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\

!

August 1-15. 1983

R e . 1

Vol. XXXI

No. 21

Hu r a k s he t r .

, .

)

"

Improving rural infrastructute

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A numb:r of water.borne

and allied diseases have

b~nbrou3'ht under ccntrol

by constructing pucca

w~l1s in the Tural areas.

. .

j

Drinking water

Till the Fourth Plan period, rural water

supply schemes were undertaken as part of

the programmes of Community Develop-

ment and Welfare Programmes and were

supplemented by National Water Supply

and Sanitation Programme. In 1972-73, the

Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme

(AR WP) was started for the benefit of the

villages or areas where problem of drinking

water lVQS acute gh'ing preference to the

villages dominated by the people belonging

to scheduled castes and tribes and other

backward classes'.

A provision of Rs. 2154 erores has.be(ll made

for various programmes for supply of drinking

water during the Sixth Plan

- J

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vol, XXXI..

No. 21

August 1. 1983"

Sra"nna .10, 1905. ".

H u r u k s h e t r a(India's Journal of rural develorment)

CONTENTS

Editorial

T"H E"'RA -F :ID " D EV f.L O PM EN :V o f I nd ia n a gr ic ul tu re

_ . 'since independence has 'becn a.ttended by certain

disquicting [ealure-s. Pro~erbial self-sufficicncy of

our rural society has given place to their growing

.dependence of urban industry. for agricultural inputs.

While inbnsoon continues to decide the fate qf the'

,farmers, supply of electricity. diesel, iertilizers, Pesti-

cides havel

also. increased the depel1clence of farmers

on outside factors.

,.

4

7

12

17

19

IMPROVING RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

V. K. R. V. RclO

IRRIGATION SCHE:\'!ES AND sMALl.

. FARMERSA: R. PATEL

'PUERLA EXPERIMENT CAN TEACHus A LOT

LV. 'Hirevenka"(iXUlld.a~"

YUV DAL: A FORUM TO RALLYYOUTH I'OWI

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,.

f/

,

Improvingrural infrastructure

. . ,

V.K.R.V. RAO'

,

, 'and a measure of mechanisation has been largely res- .. ponsible 'for the success attained in our agricultural

production. .

Progress of Indian agriculture'

I THE PROGRESS of Indian agriculture 'has been at.,. " .1 tended by certain features which are disquieting.

One .is the growing dependence of .Indian agriculture.

on Indian industry, mainly located in urban areas .and.

'on inputs obtained .from non-local scuroes. WhHe irri-.

galion' has increa;cd water availability, this is depen- .

dcnt on monsoon behaviour and the filling up of re-servoirs

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J;:ver-green forests, social forestry in .villages, tree

plantation in, privatc holdings where. the land is not

used for any other purpose, and fodder cultivation

both in private holdings and 'in ,~iilageCOnlmonsall J

constitute a part of the strategy for lessening the fluc-

tuation element in the country's dependence on the

monsoon for its agricultural production -and power

generation. ,Above all, lo'cal intercst and motivation. . ,. . .

has to be aroused ,both in evcr-green forests and socialforestry; and it must be iJltegrated'with rural develop-

ment On'a decentralised. b~is. The tree lover move-

ment should bc extended into the rural areas with mass

participation and special enlisting of tbe youngcr ele-ments in the population, especially students and

schools as ,institutional agents.

Bane of growing inequalities

T

HE GROWTHOF AGRtCULTUREhas also been at-

tended by growing inequalities among the rural

~population. As agriculture has be~ome more capital-

intensive, the highly skewed distribution of agricuitur-

al,assets including land has played its inevitable role

in accentuating previously existing inequalities aniong

the agricultural population. Though extensive mea-

sures have been adopted for making credit and other

facilitics specially available to,the weaker sections such

as small and marginal fanners, the d'~liverysystem has

not been sufficiently effective, with the: result that it

i~ largcly the medium and large farmers who have'

recorded impressive gains from 'the progress in Indian

igriculture. While some sections. of 'agriculturallabaur have benefited in areas of extensive irrigation

and modern agricultural practices, the b.ulk of their

number have 110trecorded any progress in spite of

the. many programmes undertaken for their, special

benefit. With the absence of rural industrialisation,

the failure to upgrade rural industrial skills by

appropriate programmes imd absence of rural industrial

market, the lot of the non-agricultural workers in

rural areas' has not ShOWIlany improvement either.The grmVth of incomes, of the medium aj1d large far-

mers has !Ieii produced any multiplier effects on the

rural market or on the rest of rural il}comes, with the

urban markets meeting, the increased demand emerg-

ng from the 'higher incomes of some sections of the

cultivating population who have had a lion's share of

the dividends from agricultural development. The

result has been the growth .of the rural poor and an

oxodus of large numbers among them 'to the urban

areas in search of employment, adding to urban 'slums

and the population of the urban poor. Simultaneously

here has been a brain-arain from the rural 'areas,'add-

ng to rural stagnation and depriving the rural areas of

he skills and enterprise that conld bring about an all-round rural development. Indian agricultural progress

has also been attended by growing regional inequalities

KURUKSHETRA August 1, 1983

among the rural population bascd on the unequal dis-

tribution of irrigation facilities and its resulting con-

sequences on the extent of adoption of modern agri-

cultLirai'practiecs. Agricultural' stratcgy for the non-

irrigablc arcas of thc 'country still rcmains to be cvolv-

ed, and to be adopted even to the extent it has been

evolved.

It is. not only thc irrigatcd arcas that arc facing thcenergy problem. All the rural arcas' in the couhtry arc

facing the problem of encrgy for ,their fuel supplies,

and 'obtairLingwater fo, drinking purposes, let alone

for bathing. Dependence on oil' is expensive while

dependence on hydel energy is accomparLiedby un-

certainty. While unCertainty has thus increased even

in' the irrigate'd areas, the natural uncertainty in the

non-irrigated areas has been compounded, by the effect

of the fuel demand on the' population of trees and

adj9ining forests and consequent iIicrease in liability

to drought. ' Energy has now become a vital problem

in the realm of rural development, both in the irrigat-

ed and unirrigate4 are~s and needs urgent action fur its

solution, What we needed is decentralised production

of rural energy based on locally available resources,

rather than energy from outside. Bio-gas, small hydro-

power, solar, and wind energy' are all possible alter-

natives for such local supplies and these could be work-

ed together in an integrated fashion, arid reduce current'

dependence on electricity supplied through a grid or

,expensive diesel oil, obtained through 'domestic or

imported supplies. As pointed out by the Department

of Science and Technology of the, Government of India"Iniegrated energy system take into aceount all facets

of the decentrillised rural energy problem and for

a~y given location, imd are based on an optimum

,matching of the needs with energy availability, parti-'

cularly renewable sources. An integrated energy

, system takes into consideration not only the ' energy

need patterns; availability of' local energy resources,

but also the cultural and social habits of the people.

The intermittent and diffuse nature of some of the

single sources such as solar, wind or bio-gas can. pose

major problems in their effective utilisation. However,

mixing a' number of sucb sources to !TIeetthe specific

requirements of a rural community, 'can 'help to

allcviate this pmblem, at the sante time improve total

system efficiency and reliability. However, since local'

skills in rural areas are limited the' technologics

. employed in nitegrated energy systcms should: as faras possiblc,' be simple and require low maintenance.

The integrated energy systems could provide lighting ,

for houses and streets; fuel for cooking' and heating

.water; m~chanicalpower for pumping wa'terfor ir~i-

gation and drinking; drying of crops; chilling; mccha- '

nical power and electricity for rural industry; and, low'grade heat for, coHage industry." The problem has

been well put, but a great deal of work ha~ to be done'

5

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research-wise, commercially, - and organisationally,

before a nationally extensive programme on the lines

indicatcd can come into opcration.

Removing imbalan

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Irrigation schemes ,andsm all- farm ers

A. R. PATEL

.Bank of Baroda, Central Office, Bombay

THE IMPORTANCE OF IRRIGATION to improve the

agricultural economy in Rajasthan hardly needs,

any emphasis. Inadequate and uneven- distribution or

ainfall leading to scarci-tyconditions/drought are not

cd!)1IlIonin the ,state. There is 'one bad year during

he periOd of 4 to 5 years and -sometimes bad years

follow in succession in the district 'of Ajnier. To

overcome the problems of drought' in this distr,;ct.

he minor irrigation scheme in the area of Panchayat

Samiti, .Masuda irrigation schem,,-.in Ajmer district -

was formulated by Bank of Baroda. The main' objec-ive of the scheme was toe~ploit the available ground-- .

'Table 1

water in the area' through constructing new

w611s;deepenin," of the existing ones and by.installa-

tion of. dieseIjelectric.pumpsets. ,

'Small farmer beneficiaries

T HE MINOR irrigation scheme involving' an outlayof Rs.' 36.73 . lokhs was ilnpJcmenied during1976-to 1978. The particulars of the number of

farmers financed and the amount disbursed for diffe-

rent purposes as On September, 1978 are given inTable 1.

-

"

Purposewise and actegorywise-number of farmers an.d loan a'!louat asnetioned under Millor Irrigation Scheme,

- Masuda (Upt. September 1978) .

(Rs. in thousands)--------- -_._--- ----_ ..~

~urpos~ Small fanners Small Farmers Medium Farmers Large Farmers Total(subsid;sed)

r- . . . ,-~-- ~ , r-~-.-~ ,---'--,

No .. Amount No. o Amount No . Amount No _ - Amount No_ AI110unt----

_ .

Newly dugwells . 1 6 2 _ 839 - 0 50 2 54 - 5 3 9 2 23 , - 0 1 4 85 . 0 2 6 5 140 , 5Deepening of old /

wells G4-- 1 7 0 - 0 8 1 7 - 0 ] 8 50- 0 - 8 . 20 - 0 9 8 257 - 0

Electric Pumpsets 8 7 - - 5 2 5 - 5 1 5 ,

82- 7 79 465 - 9 ~22: 128 - 6 20 3 1202 - 7Diesel engines. 18 101 . 6 22 118 - 7 . 2 7 ' 1 4 5 - 8 7 40.2 7 4 405 - 3Plicca t J . e l d chan~le1s 1 5 00 2 0 - 0 50 0 7 - 0 90 0 H , 0 2 9 00 3 8 - 0

. mt. mt. mt.- m t . P _ c .

Total 3 3 1 1656 - I 9 5 4 71 - 9 1 63 891 - 7 51 ' 284 - 8 64 0 3304 ' 5

Small farmers-( 426) constituted 67 p", cenl "ot

the total number of farrners (640) financed under:the

scheme.. .These farmers were- financed for sinking. of .

new wells, renovation, deepening of old wells, in-

stallation of electric/diesel pumpsels and construction

of pucea field ch~nriels. The total amounl provided

to them' for - all these purposes worked!. out 10

KURUKSHETRA August I, 1983

Rs._21.28 lakhs which formed 64.4 per cent of Ihe

total amount disbursed under the' scheme_ .- -

. An evaluati~n study in October, 1978 was. con"

ciucted with' th~se objectives yiz. to quantitati'vely

estimate the increase in the (i) cropping intensity, (ii)

productivity of different crops per unit _area, . _(iii)

7

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employment generation, (iv) lotal firm output, . and

(v) level of net iucrementalincome per farmer dur-,

ing the 'post-investment period. The farmer-borro~,

wers were spread over 94 villages of Masuda

Panchaat Samiti. The degree of concentration of

farmer borrowers varied from one borrow in each 01

the 14 villages to more than 20 borrowers in each

of eight',~ilages. With 11 view to making the sample

for study truly representative of the. area and makingit free fro~ all possible prejudices, i28 'borrowers

spread in 34 villages were selec!ed at randow

for :the detailed study. Even the 34 villages were also

selected at random. However, the selection was

. confined to these villages where the number of,'

borrowers were more ,than six. Thus, the sanip'e

. of farmer population and village population constitu-

ted 20 per cent and ,36 per cent respectively. Of the'

)28 borrowers selected, at random for study, the

number of small ,farmers were 85 which formed 66.4p~r cent (Table 2),

Table 2

P~ewise and Categorywise Sample, Population

Pu rpo se Small farmers Medium Large Total, farmers farmers'

" Under Non~ Sub

sub sid y subsidy total

New wells p 50 ' 162 212 39 14 265S 10 32 42 8 3 ,53

Ii(19 '0) (20)

Deepening, of old wells P 64 72 18 ,8 98S 2' 13 15 3 2 20,

'p 105 (20'0) (20 '4)Pumpsets 37 142 106 29 277S' 7 21 ' 28 21 6 55

(19 '7)

(19 '8)

The' findings Of the, study reveal that,;ith the

irnplementation of the minor irrigati~n:'scheme, small

farmers. have indeed benefit~d in terms of bringing_

~ore area under. ip"igation, -. increasing cropping in-

tensity, .introducing changes i 'n faVour of' crops of

economic 'importance in:Te3;Smg croR productivity per

acre. Net e,ffeetof all these improvements has beenfound in the inereased net income during post-invesi-

ment period. In short, rabi cropping intensity ,nnder

It is observed that the farmers have 'commenced

inyesting more in labour, see

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,

Cropping intensitx

new wells increased substantially by.596.81per centand productivity 01 kharif and rabi crops in general

showed a rise 0138.97 per cent and 42.57 'per cent,.

respecbively. Net incremental.. income 'per lanner

during post-disbursement period was'Rs. 1436 under

new wells. Rs. 1260 under renovated wells, and

Rs. 2216 under pumpsets.

irrigation facilities in 94 viHages of Masuda Pan- .

chayat Samil!i, substantial investment has been made

by ,the.,B~nk.:.. This investment has yielded' some

benefits which have appreciably increased the ,crop~

ping intensity; crop-productivity, farm output, em-,

ployment opportunities alld ,ultimately net incre-

mental income of 'the farmer. However,' the dose'

scrutiny of the quantitative measurements of. these

paramet'ors has clearly established that the increase iii

tile cropping intensity with relerene~ to the hmd heldW ITHA VIEW.TOEX:LOlTINGthe surplus ground- " by an ~?ividuai farmer ~s appreciably lower than

, water for mereasIllg the,most urgently needod that antIcIpated III the .project. ,(Table 4).

Table 4I

Categorywise Cropping Intensity for Farmers .during Pre-and. PoSt-Investment Period

(Figures in. pare~theses-'indicat;percentage increas~ over pre.i~vestment period)

(Area in acr~s)

Cate$ort!s ./ beneficiaries Pre-Investment Post-investment

~New Deepening Pumpsets New Deepening Pumpsets

'-w e'IIs of old J~ells wells of old ivells

SmaIt farmers (SubsIdy) .2.70 4.80 4.67 4'82 0.40 5.75

(78) (33) (24)Small farmers (Non-subsidy)

, " 4'47 4'55 7.99 5 .94 6 .82 10'03(33) (50) (25)

Medium farmers 10.05 8'20 13-07 14.63 13 .43 14.86

(46) (64) (14) ,Large farmers 14,0 '5'40 12.90 21.73 - 6.'40 22 .73

(55) (19) (76)

The .investment on thecreation or improvement of

irrigation facilities either by sinking new. wells or

renovating old wells or installation of diesel/electricprimpsets must result into the' coverage of specific/

desired acreage of land under irrigation' and thereby'

under irrigated crops.' This has not 1)appened'in. the

present case as expected. TIle reasons lor this state

of affairs have been 'analysed in these, paragraphs.

The cropping inten~ity under irrigated farming condi-

tions is " function .of (i) adequate yield of water in'

he well; (ii). quality of water; (iii) types and effi-

cieney. of water liftiiig' devices; .(iv) preparation of

land so as to be capable 'oEreceiving.irrigation water

uniformly and reducing the Water losses viz.-on farin

de""lopment works"":'levelling/shaping of fielct;"field-channels, bundillg; (v) knowledge of irrigation

technology- so as to ~lcreasethe water lise efficiency;

(vi) investment capacity of the farmer to undertake

all these activities. It has been seen that while

analysing the dat,; relating to individual farmer under

study, ,one or several of these factors have been.opera-

ting which have, therefore, reflee!ed on the low level

of cropping intensity as compared to that anticipated

in the project. . It is in this onneetionvery pertinent

o 'appreciate that the wells'where the yield oE water

is low jinadequate should be examined scientifically

and steps may have to be taken .to deepen them to

increas,e the yield of water at least during 'rabi ~nd'

hot weather season. The cases where the farmers

have indicaten -that. the water i s saline, the quatity

of water should be tested during different seasons ~nd. farmers may have to be guided in respect of Ire-

'queney of use 01 this water and crOps which 'can be

. raised with this quality of water.. These farm'ers who

have been lilting water through ,shots may have to be

motivated to go for pumpsets if the yield of 'w"ter

permits them to do & C l and/or they have to be gwded

to increase the. water usc efficiency. Irrigated farm-

'ing presupposes' the completion of on-farm, develop-'

ment works such as proper levelling/shaping of laiid,

layout of field channels: bunding etc. so that ihe

water use efficiencycould be increased and more 'area

could be brought under irriiated crops.. Thus, effortshave to be. made to convince the farmers to take np

these works. The crop raising tinder irrigated farming

'is not so simple as could be thought by the farmers.

The ,subject of irrigation technology which has direct'

relevance" to the reduct{on in' water tosses, increasing

the water ,use efficiency,reducing the adverse effect of

over irrigation or under 'irrigation on crop production

has to betaughf through. demonstrations. This' also

necessitares the importance of setting up of irrigation- . . . ~

researeh-cum-demonstration Farm in the project area

or under similar agro-climatIe conditions. The farm-

, ers may, have to be advised on the availability of loan

facilities , for such, purposes so that the investment

KURUKSHETRA August 1, 1983 9

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already made in. digging wells' ca~ yield betfer resultswith little more investment on on-farm developmentworks and replacing the indigenous water-lifting devices

by pumpsets. Installation of pumps/diesel. sets shouldbe properly checked/studied so as to .avoid u,!derutilisation as also reduce available expenses .on dieseland electricity.

.Crop productivity

THE RESULTS HAVE ALSO revealed that per a~r~, productivity of various kharif and rabi crops liasincreased during post-inV'Cstment period.

/.

Table 5

Per acre productivity during Prew

and Post~In\'estment Period

(Yield in quintals/acre)

-,----~--~~--~-----,-~-------~--~--- -'--------_.---------Categories ofbel1ejidaries Pre-investment Post.investment.

3 .6,7 5 .27 4 '59

(K) (K) (iC)

~ 4.58 8 '13 5.19

( R) (R) . ( R)

3 .90 .4 .35 4.84

(K) (K) (K)

4.18 5.57 3 .39

( R) ( R) ( R)

2 '85. 3.15 3 .05

(K) (K) (K)

.4 .29 4.95 . 4.92

' ( R). ( R) ( R)

..,3 .01 .4.64 5 -49

(K). (K) ..(K)

2.99 "

2.20 6.02

( R) ( R) ( R)

Small Farmers.(subsidy)

Small Farmers (Nonwsubsidy)

Medium Farmers

Large Farmers

New

wells

Deepining

of old. . w e l f s

New Deepening Pumpsets

weils of old

we/ls

5 'JO '6 .07 6.42

(K) (K) (K)

(39) (15) ..~

"(40)

6.53 '9 .32 7'59

(R) (R) (R)

(43) (15) (46)

4 '81 5.50 5 ..13

(K) (K) (K)

, (23) (26) (6)

5 .60 - 6.67 5.87

( R) ( R) (R)

(34) (20) (73)

3 .83 .4.77 4.19

(K) (K), . (K)

(34) (51) (37)

7.96 6.10 7 :44

(R) (R) ( R)

..(86) (23) (51)

4 '59 5,96 6 .56

(K) (K) (K)(52) (28) (19)

6.39 4.20 7 '36

(R) ( R) (R)

(113) (91) (22)

K=Kharif crop

R=Rabi G : r o p(F!gw:cs i~parc.nthcsc~ indicate percentage increase o v e r pre-investment period)

However, 't)1e level of productivity is considerably

lower than th~t anticipated in the project.. The per acre

productivity is directly co-related, with 'the factors .(i)

adoption of .scientific'meth:>ds of cultivation, high-'yielding/hybrid varieties of crops, fertilizers, pesticides,_

(ii) judicious application of water-how much, when

and how, (iii) adequate.' and timely .availability .'of

"inputs-seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, .water, farm-

power including diesel/electricity, (iv) continuoUs' and

.easy -~ccessto the extension staff for. techqic~l.gu~d-

ance, (v) produdion"'Credit as warranted by cultiva-

'tion cost. The difficulty on the -availability of one

and/or othtr such things reduces the yield of '.the

crop. The present study ha~ shown that the farmers

undqr, study have indicated their difficulties .on one or.combination of .several such factors. These facts

draw the pointed attention f.or creating' a conducive

1 0

: environment and' ev.olving a mechanism whereby

theSe farmers secure all this -help fr.om~.one source.

. The irrigated farming, in sharp contrast to dry farm-ing technology, creates a'large number of employment

opportunities for tlie labour-force in the area through

various farm .operations which. have to be performed

, timely viz. weeding, application .of fertilizers, top-dress-

blg spraying 'of insecticide~, application .of water,

harvestng, thr~shing, winnowing, cleaning; .storing etc.

Not only irrigated crops require mare labour but multi.

cropping system many a times experien~es shortage of

labourers. '}j'.owever,in this study, the employment

opportuniiies on an average has increased by 8 man-

days which is significantly .Iow. The results have shown

. that investment on.kibour, seeds, fertilizers; farm-

p'.Jwer, though has increa~edto .some ext.ent, 'h~sbeen

KURUKSHE1'RA August 1. 1983

- .

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, ,

~,'

-'

2216

2367

3027 ..

3648', '

(Amount in Rs.)

Posl.investment/. . .- tC~tegorie8

co;;~iderablylow ~ compared to th:it anticipated in the ' 'of creating irrigationfa~ties haS been made, a little

project. This she

or' cost of cultivation of various crops on the basis of' ," . , - . ',,-scieritific studies. This will then have t o be through Net 'incremental incQmeloan' facilities .so that fimnersadopt padcigeof prac.:," ,', ,tices, inputs and conduct farm-opetations tiniely, The T OT~ FARM'OU:'pUT~d netincremental,~c~e

low_investment itself has resulted inio low productivity . 'per farmer has mdeed mcreased because of trnga-

of cropSjier icre, While hugelnvestrnent in the form .tiohfacilities,' :. ,.,,',,'..

, , r , Table 6 . ,~

N~ In~~1 ~m:ouiePer Farwer during ~re- aD d.~ost:'~vestmentp~o~

- N e w Deepening Pumpsets New Deepening Pu"!psets.ells of old ells , of old "

, ' .lls .-lls

Small Farmers(Subsidy) , 804 294Q 2614 ' 1436 1260

Small Fai:mers (Non-subsidy) ,I 1713 1991 3783. 1346 3304Medium Fanners' / ' 2630 2818 3899 2953 ,4035

. LarseFarmers , ,1896, 1322 . 4247 4587' 902N.B.-Net -incremental income during pdst .investment period isacidit ional over that of pre.investment period . .

However the fariD.outPut hits been the n6tresult of (1890 4ours) respectively giving the, per hour coSt of

'inter-action'of increased cropphlg intensity and increase diesel and, elec!ricity

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. ,

.-,..

"

/

-.

,.

., .,

Puebla experiment'c ~ n 'teach us a lot

" ' - '- - "..- ... . - . - . '" W " ORW' AGRICULTURE faces two problems of great-

; .urgency~the threat of an absolute :shortage of

..food"on .a global 'scale, and the fact of continuing

. low . incOmeS arid malnutrition . among most ,'of' the

,rural popuiatiOn. -ThePuebla project ~ an experic

.mental ,design to tackle both problems simultaneouS-,

ly by obtaining a large increase in yield of basic food

crop-:..in. this case, maize.--;among small farmers pro-

ducing a t subsistence. levels with traditional methOds.

,Much of the world food' is now produced On small .

fiums, where families" produce mainly. for' human

,and aIDmal conSumption Oll fami and luive. no or

little surpills to sell. The families have usually been

among the last to discard their traditional farmmg

methods and feWof them are quick to reap the bene-

fits 'of new. technology. 'On a worldwide basis, hOWe

ever, ' they, represent a vast' potential for national

development. The attention. to .these fanrilies' of

,traditional sector is crucial for, at .least.three reasonS :

(a)' Their' farms represent an impOrtant part of the

arable land in many countries, ,thus, yields must.be increased'to satisfy total foOd requirements; (b)

.In !WII1Y nations most of the human resources ~are .

employed. in. traditional agricillture and improved

agriculture is a readily'available SOurceof increased'

capital from .within;. (c) Traditional farmers make up

a 'large, porlion of the population on many countries

ami continuouS ~imProvements in their farming tech.

: niques, is,.essential for .over-all social development. .

..'- 'Tlie'project area was selected in early 1967.af;et'

,evalllcatinginformation collected in 'visitslO the areaprior to the 'maize harvest in 1966; revi~wiiig. the

results from ,earjier experiments,. and studying 'Yea.

ther. data ITom several' locirti,ons'in the region,. Mem'

bers of the intematio~al wheat.and maize improve-. ' '".

- ,I:!

.\

.~ent project~taff~played a~ey role in the initial pian.mng and settmg up of operations.', '. ' ,

, The first reqUirement forl~tion of thi; project

was an area where , maize"was tp,e principal

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the work professionally rewarding - r o the staff; and

(c) a budget that is adequate both in amount and-mic reSearch are as follows:' , , . .

(a) Gather and evaluate materials and informa-

tion related. to the technology used by the farmers

in the area.

(b) ArulIyze existing techJiology. for modifica-

tionsthat, ate most likely to 'produce increases in'

production and het inconte~' and list in order of

priority the technological questions for investiga-tion. .

,(c) Plan and eatry. out field trials based on'

, above priorities, taking into account the ecologicaldiversity of the area. '..

(d) HarVest the trials, analyze ,the data, and

expreis the results. as production functiolis,' res-ponse curves, 'or treatment means.

(~) Estimate the risks farmers take.;u using diffe-

rent levels of costly inputS, using the information

that is available on climatit variability and the

iii prices.

(f) Develop reconimendations for different'1evels

of investment . in inputs and for different ec0-

logical conditions, taking into account the expected '

risk in production and marketing.. \- . - . . .

Recommendations produced after one year of re-

search are an approxinll.tion to those needed 'in' , the'area. In regions with irrigation or very favourable

'rainfall, this first approximation may have an accep-

.table level 'of precision.' For rainfed regions with

greater eCologicaldiversitY, Continued agronomic f\l- -

search for one or more years will usually be necessary_

, Technical assistance to fanners

WIfEN ADEQUATE crop production information is-

available the. regioual agricultural programme

.should develop a system to promote farmer Use of

tbeDew technology, w)1ereby:' '.', '.

'(a) Fa:miers wolild be informed' of the new

. recommendations, of the' expectOcl,incr~asesin yield

K{jRUKSHETRA August 1, 1983

\ '

\

I

and net income, ~d of the necessity forI using all

components of the technology precisely Ito obtain

maximum results. Major colnmunication media

,used.fo~ this purposc in Puebla were: i'" / '. 'I

Radio and pamphlets : Particularly, lIserul iii ,con-

/ vipcing the moie advan~ farmers to use I,the new

technology.' Television and newspapers, were little

used in Puebla as they reach a very SIIllillrraction of

the rural population; . " I.

Vi/lage ~zeetings : EiI~ctive in reaching the\less'ad-.

vanced farmers. The. new recommendations. were

explained in detail. MovieSwere used to attr~ct peo-

ple to the meetings, t o strengthen the presentation ontecimology, and to provide farmers with infotmation

,

.on related areas of interest. :

Field demonstrations of technology : New ptacliees

demonstrated c' to: the farmers directly til the

field. Demonstrations were held at plartting tir4e ilndat the, second application of nitrogen, A group of

farmers met in a .field faf)Il'ed by a group members;

the. technician demonstrated the .new way to, plant,

fertilize; etc., and' all farmers then participated ill .the

operat!ion. -Demonstrations were particularly ~seflil

in convincing farmers,to use' the technology cotrktly..' I

" . . IInterchange of farmer groups :, Farmers of one vil-

)age invited farmers from other villages to \visit,

their plantings during the crop-growing season. Far-

mers from ihe different villages exchanged experiehcesabout maize production and other farming and rlon-

farming activities; , The technician accompanied 1 the, . ,farmers on a walking ~our of several adjoining fields,

Deficiencies and favourable. aspects of each p1antling

'were pointed' oilt and discussed. ,These group ,inter-. . I

changes contributed, to a better understandingj of

maize production and also generated discussion about

many other activities. ' , ' \

1 '

Field demonstrations' a t harvest Included. local. ~ , t

demonstrations (attended by farmers:, from a. fe:w

, 'villages) and ,regional demonstrations (attended oyfarmers from the entire ,project area). The'effects qr

different combinations of, production practices oh

,yield were i1emo~strated; along with costs and' r e ! ,turns,' obtainable from different le9hnologies. The

farmer owDing the demonstration field assistqd id .

presenfug the reslilts. \

, (b) Farmers would be a~sisted in arranging for:

the inputs needed to use the new.technology. Many\'

farmers can purchase seed, fertijizers, insetticides I

etc., with their own money, Of theY,can obtain fund \

from a lending agency. Others, ,however, are ableI

to use technology involving expensive inputs only if ,.. I

credit, is made availagle. Technicians in the Puebla ,I

I

l:i \

I1

I

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I.

project ~ssisted!llarrahging for credit and fertilizersby: . .

Organization ~f farmers illlo groups: .Indivi-

. dual small' farmers normally carniot qualify for

credit from a public or private bank. However, a

properly organized group of small farmers can

qualify. 'fl{us, in addition to promoting the new'technology,. technicians encouraged farmers who

needed credit to organize into groups.. Informa-

tion was provided about orgimizatiomil require-

ments to obtain credit from different inStitutions.. .

Establishing reliuionships between groups iiiul

credit banks: organization ~f the farmers and

" instruciii:>nson how to presentiheir request fot

credit were compiemented. by the. technicians;.

iuitial accompaniments of the group to the bank

to support their application for credit. Without

such .support .groups of small farmers often .madenumerous trips to the . bank befo~ completing

. arrangements for credit, or de9dOOthat the credit

process was too troublesome.

Developing group capability

LEADERS OF the groups Were encouraged to accept

re,

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, New team members should be instructed in th'e gene-" ,

ral aspects of the programme (philosophy, objectives, .

characteristics of the area, accomplishments, etb.) and

the specific techniques' that each . will emplot, in his

particular part of !he undertaking.. Soine of thjs train-

ing can be giv'cn in formal classes and discussibns al-'

'though most of ,it sh6uldbe dOne in the field, i-ith thetrainees assuming direct responsibility ,in th~ pro-

gramme (closely supervised by experienced pebple).

~In addition, the team members ' of, a small ,fatrner

programme should have personalities enabling them io '

gain and hold the confidence of the farmers and to,

'~work harmoniously with their' co-workers! They

shouM have the academic background and dpability

for ,'rapidly learning the technology corresponding " totheir jobs, 'for applying this knowledge effecti~eJy, and

for identifying new problems and proposing Jays to',solve dIem.

,Technical backing

. -

In Puebla, the project staff received techr\ical assis-tance from specialists at the Graduate College at'

Chapin go and Cimmyt, and from -asociologist work

P ERHAPS THE" MOS'[ C(J~lPLEX function in a regional. . agricultural programme is the co-ordination of theactivities. of farmers, programme staff and !lervicc ins-.

titutions. In. Puebla, the co-ordinator performed

three distinct but closely related roles: .

TRESTATE MEMBERSin"~ regional agricuItural

programme should interact o n a continuing basis

with liighly trained and experienced technieians who are

active in their respective fields. The field staff. Will

nornially be composed of capable young people. with

, good' fundamental preparation but with little specia-,

Jised training or previous experience. These young

technicians will need guidance from m9re experie:nced .

people in prepatjng detailed plans of operation, select-

ing the best procedures for their work, resolvmg soc\aI

and technical problems that arise during the execution

.of programmes, and analysing and interpreting the

results ottheir endeavours:

(a) Admin!stration of the progra'?lme w as res':

ponsible for' the hiring of project staff, participated in

defining policy on personal matters, approved the ~x-pendlture of furids etc.

(b) Dir~ction of the progral11l11~personally direCt-

ed the, acti,'ities of the staff in' preparation of detailed

plans of operation, on the execution of the~e plans,

and the summarizing and reporting 'of accurnplish-

ments. ,Important malters ,iffecting tlie functioning of

the programine were' fully discu'ssed by the members of

,the team before the cO'ordinator made decision.

(c) Acquisition and maintenance of the support of

the institutions that can as,sist in ",ichiGvingthe .goals of

the programme; inEormed .the representatives of, t~ rinstitutions of tho plans of the ,programme, its accomc

plishments, and (he needs ,of the fal'mers. When pro-

blems ar-ose that required action' by the institutions,

he provided relevant information and worked closely'with them in finding a solution.

1 ' b t' f" "te" . iI,lg,!,1!lt~,"p'r~.'ate organisation. Co~ntries tJ, t choosethe programme lad een opera 109 or an apprppn!, ,

period. " ..! to undertake regional agricultural programm?s o~the

Puebla type wiJ[ need to develop a group pf highlyIt can be ,argued that the function of evaluating pro- trained and experieltced technicians who cari provide

gress in an agricultural programm~ should be assigncd backing to the staffs in 'the regional programnies, ,Ini-

t o an outside agency, Regardless of how this, evalua- tially, this technical bae,k stopp~ngmight be pr~vid'ed bytion function is handled" however, it is necessary thaLa 'crops -of experts, from another country that fe fann-

the soeio-economic data collected' in the surveys be liar with local problem~, ,As the regional programmes,

made available to the programme evaluator as prompt- staffs in a country become morc experienced, however,ly as possible. the country can organise its awn team of ltechriical

. Co-ordination advisors. Thc advisory team should be a part of then'ational researcH and extension .organiZation I or of anatio~aI institution of higher educlltion J11'agricul~upe.

It is expected that the team of advisors will both pro-

vide "assis.tance to prOl!ramme -teams and p~rticipate t"

in the training of staff for su-.::hprogrammek .

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tncentlves

ON OF THE principal incentives for yonng profes-

, nals to particilPate in small farmer programmes

is the opportunity, to -use their talents for improving

the welfare of this disadvantaged sectoL Nonethe-

less, the agricultural programme should provide work-

ing conditions and opportunities that enable its staff

to ,work effectively 'and -advance professionally, includ-ilig:

(a) Salaries and prerequisites that are wmpetitive

';'ith other' employment 'oPPOltunities. '

(b) Timely availability of the necesssities for gettin~

the job done (adequat" operating' expenses for

vehicles, prompt ,purchase of equipment and sup-,

piles, revolving funds - for the purchase of sluall

items, prompt repair of vehicles and equipmentetc.) ,

(c) Enconragement to use their own initiative andinnovativeness. 'The staff ' cannot ,be 'provided

with a manual of ope~ation that covets every exi-

gency that may arise. The team members must

be encouraged to work out their own solutions

when confronted with a new' problem and to follow

up, when' necess","y, by seeking appropriate advice

from the rest of the staff and advisors, Decisive,

problem"solving should be ,encouragcd, with some

mistakes to be expected. 'as part of the process,

td) Opportunities for advancement 'outstanding

team mcmbers should have the opportunity to ad-vance both in salary and responsibilities either in the

samc ,or a different programme. AlsO,' those so

inclined should be 'assi~ted in continning advanced

,academic training after' participating for, a few

y~ars in ~n agricultural programme.,

Agricu1tural programm'ts for small farmers should'

be adequately funded, with budgets that provide for:

--' ---'

.contd, from p. 6. ,

will be' done in time to prevent conflict mid confronta-

tion growing worse, is a matter. on which it is. not pos~

sible to make a categorical forecast. . But certainly,

J'can say' that improvingi"urul transport, solutions to

,

the problem of rural encrgy, and creation of better

living condiiions in villages are all essential~teps' to

solving the, problem of ',ural India ,'and making an

iiJtegrated umt of rui"u] and urban Indian Society.

1.6 . ' KURUKSHETRA Augus~ L 1983

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,.

"

INDIA IS FACING many problems, One of theproblems is the unemployment in the educated,youth, This problem could be solved " to a great

extent by teaching the dignity of labour and provid-,

ug training to the youth in those. vocations where

self-employment is possible.

The yo~th progranune was started by the PUJija!>'

Agricultural.university; Ludhiana in the Punjab State

n the year 1972. It is based on the principles '1earne

_ng by doing', and 'earning while learning'. 'The funda-

mental' objective of this programme is to provideopportunity to the rura} youth in, the age-group of 13

to '20 --years for the all-round development of their

personality through the individual and group projects,

fun at their homes, farms, schools, etc. -The memb.?rs

of Yuvak/Yuvti Dais are imparted the practical train~

ng f u . agriculture, home ma.kitig, livestock productionand management.

Every year, a ,youth rally is held)n which the indi-

vidual and group competitions are held and the win-

ners are given a~ay the prizes, On. this occasion, the

participants are imparted knowledge through exhi-bitions demonstrations and discussions,'. On the eve

of 11th Yonth rally which was held on 'Dec. 10:11,

1982 at Punjab Agricultural University, it was tho.ught

appropriate to know the projects 'adopted by Yuv,

Dal members and to record their perception and know-

ledge regarding the youth 'programme.