\ THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL! ECONOMICS

(Organ of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics)

•

Vol. I July 1946 No.

CONTENTS

PAGE.

The Journal . • • • • • • •. • • 5

The Land System of Bihar—Gyan Chand .. • • 01,

Agricultural Statistics of India—N. S. R. Sastry • • 28 Land Management and Economic Planning—Tarlok Singh 36 Future of Indian Agriculture—S. Kesava Iyengar • • • • 42 Government and \AgTiculturc—E. R. Dhongde • • • • 56

Book Reviews :— Royal Institute of International Affairs—A Food Plan for India—M.L.D. • • • • • • 65 N. Gangulee—The Battle of the Land—M.L.D. • • 66 P. N. Agarwala—Economic Planning and Agriculture— D.T.L. • • • • • • 67 Dr. Baljit Singh—Whither Agriculture in India S.M.J. 69 M. N. Desai—Rural Karnatak—S.M.J. V. Liversage—Land Tenures in the Colonies—S.M.J.

V. Balsubramanian—A Policy for Agriculture—M.B.D. • • 72 Government of India—Blue Books on Agricultural Econo- mics—M.L.D. •. • • • • • • • • 74

R • 3/- per Copy. Rs..12j- per annum. THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS BOMBAY

AIMS .4ND OBJECTS

To promote the investigation, study and improvement of the economic and social conditions of agriculture and rural life through

(a) periodical conferences for the discussion of problems;

(b) the publication of papers or summaries of papers, eithc— separately or collectively; or in a periodical which may be issued under the auspices of the society;

(c) co-operation• with other institutions having similar objects, • such as the International Conference of Agricultural Eco- nomists and the Indian Economic Association; etc. BOOK REVIEWS

A FOOD PLAN FOR INDIA—Published under the auspices of Royal Institute of International Affairs. (Oxford University Press, Price Rs. 2/-). The present study is inspired by Prof. Hill's Report on his visit to India- in 1943-44. That an international institute should be thus urged to sponsor and study India is an indication of the gravity and the importance of the problem. The Bengal Famine of 1942-43 brought vividly to public notice how narrow is the margin in India between bare adequacy of food supply and the disaster. This con- tribution to the problem of feeding the population of India, is the outcome of investigations and discussions carried out by many ex- perts, both Indian and British—who, by the way, desire to remain anonymous. The distinguishing feature of the plan is that the whole question has been treated as a strictly practical and administrative one, the efforts of the authors being to work out possible machinery by which few simple practical measures, known from experience to be capable of giving substantial results. The plan outlines .concrete proposals by which in eight years' time an extra 14 million tons of, food can be made available annually-providing both for increased population and a 10% increase in average diet. Several measures have been suggested for increased production of food supply, but the plan desires to concentrate action on the following five: (1) Use'S of fertilisers and manures, (2) improvement of water supply and erosion control, (3) use of improved varieties of seed, (4) control of seed-borne diseases and stored grain pests and, (5) malaria control. The originality of the plan, however, lies in its suggestion in organi- sation for the purpose of implementing the plan. The authors suggest an organisation based on 'groups' of villages with an official of the Havaldar or Naik type for roughly each 5,000 of population—approximately 10 villages. The official is to be re- cruited from the district in which he has to serve and *will be given a year's training on very practical lines in the relatively simple func- tions which he would perform—about 25,000 such men would be re- quired for the full programme. It is estimated that the supply of adequate fertilisers which is the mainstay of the plan, to the cultivator—say of paddy—and other improvements will give him an increased yield of at least 3 maunds per acre. The plan further recommends a minimum price of Rs. 2/- 66

a maund of paddy on the field. The increase in income due to this, it is calculated, will enable cultivator to pay the full cost of fertili- sers supplied to him. It is suggested that the Government may ac- cept payments in kind as a part of their procurement policy. Even if one-fifth of the estimated increase in production is taken in view of services and material *supplied the Government will be left with a deficit of not more than Its. 13 crores, which is certainly not large sum taking into consideration the benefit it will bring both to the cultivators and the country. The scheme inasmuch as it advocates concentration on one or two key measures for the improvement of India's food supply, is a departure from the current trend of thought which is more and more in favour of multi-lateral approach. The authors have, however, made out a strong case for their point of view. They maintain that in order to meet the immediate critical food situation, it is essential to concentrate on a few simple principles. Without such simplifica- tion, both of the technical principle and of the administrative OT- ganisation for putting them into effect, the problem is not capable of solution within the time limit imposed by the rate of increase of population. One great merit of the book is that it is brief and pre- cise and is refreshingly free from sentimental verbosity associated with writings on the problem. M. L. D.

THE BATTLE OF THE LAND, by N. Gangulee. Published by Lind- say Drummond, London. Revised Edition, 1944. Pp. 150. Price 6s. "The Battle of the Land" relates the story of the British rural community's heroic effort to meet the food situation created by the war. Pre-war England was importing from other countries 87 per cent of the cereals used for making flour, 73 per cent of sugar, 69 per cenf of cheese, 51 per cent of meat and bacon, 39 per cent of eggs and 92 per cent of fats, consumed by the people. This would give us an idea of the food problem which the war created for that coun- try. India with no more than 2.1 per cent imports of cereals, balanced the food budget by 2 to 3 million deaths from starvation. The people of Great Britain actively aided by the Government in the arable land by 64 per cent and the net output of food- stuffs, measured in terms of calories, by 70 per cent. The result was that the dietetic standard of the average citizen in Great. Britair,. showed an improvement during the war. More striking than this statistical record of achievement is the picture of the common people in community in action, battling with 67

unfamiliar problems_with a courage and ability which must be a, matter of envy for people of a subject nation, battling over a multi- tude of non-essentials, and where the black-marketeer, the hoarder and a section of the service reaped rich harvest out of peoples' miseries. There was a perfect understanding between the _people and the Government and a social cohesion on a high level among parties and classes. Everyone wanted to do his bit. Thousands of women took to work on the fields with good cheer. Farming work is not: spectacular. It means hard physical strain, long hours and Mono- tonous jobs. Similarly thousands of school boys voluntarily came forward to work on the land. "During the summer holiday of 1940 over 8,000 school boys lived in camps or with farmers near their own homes and helped farmers in all, sorts of jobs. The harvest camps, committee estimated that in 1942 there were 500 camps with about 25,000 boys." It is this upsurge of voluntary co-operative effort which • has a deeper significance for the people of India, for, whichever the Government, in such efforts lies the hope of our .being able to tackle speedily and effectively our vast social and economic problems. The author, apart from being a competent agricultural econo- mist, is a good story teller, and though his story of Britain's Battle of the Land is blissfully free from any shadow of' ear-aches and head-aches inevitable in any such social upsurge—all gold and. no brass—it is a stimulating account of a free people's behaviour in an emergency like the war. M. L:D.

ECONOMIC PLANNING AND AGRICULTURE, planned by P. N. Agarwala, Published by Kitab Mahal, Allahabad, Pp. 120. This book is a collection of nine articles, five by Mr. A. N. Agarwala, two by Mr. P. C. Malhotra, and one each by Mr. P. Chandra and Mr. Harbans Lal. The first article by Prof. Agarwala discussing the post-war trade prospects is by way of an introduction to the book, which really begins with the second article written by the same author launching a frontal attack on the Bombay Plan for the scanty attention paid by the Planners to agriculture. Of the re- maining seven articles, four are replies to Mr, Agarwala and three his counter-replies. Wrapped off the air of fierce battle, which cannot but envelop the best-meant controversies, / Professor Agarwala's main objection to the Bombay Plan seems to be that it does not contemplate the same intensive developmenf of agriculture as of industry.,As he makes it clear in the course of replies to Iiis critics, this does not 68

imply that he wants Indian agriculture to continue tof occupy a pre- dominant proportion of India's teeming millions. He only means that if instead of setting the target of agricultural production at 230 and industrial at 500, the industrialists had set up a higher goal for the former and a lower one for the latter, a better_ utilization of Indian resources would have been secured. But no substantial evi- dence has been put forward by him in support of this view. That mainly for political reason "there are far more hopeful, definite and easy chances for the successful development of our agricultural eco- nomy" (p. 17) is no answer to the Planners who 'assumed the estab- lishment of the national government and were at pains to make this assumption clear. Even otherwise, whether without substantial in- dustrialization on the scale contemplated by the Planners, it is pos- sible to solve problems like fragmentation and sub-division, which are at the very root of the backwardness of Indian agriculture, and whether the present administration is in a position to do anything more substantial for agriculture than for industry are certainly ques- tions which admit of differences of opinion, and Mr. Agarwala watt ill-advised to take them for granted. While replying to Mr. Mal, hotra's argument that a greater proportion of India's capital should be devoted to industry as it is likely to yield a high return (p. 33), Mr. Agarwala, besides contending the fact of greater productivity of capital in industry, seems to dispute the very need of allocation of scarce capital, and pours ridicule on the idea of cutting the coat according to one's cloth (pp. 39-40). One does not know how much of economics would be left if this idea is really given up. The only plausible reason given by Mr. Agarwala for his charge is the desire, of the Bombay Planners that India "should not aspire in the initial years. of planning to export to foreign markets." Mr. Agarwala wrongly interprets this- to refer even to present exports, though it only refers to future markets. He thinks that in view of the aims of the United Nations, of better feeding and clothing their popula- tion, a large export market awaits Indian agricultural products and the planners have ignored these possibilities. The major objections that Mr. Agarwala has raised are ques- tions of fact. Whether' under the prevalent Indian economic and social conditions, a speeding up of agricultural production is less costly in terms of real resources than that of industrial production. and to what extent, and how far export markets will be available for either of these are questions that can only be adequately answered in the light of a detailed knowledge of Indian agricultural conditions as compared with the world's and their future trends. In any such 69 discussion, the problem of costs, both real as well as money, would naturally play a large part. Unfortunately, no such data are given in the book. The fact that all the articles except the first have been mainly confined to the place of agriculture in the Bombay Plan has tended to unduly narrow the scope of these articles. Questions like price stabilization and charges in land ownership are hardly referred to. One sometimes wishes that this Democles' sword of the Bombay Plan had not been hanging over this book so as to enable the authors to look at agriculture and planning steadily. as a whole, and to make the readers get the benefit of the writers' ability and experience. Of course, the fault lies only in the title which makes the readers expect too much. All the articles are throughout well-written, and being in the controversial style are on the whole highly interesting.

D.T.L.

WHITHER AGRICULTURE IN INDIA? by Dr. Baljit Singh. Pub- lished by N. R. Agarwal & Co. Agra 1945. Pp. iv-I-346. Price Rs. 8. There is no dearth of books on problems of agricultural econo- mics in India, but this is a sphere in which over-crowding perhaps does not become obnoxious. Of late, Government Blue-Books on the subject have left such a rich crop of literature—unfortunately liter- ature—that with patience and preferably a point of view, one can sign out a good text book for students, though not necessarily for 'architects of agricultural economy' as the publishers of Dr. Balgit Singh's book hope. The book has a rather ambitious sub-title—A study of the re-organization of "Agricultural Planning in India" but in fact it provides only a good resume of the various porb- lems of India's agricultural economy. As the author himself says the study is undertaken "not with a view to present any plan which may achieve any formal completeness or advocate any particular policy„ but to make a comprehensive and concise survey of those essential issues." As a survey of essential issues, the book will serve a useful purpose.

S.M.J. THE RURAL KARNATAK—By M. N. Desai Published by the. Anand Publishers, Sirsi (N. Panara) 1945, pp. vii+342+62. Price Rs. 15.) Recently, we have a spate of publications both from non-official and official sources dealing with the agricultural problems of the country as a whole. The non-official books on agriculture are in many cases a re-arranged digest of the official documents, tracts and memoranda while new blue books not infrequently repeat what has been already said in the previous ones—only with a change of phra- seology. In this background, the appearance of a study devoted to the complex socio-economic problems of a well-marked region is in- deed refreshing. Such a study, in the first place, offers something new and secondly gives precisely the nature of problems that face the particular area. It is in this sense that Dr. M. N. Desai's "The Life and Living in the Rural Karnatak" is a notable addition to the rapid- ly growing literature on the vital subject of agricultural economy. The work has been accepted for the Ph.D. Degree (Sociology) of the University of Bombay. The book is divided into two parts. Part I deals with economic life and Part II with social life in rural Karnatak. Topics discussed in Part I include Rural Population, Rural Wealth, Income, Consump- tion, Expenditure and Indebtedness—more or less a Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet of the rural masses. The study of social life comprises a survey of religious life, systems of marriage, sex life, rural education, health and hygiene and rural songs. The object of the author in undertaking the work was to study the rural conditions of the Bombay Karnatak Which embraces' the three districts of Belgaurn., Bijapur and Dharwar. For detailed in- vestigations the author chose Gokak Taluka as representating the conditions obtaining in the Bombay Karnatak. Of this taluka he selected 20 villages for the purpose of actual field work. His con- clusions are based on the results of the detailed inquiries conducted in these villages. On an analysis of the data collected the author finds that the per capita income in the rural areas is very low being only Rs. 38. "This amount is not sufficient to meet all the needs of a decent life. Some families find it difficult to satisfy even their primary needs, 34% of the total ,expenditure is on the staple food only." This helps to place 71 in proper light the disparity of incomes between rural and urban areas. Then again, "More than 50% of the families find themselves with deficit budgets. 28.3% of the families cannot meet even ordin- ary expenditure without outside borrowings or selling a part of their capital resources." With this low income and rapidly growing popu- lation, the author bluntly sums up the problem as, 'one of decreasing the population and of increasing per capita income'. There is at the end an additional chapter on the effects of the war on rural economy and life. Part II of the book dealing with social life gives a detailed account of the forms of marriage, systems of divorce and forms of worship, festivals, superstitions etc. It is not possible in this review to go into the details of this part. Mention must, however, be made of the section on sex life which deals with the manifestations of this problem in the rural areas from childhood to maturity and after. Some readers would probably be shocked to read this account of the various mal-practices and immoralities which Dr. Desai has been able to discover. It is difficult to say whether the evidence obtained by him was really representative or unbiassed. The subject is difficult and society has in the past drawn a veil over such matters. If only from this point of view—as suggesting possible problems rather than as indicative of actual state of affairs—this discussion may have its uses. Among the drawbacks of the book must be mentioned a failure to co-ordinate the economic and social aspects of rural life and work out a synthetic solution for the same. S.M.J.

LAND TENURE IN THE COLONIES: By V. Liversage, Agricul- tural Economist, Kenya; (Cambridge University Press, 1945; pp. ix+151; Price 7s. 6d. net.). In this book the author attempts a rapid survey of the problems of land tenure and tenancy in colonial areas in different parts of the world. His object is to show the weakness of solutions of these pro- blems superimposed by colonial administrators without due regard to the complex historical, legal and sociological factors underlying the land systems in such territories. He distinguishes between the tribal, feudal and contractual forms of tenure and describes with a wealth of detail drawn from diverse countries the working of each of these. These sections may not interest the Indian reader, but his 72 discussions of share tenancy, absentee landlordism and peasant pro- prietorship are bound to hold him. The author's aim is to show that we must find a via media-be- tween unrestrained individualism and complete nationalisation. He does not discuss why the latter is undesirable. He merely refers to its "inherent weakness" and pronounces it as not "conducive to national well-being". His observations an the former are, however, valuable. The system, he finds, is by no means as efficient and equit- able as it has often been made out. Theoretically, small-scale farm- ing by owner-cultivators is an attractive proposition but in practice, says the author, it has led everywhere to sub-division and fragmen- tation, alienation of lands to absentee landlords and moneylenders, chronic indebtedness, and, in general, instable agriculture. He also examines in this context the Usual remedies, such as, regulation of money-lending, restrictions on land alienation, state credit and Co- operation. His conclusion is that these measures have had so far only a limited success. What, then, is the solution? For the author, "The only feasible approach to the problem is through the tenure system itself"; the goal to be attained is "Usufructuary occupation the by farmer, without actual ownership of the land." It is, to put it simply, peasant proprietorship without the right to mortgage, sell or divide the holding. The right of ownership would vest in the state, or would be acquired by the state which would insist upon an efficient and socially derisable use of the land. A system such as the author has in view has been tried out in some parts of Egypt and has, in his judgment, yielded sound results. It is not easy to visualise in detail what the author propounds here, but few will disagree that if the system of peasant proprietor- ship is to be retained, the status of the peasant will have to be raised financially and socially, and at the same time restrictions will have to be placed in order to save him from exploitation by other elements in the community and from the results of his own ignorance, and incompentence.

A POLICY FOR AGRICULTURE: By V. Balasubramanian (Interna- tional Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, 1945; pp. 31; Price As. 8.). The pamphlet narrates briefly the many ills like excessive pres- sure of population on land, sub-division and fragmentation of hold- ings, growth of tenancy, low level of farming efficiency, the chronic 73 indebtedness of the peasantry, the poverty and the wretched living conditions of the rural classes, etc., from which the Indian agricul- turist and agriculture suffer today. It points out that while the rural economy of the country is fast deteriorating there is as yet no well formulated state agricultural policy. The state has been so long content to treat the symptoms rather than the real malaise by con- structing protective irrigation works, taccavi loans, etc. The re- cent Central Government's Post-war Plan for the reorganisation of Indian agriculture shows a distinct change in the outlook of the Gov- ernment of India. The author discusses at length the low nutritive value of the diet of the people of India and the many deficiency diseases from which they suffer as a consequence. He then tries to bring out the merits of the post-war agricultural plan both in regard to food planning and commercial crops and the intensification of farming. The role of rapid industrialisation to absorb a part of the surplus rural population and to facilitate the reorganisation of the agriculture rapidly has also been duly emphasized. It also empha- sizes the priority that land reforms like the abolition of the rentier class, consolidation of holdings, etc. should receive and shows that although the evils of the defective land system are recognised, the official plan does not contemplate putting through these vital re- forms. The important part that co-operative effort could play in various spheres of the farmer's life has also been pointed out. The need for fair and assured prices for the agriculturists' crops has also been stressed. Within the short space the brochure gives a reliable picture of existing conditions of Indian agriculture and a good idea of Govern- ment of India's post-war agricultural plan. M.B.D. 74

BLUE BOOKS ON AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

(1) Report of the Foodgrains Policy Committee; (2) Technolo- gical Possibilities of Agricultural Development in India; (3) Memo- randum on the Development of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in India; (4) Famine Inquiry Commission Report, Vols. I and II; (5) Agriculture and Food Policy in India. The war has given us a rich crop of Blue Books on agriculture. Since the Royal Commission made its monumental report in 1928, only one book in the pre-war period, deserves mention, and it is Six, John Russell's report on "Application of Science to Agriculture". Though the report is mainly concerned with the work of the Imperial ti Council of Agricultural Research, in Part I of the Report Dr. Russell contributes a valuable study of the major problems of agricultural economics. He has emphasised seven great factors capable of im- o: proving the yield of crops in India: (1) Better varieties of crop. 13] (2) Better control of pest diseases. (3) Better control of water sup- ply. (4) Prevention of soil erosion. (5) Better use of manures and is fertilisers. (6) Better implements and cultivations. (7) Better system 13] of croppings. Few subsequent authors have been able to improve. upon this list. The following special difficulties confronting Indian 1\4 agriculture caught his attention. (1) Absence of an educated class of from the villages. (2) Burden of debt: the Bania. (3) Slow progress ti of the Co-operative movement. (4) The fragmentation and scattering di of holdings. (5) Lack of technical education. (6) Lack of susidiary P( industries. (7) The lack of leadership in the villages. His observa- sl: tions that our main administrative problem is to bridge the gap ti between the experiment station and the cultivator, is oft quoted. fr The first important publication on the subject during the war is th the Report of the Foodgrains Policy Committee (1943) with Dr. pE Gregory as its chairman. The food situation was deteriorating, cr Bengal was in the grip of a famine, so the Government asked the T1 Committee "to examine the past policy and present position in India Pr in relation to the supply, distribution and price of foodgrain in India, an in the light of relevant ,Conditions, including those imposed or liable ‘,/ to be imposed by the war and to make recommendations, for secur- de ing maximum supply, equitable distribution and proper control of th prices in relation to foodgrains." The Committee, after a thorough PC survey of the problem, made, among others following recommenda; ne tions:— su (1) The Government of India should press the United Nations to arrange for annual imports of one million tons of foodgrains and. us 75 a further import of at least 500,000 tons for creating a Central Food Grains Reserve. (2) India must cease, for the duration of the war to be a net exporter of food. (3) On the question of procurement, the only completely satis- factory solution would be a Central Government foodgrains mono- poly. (4) Rationing should be introduced forthwith in the larger cities of India. (5) An overwhelming majority of the committee was very. strongly of the opinion that statutory price control should be insti- tuted for all (major) foodgrains in all provinces and also similar control of an increasing number of non-agricultural commodities. In May 1943, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee of the Reconstruction Committee of Council requested Dr. Burns to prepare a Note on the Technological Possibilities of Agricultural Development. Dr. Burns' Report was published in 1944. The report, is divided in 4 parts. Part I shows by graphs and statements the progress of farming in India as a whole and also in various provinces during the last 30 years. Part II sums up the effects of the "Grow More Food" campaign of 1942-43. By July 1943, there was an increase of 8.4 million acres under five main foodgrains, yielding an addi- tional crop of 3.8 million tons. More than 5 million acres were, diverted from cotton cultivation. Part III assesses the technological possibilities of increasing yields per acre which research so far has shown to be possible through such means as using improved varie- ties of seed, the application of manures and fertilisers and protection from pests and diseases. To give one example, Dr. Burns considers that at a conservative estimate yields of rice can be increased by 30 per cent, via 5 per cent by improved varieties, 20 per cent by in- creasing manure, 5 per cent by protection from pests and diseases. There should be, according to him, no difficulty in increasing the present average outturn by 50 per cent viz., 10 per cent by variety and 40 per cent by manuring. In Part IV, which he has entitled "The shape of things to come" Dr. Burns says that,- in agricultural development, two objectives must be held clearly in 'view. They are: the abolition of the poverty of the cultivator and the abolition of the poverty of the soil. To achieve these objectives, he refers to the need for cutting out various kinds of waste which exist at present, such as waste of fertilising material, water, soil, etc. " In 1944, the Imperial Council of Agricultural 'Research pub- lished a Memorandum on the Development of Agriculture and Ant; 76 znal Husbandry in India. It does not .attempt to give a complete plan of agricultural reconstruction for India. It is just a skeleton plan designed to serve as a framework for more detailed planning. On the important question of the prospects of agricultural development, the Memorandum observes: "Given the necessary finance for deve- lopment, the stimuli for continuous efforts on the part of cultivator, and all the required goods, services and facilities it is possible to in- crease agricultural production by 100 per cent over pre-war level." It may take 15 years to accomplish this increase with a capital ex- penditure of Rs. 1,000 crores. The memorandum covers a wide field r( of subjects, both technical and economic, ranging from crop planning, soil erosion, irrigation to prices, debts and land tenure. It also deals with fruit and animal products, plant and animal husbandry. For the first time we find the question of agricultural development dealt a] with in a comprehensive manner. In fact, the Agricultural and Food st Policy subsequently announced by the Government of India is largely based upon this memorandum. ci In spite of all the plans and programme, famine became a fact and the Government of India appointed a Famine Enquiry Commis- tE sion with Sir John Woodhead as the chairman. The commission issued two reports, one on Bengal dealing mainly wih history and the causes of the great famine of 1943, though it also dealt with prob- ar lems of food supply, medical relief and control of epidemics in Ben- gal. The Commission was asked to investigate and make recom- mendations on the possibility of improving the diet of the people tic and the quality and the, yield of food crops. The Final Report has made a thorough survey of the problem and makes recommendations in of far-reaching significance. The report which is divided in four parts deals with (1) short-term aspects of food problem. (Z) popu- lation, nutrition and food policy; (3) improvement of food produc- of tion and nutrition; (4) improvement of agricultural economy. The commission has strongly emphasised the view that it is a paramount responsibility of the Government to provide ,food for all and ex- soi presses the hope that their's will be "the last Famine Commission and at the same time the first of the series of Food Commissions se( concerned not with the prevention of famines, but with the replace- ment of hunger and malnutrition by plenty." Making a fervent ap- ag. peal for a new spirit the Commission remarks that "poverty and hunger have been often accepted as a part of nature of things—such an attitude is incompatible with progress." Early in 1946, came the Government of India's announcement on Agricultural and Food Policy in India. The cardinal objectives of tn 77

Government's policy are:— (1) To increase the production of food both- of foodgrains and protective foods, required to meet the basic needs of the present and future population of India and thus reduce dependence on imports. (2) To increase the efficiency of the methods of agricultural production, marketing and distribution. (3) To stimulate the production of raw materials of industry, both for domestic manufacture and for export. (4) To secure agricultural produce an assured market at a price remunerative to the producer and fair to the consumer. (5) To secure fair wages for agricultural labour. (6) To improve the standard of living of the rural population, and for this purpose to solve the problems of rural economy which stand in the way of agricultural improvement. (7) To secure continuous and profitable employment in agri- culture by the introduction of intensive scientific agricultural methods, the development of agricultural ,and cottage industries, and the bringing of new areas under cultivation. (8) To enlarge the market for agricultural produce and aug- ment the national wealth with a view to improving the national diet, and for this purpose to promote industrial development. (9) To ensure a fair distribution of the food produced. . (10) To promote nutritional research and nutritional educa- tion as a prominent part of the public health programme. The programme of action contemplated by the Government includes:— (1) The supply and conservation of water by the construction of wells, tanks, dams and canals. (2) The conservation of soil and the proper use of land. (3) An increase in the production and utilisation of all re- sources of manures and fertilizers, on a subsidised basis, if necessary, (4) The production and distribution of improved varieties of seed. (5) Measures for the protection of crops and stored grain against pests and diseases. (6) Malaria Control. (7) The development of fisheries. (8) An increase of milk production. - (9) The establishment of a net work of demonstration and dis- tribution centres. 78

(10) The training of an abundant supply of workers for the practical work involved in building up, on the basis of the village or a group of villages as the primary unit, an adequate and efficient ad- ministrative organisation to ensure practical results. Further measures like (1) better communications between vil- lages and markets, (2) Co-operative farming, credit and marketing, (3) Consolidation of holdings and above all regulation of prices so as to ensure an adequate return to the producer and a fair price to the consumer, are also to be actively adopted. We have thus a rich material and detailed plans on which to base our agricultural development. It is now upto the popular minis- tries in the provinces and let us hope, one at the centre to go ahead with the task of translating into reality that which is yet on paper.

M.L.D.