Agricultural Development in Cachar
-
An Analytical study
Dr.P.Rajbihari Singh
Associate
Professor
Department of
Economics
When
India attained independence, a serious thought was given for the development of
agriculture by the then national leaders; and, with the launching of the First
Five-Year Plan, the agriculture in India was brought under the framework of a
well-planned programme of development. Since then, agriculture has received the
high priority in the successive Five-year Plans.
In Assam, agriculture contributes
largely to the state economy as more than fifty per cent of the working
population of the state are directly or indirectly engaged in the agricultural
sector by supporting more than 75 per cent population of the state and
providing employment of more than 53 per cent of the total work force.1 Thus the state
government is fully committed to explore the resources for agricultural
development by making use of improved seeds, adoption of modern technology and
upto date mechanised practices in diverse ways.
Referring to Cachar, the economy of
the district is basically agrarian in character. More or less 80 per cent of
the people are dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood. Paddy is the
major crop. Other important crops include pulses, oil seeds, cash crops like
jute, vegetables, etc. The agro-climatic condition of the district is most
congenial for the cultivation of paddy; and as such it is necessary to modernize
agriculture which means, boardly speaking, that the individual has the
responsive mind to innovation and experimentation; and is willing to earn and
profit by experience. In order to modernize agriculture, the measures to be
adopted are- (i) investment in human infra-structure; (ii) arrangement of
reasonable finance; (iii) provision of better inputs; (iv) diversification of
farm production; (v) regulation of distribution and; (vi) organization of small
agro-industrial townships.2 Modernization will lead necessarily to mechanization
of agriculture, and with the growth of agriculture, increasing surpluses will
be released for more productive employment in the secondary and tertiary
segments of the economy.
For an in-depth analysis of the
existing level of development in agriculture in Cachar, it is pertinent to look
into a number of parameters, like - (i) Land Utilization Pattern; (ii) Cropping
pattern and farm practices; (iii) Agricultural Productivity and Production and;
(iv) Flood Control and Irrigation.
1.
Land-Use Pattern:
During the successive periods of the
Five-Year Plans, several steps have been taken to modernize the land-use
pattern of the district; but the utilization pattern remains more or less same
signifying that substantial increase in the area under crops and
diversification of the utilization pattern is difficult to be achieved. The
land utilization pattern of the district, as shown in the following table,
indicates that in the year 2010-11, 30.56 per cent of the total geographical
area is under net area cultivation. It is clear from the table that there is a
hardly any cultivable land which is not cultivated, as shown below:
Land Utilization
Pattern in the Cachar district, 2010-11
(Area in hectares)
Classification
of Cachar Assam
Land
1. Forests 138409
(36.7 %) 1853260
(23.61 %)
2.
Barren and
Uncultivable land 27701 (7.34 %) 1408042
(17.9 %)
3. Cultivable Waste
Land 2037
(0.54 %) 76631
(0.98 %)
4. Permanent pastures
and grazing land 2600 (0.69 %) 159968
(2.04 %)
5. Land under Misc.
Tree crops and groves 17108 (4.53 %) 195840
(2.5 %)
6. Current fallow 6851
(1.81 %) 78582
(10.01 %)
7. Fallow other than
Current fallow 6071 (1.61 %) 49582
(0.63 %)
8. Net Area sown 115386
(30.56 %) 2810597
(35.80 %)
9. Area sown more
than once 45342
(12.01 %) 1349380
(17.19 %)
Source: Statistical Handbook, Assam, 2012; Govt. of
Assam
2.
Cropping Pattern:
The cropping pattern of the district
reveals that the food-grain crops dominate the cropping pattern which occupies
about 75 per cent of the total area under cultivation. The crop is grown in
three seasons, viz. autumn, winter and spring (summer). And rice is the staple
food of the district. Fruits partially pineapple and vegetables are grown in
large areas of the district. The gross cropped area in Cachar is 146219
hectares while the net shown area is 115489 hectares; and the cropping
intensity is 126 per cent in the district. The area under High Yielding variety
of rice for the year 2011-12in Cachar is given in the following table:
Area
under High-Yielding Variety of Rice in Cachar, 2011-12
(Area in hectares)
Rice Cachar Assam
Autumn 6338 185927
Winter 55662 1160526
Summer 7824 350659
Total 69824 1697112
Source: Statistical
Handbook, Assam, 2012; Govt. of Assam
It emerges from the above table that
the area under High-Yielding Variety of Rice in hectares covered by autumn rice
during the year 2011-12 was 6338 in Cachar as against 185927 in Assam. In
winter, it was 55662 hectares in Cachar, Assam being 1160526 hectares. And in
summer, the area was 7824 hectares in the district as against 350659 of Assam.
3. Agricultural Productivity:
Agricultural progress is essential
for economic development. Raiaing agricultural productivity sustains industrial
development in various ways. It enables agriculture to release a part of its
labour force for industrial employment while meeting increasing demand for food
in nonagricultural sector. It raises agricultural income, and creates rural
purchasing power to buy industrial goods, and encourages mobilization of rural
savings, which may be utilized for industrial development. It also enables
agriculture to supply food stuffs at favourable prices to industrial workers,
which in turn, lead to profitability of the new industries. As the agricultural
sector grows, “It releases increasing surpluses for their more productive
employment in the secondary and tertiary segments of the economy”. In an underdevelopment
country, like India, which is mainly agricultural and over populated, top
priority should be given to agricultural development. ‘A poor country with a
high ratio of people to land is under a severe handicap. Not only does it lack
the social structure and capital that can be substituted for land, but it can
confidently expect decline in the ratio of land to mouths’.
During the successive periods of the
Five-Year Plans in the state in conformity with the national plan objectives;
tremendous efforts have been geared up by the state machineries for increasing
agricultural productivity; and in this regard, the most remarkable steps taken
were to implement the package programmes and effect Green Revolution which
means application of High Yielding
Varieties of seeds in the fields that could be provided with chemical
fertilizers, irrigation facilities and other agricultural inputs.
The present study of the
agricultural development in Cachar shows that though steps have been taken to
establish progressive agriculture in the district, the result of the endeavour
is not satisfactory; and the agriculture has remained traditional. In fact,
with the launching of the Five-Year Plan, the district came under the impact of
successive Plan periods during which planned efforts were made for the
development of the socio-economic conditions of the masses. But, the fruits of
planning were enjoyed by the well-do-do, progressive and affluent sections of
the society. In fact, this was the general defeat of the movement. ‘It is now
an admitted fact that only those persons in the villages who have an access to
Block officials, are able to obtain Government assistance. The artisans, the
landless labourers, and the small agriculturists for whom the programme was
launched, hardly received any grants or loans, or superior agricultural inputs
or help provided by the state.’
As a result, the productivity of
crops in the district area was found to be quite low and in some cases
fluctuating and depending upon the vagaries of monsoon. The average crop
intensity of the area is only 126. The per worker productivity during the past
few years had been continuously declining.
In case of the Five-Year Plans also,
the picture is not very different. In the words of the Second Five-Year Plan,
‘the benefits of economic development must accrue more and more to the
relatively less privileged classes of the society, and there should be
progressive reduction of the concentration of incomes, wealth and economic
power’3. And, in
spite of the avowed goal of socialistic pattern of society to which all
development activities were supposed to be directed, and though there was much
talk of the socio-economic development of the masses, various agricultural and
industrial schemes undertaken to gain these objectives, the Plan efforts
brought about some tangible changes in the economic field and created an
infra-structure from which the process of advancement can be accelerated; but
unfortunately, the benefit of development and progress has not been permitted
to the lowest rung of the community.4 The Cachar
district is no exception to this.
From the above analysis, it is now
obvious that the socio-economic life of the masses has not been improved, in
spite of the developmental efforts launched during the Plan period. Most of the
people in the district live in the villages; and major portion of the rural
population are small and marginal cultivators and agricultural labourers.
4.
Flood Control and Irrigation:
One of the most menacing problems of
Assam is the occurrence of frequent and widespread floods. Every year large
area is inundated by floods causing heavy damage to standing crops valued at
several crores of rupees almost every year. The mighty Brahmaputra with its 35
tributaries in Assam and the Barak with its 9 tributaries, though the
traditional life-giver, turn into rivers of sorrow during monsoon.5 The flood
control work of the Brahmaputra Valley has been taken in the Central Plan while
the flood control work in the Barak Valley are financed out of the State Plan;
and the new scheme of Barak Dam Project to be commissioned is underway at
Tipaimukh in Manipur. With the launching of the First Five-Year Plan, the
Government of Assam had spent crores of rupees for anti-flood measures, such as
construction of embankment and channels; but the task of flood control is a
mighty one. Thus the flood control measures could do little against the raging
waters of the Brahmaputra or the Barak and their tributaries.
As the district is subject to heavy
annual flooding by the rivers, steps have been taken since the launching of the
First Five-Year Plan to save the district from the damaging floods. A lock gate
has been constructed at Rupaibali to protect both sides of the banks from the
floods. It has also made possible to protect a vast area from the raging floods
of the Barak; and arrangement has been made for drainage of the waters of the vast
area. Embankments have been raised during the last four decades extensively to
protect the riverine areas of the district from the ravages of floods.
In spite of the extensive measures
taken so far to control floods in Cachar, there have been heavy damages to
crops, property and homestead every year. Meteorologically, Cachar along with
the rest of Assam, experiences heavy rainfall ranging from 190 cm to 700 cm
annually. About 75 to 80 per cent of this downpour occurs in the four months
from June to September.6 This
water discharge with silts from the hills causes excessive spilling on the
banks resulting in water-logging in the extensive areas of the plains. Besides
the menace of floods, the district is also subjected to the fury of some other
natural calamities such as erosion of soil, occurence od hailstorm, cyclone,
draught, etc.
As agriculture continues to be a
gamble in the monsoon, artificial water supply has become the most important
pre-requisite for agricultural development. In the district, though rainfall is
very heavy during May to October, yet there is need for irrigation in the
pre-monsoon and post-monsoon; for the rainfall is not adequate for cultivation
during these periods. However, inspite of the fact that irrigation is a very
important input for the development of planned and scientific agriculture,
there has been littlen progress of irrigation in Cachar. Some Kacha Nalas were
constructed during the previous plan periods, and these have become useless.
Moreover, the areas covered under the minor irrigation projects have not been
properly maintained. The main reasons for this tardy progress in Cachar are -
(i) scarcely availability of diesel pump-sets; (ii) inadequacy of rural
electrification; (iii) non-availability of perennial water source; (iv) lack of
co-ordination among various departments and co-operation among cultivators for utilization
of the command area, and (v) povery of the cultivators.
The irrigation facilities in Assam
are also very limited; and this poor progress in irrigation has stood in the
way of the growth of multiple cropping in the State. As mentioned above, the
district area has little assured of irrigation facilities worth the name. As
such, the progress of irrigation in the area is not only slow but also utilization
of the potential is most discouraging while the irrigation charges lay outstanding.
It is also clear that most of the cultivators of the district have not become
irrigation-minded, and as such the multiple cropping pattern could not make any
headway. Here, the study further reveals that the cultivators of the district
are unwilling to go in for multiple cropping pattern on various grounds. First,
as the share croppers are being given tenancy rights, the land-holders will cultivate
their lands by employing agricultural labourers, in which case, they will
sacrifice the second and their crop of which Rabi crops will be the first
casualty. Secondly, it is the common notion of the cultivators that when more
than one crop is raised, the yield from each crop goes down, for which they
consider it wise to concentrate on one crop. Thirdly, the cultivator and his
cattle are physically incapable of raising three crops. Fourthly, it is their
common experience that is good harvest is raised for two consecutive years, the
price of paddy goes down for which it is considered wiser on their part not to
go in for multiple cropping. Besides these, there are other reasons such as
personal inconveniences, trouble over land, illness of cultivators and paucity
of funds for which lands are cultivated only for once. Though the Government
may, by fixing price, remove the fourth difficulty, yet it is not easy to
remove the other hindrances to multiple cropping.
Considering the above analysis,
there should be sufficient water supply in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon
period as the progress in irrigation in the district is meagre.Minor irrigation
schemes require outlays, yield quick results and these can be rapidly executed
with the available local resources, and it is desired that minor irrigation
schemes should be set up whenever there is scope to do so. Further, it will not
be possible to facilitate double cropping and multiple cropping without proper
irrigation facilities. Importance of irrigation in Cachar will be evident from
the fact that the main crop Sali is raised during the period from August
to December; and June to September is the period during which it is sown. It is
the main ctop which is liable ot be effected by the flood. Hence, crop diversification
with artificial supply of water is essential. Dependence on one crop is a very
unwise thing; but the system of mono-crop prevails in the district.
Thus, a motivation programme in this
respect should be taken up soon. Further, it is necessary to introduce
compulsory levy in the command area for full utilization of the potential. In
fact, the crops in the area are mostly grown under rain fed conditions.
Appropriate steps to utilize abundant surface water resources have not been
made in a systematic manner. As water is one of the most important factors
affecting agricultural production, it is necessary to ensure minor irrigation
facilities to match the proposed agricultural programmes of the area.
References:
1. Economic Survey, Assam, 2012-13; Government
of Assam.
2. Mishra, S., Modernization of Agriculture;
Indian Journal of Economics, Vol.XVIII, Part-IV, No. 1991, April 1968; Department
of Economics, University of Allahabad, p.-438.
3.
Planning Commission, Government of
India, Fourth Five-Year Plan, 1969-74 Draft.
4. Ram, Amolak,
‘Towards Socio-Economic Revolution’, the Assam Tribune, Guwahati, May
12, 1978.
5.
Dutta, P.C., ‘Floods in Assam: the
Menace and Protection Measures’, Yojana, Vol. XVII, No. 16,
Sept. 15, 1973, Publication Division, New Delhi, p. 665.
6. Cachar
District Gazetteer, Gazetteer of India, Assam State, 1991, Government of Assam,
p.-102
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