The State Tamil Nadu is geographically
located between 8°5' and 13°35' North
latitude and between 76°14' and 80°21'
East longitude. As a result of this geographical
position, Tamil Nadu enjoys semi arid climate,
which permits higher crops productivity under
irrigation.
Out of 13 million hectares
of geographical area, which is 3.95 per cent
of total geographical area of India, the cultivable
area in Tamil Nadu is around 7 million hectares
and 55 per cent of which is dryland. Though
red soil is the dominant soil type in Tamil
Nadu, both black and alluvial soils also spread
over Tamil Nadu next in extent to red soils.
Monsoon rainfall is the basic
resource for water availability in Tamil Nadu.
Based on annual rainfall of Tamil Nadu and
total geographical area, the tentative annual
water availability is 12.285 Mha. M and out
of which the annual availability is 4.74m.ha.MThe
dominant monsoon for rainfall is north-east
monsoon (Oct.-Dec.) which contribute about
42 to 48 per cent to total annual rainfall
of each district of Tamil Nadu (30districts).
Nevertheless the contribution from south-west
monsoon (June-September) to Tamil Nadu is
around 32 per cent and it benefits Dharmapuri,
Salem, Namakkal, Kanyakumari, The Nilgiris,
Vellore and parts of Villupuram, Cuddalore,
Karur, Thiruvallur and Perambalur districts.
If any negative deviation
from normal rainfall occurs in Tamil Nadu
either during North-East monsoon season or
during south west monsoon season, in an year,
the water availability in Tamil Nadu would
affect three major water sources of irrigation
viz., canals, wells and tanks. The normal
rainfall in Tamil Nadu is 46.4, 140.9, 334.0
and 459mm respectively for cold weather period
(January-February) hot weather period (March-May),
south-west monsoon period (June-September)
and north east monsoon period (October-December).
The study on measured rainfall
for the past four years from the year 2000
indicated that continuous meteorological drought
occurred in both the monsoons that led to
agricultural drought in Tamil Nadu against
the normal pattern of continuous four years
normal rainfall followed by one year deficit
rainfall. This situation has driven to think
on the development of alternate crops to Tamil
Nadu.
In the past, because of the
sound soil health, limited human population,
and unlimited water availability, farmers
have their own set of cropping pattern in
command areas, tank fed areas, well-irrigated
areas and dryland areas. Because of changing
rainfall pattern over years due to deforestation,
urbanization, over population etc., ground
water depletion is triggered to be faster.
Considering them it is time to reduce the
area under rice by 20 per cent and for sugarcane
by 40 per cent to accommodate other demanding
crops like oilseeds, pulses, cotton, maize
etc., The aim of substituting rice and sugarcane
by other crops is not only because of shrinking
water resource, but also due to the fact that
surplus in rice and sugarcane production achieved
in the State of Tamil Nadu. Hence, it is imperative
to design alternate cropping pattern based
on soil and climatic resources in addition
to social requirements of Tamil Nadu. Scientists
from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University have
prepared a document for alternate cropping
pattern for command areas, tank fed areas,
well irrigated areas and dryland areas with
reference to normal rainfall year (+19 to
-19% from normal rainfall),moderate drought
year (-19 to -59% from normal rainfall) and
serve drought year (-59 to-99% from normal
rainfall). The rainfall forecast for the forth
coming season may be culled out from India
Meteorological Department long range forecast
and seasonal climate forecast of Department
of Agricultural Meteorology of Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University and accordingly the
suggested optional crops could be recommended
and adopted.
The document was presented
before Hon'ble Ministers for Agriculture and
Finance, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Member Secretary
State Planning Commission, Agricultural Production
Commissioner and Secretary to Government,
Department of Agriculture and Special Commissioner
to Department of Agriculture during January2004.
A policy paper on the need of alternate cropping
pattern to Tamil Nadu was submitted to Government
of Tamil Nadu.
The document was circulated
among all District Joint Directors of Agriculture
and got refined for ground truth condition
and brought as publication which will be very
useful to the farming community of Tamil Nadu.
Many scientists from TNAU have contributed
their knowledge in preparing this document,
for which we record our sincere gratitude.
The users are requested to critically analyze
the content of the publication and your feed
back is highly valid in terms of further improvement
to be made in this document for larger scale
practical adoption. Before introducing the
suggested cropping pattern, the biological
feasibility, agronomic adoptability, on farm
compatibility, community compatibility (village
compatibility) economic viability and socio-cultural
acceptability have to be assessed in real
sense.
http://www.tnau.ac.in/tech/acpen.pdf
Is India ready
for hi-tech farming?
India has one of the world's
largest agricultural research networks, churning
out a good deal of new technology. But the
majority of farmers still practise traditional
farming, for want of adequate transfer of
the new technology to the fields.
A recent National Sample Survey
report on farmers revealed that over 60 per
cent of them lack access to new technology.
In reality, a sizable chunk of others, too,
do not get to know all that is new and useful
for them.
Person-to-person flow of information
remains the most common mode of dissemination
of farm know-how. As a result, the extension
machinery has come to be viewed as a speed
breaker in agricultural development.
This is reflected in the recent
mid-term appraisal of the 10th five-year plan,
which has presented agriculture as a virtual
drag on the economy.
Though the reasons for this
are several, the most significant among them
are the widening schism between technology
developers and state extension workers, and
the inherent disabilities of the state extension
machinery.
Most of those occupying high
positions in the extension services are themselves
not fully aware of the latest technologies,
having passed out of agricultural colleges
and universities many years earlier.
Field-level workers usually
complain of lack of transport and other facilities
to visit scattered villages. The number of
villages to be covered by each worker is normally
too large to manage.
That apart, most of the new
technology is being generated by the institutions
that are under the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research, a central government body, while
technology transfer is a state subject.
The mandate of the ICAR does
not go beyond displaying the effectiveness
of the new technology through a few field-level
demonstrations. The state agricultural universities,
which are supposed to integrate agricultural
research, education and extension, have proved
incapable of doing so.
In any case, most of these
universities are in poor financial health
for want of adequate funding support from
the equally resource-starved state governments.
Of course, a few attempts
have been made in the past to address these
issues through programmes designed specifically
for technology transfer. But their outcome
was far from satisfactory.
The failed experiments included
operational research projects, the country-wide
lab-to-land programme and the institute-village
linkage programme undertaken as part of the
World Bank-aided National Agricultural Technology
Project.
Moreover, state extension
agencies have experimented with different
knowledge-spreading approaches like field
demonstrations, farmers' fairs and the TV
(training-and-visit) method of extension.
These too have failed to achieve
the desired results. The time now seems ripe
therefore to experiment again and involve
the private sector in this task by offering
suitable incentives.
The concept of facilitating
the setting up of agricultural clinics by
farm graduates, for disseminating technological
knowledge among farmers, seems a well-conceived
step in this direction. So also the programme
for setting up kisan call centres with toll-free
telephone numbers.
Besides, all agro-based industries
should be encouraged to take up technology
dissemination projects, or to combine technology
transfer with their raw material procurement
operations through contract farming.
The bottom line for all this
is regular interaction between agricultural
scientists and extension workers, on one hand,
and the extension workers and the farmers,
on the other.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/20farm.htm
