District Agriculture Plan PALAMU DISTRICT 2008-09 to 2011-12

District Agriculture Plan PALAMU DISTRICT 2008-09 to 2011-12 NABARD CONSULTANCY SERVICES JHARKHAND REGIONAL OFFICE RANCHI 2 MAP OF PALAMAU DISTRICT Map of the District 3 FOREWORD Jharkhand, the 28th State of the Indian Union is best known for its rich mineral resources. However, 78% of the total population of 2.69 crore live in rural areas, largely dependent only on agriculture and allied activities. The total cultivable land in the State compares well at 52% of the total geographical area with 55% in the country. But, unfortunately while 76% of the total cultivable area is under net sown area in the country, only 43% is cultivated in Jharkhand. The state suffers from several critical gaps in the agricultural and allied sectors. It is against this back drop that the Agricultural Development plan for 21 districts of the State have been prepared by NABCONS on the basis of the assignment given by the Government of Jharkhand. The proposed plan envisages a holistic revamp of the entire agriculture and allied sectors. The full implementation of the proposals is expected to significantly increase the cropping intensity, the net and gross cropped area and finally result in vastly improved nutrient availability to the rural population. The investments in allied sectors and integrated approach to farming are important to boost the household incomes and to mitigate the risks in agriculture dependent almost entirely on the vagaries of nature with only 10% of cultivated land under irrigation against the national average of 40%. It is a great privilege and simultaneously a big challenge for NABCONS, the consultancy subsidiary of NABARD, to have been assigned the task of preparing the State wise and district (in respect of 21 districts) wise comprehensive Agriculture Plan (SAP & DAP) by the Jharkhand state govt. for the period 2008-11. I, in the dual role as the Principal Representative of NABCONS and Regional Chief of NABARD for Jharkhand state feel very happy to submit the comprehensive Agriculture Development Plan to the Govt. of Jharkhand. I gratefully acknowledge the support received from Shri. A K Basu IAS, Chief Secretary, Shri. S K Chaudhury IAS, Development Commissioner, Shri. A K Sarkar IAS, Principal Secretary 4 Agriculture and Deputy Commissioners of all districts. The plan was prepared based on grass root level consultations at village, block and district level and research agencies. I am confident that this plan would be a harbinger of great opportunities in accelerating overall growth of the state and improve the well-being of millions strong farming community in the state. We from NABARD, as the apex Agriculture and Rural Bank of the country, feel proud to commit ourselves as one of the very important stakeholders in our mission for integrated development of agriculture and allied sector and bringing pride of place for the state it deserves. (K.C.Shashidhar) Principal Representative, NABCONS & CGM, NABARD, Jharkhand 5 PALAMU DISTRICT - JHARKHAND TABLE OF CONTENTS Particulars Page No. Map of Palamu District Foreword Executive Summary Chapter 1 Introduction 1-4 Chapter 2 District Profile 5-17 Chapter 3 Agriculture and Allied Potential 18-49 Chapter 4 District Agriculture Plan 50-83 Annexure- I Consolidated District Agriculture Plan 84-88 Appendix I Watershed Development 89-97 Annexure II Year wise phasing of the plan 98-103 6 CONSULTATIVE PROCESS The entire Plan has been prepared in a consultative approach with active participation of all the stake-holders. a) Line Depts. i.e. Agriculture Dept., Animal Husbandry, Dairy, Fisheries and Horticulture b) Strategic Research Extension Plan (SREP) prepared by ATMA in 8 districts under the guidance of SAMETI c) Potential-linked Credit Plans (PLP) prepared by NABARD for all the districts in the State d) Farmers in select areas e) Select NGOs f) Discussions with District Authorities and the district line departments g) Birsa Agricultural University h) Research Institutions such as ICAR (HARP) and IINRG (erstwhile ILRI) i) RRBs and Commercial Banks Consultative Workshop at village, district and state levels NABCONS convened a series of workshops of the all the stakeholders at the district levels for obtaining their expectations and suggestions. The line department officials of the districts were provided with the copy of the plan prepared for the concerned district. The district wise discussions on the plan was taken up and district officials, NGOs and farmers made suggestions for incorporating in the plan. Some of the suggestions that emanated from the stakeholders in the district level meets are briefly outlined under. Seed village is required in each block As the rainfall is less in the area irrigation system which use less water such as sprinkler system should be introduced There is potential for soyabean but processing facility is required 7 Integrated fish farming, integrating crop, horticulture and fish culture to be promoted Renovation of canal system of defunct irrigation project required to benefit Palamau and Leslieganj blocks Soil testing labs should be established at block level To promote organic fertilisers and pesticides, training and awareness creation programme required Timely availability of fertiliser to be ensured Organic products are not getting remunerative prices, market to be identified Para extension workers to be appointed for strengthening extension Awareness creation for use of new farm implements required Vegetable seed to be made available as there is shortage of seed though there is potential for area expansion Plant protection material to be made available There is potential for onion and garlic in Ramsagar and Leslieganj blocks Holding size is small therefore consolidation of holdings and cooperative farming must for agriculture development Dry land horticulture need to be promoted Ÿ Farmers may be imparted training on short duration paddy and seeds of this variety may be made available to them. The model farming system developed by Zonal Research Centre to be promoted - ZRC to provide the details Seed drill is to be included in farm mechanization There is potential for floriculture - Gladiolus and Marigold - Leslieganj Silvipasture to be promoted Bee keeping there is potential In situ water conservation required Marketing of minor forest produce through SHGs to be promoted KVK will provide block wise potential for different crops in the district Storage facilities may be provided to the farmers to prevent distress selling and help farmers in getting remunerative prices There is potential for mushroom cultivation in Chattarpur block 8 Interaction with Project Directors of ATMA and SAMETI - For Agriculture Plan NABCONS had interaction with the ATMA and the SAMETI to obtain their valuable feedback on the expectations and perceptions and suggestions for developing agriculture in the state. Some of the suggestions made by them have been collated as under district wise: Seed storage -cum- training centre to be constructed 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Major crops in the district are paddy, maize, pulses consisting of Arhar, Urad, Moong, Kulthi, Chana, Masoor and Peas and oil seeds comprising of Groundnuts, Til, Sunflower, Sarguja, Andi, Sarso and Tisi. Agricultural production is characterized by mono cropping practices with only 36% of the net cropped area being irrigated. 83 % of the operational holdings are owned by small and marginal farmers. During 2007-08, paddy was cultivated in 34247 ha, wheat in 7364 ha, maize in 23616 ha, pulses in 34340 ha and oilseeds in 6578 ha and vegetables in 4524 ha. 2. Seed is a Important input determining the productivity of crops. The present seed replacement rate in crops is estimated to be only around 10%. It is proposed to achieve 100% seed replacement during the plan period. The major crops cultivated in the districts have been considered for certified seed production. As it would take some time to establish seed farms, it is proposed that 20 % of the seed would still be purchased from outside the State. 3. The agriculture plan has been prepared to address the issues faced by agriculture in the district. The programmes proposed in the plan aim at increasing productivity of crops and live stock through soil health improvement, arranging quality inputs, double the area under irrigation, increase area under cultivation. It is projected to treat 1992 ha of cultivable wasteland and 7628 ha of other fallow land and propagate agro forestry, fodder cultivation and horticulture crops, promote lac and sericulture cultivation, strengthen extension services, and set up demonstrative units, soil testing labs and give a push to adopting new and innovative technologies. For Palamu district, for the period 2008-09 to 2011-12, an outlay in the plan for the various activities envisaged is of Rs.181.181 crore has been proposed. The Broad Sector wise allocations for the period 2008-09 to 2011-12 has been projected as given below - Sr Broad Components Projection of the plan % to Total (Rs.lakh) 10 1 Land Development Programme - Moisture 2390.114 13.19 Conservation & Soil Health Improvement 2 Subsidy Assistance for Irrigation 5752.000 31.71 3 Programme for field crops 2242.182 12.41 4 Farm Mechanisation 140.880 0.78 5 Horticulture Development 2415.600 13.33 6 Promotion of Sericulture 315.000 1.74 7 Support for Lac cultivation 1800.000 9.93 8 Bio fertilizer/ Vermicompost/ Organic manure 58.000 0.32 9 Strengthening Extension and Capacity Building 321.854 1.78 Programme 10 Animal Husbandry 2489.173 13.75 11 Fisheries 103.225 0.56 12 Innovative schemes 80.045 0.45 13 Research 10.000 0.05 Total 18118.073 100 11 Sector wise Distribution of Plan Outlay Innovative schemes 0.5% Research Fisheries 0.1% 0.6% Land Development AH 13.2% 13.8% Extension 1.8% Bio-fertiliser 0.3% Lac 9.9% Sericulture 1.7% Irrigation 31.7% Horticulture 13.3% Farm Mechanisation 0.8% Field Crops 12.4% 4.

Load more