Executive Summary
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Executive Summary It is reported that forty nine per cent of agriculture is rain-fed in West Bengal. The annual average rate of growth in agriculture (net State domestic product that comes from agriculture) was 4.63% between 1984-85 and 1995-96 as against the all-India rate of 3.62% only. But the growth rate has begun to plateau out. Between 1995-96 and 2004-05, the annual average rate of growth in agriculture became 2.67%, with water-logging, improper drainage, salinity, and flood incidence in adequate electrification and inadequate road and transport infrastructure Commercialization, diversification and organized marketing in agriculture need to be encouraged in West Bengal. Small-holdings and fragmented land in same lines slows down the rate of growth. Brief Description of the District Howrah • Howrah being the smallest district in West Bengal is situated between 22 0 12’ 30” and 22 0 46’ 55” North Latitude and 88 0 22’ 10” and 87 0 50’ 45” East Longitude. It has been transferred from the Burdwan Division to the Presidency Division under Government of West Bengal Notification No. 999-G.A. dated March 4, 1963. • The district also retains its basic rural characteristics with over 60% of its total population depending on Agriculture and its position as one of the important producers of cereals in the State. • The district is surrounded by the Rivers Hooghly and Mundeswari-Rupnarayan in the east, west and south and several rivers and canals are also flowing through the district. The vast sweet water bodies along the road side, ponds, canals, etc remain untapped. Paddy cum fish culture is a traditional practice in rainy season & is also a source of livelihood of resource poor farmers. Scientific fish production through promoting mechanization, establishing processing unit, covering under insurance scheme, weather forecasting, formation of self help groups etc are getting prioritization by the government. The ornamental fish production can reduce the unemployment among the rural youth. Its prospect in the domestic & international market can be explored. • Though the district have an important industrial belt along with internationally famous Railway junction situated at Howrah , which is well connected both by rail & road with Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal still the economy of the majority of the people mainly depends on the agriculture & allied enterprises. • Re-synthesis of the technological package of agriculture and allied sectors based on each farming situations through the joint effort between researchers, extension workers and farmer is the prime determinant. This is the time to revive the indigenous/innovative technology through the location specific research program which had been practicing by farmers previously. With this background in view, there is need for reforming agricultural extension system by encouraging innovations in technology dissemination, involvement of private sector in technology dissemination, group approach, gender concerns, IT support to extension, market linkages and convergence of line departments. • The ultimate objective of both research-extension systems is to increase production of the farming system. Coordination between extension and research should be demand driven, need based & cost effective. This also helps in allocation of resources to both extension and research activities to be taken up in the district. • The coordinate efforts being made by the various line departments, non government organizations, farmers’ organizations, farmers’ cooperatives and allied institutions to strengthen research-extension-farmers linkage in the district and promote collaboration and coordination between various state funded technical departments. • Reforms need for transforming the appropriate technology packages including INM, IPM, FS, etc. to the farmers for increase the profit margin of farming community by increasing yield of major crops as well as diversify the farming system approach like livestock, poultry, fisheries, horticulture and high value commodities etc which judiciously facilitate to use of natural resource and it ensure quality production to meet up the present social needs and as well as export purposes. • With highly fertile alluvial soils, well developed irrigation infrastructure, the district can safely be called as an agriculturally advanced district. The cropping intensity in the district is high at 199% facilitated by strong irrigation infrastructure and the productivity levels are higher than State/National averages for select crops. • The benefits of intensive agriculture, however is confined to a few crops especially rice and potato and to an extent vegetables. • The local demand for other produce from agriculture & allied sectors viz., pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, milk & meat products and fish far exceeds the production despite available opportunities for localized production • The need is for a reorientation of the development process towards a balanced growth of both agriculture and allied sectors through judicious use of land, water and human resources. The Vision Transformation of the district, which at present juncture is not self sufficient in food production needs to make a breakthrough in production of different agricultural commodities through sustainable production of food crops, fruits and vegetables by bringing about more area under pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables through crop diversification, Soil health management through crop rotation, INM Integrated Nutrient Management with balanced fertilizers, organic and biofertilisers. • Optimum use of ground water resources with appropriate irrigation management practices, crop and technology options like SRI • Productivity enhancement through effective extension and input support mechanism • Greater emphasis on development of allied sectors horticulture crops, more specifically vegetables, dairy, poultry, fisheries sector to meet theever increasing demand • Facilitate development of food rocessing industry especially, for vegetables, potato and milk by increasing the production base catering to processing industry’s requirements The District Plan Plan criteria • Feedback from interactions with the officials of line departments and representatives of PRIs at district/block level on the infrastructure and extension support needs. • Need assessment identified based on Gram Panchayat (GP) level survey and feedback • Sector specific SWOT analysis and quantification of gaps and infrastructure a r e needed. • Crop diversification to improve farmers’ income through better management of inputs, land and water resources. • Necessity for soil health management and water resources conservation • HRD interventions through location and activity specific training and capacity building programmes both for farmers’ and extension staffs. • Strengthening the infrastructure in input supply, post harvest handling, storage and marketing of the produce. • On-going programmes of respective departments including the action plan for the XII plan period. • Overall objective of enhancing growth rate in agriculture production. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISTRICT INTRODUCTION : One part of the Howrah district is fully engaged with industrial activities while other part is still going through the agricultural efforts. Traditional crafts-work is unique in the district. Century old Bengal Engineering College (presently Bengal Engineering and Science University), Belur Math of Ramkrishna Mission and Botanical Garden are the units of excellence. The tourist spot at Gadiara and 58 Gate draws huge number of visitors during the winter days. Moreover, the residing place of famous writer (Katha Silpi) Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, at Samtaber in the river bank of Rupnarayan is a place of peace & tranquility, draws crowd / visitor round the year specially at Sarat Mela during the month of January. LOCATION : This smallest district in West Bengal is situated between 22 012'30" and 22°46'55" north latitude and 88°22'10" and 87°50'45" east longitude. It was recently transferred from the Bardhaman Division to the Presidency Division under Government of West Bengal Notification No. 999-G.A. dated March 4, 1963. It is bounded on the north by the Arambagh and Srirampore subdivisions of the Hooghly District; on the east by Kolkata, the Barrackpur subdivision of North 24- Parganas district and Alipur and Diamond Harbour subdivisions of South 24-Parganas district; on the south by the Tamluk subdivision of the East Midnapur district; on the west partly by the Tamluk subdivision of the East Midnapur and Ghatal subdivisions of West Midnapur district and partly by Arambagh subdivision of the Hooghly district. The boundaries are partly natural and artificial. On the west and south-west the Rupnarayan, and on the east and south the Bhagirathi constitute natural boundaries, while on the north, except for small stretches to north-east and north-west bounded by the Baly Khal and the Damodar respectively, the boundary is formed by an artificial line marking the southern limits of the Hooghly district. The area of the district was 575 sq. miles according to the Survey of India and 560.1 sq. miles according to the Census of 2001. TOPOGRAPHY : Hemmed in between the Hooghly (Bhagirathi) on the east and the Rupnarayan on the west, and intersected by the Damodar, the Howrah district consists of a flat alluvial plain. The product of these rivers Howrah through the district and their branches, it comprises two main division, viz., the raised river banks and the