COMPREHENSIVE DISTRICT AGRICULTURE PLAN

Background

The National Development Council (NDC), in its meeting held on 29th May, 2007 resolved that a special Additional Central Assistance Scheme (RKVY) be launched. According to this resolution, each District will have to formulate a District Agriculture Plan (DAP) by including the resources available from all the existing schemes of Agriculture and all other allied agriculture sectors. The Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan will bring all the sectors under an umbrella and avoid the duplication of efforts and utilise the resources efficiently in a more or less convergent manner.

Definition of a district Plan

A District Plan describes what a district will try to achieve over a medium term of five years and how it intends to achieve it. A Plan usually contains an analysis of the current situation of the district and particularly its needs and potentials. It should also contain a statement of objectives and analysis of on-going as well as new schemes and programmes within the purview of the districts. It should contain action plan along with the financial outlay with a provision of continuous updating.

Objectives of the District Plan

The objective of district planning is to design an integrated and participatory action plan for the development of local area in general and agriculture and allied sectors in particular. The planning process should be initiated at grass root level i.e. at village/ Gram Panchayat level and obviously the planners at village level will have to collect the basic primary data. The objectives of Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan (C-DAP) are:

• To prepare a Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan (C-DAP) through participatory process involving various organizations and stakeholders.

• To enable optimum utilization of scarce natural, physical & financial resources.

• To assess and plan for the infrastructure required to support the development of agriculture and allied sectors.

• To establish linkages with the required institutional support services and agencies, like credit, technology transfer, ICT, research organizations etc.

• To evolve an action plan for achieving sustainable agricultural growth with food security and enhancement of cropping system that will improve farmers’ income. In this process, it will be ensured that

• The Agricultural Plans are prepared for the district and then integrated into the agricultural plans of the State based on the Agro-Climatic conditions, availability of technology, trained manpower and natural resources.

• The local needs / crops / feed and fodder / animal husbandry / dairying /fisheries priorities are reflected in the plan.

• The productivity gaps for important crops, livestock and fisheries are reduced and the returns to the farmers from these are maximized.

• There are quantifiable qualitative changes in the productivities of the above components.

• The livestock and fisheries options are given due consideration as an important source of income.

Vision of the district

• By end of XII th five year plan targeting the agricultural growth to be more than 4%.

• To increase rapid growth in agriculture through increase in investment by the State Government.

• To increase manifold in Agricultural and Allied Sectors by Public and Private Investment such as infrastructure, marketing, e-farming and cooperative farming etc.

• To reduce gap in yield of important crops through focused interventions.

• To maximize return to the farmers and allied sectors through integration of the activities of the sectors.

• To cover more areas under cultivation through sustainable development.

• To popularize watershed-basis approach for an overall development in rain fed farming.

Methodology

The plan was developed with a bottom up approach. Plans came up from Gram Sabha to Panchayat and from Panchayat to Block. Consolidating all block level plan - the District Agriculture Plan has been prepared. The gaps in information were moderated by repeated rounds of consultations with the bottom level officials (Line departments) and also supported with secondary information from the district authorities.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT

Introduction In course of time, has been transformed from a kingdom to a state and from a state to the present status of a district. Before 28 August 1949, Cooch Behar was a ruled by the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, who had been a feudatory ruler under the British Government. By an agreement dated 28 August 1949, Maharaja of Cooch Behar ceded full and extensive authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of . The transfer of administration of the state to the came into force on 12 September 1949. Eventually, Cooch Behar was transferred and merged with the province of West on 19 January 1950 and from that date Cooch Behar emerged as a new District in the administrative map of .

It consists of five revenue Sub-Divisions (namely, Cooch Behar Sadar, , , , ) and six (viz. Cooch Behar, Dinhata, Mathabanga, Tufangnj, Mekhliganj, Haldibari) and covered blocks are Cooch Behar-I, Dinhata-I, Mathabanga-I, Tufangnj-I. Total wards of six municipalities are 78 in numbers. Besides the , other six blocks are Cooch Behar-II, Dinhata-II, Setai, Mathabanga-II, and Tufangnj-II. The twelve blocks contain 128 gram panchayats, 1190 villages and 1165 Moujas. The total numbers of tea clusters and forest villages are 546 and 03 respectively. The district has its headquarters at Cooch Behar. It comprises chiefly of a rural population. More than 50 per cent of its total population belong to SC/ST community. It is virtually a cauldron of different ethnic tribes like the Rajbanshi, Rabha, Metch, Santhals, Madasia, Bodo and Toto & Oraons. The topography of the land is cut across by rivers, rivulets and hills and covered with tea gardens and forests. rivers that runs across the district are the Teesta, Torsa, Raidak, Kaljani and Gadadhar. According to the 2011 census, has a population of 2,822,780, roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica. This gives it a ranking of 136 in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 833 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,160/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the last decade (2001–2011) was 13.86%. Cooch has a sex ratio of 942 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.49%. The total area of Cooch Behar is 3, 31,566 ha. This District has also a rich bio-diversity in both flora and fauna and has immense envious natural beauty which may aid in future development of this district. The agricultural area of district is 2530.63 square kilometres. The dominant agricultural products of Cooch Behar district are jute and tobacco. Paddy rice is also grown before and after the rainy season. Common plantation crops are arecanut, coconut and black pepper. This district is familiar in vegetables and fruit production throughout the year. Vegetable, mustard and potato cultivation are increasing. In order to support agriculture, special programs have been taken for the production of sunflowers, maize and groundnuts. Revolutionary methods are being used in Boro paddy and potato cultivation. But due to non-adoption of modern technology, a large number of farmers still depend on traditional technology. Only 33% of the potentially cultivable land is developed for irrigation. In Kharif, the area of production of vegetables and other crops is much less. Soil conservation is a related area of intervention. Cooch Behar District enjoys a humid tropical climate with an average air temp. of 24.1 oC and average annual rainfall of 3160 mm to 3500 mm. Major portion of rainfall is drained through surface of land and run into river. Entire district is woven by more or less 80 to 92 big and small rivers. Soil of this district is sandy loamy and loose textural class which is prone to soil erosion and less water holding capacity. Soil is deficient in organic matter and devoid of loamy clay. Soil is most permeable to water and nutrient leaches down quickly. The characteristics of soil coupled with heavy rainfall increases the vulnerability of the agricultural land and other land into erosion. There are problems of sand deposition along with debris & stone due to occasional change of river courses and occurrence of flood in each year. The common forms of erosion are flash, sheet, rill, gully and ravine and stream bank erosion. The soil and water conservation measures are carried out by the Soil Conservation Wing under the Agriculture Department in this District. The ovine breed in the region originates from Tibet and was brought to the plains of West Bengal by traders. The trade between Tibetan traders and traders from the plains of Bengal took place from the region. The sheep along with other items of trade were transported to a place known as Bhot Patti (situated in Maynaguri Block of District). The major trading occurred at a place known as Rangpur, situated now in . The goods were exchanged and the sheep were also taken to plains of Bengal by the returning traders, the animals were given to the farmers of Sunderbans region for rearing and bringing them back to their health. The sheep were used for their meat by the Europeans during the colonial era. They preferred mutton over Chevon so sheep meat was in great demand. A single consignment of the sheep were transported to Australia in the late 18th century when the Australian colony was being settled. The consignment was shipped from the port of Fulta near . However, the sheep were not preferred by the settlers as their size was small and wool quality too was inferior. The breed Booroola Merino of Australia are the descendents of the same sheep. Map of the District

Location and Geographical Units Cooch Behar District is situated at north-eastern part of West Bengal; bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri and Aliporeduar in the north and north-west, state of in the east (bounded by the districts of & in Assam) and the International Border in the form of Indo-Bangladesh boundary in the south and south-west. Beside this bounded area there are enclaves (called Chhits) which are outlying and detached tracts of land situated inside Bangladesh. There are 110 such Chhits.

It coordinates between 25 057'47"N and 88 047'44" E to 26 036'20" N & 89 054'35"E. The areas of the district is 3387 sq. km, which contributes 3.82% of the land mass of the State of West Bengal. In Cooch Behar the total cultivated area is 264984ha (79.92% of the total area) and the forest area is 4256ha (1.28 of the total area.) and the rest area not under cultivation but excluding forest is 6232ha (18.80% of the total area.) In this district the total number of cultivator is 290047 (male 259458 and female-30589) and the no. of marginal cultivator is 71217 (male-17369 and female-53848). Cooch Behar is essentially a flat country with a slight south-eastern slope along which the main rivers of the district flow. Most of the high lands appertain to Sitalkuchi area and most of the low lands lie in Dinhata area. The soil is alluvial of very recent formation. It is mostly sandy and loose. The surface soil is loamy and hardly any good clay is found.

Agro-climatic Characters

According to the classification, the Cooch Behar district falls under the Tarai And Teesta alluvial zone covering all twelve blocks. Average annual rainfall in the district is 5,348.8 mm. The rainfall generally increases from the south-west to the north- east. About 70% of the annual rainfall is received during the southwest monsoon season, June being the rainiest month. On an average there are about 102 rainy days with records of more than 400 mm rainfall in 24 hours. A highly humid atmosphere and abundant rains characterise the climate of this district, with the temperature being seldom excessive. The Period from June to beginning of October is south-west monsoon season. October to mid- November constitutes post monsoon season. Cold season being November to February and hot season being March to May. January is the coldest month with temperature varying between 10.4 oC to 24.1 oC, April is the hottest month with mean daily maximum temp of 32.5 oC and mean daily minimum temp of 20.2 oC. Lowest temperature as below as 3.9 oC and maximum temperature as below as 39.9 oC have been recorded. The atmosphere is highly humid throughout the year except February to May when relative humidity is as less as 50 to 70%. The main rivers of the district are Torsa, , Raidak, Sankosh etc. The soil in the district is subjected to the following natural and manmade disasters due to its topography, drainage system, soil texture, prevailing agro-climatic conditions, land use, existing cropping sequences/ practices etc.:

1. Undulated land slope causing runoff in the catchments of watersheds particularly in the northern part of the district.

2. Soil erosion due to heavy rain during the monsoon.

3. Flash floods causing sand deposition in the inundated areas of the river/rivulets.

4. Soil degradation by use of imbalanced chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the food and vegetable growing areas.

5. Poor capacity of light textured soils to retain adequate moisture and nutrients in the post monsoon period resulting soil reaction ranging from medium to highly acidic.

Table-1: Demographic profile of Cooch Behar district

Population (as per 2011 census)

Literat Male Female Total SC ST e Cooch Behar- 96082 886 163277 149 15 362.42 - 146298 138266 284564 I 34* 0.3* 57* Cooch - 119479 2904 109093 119 13 154011 144152 298163 Behar-II 362.36 40* 1.0* 37* - 98814 469 39858 Dinhata-I 135 16 130656 123793 250336 248.54 39* 0.2* 16* - 82324 843 116080 Dinhata-II 119 12 104443 100948 205391 103.30 40* 0.4* 57* - 48535 191 17538 Haldibari 62 06 48466 45370 93836 159.48 52* 0.2* 19* - 113248 50 94577 Mathabhanga-I 102 10 96031 90652 186683 314.50 61* 0.03* 51* - 107718 2173 112793 Mathabhanga-II 93 10 96031 90652 186683 313.84 58* 1.2* 60* Mekhliganj 154 8 - 68866 63993 13259 83047 949 22089 228.64 - 69143 0.0 43061 Setai 53 5 49196 47139 96335 151.25 72* 0.0* 45* - 87846 0.0 43061 Sitalkuchi 72 8 84477 79325 163802 101.53 54* 0.0* 26* - 92112 155 125741 Tufanganj-I 77 14 113825 109168 222993 191.68 41* 0.0* 56* - 77794 3424 25536 Tufanganj-II 55 11 85249 82179 167428 257.08 46* 0.0* 15* District 1190 128 2794.62 - 1177549 1115637 2169473 1076142 12044 912704 Total *Indicates percentage of total population

Table-2: Population in Cooch Behar district (2011Census)

Description 2011 2001

Actual Population 2,819,086 2,479,155

Male 1,451,542 1,272,094

Female 1,367,544 1,207,061

Population Growth 13.71% 14.19%

Area Sq. Km 3,387 3,387

Density/km2 832 732

Proportion to West Bengal Population 3.09% 3.09%

Sex Ratio (Per 1000) 942 949

Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) 948 964

Average Literacy 74.78 66.30

Male Literacy 80.71 75.93

Female Literacy 68.49 56.12

Total Child Population (0-6 Age) 344,645 387,130

Male Population (0-6 Age) 176,940 197,118

Female Population (0-6 Age) 167,705 190,012

Literates 1,850,504 1,386,965

Male Literates 1,028,733 816,196

Female Literates 821,771 570,769

Child Proportion (0-6 Age) 12.23% 15.62%

Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) 12.19% 15.50%

Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) 12.26% 15.74%

It reveals from table-2 that rate of population growth decreased from 14.19% to 13.71% during last decade. However, density of population has greatly increased during this time. Literary percentage was highest in case of female was greater than the male. Among children, the girl child number is considerably less than boy child.

Table-3: Major occupation wise households in Cooch Behar district

Particulars Male Female Total Main Cultivators 2, 59, 953 30, 645 2, 90, 598 Main Workers 6, 39, 791 1, 14, 520 7, 54, 311 Main Agricultural Labourers 1, 46, 740 41, 660 1, 88, 400 Main Household Industrial Workers 16, 245 12, 926 29, 171 Main Other Workers 2,16,853 29,289 2,46,142

Total(A) 12,63,337 1,14,520 5,65,911

Marginal labour/worker Marginal Cultivators 17, 386 53, 856 71, 242

58, 759 1, 53, 635 2, 12, 394 Marginal Workers

Marginal Agricultural Labourers 23,464 73,562 97,026

Marginal Household Industrial Workers 1,648 8,436 10,084

Marginal Other Workers 16,261 17,781 34,042

Total (B) 1,17,518 1,53,635 2,12,394

Grand Total (A+B) 13,80,85 2,68,155 7,78,305

Table-4: Industry in Cooch Behar district Agro-based Industries Existing

1. Cold Storage 5

2. Fruit Processing unit 2

3. Jute Processing 2

4. Oil Extraction 20

5. Mini Rice Mill/Paddy Husking 189