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AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES

Crop Insurance

1.84 The need for crop insurance is well recognised today. A credit linked pilot crop insurance scheme was taken up by three States of West Bengal, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in 1979. By the end of Sixth Plan period the scheme was in operation in 12 States. Upto March 1984, the scheme had benefited 623,000 farmers covering an area of 692,000 hectares in these States.

1.85 It is planned to take up a comprehensive crop insurance scheme during the Seventh Plan period, beginning from Kharif, 1985. All crop loans given to the farmers by the commercial banks, cooperatives and Regional Rural Banks would be covered by the scheme, and, there would be built-in crop insurance cover in all crop loans, as part of service to the farmers. To start with, paddy, wheat, millets, pulses and oilseeds would be covered under the scheme. Some other crops would be covered in a phased manner. The rate of subsidy on premium payable by the small and marginal farmers would be 66.66 per cent, to be shared equally by the Central and State Governments. The General Insurance Corporation (GIC) would administer the scheme on behalf of the Government ot inaia inrough its subsidiaries. The State Governments would be co-insurers with the GIC, and they would share the losses and the premium income in the ratio of 1 :2. The scheme would be run with the help of Central Crop Insurance Fund, which would be set up and administered by the GIC, and the 'State Crop Insurance Funds' to be set up by the various State Governments with matching contribution from the Centre. It is strongly recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should make adequate arrangements for close monitoring of this scheme.

Storage and Warehousing

1.86 There are three main agencies in the public sector which are engaged in building large-scale storage/ warehousing capacity, namely, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs). FCI is the main agency which provides the storage capacity for food-grains,. Besides constructing its own godowns, FCI hires storage capacity from other sources such as CWC, SWC', State Governments and private parties. The main functions of the CWC and SWCs are to acquire and build warehouses at suitable places and operate them for storage of agricultural produce, fertilsers and certain other commodities. Progress of storage capacity created by various agencies during the Sixth Plan period is given in Table 1.13.

TABLE 1.13
Storage Capacity Created During the Sixth Plan
( Million tonnes)

1.87 The main causes for shortfalls in achieving the Plan target were difficulties in the acquisition of land, inadequate availability of building materials and changes made in the World Bank assisted foodgrain storage project on account of modifications in the pattern of procurement. The total storage capacity constructed by the three agencies during the Sixth Plan period is estimated to be 5.2 million tonnes.

1.88 The total covered storage capacity available with the FCI, CWCs and SWCs as on March 31, 1985 is shown in Table 1.14

TABLE 1.14
Covet ed Storage Capacity Agency-wise
(Million tonnes)

•Hired from sources other than CWC and SWCs.

1.89 It has been assumed that storage capacity would have to be built by the end of the Seventh Plan period for the stock level of 23.2 million tonnes of foodgrains—10 million tonnes of buffer stock and 13.2 million tonnes of operational stock. The storage capacity that would be needed to hold the stock of 23.2 million tonnes, taking into account the stock to be held by the the State agencies on their own, stocks of sugar/gift articles to be held by FCI and assuming the peak level capacity utilisation at 85 per cent, would be about 27 million tonnes. Against this requirement of storage capacity, the capacity available with the FCI as on March 31, 1985 was estimated at 20.0 million tonnes. In addition, it has been assumed that the net dehiring of capacity of 0.5 million tonnes may take place under the NABARD Scheme during the Seventh Plan period. Therefore, the additional storage capacity that would be needed for foodgrains by the end of Seventh Plan period would be of the order of 7.5 million tonnes

1.90 Keeping this in view, the additional storage capacities proposed to be constructed by FCI, CWC and SWCs are as indicated in Table 1.15.

TABLE 1.15
Additional Storage Capacity to be created—Seventh Plan

It is to be noted that 50 per cent of the total capacity that would be constructed by the CWC and SWCs would be available for foodgrains and the remaining 50 per cent of the capacity would be utilised for general warehousing. Therefore the total storage capacity that would be constructed be FCI, CWC and SWCs during the Seventh Plan period for goodgrains would be of-the order of 7.5 million tonnes and this would meet the requirement of additional storage capacity needed by the end of Seventh Plan period. Adequate outlay would be provided to achieve this target of additional storage capacity.

1.91 The optimum location of storage points, higher utilisation of existing storage facilities, reduction of losses incurred by the FCI and other agencies and rational planning of storage in view of regional concentration of agricultural production and consequent high transport and handling costs are the major matters which deserve serious attention in the future programme of storage and warehousing particularly in the context of the current massive procurement of foodgrains and the constraint of resources.

Rural Godwons

1.92 Against the target of 2 million tonnes capacity to be created by rural godowns by the end of the Sixth Plan period, the estimated achievement is 1.6 million tonnes. The progress of construction as well as utilisation has been unsatisfactory in some of the States and small and marginal farmers have not benefited much though this scheme was largely meant for them. A Committee was appointed in 1983 by the Department of Rural Development to review the working of this scheme. The Committee has found some reasons for the slow progress of the scheme, which are as follows:—

1. with the increasing cost of construction,the viability of the scheme has been adversely affected and thus the States are losing enthusiasm in its imple-menation;
2. farmers are not coming forward to use the rural godowns due to ignorance, smallness of their produce and cumbersome procedures involved;and
3. the non-availability of construction materials like cement and lack of proper institutional arrangements in many States.

1.93 Though this Central Sector scheme initially did not take off well, in the last two years of the Sixth Plan, it showed some progress in a number of States. The storage capacity of the rural godowns was mainly utilised for agricultural inputs. It has also been noted that although no dent has been made in respect of the problem of obtaining credit from banks by the farmers against the pledge of the produce stored in rural godowns, the godowns have substantially contributed to the better storage of inputs, thereby benefiting farmers. In the light of these observations, it is recommended that the rural godowns scheme should be continued in the Seventh Plan for the creation of additional storage capacity of 2 million tonnes, with emphasis on utilisation of their capacity for storing inputs, especially in the north eastern States and also for storage of seasonal vegetables, fish and minor forest produce, wherever possible. Also, attention would be given to the construction of low cost and high effciency storage structure, and for this purpose assistance of the National Building Organisation and its regional offices should be utilised in an increasing nifdyure. Adequate arrangements tor monitoring the scheme would be made so as to ensure that its benefits go to small and marginal farmers and other weaker sections of the society including tribals.

Agricultural Marketing

1.94 A marketing system which protects the interests of both producers and consumers is the key to agricultural development. During the Sixth Plan period, the progress of development of markets was intensified with the emphasis on survey, research and grading services. The number of regulated markets was about 5600 by the end of Plan period against 286 regulated markets on the eve of the First Plan. Four States, namely Kerala, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim have not yet enacted the necessary legislation for the regulation of markets. Further, there are about 22,000 rural markets in the country. Regulation of these markets is beset with a number of problems as many of them are owned by local bodies or private individuals.

1.95 In marketing programmes during the Seventh Plan period the main thrust will be (a) further expansion of regulated markets both in terms of area coverage and commodity coverage, (b) setting up of grading centres at producer's level for commercial crops, (c) intensification of surveys to assess the marketable surplus and the post-harvest losses, and (d) strengthening of various organisations in the States as well as at the Centre for meeting the rising requirments of training for market functionaries.

1.96 Further, State Governments should take suitable legislative measures for strengthening and streamlining agricultural marketing facilities. State Agriculture Marketing Boards should be strengthened with survey, planning and design and engineering cells. The Agriculture Produce Grading and Marketing Act 1937 may be amended suitably to add new commodities to the Schedule. More items of mass consumption like Suji and Maida should be brought under the scheme of voluntary grading. Steps may be taken to bring agricultural commodities under compulsory quality control before export. Greater attention has to be given to the development of markets for perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables and livestock products. The targets contemplated for the Seventh Plan are development of additional 200 regulated markets, 50 terminal markets for fruits and vegetables and 1500 primary rural markets.

Agricultural Statistics

1.97 The kind and quality of agricultural statistics being collected in the country have been under continuous review with a view to not only improving them in terms of coverage and reliability but also extending collection of statistics to new areas. As a result, there has been a steady increase in the area covered under land use reporting and the extent of crop production estimates based on scientific crop cutting experiments. The scope and diversity of agricultural statistics being collected in the country has also expanded. The land use statistics are now availble for 304.2 million hectares or 92.5 per cent of the total geographical area. Most of the nonreporting areas are located in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and in the hilly tracts of Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.

1.98 In order to improve the quality and timeliness of advance estimates of area and yield of crops which serve as broad pointers for policy formulation, an Expert Committee was constituted during the Sixth Plan period. The Committee indentified two types of advance estimates, viz., (a) pre-harvest estimates prepared before the crop harvest, and (b) the quick estimates prepared after pre-harvest but before the issue of the final estimates. According to the recommendations made by the Committee, while the 'pre-harvest' estimates are to be improved through better organisation and use of intelligence agencies under the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, an increase in the sample size of ICS* supervised experiments is considered necessary for improving the 'quick' estimates.

1.99 Most of the Sixth Plan schemes for collection and improvement of agricultural statistics are proposed to be continued during the Seventh Plan period. These are: agricultural census, cost of cultivation studies, crop estimation surveys for fruits, vegetables, etc., improvement of irrigation statistics, agro-economic research, computerisation of agricultural statistics and schemes for timely reporting of area and production, improvement of crop statistics and establishment of agency for collection of agricultural statistics. More crops will be covered under the cost of production studies during the Seventh Plan period besides extending the scheme to some State not covered so far. Further, only 10 States have taken up the scheme for estimates of production of fruits and vegetables. It is expected that some of the non-participating States would also take up the scheme during the Seventh Plan period. The scheme for establishment of an agency for collection of agricultural statistics which is in operation in West Bengal, Orissa and Kerala is proposed to be further consolidated. Steps initiated in the Sixth Plan period for computerising agricultural statistics for quicker analysis and delivery would be strengthened and streamlined. Attention is also being given to the various aspects of possible use of remotely sensed data relating to land use, cropping pattern etc., that would be collected in the coming years through satellites.

1.100 The need for detailed information regarding the yield of irrigated/unirrigated crops and high yielding/local 'Improvement of Crop Statistics. varieties has been felt for sometime. Some States like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir have already introduced necessary stratification in the design of crop estimation surveys for the purpose. Of late, State Governments have also been realising the need for block level yield estimates in the context of decentralisation of planning and crop insurance schemes undertaken by them as also for conversion of short-term credit into medium-term and medium-term into long-term loans in the event of natural calamities. Both these requirements would be met substantially if the number of crop cutting experiments done every year is raised from the present level of 2.5 lakhs to 5 lakhs as recommended by the Committee set up by the the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to suggest scientific methods for assessing crop yields in areas affected by natural calamities.

1.101 Sectors closely related to agriculture, namely, horticulture, animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries have uptil now received even less attention in the matter of building up statistical base than crop husbandry. These sectors are now receiving greater attention for planning and development. Data base in regard to production of livestock products, economics of livestock, poultry and sheep rearing etc. needs strengthening. Similary forest statistics are gaining importance in the context of the increasing demand for fuelwood, timber and other products, protection of environment and optimum use of forest areas. Fishery statistics are also increasingly required in terms of economic utilisation of water resources, optimum return from marine fisheries, economic conditions of fishermen and so on. The tempo of growth in these sectors is being greatly accelerated. The requirement of statistical data would, therefore, increase immensely. Greater attention will, therefore, have to be given to the collection of requisite data in respect of these areas.

Disaster Management

1.102 Due to its geographical location and resultant climatic features, India is often affected by severe natural calamities like floods, cyclones and droughts. With the increase in population and the expansion of human settlements, the threat to life and property has increased on account of such disasters. So far, the focus of attention to meet such situations has been to provide relief to the affected population on an ad-hoc basis with very little effort being made for preparedness against natural disasters. Large sums of money are being spent only on the provision of relief.

1.103 Human misery and economic losses resulting from natural calamities can be reduced to a great extent through advance planning and preparedness. In this context the Seventh Plan will aim at the building up of an effective system of disaster preparedness and management, taking advantage of the technologies available for weather forecasting. For this purpose, the approach will be mainly based on the following measures:—

1. zoning and mapping of vulnerable areas;
2. land-use regulations;
3. early warning and communication;
4. community preparedness; and
5. contingency planning.

1.104 Although the subject of management of natural calamities is the primary responsibility of the State Governments, the' Central Government is expected to extend the necessary assistance in the implementation of programmes designed for disaster preparedness, in view of the technical requirements on the one hand and the paucity of resource with the State Governments on the other.

1.105 It was proposed to establish during the Sixth Plan period a National Bureau for Management of Natural Calamities with an outlay of Rs. 10 crores. The Bureau which was to function as a professional organisation for assisting the Government in disaster preparedness, could not be established during the Sixth Plan period, but considerable spade work was done in this direction. It is necessary that urgent steps are taken to establish the Bureau as a Central Sector Scheme during the Seventh Plan period.

1.106 For efficient management of drought situations, the focus would have to be on the establishment of fodder banks and seed banks, storage of essential inputs like fertilisers and chemicals and purchase and maintenance of fast drilling rigs for drinking water supply. In the case of floods and cyclones, closer attention would be given to strengthening of arrangements for forecasting warning and communication systems, purchase of equipment for rescue and relief operations, construction of cyclone shelters and training of personnel in disaster management measures.

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

1.107 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an apex organisation for sponsoring coordinating and promoting research, education and extension education activities in agriculture and allied fields. The Council operates within the framework of Central Institutes, State Agricultural Universities and a few public, quasi-public and private institutions for carrying out multi-locational testing of research results through the unique mechanism of 66 All-India Coordinated Research Projects.

Priority Areas

1.108 During the Seventh Plan period, the following will be the priority areas in the field of agricultural research and education:

1. reducing the gap between potential and actual yields by evolving new varieties/strains of crops, incorporating multiple resistance against pests and diseases, saline and alkaline soils, droughts and floods;
2. evolving technology acceptable to the farmers in the low land and upland areas for increasing rice production and productivity;
3. evolving suitable dryland technology for each blocks or group of blocks in the predominantly rainfed States, taking risk factors into consideration:
4. varietal breakthrough in pules and oilseeds;
5. conservation and planned exploitation of germ-plasm resources of plants, animals and fisheries to broaden genetic base for improvements;
6. human resources development with special emphasis on weaker sections of the society;
7. strengthening of the activities in respect of biotechnology; and (h) greater research support to agro-meteorology.

Sectoral Programmes in the Seventh Plan

1.109 Crops: Application of improved technologies developed during the Sixth Plan period has made significant impact on overall production in the country. In the case of rice, there are varieties now available, which are resistant to major pests like brown plant hopper, gall-midge and diseases like leaf blight and tungro virus besides the varieties developed for upland, saline and water-logged conditions. During the Seventh Plan period exploitation of hybrid vigour in rice will be taken on a priority basis, and efforts intensified to develop suitable crop varieties and production technology for upland and lowland areas particularly of eastern India.

1.110 In wheat, new varieties of Durum wheat have been developed with high degree of resistance to rust. A suitable technology has also been introduced for weed control in wheat, permitting cultivation of this crop in non-traditional areas like West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Orissa, Efforts would be intensified to provide adequate research support to the non-irrigated wheat in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

1.111 In regard to coarse cereals, suitable varieties and proper management practices are yet to be evolved for growing maize and sorghum in rabi season, already becoming popular in Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

1.112 In regard to horticulture and plantation crops, work on control of chronic maladies concerning mango, apple, citrus, guava, vegetables, pepper, cardamom etc., will be taken up on a mission oriented basis.

1.113 The thrust in pulses and oilseeds production has yet to gain momentum although several improved varieties have been developed for using them in different multiple and inter-cropping systems. In pulses, improved varieties with yield potential of 20 to 25 quintal/hectare (gram and arhar) and early maturing varieties have been released besides, developing disease resistant varieties in gram, mung, peas, etc. In oilseeds, the major emphasis has been on groundnut, rapeseed and mustard which contribute over 80 per cent of the edible oil production in the country. New varieties showing resistance to diseases besides having high oil content have been developed. Work has also been undertaken on other oilseed crops like soyabean, sunflower, safflower, sesa-mum, linseed and castor. In the Seventh Plan, efforts would be geared to broadening the genetic base to achieve varietal breakthrough and at the same time work for incorporating resistance against major diseases in different oilseeds and pulse crops.

1.114 Natural resources: About 8 million hectares of land have already been surveyed by reconnaissance and semi-detailed surveys. The ecological system, however, continues to be under severe stress due to rising human and livestock population. The very resource base of production is under threat. There is thus an urgent need for preparing resource inventories region by region and develop land use patterns to maximise production on a sustained basis. During the Seventh Plan period, a greater thrust is required towards perfecting the inter-cropping and multiple cropping systems suitable for different agro-climatic situations. Developing alternate land use system to replace shifting cultivation in north-eastern hill States and tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa using watershed management approach would continue to receive priority. The work done so far on water management has found little application under actual farm situations. Emphasis will, therefore, have to be more on applied aspects as well as on problems of drainage and rising water table. Similarly, not much work has been done to monitor changes in weather pattern as affecting agriculture and develop suitable models for different situations. Accordingly, a strong research programme in agro-meteorology will be a new priority area.

1.115 Inputs: An important aspect of future research is to increase the fertiliser-use efficiency. Only 20-30 per cent of the applied nitrogen is actually utilised by the plants. The balanced is lost due to denitrification and leaching. There is thus an urgent need to strengthen research on nitrogen-use efficiency, particularly under humid conditions and phosphorous-use efficiency, and tackle micronutrient deficiencies appearing under intensive agriculture. Biological fixation of nitrogen will be an important area for research in the coming years. Concerted efforts need to be made to expand the range of plants that can utilise atmospheric nitrogen and grow without applying nitrogenous fertilisers.

1.116 Agricultural engineering: There is need for selective mechanisation to enhance yields and to minimise losses. Prototypes already available have not yet reached the farmers due to absence of proper manufacturing set-up. Research would thus continue to develop and improve appropriate equipment and machinery for the whole range of crops and cropping systems. This would cover action for safe and economic collection, handling, processing and transport of animal wastes as also re-cycling of processed wastes for promoting integrated nutrient iirr

1.117 Animal sciences: Research in animal sciences has been primarily related to the improvement of productivity of indigenous breeds of livestock and to evolving new breeds with high production potential and adapted to tropical environmental conditions. This will be intensified during the Seventh Plan period. In regard to poultry production, research effort will be directed to further improvement of layer and broiler strains through alternative breeding strategies. In the case of sheep, goat and fur animals, there has been substantial improvement in the production of wool and meat and progress in the introduction of new fur animal species especially lamb-pelt sheep and skin rabbits. During the Seventh Plan period attention will be given to improving carpet wool production and quality especially through selection of important indigenous breeds and pelt production in sheep through crossing with Karakul. Research on other livestock species, viz., camel, yak, mithun and equine, initiated during the Sixth Plan period, will also be intensified.

1.118 In animal health, there has been little emphasis on development of systems for monitoring, surveillance and forecasting of important animal diseases except in the case of Foot and Mouth Disease. This will receive attention during the Seventh Plan period. Work on diseases such as Thielariasis, Mycotoxicosis and other emerging diseases will be taken up. Emphasis will also be laid on utilisation of newer biotechologies such as genetic engineering in viruses, tumor immunology and immuno-parasitology. For this a Biotechnology Centre is being set up at the Indian Veterinary Research Insititute (IVRI), and research projects in other Institutes and Agricultural Universities will be encouraged in these areas.

1.119 Fisheries: In inland fisheries, the major thrust would be on capture fisheries, cold water fisheries, brackishwater fish culture and acquaculture engineering. Research will also be undertaken on the genetic improvement of carps, control of fish diseases and environmental monitoring. In marine fisheries, research would includes study of the fisheries resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and development of open sea culture systems. Fisheries technological research would lay emphasis on harvesting technology suitable for inshore and off-shore fishery resources and inland water, development of technology for diversification of marine products and research on fuel saving devices for mechanised fishing boats.

1.120 rransfer or tecAino/ogy; The'transfer of technolo-gy programme of ICAR involves four major projects, namely National Demonstrations, Operational Research Projects (ORP), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) and Lab-to-Land Programme. About 2500 National Demonstrations in 47 districts are being conducted annually while 38 Operational Research Projects with 94 centres are opening throughout the country. In addition, 89 KVKs and 8 Trainer Training Centres (TTC) have already been established as innovative vocational training institutions. In the second phase (1982-84) the Lab-to-Land programme covered 75,000 small and marginal farming families and landless agricultural labourers. During the Seventh Plan period, more emphasis will be given to demonstration of improved production technology in pulses and oilseeds grown under rainfed conditions. The emphasis in operational research projects will gradually shift towards identification of cultural, economic, technological, and institutional constraints limiting crop production. The success achieved in the establishment of KVKs should inspire the Central and State agencies to plan for having more such units. The Lab-to-land programme would be continued with suitable modifications.

1.121 Agricultural Education: The ICAR operated 18 schemes under the agricultural education programme covering 3 major aspects, viz., (i) institutional development, (ii) qualitative improvement of agricultural education and research; and (iii) manpower development. All these programmes are proposed to be continued during the Seventh Plan period with the necessary modifications in the light of experience. New advanced centres for post-graduate agricultural research and education would be set up to cover more disciplines. Courses in agricultural management would be introduced in NAARM to develop appropriate understanding of the emerging disciplines. Human Resources Development will receive additional emphasis.

1.122 NARP: The National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) has extended in dimension, covering 22 Agricultural Universities in 16 States, for which 67 sub-projects have so far been cleared for strengthening regional research capabilities of the participating universities and expanding training faclities at the two ICAR Institutes, namely, NAARM and IARI. This project would be continued and would also include horticulture, animal nutrition, animal health and transfer of technology for strengthening each regional research station.

1.123 Bio-technology: The importance of organising basic research programme in the field of bio-technology as applied to agriculture and allied sectors needs hardly any emphasis in view of the immediate need for breaking yield barriers in the major food crops, reducing dependence on non-renewable sources of energy and developing resistance to pests and diseases in plants and animals. This field of research has received considerable impetus with the establishment of the National Bio-technology Board. In pursuance of the policy of the Board, ICAR has developed short-term and long-term programme in biotechnology covering molecular biology, plant tissue culture, biological nitrogen fixation,protoplast fusion, recom-binant DNA technology, immunological bio-techniques in reproduction and fertility improvement of cattle and buffalo, embryo transfer technology, and genetic engineering in viruses. Research on bio-technology would be organised at the three National Research Centres—one each in crop production, animal production and animal health, as also through agricultural universities in a few selected locations.

1.124 Weaker Sections and Backward Areas: The ICAR is operating 12 schemes meant for the development of SC/ST farmers and other farmers living in backward areas. These would be continued and strengthened during the Seventh Plan period.

CO-OPERATION

1.125 The Co-operative movement was started in India primarily as an alternative credit source to the village money lenders. However, over the successive Five Year Plans considerable expansion and diversification took place and the co-operatives now cover the entire spectrum of activities in the rural areas. According to the latest available estimates, in 1982-83 there were 94,089 primary agricultural credit societies with a membership of 63.5 million. The number of borrowing members was 22.8 million, which worked out to 36 per cent of the total membership. Their working capital stood at Rs. 4841 crores as on June 30, 1983. Further, the short-term credit advanced amounted to Rs. 1908 crores and the medium-term and long-term investment credit amounted to Rs. 660 crores.

Review of Sixth Plan

1.126 The progress in the accomplishment of the Plan targets in respect of important co-operative programmes is given in Table 1.16.

1.127 While all round progress has been made in the field of credit by co-operatives, a few disquieting features deserve special mention. Although there has been an appreciable increase in the flow of co-operative credit, there is no perceptible improvement in the recovery of loans, and overdues have continued to be high at various levels of credit structure even though the crops have been good in some years. The ratio of overdues to demand at primary agricultural credit societies level increased from 41.4 per cent in 1980-81 to 43 per cent in 1981-82 and came down only margainally to 40.9 per cent in 1982-83. The overdues in the short-term credit structure assumed alarming proportion in the North Eastern States. As for the primary land development banks, the percentage of overdues was 51 in 1980-81. It came down to 41 in 1981-82 mainly due to the blocking of old loans and again increased to 43 in 1982-83. In the long-term loaning sector, the problem of mounting overdues almost crippled the land development banks in 9 States, viz., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

1.128 The reorganisation of primary agricultural credit societies into viable units has been completed in all States except Gujarat, Maharshtra and Jammu and Kashmir. However, even in the States where the reorganisation has been completed, no substantial increase in the loaning business has been witnessed. Out of 94,089 primary agricultural credit socieities in the country in 1982-83, only 66,000 societies had full time paid Secretaries. About 34,000 societies were running at loss. The Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD) had made a number of recommendations for toning up the credit structure at various levels and particularly for developing the primary agricultural credit societies into multipurpose viable units. However, by and large, these recommendations have not been implemented by the State Governments. While the Sixth Plan target for disbursement of short-term loans for the country as a whole is likely to have been accomplished, there have great been regional disparities. The eight States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan account for about 80 per cent of the total credit disbursed. The per hectare short-term credit disbursed varied from Rs. 4 in Assam to Rs. 718 in Kerala (Annexure 4). The removal of regional disparities has assumed added importance with the introduction of the programme for Intensive Production of Rice in six eastern States and the consequent need for expansion of credit disbursement in these States.

1.129 A major development in the field of credit during the Sixth Plan period was the setting up of National Bank

TABLE 1.16
Progress of Co-operative Programmes—Sixth Plan

for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in July 1982. NABARD has now emerged as an apex national institution accredited with all matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agricultural and other economic activities in the rural areas. It is, however, necessary to introduce flexibility in policies and simplify procedures and practices.

1.130 The share of the co-operatives in total fertilizers distribution has shown a marginal increase from 46 per cent in 1979-80 to 47 per cent in 1984-85. The limiting factors have been the induction of public sector agencies like Agro-Industries Corporations and private trade, inadequate availability of co-operative credit due to high overdues, the high interest rate on bank credit and inadequate margins available to the co-operatives for fertilizer retailing.

1.131 The value of agricultural produce marketed by co-operatives which was of the order of Rs. 1,750 crores on the eve of the Sixth Plan is reported to have increased to Rs. 2,700 crores by the end of 1984-85. The development of agricultural cooperative marketing, however, has been very uneven among different States. The agricultural produce marketed per hectare ranged from Rs. 8 in Rajasthan to Rs. 509 in Maharashtra (Annexure 4). The six States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnata-ka, Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh contributed 81 per cent of the overall achievement.

1.132 The Sixth Plan laid great emphasis on the development of professional manpower and appropriate cadres to man the managerial posts, and for this purpose, recommended intensification of cooperative education and training programmes and their increased linkages to the growing and diversified needs of the various sectors of the co-operative movement. 5,165 senior level personnel and 38,137 intermediate personnel received training in the Vaikunth Metha National Institute of Co-operative Management and 17 co-operative training colleges and 87 junior level co-operative training institutions. Too much dependence on Govermnment funds has been a major constraint in the expansion of co-operative training and education programmes. Also, evaluation of the training programmes has not been given due attention.

1.133 In short, the progress made under the various co-operative programmes during the Sixth Plan period presents a mixed picture. Although quantitatively substantial progress has been made under the various programmes and the targets laid down in the Plan have been more or less achieved, a number of shortcomings have also been noticed in the implementation of these programmes. In spite of the sizeable assistance provided to the co-operatively weaker States particularly in the North Eastern Region, the co-operative movement in these States has not yet picked up. By far the most serious lacuna has been the continued existence of high levels of overdues in a large number of States which has eroded the overall viability of primary co-operatives and has also adversely affected other fields of activity like marketing of agricultural produce, supply of agricultural inputs and distribution of consumer goods.

Strategy for the Seventh Plan

1.134 Co-operative development under the Seventh Plan will embody the following main tasks:

1. comprehensive development of primary agricultural credit societies to function as multi-purpose viable units;
2. realignment of the policies and procedures of co-operativs to expand the flow of credit and ensure supply of inputs and services particularly to the weaker section;
3. taking up of special co-operative programmes for implementation in the underdeveloped States specially in the North Eastern Region;
4. strengthening the consumer co-operative movement in the urban as well as rural areas so that it can play a pivotal role in the public distribution system; and
5. promoting professional management and strengthening of effective training facilities for improving the operational efficiency.

Targets of selected programmes

1.135 Targets of selected programmes of co-operative development envisaged for the Seventh Plan Period are indicated in Table 1.17

Credit

1.136 The primary agricultural credit societies are the sheet-anchor on which the entire co-operative structure rests. They not only supply short-term, medium-term and long-term credit but also undertake marketing of agricultural produce, supply of agricultural inputs and distribution of consumer articles. This would call for considerable strengthening of the primary agricultural credit societies, through appointment of a minimum complement of staff and provision of physical facilities. It is also essential to augment the internal resources of the cooperatives by way of deposits. In this context effective measures are required to be taken to improve their recovery performance.

1.137 The major thrust during the Seventh Plan period would be to ensure adequate flow to the weaker sections of the population and to the less developed areas. For this purpose radical changes are required in the procedures and operational formalities followed for sanction and disbursement of credit. Credit for production, investment and consumption would be provided through a single window. Steps would be taken for the integration of short-term and long-term credit in a phased manner. The existing policy of separate water tight compartmenta-lisation of the two credit structures would have to be given up. To give effect to the one window approach, the short-term credit structure would also provide investment credit and similarly the long-term credit structure would also provide production credit.

1.138 Special measures would be necessary for increasing the flow of credit in the States where the movement is weaker, particularly in the north eastern region. Assistance would be provided to the cooperative institutions in these States to strengthen their capital base through share-capital contribution and managerial subsidy. This would improve their borrowing capacity from the NABARAD. Similarly, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes constitute the weakest sections of the society and they need special support to enable them to avail themselves of institutional credit facilities.

1.139 For improving the recovery climate and reduction of overdues, greater stress would be laid on the supervision over proper utilisation of the loans and provision of extension services. Special recovery campaigns would be undertaken and coercive methods would be used against wilful defaulters. Alongside, it would be necessary to ensure that loans would continue to be provided to the non-defaulting and new members.

1.140 A pilot scheme of mobile credit delivery system would be started for taking the co-operative banking system to the very door steps of the farmers. Under this scheme agricultural officers would be appointed to take

TABLE 1.17
Targets of Co-operative Programmes—Seventh Five Year Plan

care of primary societies/branches of commercial banks for a group of villages. These officers would be expected to go to the villagers, assess their credit requirements and sanction the loans on the spot as also provide the necessary technical guidance to the farmers. They would also be responsible for the recovery of loans.

Cooperative Marketing

1.141 The Seventh Plan would aim at strengthening the primary marketing societies and making their activities broad-based. While the cooperatives would continue to be the main institutional agency for procurement operations on behalf of the Government and commodity Corporations, they would also be developed to undertake commerical/outright business operations in important commodities not necessarily covered under the Price Support Programme. In other words, the endeavour will be to ensure that the marketing cooperatives are engaged in business throughout the year and not for limited periods just to facilitate the procurement operations. It is proposed to forge effective links between the marketing cooperatives and public sector commodity corporations such as the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and Jute Corporation of India (JCI). Close coordination would also be effected among the marketing cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, Civil Supplies Corporations and the public distribution system.

1.142 Considering their pre-dominant role in the disbursement of production credit, the infrastructural facilities available with them and the coverage of interior/remote areas, there is need for increasing the share of cooperatives in the overall distribution of fertilisers and other inputs in the country and developing them as composite input distribution centres. It is envisaged that by the end of Seventh Plan period the cooperatives would undertake the retail sale of fertilsers to the extent of 8.3 million tonnes, with their share in the overall distribution of fertilisers rising from 47 per cent in 1984-85 to 55 per cent in 1989-90,

1.143 The non-availability of adequate credit at reasonable rates and margins has been a serious constraint in expansion of cooperative marketing activities including input distribution. To expand the role of cooperatives in the distribution of inputs, it would be necessary for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide refinance facilities to the State Cooperative Banks in respect of distribution credit provided by them to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACs) for undertaking cash sales of fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and agricultural implements. Similarly, the credit policies of the RBI have to be suitably oriented to help the cooperatives in developing their business in the marketing of agricultural commodities not necessarily covered by the price support operations. The RBI should also consider providing special line of credit on concesional rate of interest, reduced margin of security and credit period in excess of 90 days in respect of marketing and procurement operations.

1.144 The cooperative distribution of fertilisers should be considered as a service activity and not as a trading activity. During the Seventh Plan all the reorganised viable primary agricultural credit soceities would establish farmer service centres which would undertake the distribution of the entire range of agricultural inputs including chemical fertilisers, improved and hybrid varieties of seeds, pesticides and agricultural implements.

Cooperative Processing

1.145 The major weaknesses noticed in the working of the coopertive processing units, particularly rice mills and fruit and vegetable processing units, have been the under-utilisation of capacity and deficiencies in technical and financial management. The cooperative processing units would be required to focus their attention on removing these weaknesses in the Seventh Plan so that they emerge as useful organisation for providing better return to the producers for the raw materials supplied to them, particularly by the oilseeds growers. In this connection the NDDB* pattern of cooperative processing by the growers would be emulated.

Cooperative Storage

1.146 Considering the dimension of storage problems in rural areas and to meet the growing needs and challenges of the food production and distribution fronts, it is envisaged that during the Seventh Plan period an additional storage capacity of 2 million tonnes would be created in the cooperative sector. Out of about 94,000 primary agricultural credit societies, about 40,000 societies have been equipped with their own godowns. During the Seventh Plan period efforts would be made to provide the remaining societies with godown facilities.

Consumer Cooperatives

1.147 Steps would betaken to accelerate the growth of consumer cooperatives in the Seventh Plan to enable them to play effectively the pivotal role assigned to them in the distributive trade both in urban and rural areas and in the public distributive system. Under the programme of urban consumer co-operatives, it is planned to cover all the State capitals and metropolitan cities having a population of 1 lakh and above by setting up department stores of varying sizes according to local requirements. It is proposed to increase the number of department stores from 330 at the end of Sixth Plan to 430 by the end of Seventh Plan. In addition, it is proposed to assist Primary Consumers' Cooperative Stores/Wholesale/Central Consumer Cooperative Stores in setting up 700 large/small-sized retail outlets so as to increase the number of such outlets from 31,960 at the end of Sixth Plan to 32,660 by * National Dairy Development Board. the end of Seventh Plan. Alongside, efforts would be made to streamline the programme of distribution of consumer articles in the rural areas through cooperatives. Out of 94,000 primary agricultural credit societies, 43,296 societies have so far been covered under the rural consumer cooperative programme. It is contemplated to cover all the reorganised viable primary agricultural credit societies under this programme during the Seventh Plan period. A project approach for a cluster of villages to identify the needs of primary stores/societies for infrastructure, margin money, etc., will be followed.

1.148 Steps would also be taken to foster close operational coordination among the urban consumer cooperatives, village societies and agencies concerned with the production, procurement and distribution of consumer goods for effective distribution. The National/ State Consumer Federations would be strengthened to ensure a regular supply line to the retail structure. It is proposed to establish regional distribution centres, to centralise the purchasing of all the consumer cooperatives working in specified regions in order to achieve better bargains in prices and to allow these institutions to concentrate on selling. Steps would also be taken to build up a cadre of key personnel to hold managerial and supervisory positions so as to improve operational efficiency in consumer cooperatives.

Cooperative Training and Education

1.149 The cooperative training and education programmes would be intensified and increasingly linked to the growing and diversified needs of the various sectors of the cooperative movement. The capacity of the Vaikunth. Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management is proposed to be increased from the present level of 5000 to 6000 in the Seventh Plan. Similarly, the training output of cooperative colleges located in the different States would be increased to 51,800 in the Seventh Plan against 38,000 in the Sixth Plan through effective capacity expansion of the existing 17 colleges and the setting up of three more colleges. The number of junior cooperative training centres is proposed to be raised to 150 by the end of the Seventh Plan from the existing 83 centres.

ANIMAL HUSBANDARY AND DAIRYING

Review of the Sixth Plan

1.150 The development of animal husbandry is envisaged as an integral part of a sound system of diversified agriculture. Increases in the productivity of milch cattle were sought to be achieved during the Sixth Plan period through the establishment of 500 key village blocks and 122 intensive cattle development projects. Cross-breeding of cattle with exotic dairy breeds was accelerated through the establishment of forzen semen stations in different States. The herd registration scheme with its  three units in Punjab, Kerala and Assam was continued for locating superior germ plasm of selected recognised breeds of cattle and buffaloes.

1.151 At the Central Poultry Breeding Farms, poultry layer strains like HH-260 and BH-78 were evolved and released to the commercial farms. The I.C.A.R. also evolved high egg-laying strains like ILI-80 and fast growing broiler strains such as IBL-80 and IBB-80 for release. For the marketing of eggs, 111 egg and poultry production-cum-marketing centres were established during the Plan period. A National Hatchery Registration Programme was also introduced during the Plan period to enforce production and supply of quality chicks of both layer and broiler types.

1.152 At the end of Sixth Plan period, there were 14,849 veterinary hospitals and dispensaries in the country, as against the target of 14,088. Besides, 19,286 veterinary first aid centres were established, as against the Plan target of 18,483, to provide animal health facilities near the doorsteps of farmers. For disease diagnosis, establishment of five regional disease diagnostic laboratories was taken up at Gurgaon, Patna, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Jhansi. For disease surveillance, animal disease surveillance centres in 12 States were established during the Plan period.

1.153 In regard to sheep development, the Central Sheep Breeding Farm, Hissar, supplied 2,460 rams to the various State sheep breeding farms for multiplication and distribution of breeding material to the breeders for upgrading their flocks in the field. To give price incentive to the shepherds, sheep and wool marketing federations operated in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir during the Plan period.

1.154 The Central Fodder Seed Production Farm, Hessarghatta, was fully developed and it reached a production level of 1,600 quintals of improved seeds per annum. Another such farm was established at Barpetta in Assam during the Plan period to be run by the State Farms Corporation of India. The seven planned stations for forage production and demonstration located in the different agro-ecological regions of the country proved quite effective in technology transfer and in helping the State Governments in their fodder popularisation programme.

1.155 The Operaton Flood II Project started operation in 21 States and 4 Union Territories (Goa, Andaman, Pondicherry and Mizoram). The major thrust of this project was to disperse dairy development activity and implement it through a three tier cooperative structure. Thus, the producer became an active participant in the functioning of the various milk plants. 29,000 village milk producers' cooperatives were organised to cover and benefit 3.18 million farm families with an average rural milk procurement of 5.53 million litres per day. Further, the World Bank-assisted, integrated cattle-cum-dairy development projects were completed in the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. Also, three Centrally Sponsored Dairy Development Projects were implemented in the districts of (i) Darrang, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar, (ii) Cacher (Assam), and (iii) Jammu (J and K) so as to develop areas not covered by the Operation Flood II project. To make available the trained technical manpower for implementing the various dairy projects, an Institute of Rural Management was set up at Anand (Gujarat) during the Sixth Plan period.

1.156 Achievements in respect of important programmes of animal husbandry and dairying during 1983-84 and 1984-85 are given in Table 1.18.

Targets of Livestock Production

1.157 It is planned to reach an annual production level of 51.00 million tonnes of milk by the end of the Seventh Plan, against the base level production of 38.80 milliontonnes in 1984-85, implying an annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent. The target for annual egg production has been fixed at 19,900 million by 1989-90, against the base level of 13,475 million, giving an annual growth rate of 8.1 per cent. The wool production would be increased from 38.40 million kgs in 1984-85 to 43.00 million kgs by 1989-90, showing a growth rate of 2.20 per cent. The projected targets of livestock products are given in Table 1.19. The State-wise breakup of targets of milk and egg production are given in Annexure 5.

Objectives, Approach and Strategy-Seventh Plan

1.158 The first objective is to provide the infrastructure necessary to achieve accelerated growth in livestock products. The second objective is to consolidate the gains achieved under the various programmes of animal husbandry during the Sixth Plan period. The third objective is to eanble as larger a section of rural population as possible, including the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, tribals and Girijans to improve their nutritional and economic status by providing them gainful and fuller employment through livestock rearing.

TABLE 1.18
Animal Husbandry and Dairying Progress—Sixth Plan

TABLE 1.19
Targets of production of livestock products—Seventh Plan

1.159 The programmes in the animal husbandry sector to achieve these objectives are as follows:

1. Cross-breeding of cattle with exotic dairy breeds. Care would be taken to see that crossing with the established indigenous breeds is avoided.
2. Continue inter se breeding amongst crossbred cattle using progeny tested bulls so as to ultimately establish breeds of cross-bred cattle suitable for the different agro-climatic areas of the country;
3. development of indigenus breeds of cattle and buffaloes of both draught and dual purpose types;
4. Improvement of buffaloes through selective breeding;
5. Strengthening expansion of infrastructure of the farms to make available good breeding material to meet the requirements of the various livestock development programmes sponsored by the Rural Development Department;
6. increasing the availability of animal health facilities at the doorstep of the farmers to safeguard their livestock;
7. increasing the production of quality fodder seeds and adopting mixed farming system as also suitable crop rotations to make available adequate fodder resources;
8. rearing of sheep and goats to augment the production of wool and meat as also rearing of rabbits for fur and meat; and
9. organising sheep breeders and poultry farmers into cooperatives upto the marketing federation level so as to prevent their exploitation by the middlemen.

1.160 The projected targets of selected programmes of Animal Husbandry and Dairying for the Seventh Plan are given in Table 1.20

Programmes

1.161 Cattle and buffalo development: In order to increase milk production and to improve draught powers, the programmes for improvement of various breeds in respect of cows and buffaloes coupled with other essential and supporting inputs like production of high merited breeding bulls, adequate and scientific feeding, modern management practices, provision of livestock health facilities, etc., will continue to be implemented during the Seventh Plan period. Efforts will be made to bring at least 25 million cows under the cross breeding programme.

1.1'62 The work on embryo transfer technology will be taken up for the first time in the Seventh Plan to bring quick improvement in the genetic structure of the animals. The programme of progeny testing of cross-bred bulls under field conditions would continue and be extended to all the States. Many high yielding animals, when not in milk, are often reported to be disposed off in the metropolitan cities and thus, their valuable germplasm is wasted. Measures would be taken to conserve such elite animals and their valuable progeny for continuous milk production purposes.

1.163 The role of cattle and buffaloes as draught animals has, of late, gained importance in view of the unprecedented hike in the prices of diesel and petrol for farm operations and rural transport. In this context, the development of about 20 indigenous breeds of Indian cattle and buffaloes, which are well known for their milk production, draught capacity, sturdiness, heat tolerance and disease resistance, would be taken up during Plan period.

1.164 Buffalo contributes more than 50 per cent of the milk production and has established itself to be an important dairy animal in most parts of the country. Efforts will be made to select and multiply superior buffalo germplasm through establishment and strengthening of large buffalo breeding farms. Work on the establishement

TABLE 1.20  
Seventh Plan Targets for different Hems of Animal Husbandary and Dairying

1.197 Fish seed is the basic input for fish farming in tanks and ponds, and culture-cum-capture fisheries in reservoirs. West Bengal has achieved a breakthrough in fish seed production by adopting commercial circular hatcheries. West Bengal now produces three-fifths of the total fish seed production in the country. It is recommended that attempts should be made by all the States to follow the example of West Bengal to become self-sufficient in fish seed production. The National Fish Seed Programme will be strengthened to support the State Governments in this effort.

1.198 Conservation of fish and fisheries in lakes, reservoirs, rivers and game fishery waters will be taken up to ensure sustained yield from capture fisheries. The declining trend in some of the important species of fish will be studied and remedial measures taken to conserve endangered species.

Target of Fish Production and Selected Development Programmes

1.199 Deep sea fishing to exploit EEZ, diversified fishing and introduction of new mechanised fishing vessels will contribute additional fish production in the marine sector whereas fish farming in tanks and ponds and culture-cum-capture fisheries in reservoirs will add to inland fish production. Conservation in both coastal fisheries and capture fisheries in the inland waters will maintain the yield. Necessary infrastructure and marketing will be developed to ensure the transport of fish to consumers.

1.200 Targets selected items of fisheries along with fish production during the Seventh Plan period are given in Table 1.21.

1.201 Though fisheries development is a State subject, fisheries fishing beyond territorial waters and fisheries research and education are on the Union List. Hence, matters relating to fisheries development particularly in respect of inland fisheries development within territorial waters are largely within the purview of the State Governments and only deep sea fishing comes directly within the ambit of the Central Government. Nevertheless, the Fisheries Division in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development exercises a coordinating role and assists in various programmes being implemented by State Governments for the development of both inland and marine fisheries to achieve national targets.

1.202 To achieve the targets laid down in the Seventh Plan, the fisheries establishment/organisations in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as in different States require strengthening. Manpower development for implementation of various schemes proposed for the Seventh Plans calls for urgent consideration. In the marine sector the main thrust is on exploitation of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by introduction of deep sea fishing trawlers, construction of indigenous trawlers and chartering of foreign vessels. The development of fishing ports, terminal marketing facilities and other shore establishments are proposed to be provided/ strengthened to facilitate the operation of fishing vessels.

1.203 Similarly, in the inland sector, special emphasis during the Seventh Plan period will be on introducing high yielding fish farming techniques in tanks and ponds through Fish Farmers' Development Agencies. Production of quality fish seed on commercial scale following the example of West Bengal is envisaged for additional fish production by culture fisheries. Attempts will also be made

TABLE 1.21  
Targets of Selected Fisheries Programme

to establish prawn hatcheries in all the maritime States. All these activities in the inland sector will need specially trained manpower to transfer technology to the fish farmers for higher production from fresh water tanks and ponds as well as from brackish water fish farms. Therefore, special emphasis is needed on the development of manpower to implement the programmes of inland fisheries.

1.204 With the implementation of Plan programmes, fish production has increased from 0.75 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 2.85 million tonnes in 1984-85, showing significant progress over the successive Five Year Plans. To produce more nutritive food in the country and to generate employment in rural areas for the weaker sections of society, accelerated growth in the fisheries sector is envisaged during the Seventh plan period. It is planned that the level of fish production should reach a level of 4.0 million tonnes by 1989-90.