AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

AGRICULTURAL POPULATION

AGRICULTURE IS THE PRINCIPAL MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD of the people in Bhandara district. It is the most important industry as it not only supplies the basic necessities of life like food, but also the raw materials to feed the industries in the district. The population of Bhandara district is predominantly agricultural. To arrive at the actual population dependant on agriculture it is necessary to look into the decennial Census tables. It may, however, be observed that owing to different methods of Census operations, they do not exactly give comparable data. The total population of the district as per 1971 Census was 15,85,580 spread over an area of 9,214 km². The density of population has increased sharply from 76 persons per square kilometre in 1921 to 135 persons per square kilometre in 1961 and further to 172 persons per square kilometre in 1971. The district density has, however, always been higher than the State average because of the very intensive pattern of crops with a large proportion of areas under irrigation and double cropping.

The following table gives the number of cultivators and agricultural labourers as per 1971 Census in Bhandara district. [District Census Handbook of Bhandara District, 1971.]

TABLE No. 1

CULTIVATORS AND AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS IN BHANDARA DISTRICT, 1971.

According to 1971 Census workers formed 46.82 per cent and non-workers accounted for 53.18 per cent of the total population. The cultivators formed 21.27 per cent whereas agricultural labourers formed 11.77 per cent of the total population in Bhandara district.

RAINFALL

The main significant feature of the climate from the point of view of agriculture in the district is the monsoon. It has far reaching economic consequences. Monsoon signifies the rainy season, which is brought about by the winds changing direction twice a year. The south-west monsoon from June to October is the most important as it brings heavy rains in the district. The intensity of rainfall is the greatest in the months of August and September. The direction of monsoon reverses in November blowing from north-east. The north-east monsoon breaks out in November and continues up to the end of December, providing rainfall for winter crops in the district. The rainfall in the months of November and December is very scanty. The rains which come during the months of January and May may be regarded as cyclonic rains in the district.

The significance of the monsoon lies in the fact that it significantly affects the economy of the district. For a predominantly agricultural district like Bhandara with 71.94 per cent of the population depending on land, rainfall is vitally important. The agricultural operations depend upon the timely arrival of monsoon and its quantity and distribution in the district. There are no major irrigation schemes in the district. But tanks, canals and wells are important sources of irrigation. The rainfall, therefore, determines the pattern of crops, and their rotation and the productivity of land in the district.

Rainfall is not uniform in all parts of the district. It is greater in Sakoli and Gondia tahsils than in Bhandara. The figures of average rainfall for these three tahsils, viz., Sakoli, Gondia and Bhandara, were 1,496 mm; 1,597 mm; and 1,395 mm; respectively, for the year 1961. The rainfall increases from west to east in the district. The average rainfall of the district was 841.3 mm and 1,173.3 mm during the years 1965 and 1966, respectively, which was much less than the normal annual rainfall of 1,448.3 mm for the district. Most of the annual rainfall is received from the south-west monsoon.

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