the growth of the economy and increase in domestic demands as well as the need to step up exports, success in increasing the production of commercial crops is as vital as increase in the production of foodgrains.
4. In the Second Plan, out of a total anticipated outlay under agriculture and community. development of Rs. 529 crores, agricultural production programmes accounted for about Rs. 290 crores. In addition, there was a total outlay of Rs. 372 crores on major and medium irrigation schemes. In the course of the Plan additional resources were provided for minor irrigation. The following Table summarises information received from State Governments regarding progress in carrying out programmes of agricultural development.
Table 2: Agricultural programmes-progress in
the Second Plan
programme unit estimated
achieve-
ment
major and medium irrigation million acres 6.9
(gross)
minor irrigation " 9.0
soil conservation on agricultural lands " 2.0
lands reclamation " 1.2
area under improved seeds (foodgrains) " 55
consumption of nitrogen (N) thousand tons 230
consumption of phosphatic
fertilisers (P2O6) " 70
urban compost million tons 3
rural compost " 83
green manuring million acres 11.8
Apart from the influence of unfavourable seasons, greater progress might have been achieved in agriculture during the Second Plan if the benefits of the substantial investments incurred, for instance, in the extension of irrigation, both from small and large irrigation works, and in the establishment of seed farms could have been realised more speedily. Programmes which require large-scale participation on the part of the people, such as, soil conservation, made only limited progress. The consumption of fertilisers, which has been recently stepped up to a considerable extent, increased very slowly during the first four years of the Second Plan. This was due both to the shortage of foreign exchange and to the inadequate progress made in establishing the new fertiliser plants. When the agricultural targets for the Second Plan were reviewed in 1956, it was specially emphasised that programmes for the multiplication of improved seeds, for the use of fertilisers and for irrigation, soil conservation, etc., would be implemented so as to yield the maximum benefits within the shortest time. It was envisaged that there would be carefully worked out programmes for covering every acre of land enjoying irrigation or assured rainfall with improved seeds and that the supply of fertilisers and organic and green manures would be ensured. Sufficient progress was not made in these directions. Consequently, a much larger task in agriculture remains to be accomplished during the Third Plan. More than any other factor, the success of the Third Plan will turn on the fulfilment of its agricultural targets.
APPROACH IN THE THIRD PLAN 5. In formulating agricultural production programmes for the Third Plan, the guiding consideration has been that the agricultural efforts should not be impeded in any manner for want of financial or other resources. Accordingly, finance is being provided on a scale which is considered adequate, and the further assurance is given that if, for achieving the targets of production, additional resources are found necessary, those will be provided as the Plan proceeds. Supplies of fertilisers are also to be made available on a large scale. Efforts are being made to strengthen agricultural administration in the States, and stress is being placed on the closest possible coordination between different agencies, notably, those concerned with agriculture, cooperation, community development and irrigation. Supplies of credit through cooperative agencies are being expanded, and the need for linking credit with production and marketing is emphasised. It may be stressed, however, that while these efforts should go a long way, they are not in themselves a sufficient guarantee that the agricultural objectives of the Third Plan can be realised.
6. The central task of the community development Organisation and of extension workers at the block and village levels is to mobilise the rural community for intensive agricultural development, to impart a sense of urgency and direction to the work of all the agencies operating on behalf of the Government, and to insure that the requisite supplies, services and technical assistance are available at the right time and place and in the most effective manner possible. At the same time, the Agriculture Departments must place at the disposal of the community development organisation at the block level the supplies, trained personnel, and other resources needed. This means that all families in the village,
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 159
specially those engaged in cultivation, must be involved in the agricultural effort through the village cooperative and the panchayat, and enabled to achieve larger results through village production plans. In view of the experience in the Second Plan, these essential conditions cannot be too greatly stressed. As the country enters upon the larger tasks of the Third Plan, there is urgent need to improve the organisation of agricultural programmes at the local level as well as at higher levels in the States and at the Centre.
7. The Third Plan provides for an outlay on production programmes in agriculture, including large and small irrigation schemes, soil conservation and co-operation, of about Rs. 1280 crores, the comparable outlay in the Second Plan being of the order of about Rs. 667 crores.
Table 3 : outlays on agricultural production
(Rs. crores
Second Third
Plan Plan
agricultural production 98.10 226.07
minor irrigation 94.94 176.76
soil conservation 17.61 72.73
cooperation 33.83 80.10
community development (agricul-
tural programmes). 50.00 126.00
major and medium irrigation 372.17 599.34
total 666.65 1281.00
Besides resources provided for the Third Plan finance from cooperative agencies will also increase substantially. Short-term and medium-term loans are expected to go up from about Rs. 200 crores and the amount outstanding on account of long-term loans from about Rs. 34 crores in the last year of the Second Plan to about Rs. 530 crores and Rs. 150 crores respectively by the end of the Third Plan.
8. Programmes and targets for agriculture embodied in the Draft Outline of the Third Plan were based on preliminary studies undertaken by State Governments and the Central Ministries concerned. These were intended to provide a basis for detailed agricultural programmes to be prepared in the light of local conditions and possibilities in districts, blocks and villages. It was suggested that with a view to securing the largest measure of local participation and, in particular, the fullest utilisation of the local manpower resources, programmes relating to agriculture, minor irrigation, soil conservation and the development of cooperation should be formulated through district and block plans. An attempt has been made in several States to draw up local plans on these lines. It has been observed, however, that plans at the local level are easier to formulate after the broad dimensions and objectives of the State plans have been established. Although in proposing targets and in evolving programmes, State Governments have taken advantage of their experience in preparing district and block agricultural plans, on the whole, the programmes and the estimates of production which now form part of the plans of States have been arrived at through studies by the Departments concerned at the State level. Their proposals have been considered in two series of discussions between the States, the Planning Commission and the Central Ministries, and care has been taken to prepare them in some detail. Nevertheless, the limitation persists that they are not yet as firmly based on area plans as had been earlier hoped for. For realising the programmes and targets accepted by States there must, therefore, be continuing emphasis on the drawing up of annual district and block agricultural plans within the general scheme of the five year programme. Without district, block and village agricultural production plans, it will be difficult to ensure the widespread cooperation and local initiative and understanding of the tasks to be accomplished which are the funda- mental conditions for success in agricultural development.
PROGRAMMES FOR INCREASING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 9. The principal technical programmes for increasing agricultural production, around which intensive work is to be organised, are : (1) irrigation, (2) soil conservation, dry farming and land reclamation, (3) supply of fertilisers and manures, (4) seed multiplication and distribution, (5) plant protection, (6) better ploughs and improved agricultural implements, and adoption of scientific agricultural practices. In all areas, and specially in the development blocks taken up under the community development programme, these programmes will need to be implemented with the largest measure of participation on the part of local communities and to reach as many families as possible through the village production plans. In addition, in fifteen districts, in which conditions are specially favourable on ac- count of the availability of irrigation and assured rainfall and the co-operative movement is fairly established, it is proposed to undertake agricultural programmes on a more intensive scale than may be generally feasible. In all areas, and more especially in these, a concentrated effort will be made to reach all farmers and to promote the adoption by them of a minimum combination of improved practices.
10. The main targets under different development programmes for agriculture are summarised below :
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Table 4 : Targets of agricultural programmes Third Plan
programme unit target
I. irrigation :
1. major and medium irrigation
(gross) million acres 12.8
2. minor irrigation (gross) " 12.8
(a) agriculture " 9.5
(b) community development " 3.3
total 25.6
II. soil conservation, land reclamation, etc.
(a) soil conservation on
agricultural lands " 11.0
(b) dry farming " 22.0
(c) land reclamation " 3.6
(d) reclamation of saline
and alkaline lands " 0.2
III. additional area under im-
proved seeds-foodgrains 148.0
IV. consumption of chemical fertilisers
(a) nitrogenous (N) thousand tons 1000
(b) phosphatic (P2O6) " 400
(c) potassic (K2O) " 200
V. organic and green manuring
(a) urban compost million tons 5.0
(b) rural compost " 150.0
(c) green manuring million acres 41.0
VI. plant protection " 50.0
The targets of agricultural development agreed to in consultation with individual States are set out in Annexure I to this chapter.
MINOR IRRIGATION 11. The gross area irrigated during the Third Plan from irrigation schemes is estimated at 25.6 million acres-12.8 million acres each from major and medium irrigation works and from minor irrigation works. Of the latter, schemes financed from provisions under the community development programme are expected to irrigate about 3.3 million acres, the rest of the irrigation being secured from schemes within the agricultural programme.
Statistics relating to land utilisation are not yet available beyond 1957-58, and it is difficult to ascertain the actual increase in net irrigated area during the first two Plans as a result of the irrigation programmes which have been carried out. Minor irrigation works include a variety of schemes, some of which stabilise existing irrigation or, as in the case of drainage schemes and embankments, improve the existing irrigation without necessarily increasing the area irrigated. Allowance has also to be made for minor irrigation schemes which go out of use on account of `depreciation' or are replaced by irrigation from major and medium irrigation schemes. In the Draft Outline it was reckoned that at the end of the Second Plan the net irrigated area might be of the order of 70 million acres, increasing to about 90 million acres by the end of the Third Plan. Recent estimates appear to suggest lower figures, but the available data are far from satisfactory. There is considerable discrepancy between statistics of progress reported in respect of both large and small irrigation schemes, and those relating to land utilisation which become available after a lag of about three years. It is proposed to undertake a special investigation into these differences.
12. In the Third Plan the total outlay on minor irrigation from provisions under agriculture and community development is likely to be about Rs. 250 crores, in addition to such finance as cooperative agencies may provide. Thus, minor irrigation is one of the larger investment programmes in the Third Plan. The principal advantages of minor irrigation works are that they can be executed quickly, entail small outlays and there is only a short lag between their completion and the realisation of benefits. Moreover, they can be undertaken at the initiative of individuals and small groups and offer scope for participation by the community. Yet, it has been observed that minor irrigation programmes are tending increasingly to develop as programmes for small-scale irrigation works executed by Government agencies with little voluntary labour or participation by the people. It is of the utmost importance that for the greater part minor irrigation should be developed in all States as essentially a community programme in which local contributions in money and labour are specially stressed. When the scale of the minor irrigation programme becomes large, it involves problems of organisation, investigation and utilisation which may in some ways be even more difficult than those which arise in the case of larger irrigation works. In the early phases,of the minor irrigation programme the simpler categories of works can be taken up and the need for extended surveys is not always felt. Preliminary studies suggest that the possibilities of minor irrigation development could extend eventually to a gross area of about 75 million acres. To realise this potential, surveys and investigations should be undertaken in every State in a systematic manner for various river basins, and there should be adequately staffed investigation units working in different areas. At present few areas have minor irrigation projects which are worked out sufficiently in advance for implementation without delay.