AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

LIVE-STOCK

Live-stock raising is one of the oldest callings of the people of this country and is carried out side by side with agriculture. Even today, in this mechanised age, live-stock continues to play a dominant role in the agricultural economy of the district. Unlike the European Continent and the United States of America where cattle are mainly raised for milk and beef in the district as elsewhere in the country they are mainly maintained for milk and agricultural operations like ploughing and harrowing, lifting water for irrigation and transporting agricultural produce. Some times buffaloes are also employed in these operations. Live-stock also supplies much of the organic manure needed by the farmers. It would not be wrong to say that no farmer in the district can do farming without the aid of live-stock. Wool, horns, bones, and hides and skins are the other valuable live-stock products which are put to a variety of uses. In 1966 the total live-stock population in the district was 5,22,602.

Gaolao Breed.

Of the total live-stock in the district in 1966, cattle accounted for 3,63,950, males numbering 126,433 and females 122,917. Wardha district has the best breed of cattle in the Vidarbha region known as Gaolao breed and hence the district is known as the home of Gaolao cattle. It is one of the breeds in the country approved by Government and Arvi tahsil is particularly noted for it. In this tahsil, this breed is mostly bred by Gaolis who go about the forests with the herds and are called Heti Gaolis, heti meaning an enclosure for cattle erected in the jungle. With the encouragement given by Government, many others have also taken to rearing cattle but Gaoli still remains the predominant community. Within the Arvi block, Pimpalkhuta, Chopan, Chandni, Masod and Ladgad, and Karanja, Pimpri, Ghoosa and Jaurvada in Karanja block are particularly famous for Gaolao breed. Pimpalkhuta butter is well-known throughout the Vidarbha region. In the environments of the above noted areas plenty of good quality fodder grass is available and hence these areas have become especially congenial for cattle raising. It is opined that if due care is taken and efforts are made to develop the pasture lands of this region, Arvi will become the Denmark of Vidarbha, capable of supplying milk to the entire region. It is encouraging to note that steps have already been taken in this direction.

Animals of this breed are usually white in colour with shortish curved horns, predominantly convex foreheads, short ears and large and soft eyes. Their tales are long, thin and tapering. They are well built and specially adopted for fast work. The other features of this breed are tapering nostrils and black muzzles, a short neck and a broad and prominent chest, black hoofs, fairly short legs in proportion to the body, and a back curving gradually over the quarters and slightly hollow behind the hump. The Gaolao cattle are not very hardy, however, and require some care and attention in breeding. The price of a breeding bull may vary from Rs. 800 to Rs. 1500 and that of a pair of plough bullocks from Rs. 600 to Rs. 1500. The best trotting bullocks command even a higher price and harnessed to a light cart weighing 90 or 100 lbs. a pair of them will do 50 miles under 12 hours, while for short distances they can trot for eight miles an hour. White cattle are usually preferred and white bulls are always preserved for breeding purposes. These animals are not so large as the Berar bullocks.

Nagpuri Breed.

Under the name Nagpuri another breed of cattle is distinguished. These are also usually of white colour and have horns of medium size and flat foreheads. They are more leggy than the Gaolao cattle and may be of different colours. They are much used in road works in tongas or carts. In tenacity and staying power they are inferior to Gaolao, and the cows of this breed do not yield much milk.

Gondi Breed.

A third class of cattle are called Gondi. These are inferior, small and badly shaped, with thin and short horns and are probably simply of the promiscuous interbreeding of badly nourished animals. Breeding is carried on all over the district from selected bulls, the youngsters being separated from the cows as soon as they are weaned, and kept and grazed separately.

Cows are kept for breeding, milk and manure which they afford. The best cows of Gaolao breed will yield about 15 to 20 seers of milk if properly fed and looked after. Cows of Nagpuri breed give from six to eight seers of milk. A cow as a rule gives one calf for every eighteen months and from eight to ten calves are obtained from one cow on an average. A good milch cow of Gaolao breed costs from Rs. 300 to 500. The bull is allowed access to the cow at three or four years old. He serves the cows usually for a period of three to five years and is then put to cultivation either with or without being castrated. One bull can serve a herd of about 200 cows. Bulls which are to be trained for cultivation are castrated when about three years of age. Till recently this operation was performed by the Mangs in Wardha in a crude manner thereby causing much pain to the animals. With the establishment of veterinary dispensaries it is done swiftly and scientifically by the veterinary doctors.

The following para taken from the old Wardha Gazetteer gives the information about cattle as it existed at that time. " As to the working life of bullocks the following remarks of the same authority may be quoted. ' The bullock is trained to the plough in its fourth year and is put to hard work first in its fifth. A pair of bullocks are generally considered as being up to full work for six years or until they are twelve years old. After this their strength is on the decline. They are then sold to a poorer man at a much reduced price, and after doing work for another year or two are again sold for a nominal sum to a still poorer cultivator in whose possession they die unless they fall into the hands of the butcher............ '. In Wardha it is said that a pair of bullocks will last for 12 years if they are well fed, and as they are castrated at about 3 years old this would bring their working life to 15 years of age. A plough of land of four bullocks is considered equivalent to 30 acres of black soil or 40 acres of gravel or bardi, the work of dragging the plough being lighter in the latter. In 1904-05 there were 138,000 bulls and bullocks in the district............ " [ Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha, Vol. A., 1906, pp. 120-121.]

The table below gives the average ruling prices of all types of domestic animals in Wardha district.

TABLE No. 20

AVERAGE RULING PRICES OF ALL TYPES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, [ Supplied by Director of Animal Husbandry, Maharashtra State, Poona.] WARDHA DISTRICT

Cattle Farm and Breeding Centre.

While improving agriculture it is necessary that the breed of cattle  in general be also improved not only to obtain more milk but also to  have tougher and healthier draught animals. The district has a fine cattle breeding farm at Hetikundi in Arvi tahsil. It was established in 1947 and is known as Heti-Heti Farm. It maintains a herd of the finest Gaolao breed with the object of rearing pure and strong Gaolao cattle. Besides the farm, there are key village centres at Seldoh, Waigaon, Bhindi, Dhanadi, Hetikundi, Sevagram etc., which supply breeding bulls to the villages falling in their spheres. There are key village-cum-artificial insemination centres at Arvi and Kharangna. There are also supplementary cattle breeding centres at Kangaon, Kinhi, Dahegaon Gosai, Rahati etc. Under the Goshala Development Scheme the Goshalas at Wardha and Hinganghat were supplied with a foundation stock of 10 cows and one breeding bull each at government cost to which the Goshalas added an equal number. The Goshalas are to carry out breeding under the scheme for a period of five years. For this period they will each receive a subsidy of Rs. 2,000 per year. In this respect the Goshalas at Gopuri and Sevagram are also doing fine work.

Artificial Insemination Centres.

Stress is also laid on improving cattle breed by artificial insemination. Hence a full-fledged artificial insemination centre has been opened at Wardha with sub-centres at Kharangna, Seloo, Arvi and Samudrapur. These sub-centres receive their supply of semen from the principal centre.

There are many pastoral communities in Arvi tahsil maintaining large herds. They are poor and during summer move with their herds from place to place along river banks in search of green pastures. To make them settle at one place, the Government aided and encouraged them to form multipurpose co-operative societies. Eight such societies have now been formed in the district having their own shops where members can buy fodder and other necessities at cheaper rates. This has improved their lot to a considerable extent.

To popularise Gaolao breed outside the district farms have been established in Chanda and Yeotmal districts. Cattle are also exported to the adjoining districts and even in Madhya Pradesh. In this regard the old Gazetteer observes: " The number of cattle bred in the district is not sufficient to permit of any considerable surplus for export, but young calves of the Gaolao breeds are bought by purchasers from Chhindwara. On the other hand many imported cattle are used in Wardha. Bullocks of the Berar breed are imported from Wun and other places and are considered to be stronger than the Wardha animals. They are also obtained from Mahur in Hyderabad, these animals being called Mahurpatti while others bred in Chanda are called Telangpatti. The Mahur cattle are red, black and speckled and are very strong, costing from Rs. 200 to Rs. 400 a pair for the best animals ". [ Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District, Vol. A, 1906, pp. 119-20.] The export of cattle of Gaolao breed has since considerably increased.

Buffaloes.

According to the 1966 live-stock Census there were 40,753 buffaloes in the district of which 23,025 were females and 1,136 males. Buffaloes are also principally bred by the Gaolis in the northern parts of the district, especially in Arvi tahsil. They are chiefly maintained for milk and manure. Many of the Gaolis make a profession of keeping buffaloes for the manufacture of ghee, such persons being called Ghekadis. Cow-buffaloes are valued for their milk from which ghee is extracted, and also for the manure which they afford. The milk and butter are sold in towns, but the Hindus care more for ghee and hence they turn butter into ghee by boiling it. A milch she-buffalo costs from Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 today. The following extract taken from the old Wardha Gazetteer gives the statistics of buffaloes then ruling in the district; " In 1903-04 the number of cow-buffaloes was 31,000....In 1904-05 it had decreased to 28,000. There were only some 5,000 male buffaloes " [ Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District,, vol. A, 1906, p. 123.]. The 1966 figure for she buffaloes shows a decline of nearly 5,000 over that of 1904-05.

Cattle and Buffalo feed.

The principal feed is jowar stalks or kadbi, cotton-seed, straw and arhar. Grasses in the pasture lands also form a valuable food. Oil-cake is given rarely as it is an expensive food. The staple food is kadbi which is fed to them for six to eight months of the year. An acre of land sown with jowar yields nearly 500 bundles or pulas of kadbi, ten such bundles being necessary to feed a pair of bullocks daily. A bundle of such kind is called a harpula and is as much as a woman can hold at one time when she cuts the stalks. The larger bundle called bandhiva is double the size. Thus four acres will feed a pair of cattle for six months. In the hot weather cotton seed is given, a yoke requiring five to eight pounds of seed daily. In the rains this feed is not given as it is considered bad for cattle during that season. At this time they receive straw and chaff and tiura, cattle of the well-to-do cultivators receiving arhar feed which is first soaked in water to increase its bulk. The diet described is obtained by the superior classes of cattle, but those belonging to poor cultivators are not stall-fed at all excepting the two working periods of June and July and again in October and November. Plough bullocks are not usually sent to any distance for grazing, and if there is no forest in the vicinity of the village they are left to pick up what they can along the banks of fields. Other animals are sent to Government forests in the district and the pasture lands. To improve the position of fodder work of converting Government waste lands into pasture lands has been taken up under the Wardha Plan. Salt is given to all kinds of cattle in July, August and October in doses of from 10 to 20 tolas. At Diwali festival cows and buffaloes also receive a little salt. Gaolis also give to milch cows and buffalo cows a pinch of salt daily when they are milked, while at the commencement of the rains the cultivating cattle get a handful for seven days.

Horses and Ponies.

Horses and ponies are not bred in the district to any extent worth mentioning, nor is the taste for riding prevalent among the land owning classes. They numbered only 1825 in 1966. Horses, mules and asses are not employed in agricultural operations, but they are useful as pack animals and in drawing transport. In all the major towns of Wardha horses are mainly employed in pulling tongas. Donkeys are kept only by Kumbhars and Dhimars who in Wardha are known as Bhois. Many of these Bhois make a profession of carrying goods on donkeys for hire.

Goats.

For its small size the number of goats in the district is extraordinarily large. They numbered 103,306 in 1966. Though they are principally kept by Dhangars and Shepherds, of late many a cultivator keeps goats for the sake of manure which they afford. The Dhangars keep goats for the sake of meat, and also make ghee from their milk and sell it to the banias for export. Locally there is no demand for goat ghee, the people refusing to consume either milk in its natural form or when turned into ghee. The Dhangars also let out their herds for being penned on the fields.

Sheep numbered 8,436 in 1966 and are kept both by shepherds and Sheep. Dhangars. They are mainly kept for the sake of their wool from which coarse country blankets or kambals are woven. These blankets have a great demand amongst the agriculturists.

Poultry.

Poultry mainly comprises fowls and ducks which are valued for their eggs and mutton, fowl mutton being especially highly prized. Until recently farmers in the district did not look upon poultry farming as a subsidiary source of income with the result that it was not managed on scientific basis. However, with the help and guidance given through the block agency poultry farming is now undertaken on scientific lines and has become one of the most important cottage industries in the rural areas. Loans ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 and subsidy upto Rs. 250 are given to interested poultry keepers. A centre for training people in poultry keeping has been established under the Wardha Plan at Wardha and the trained desiring to start poultry farms are given loans from Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,600. Under the same plan a hatchery to meet the demand for eggs and birds of improved breeds has also been established at Wardha. Hinganghat has a poultry demonstration centre with a capacity to house 100 birds. Besides carrying out demonstrations, it distributes birds and eggs to interested poultry keepers. Three dairy-cum-poultry co-operative societies have been established in the district. To popularise poultry-keeping poultry shows are held throughout the district from time to time. Ranikhet and Fowl Pox are the most dangerous diseases affecting poultry. To guard the poultry against these diseases prophylactic vaccinations are given at regular intervals. Poultry feed is also mixed with medicines to keep the birds free of various diseases.

The table that follows gives the statistics of live-stock including poultry in each tahsil of Wardha district as per the 1966 Census. [ Socio-Economic Review and District Statistical Abstract, Wardha District, 1965-66, pp. 29-31.]

TABLE No. 21

LIVE-STOCK IN EACH TAHSIL OF WARDHA DISTRICT AS PER THE 1966 CENSUS

TABLE No. 21-contd.

TABLE No. 21-contd.

TABLE No. 21-contd.

TABLE No. 21-contd.

TABLE No. 21-contd.

Cattle Diseases.

The local names for the ordinary cattle diseases are phansi, sarphansi and ektangi for anthrax, khuri for foot-and-mouth disease, mata for rinderpest and phopsa for pleuro -pneumonia. Phansi is what is called gloss anthrax in which case the veins of the tongue get distended with black blood as a result of which it becomes much swollen, especially at the base. It is probably caused due to drinking of bad water by the animals and almost always appears in the hot weather. It is said locally not to be very fatal. The local remedy is to brand the veins of the tongue and sometimes to cut the ears so as to let blood flow from them. But to day this crude method is hardly ever employed as there are effective medicines against every ordinary disease. In case of sarphansi disease the lungs get swollen and this is said to be much more fatal. Ektangi is apparently the local name for blackquarter, an anthracoid disease in which one of the hindquarters becomes affected and swells. This disease is rare and is said to appear at intervals of some years. Rinderpest is usually said to be prevalent in the hot weather but accounts as to the time of its appearance vary so much that little reliance is to be placed on them. Young buffaloes are particularly susceptible to this disease. It is generally supposed to be less common in the Nagpur country than elsewhere. The animal is given ghee and buttermilk to drink to cool the liver. Against such diseases inoculations and vaccinations have been successfully practiced. Phopsa or pleuro-pneumonia is not very common and is not locally considered to be contagious, though as a matter of fact it is so. But cases of inflammation and congestion of the lungs are often mistaken for the contagious disease. Real pleuro pneumonia is usually fatal and medicine has little effect upon it. Khuri or foot-and-mouth disease is the most common but is not usually fatal. Ulcers appear on the lips, and blood and pus ooze from the hoofs. If the hoofs split, the animal is maimed for life. Local remedy is to apply ghee or butter and alum to the tongue and dikamali or the resin of Gardenia lucida boiled in linseed oil to the feet, or a paste of powdered tobacco and lime. The animal is also made to stand in mud or the hot refuse of mahua. The disease is most virulent in cold weather. Though local remedies still continue to be practical in the remoter parts, people generally seek veterinary aid whenever their animals are affected by any disease or are suspected to be affected. Other cattle diseases are karkrog and lagatrog. The veterinary facilities afforded in the district have greatly decreased the cattle mortality.

Veterinary Aid.

Veterinary aid is indispensable in the breeding of healthy cattle by controlling the outbreak of and immunising the cattle against various diseases. With this view six full-fledged veterinary dispensaries have been established at Wardha, Arvi, Hinganghat, Seloo, Samudrapur and Karanja. In addition to these dispensaries there are 25 aid-centres located at different places throughout the district. Under the Wardha plan a mobile epizootic control unit has been established at Wardha. The main services rendered at these dispensaries and the aid centres are treatment of animal diseases, control of epidemics, castration of scrub bulls and control and destruction of animal parasites. A mention of the artificial insemination centres has already been made in the fore going pages.

Propaganda, Fairs and Markets.

Propaganda regarding the importance of breeding healthy cattle as also to multiply their heads is carried out by the staff of the Animal Husbandry department in the course of their day-to-day work. Every year cattle shows and calf rallies are held in the district to make the villagers understand the importance of pure breed animals as also to encourage them to follow breeding on scientific lines.

The district has no regular cattle fairs, but a certain number of animals are brought for sale to the annual fair held at Ghorad near Seloo in March. Of the weekly cattle markets, the ones held at Devli, Samudrapur and Arvi are the most important. Cattle are also sold at a number of weekly markets such as Andori, Seloo, Hamdapur, Wardha, Pulgaon and Sindi. The large cattle market held at Wani in Yeotmal district is frequented by purchasers and sellers from Wardha. Many cultivators also go to the Arvi tahsil and buy cattle direct from the Gaolis who breed them.

Dairy Farming.

It has already been noticed under live-stock section that the northern parts of the district, especially Arvi tahsil, have a large number of cattle breeders who maintain excellent Gaolao breed cows and good milk-yielding buffaloes. This part, incidentally, has the largest area under forests and contains some of the best pasture lands in the district. Thus the district in general and Arvi tahsil in particular offer ideal conditions for undertaking dairy development. Hitherto, the dairy industry was worked by semi-nomadic tribes on the most primitive lines. Due to lack of speedy transport, chilling and other accompanying facilities much of the milk produced in these areas was converted into ghee, butter, khava, curds etc. whose sale did not bring the producer the same returns as the sale of fluid milk, which is of excellent quality, would have. Again the acute scarcity of water forced the pastoral communities to migrate from place to place, which greatly affected the organization of the industry. Though it cannot be asserted that all these hurdles have now been removed and that all the pastoral communities have settled down with their herds, yet it has to be admitted that the determined efforts of Government through the Animal Husbandry Department are increasingly meeting with success and it may not be long before the industry in Wardha district is put on a sound footing.

Observing all these difficulties and predicaments of the pastoral communities, it was felt that excellent results could be obtained if they are encouraged to organise themselves into co-operatives. There was also the acute need of collecting milk produced in the rural areas and supply it to the urban areas where it was scarce and where it would command a better price thus ameliorating the living conditions of the milk producers. With this object in view nine co-operatives were established throughout the district. Similarly with the financial and technical help rendered by the department a Milk and Ghee producers union was established at Arvi and assigned the task of collecting milk from its affiliated societies. A vehicle has also been provided to collect milk from various places. The union has adopted the system of on the spot testing and payment. The milk so collected is chilled in the chilling plant provided at Pimpalkhuta and then transported to the Nagpur Milk Scheme.

There are also five private dairies at Sevagram, Gopuri, Pipari, Umari and Wardha. These maintain large herds of Gaolao milch cows and the milk produced is supplied to Wardha town through Goras Bhandar at Wardha which works under the auspices of All India Gosewa Sangh. The one at Wardha was established due to the initiative taken by Mahatma Gandhi. Goras Bhandar, however, supplies only cow's milk. Besides there is one dairy farm at Pulgaon Army Unit and another at Pulgaon proper. Thus dairy farms have not only helped to bring better returns to the producers but have also made available good quality milk in the areas where it was difficult to get it.

Milk producers have now realised the benefit of co-operation and are increasingly coming under the co-operative fold. They are also taking to dairy farming on organised and scientific lines. Government is also extending a helping hand not only by giving them financial help but also by developing pasture lands and improving communications which are a must for a thriving dairy business.

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