AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Agricultural research and education is one of the important measures which attempts at over-all change in the field of agriculture. It assumed greater importance especially when India embarked upon the rural reconstruction through Community Development Programme. It was but necessary to educate the rural masses which mainly include a large number of cultivators governed by the time-honoured practices. The Government of Maharashtra, therefore, established agricultural research stations, taluka seed multiplication farms, trial-cum-demonstration farms, training centres, mass training courses and various other training camps of short durations for educating the cultivators in the country-side in respect of scientific methods of cultivation, crop rotation, application of manures and fertilisers and protection of crops from pests and diseases. Considerable progress has been made in the field of agricultural research and education. The agricultural class is receiving the benefits of it.

Government conducts seven agricultural research stations in the district for carrying out research and experiments on different crops. The details of these research stations are as under: —

N. A.=Not available.

Besides, there are 13 seed multiplication farms in the district engaged in multiplying the foundation or improved strains. Such seeds are distributed to a few progressive cultivators in some selected villages. The seeds are thus multiplied so as to meet the demand of a large number of cultivators. The following statement gives details regarding the taluka seed farms: —

Area in acres

The following statement gives area under each improved variety of seeds and yields therefrom during 1968-69: —

continued..

A trial-cum-demonstration farm was established at Kashti in 1959-60 to work out different cropping patterns suitable for the Ghod weir area. The total area of the farm is 59.11 acres of which 47.30 acres constitute the net cultivable area. The net cultivable area is divided into three units. The first unit forms the control unit, being not irrigated. In the second unit the present pattern of crops would be followed with some new crops to formulate proper rotations. The third unit has an intensive cropping pattern with suitable cash-crops and subsidiary crops. All the crops in this unit are suitably manured and irrigated. The crop of chillis is rotated with cotton.

Besides the research activities, the mass training schemes, village leaders' training camps, study tours, etc., help in educating the large number of cultivators in the country-side. These activities are carried out through the Zilla Parishad and the Panchayat Samitis. In addition the agricultural school at Puntamba in Kopargaon taluka provides for a two-year training course in agriculture. So far 650 students have completed the course from this school. Besides, the school provides facilities for imparting training in poultry and dairy farming. This school was established by the Hind Seva Mandal. Its management was later on taken over by the then Government of Bombay in 1947. The school was afterwards transferred to the Ahmadnagar Zilla Parishad in 1962. It has an area of 192.30 acres out of which 160 acres are under cultivation, the main crops being sugar-cane, gram, jowar, wheat, groundnut, etc. An area of 50 acres is under canal irrigation.

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