AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

LAND UTILISATION.

The following statistical information illustrates the fact that cultivation has been extending rapidly ever since 1853. How ever, owing to the lack of a survey and to changes in the boundaries of the district exact statistics cannot be given for the first 27 years. Figures for Pusad taluka are not available, but  conditions in that taluka were very similar to those elsewhere, The area of the old Wun district in 1880-81 and in 1904-05 was almost exactly 2,500,000 acres. The area occupied for cultivation was just over 1.100,000 acres in the former year and just over 1,800,000 acres in the latter. Cultivation extended by 700,000 acres in 24 years, at the rate of over 2½ per cent a year. According to the statistics given in the original Settlement Reports, cultivation in the different tahsils extended at rates varying from 1½ to 7½ per cent a year for the twelve years ending in 1874. About the state of cultivation as prevailed in 1808 the old Gazetteer of the district says as follow—"The total area of the District is 3,332,788 acres, or 5,183 square miles. Out of this total 5 per cent is considered incapable of cultivation: 3 per cent is set aside for village sites, grazing and similar purposes, or is taken up with roads, tanks or rivers, 23 per cent is forest; 66 per cent is already occupied and under cultivation: and only 3 per cent remains unoccupied but available for cultivation. The soil of this 3 per cent is so poor that its average assessment is under two-and-a-half annas, while that of the occupied land is eight annas. It is necessary for the general welfare of the country to maintain much of the forest and in fact the forest soil is also mostly poor: but it is a question now under consideration whether the pasture land which forms C class forest should be disforested and given out for cultivation. Such forest occupies 637 square miles, or nearly 12 per cent of the district. It is clear that apart from some such change cultivation in the district cannot extend much further. The land occupied for cultivation in the whole district during the last five years has been on an average 2,176,609 acres. Out of this nearly 10 per cent was left fallow, juari had 43 per cent, cotton 27 per cent, tur 6 per cent, til, wheat, linseed, and gram 2 and 3 per cent, each, and miscellaneous other crops 5 or 6 per cent. There are less than 11,000 acres of irrigated land in the district, that is only about half per cent. Chillis occupy about 20,000 acres and vegetables—chiefly brinjals, onions, and sweet potatoes—12,000, rice takes about 6,000 acres, tobacco 4,000 and sugarcane 500. There are 40 acres of indigo. Double cropping is almost unknown ".

The pattern of land utilisation in the district as based on the averages for three years from 1957-58 to 1959-60 shows that the district had 54.51 per cent as total gross cropped area and 22.76 per cent as forests. The barren and unculturable land was 5.83 per cent, while permanent pastures covered 2.90 per cent of the total geographical area. The proportion of net area sown to the total geographical area (54.11 per cent) in the district was lower than the average for the State (57.69 per cent) as the area under forests was proportionately higher. Though it is not possible to study the changes in land utilisation over sixty years it may be noted that there is very little possibility to extend the scope of cultivation to any remarkable degree. The old Gazetteer of the district also observed the same thing.

Amongst the food crops, jowar with 36.09 per cent of gross cropped area ranks first in the district. Pulses, chief of which is tur, cover another 12.42 per cent and wheat 2.74 per cent. Rice, bajri and sugarcane are produced on a very small scale and occupy only 1.29, 1 39 and 0.03 per cent, respectively. The ratio of areas under food crops to non-food crops in the district is 55:45. Amongst the non-food crops cotton is the principal crop and occupies 38.52 per cent. Oil-seeds cover 6.01 per cent of the gross cropped area. Groundnut is an important oil-seed and occupies 56 per cent of the area covered by oil-seeds.

The following table No. 4 presents the classification of total geographical area under different categories:—

TABLE No. 4

CLASSIFICATION OF AREA IN EACH TAHSIL OF YEOTMAL DISTRICT FROM 1957-58 TO 1965-66

(In Acres)

TABLE No. 4—contd.

CLASSIFICATION OF AREA IN EACH TAHSIL OF YEOTMAL DISTRICT FROM 1957-58 TO 1965-66—cont.

continued..

TABLE No. 4—contd.

CLASSIFICATION OF AREA IN EACH TAHSIL OF YEOTMAL DISTRICT FROM 1957-58 TO 1965-66—cont.

(In Acres)

Forest Area.

The district then contained close upon 1,093 square miles of forest that is 23 per cent of the total area. The forest were divided into three groups called A, B and C classes. A class forest were fuel and fodder reserves. Their total area was 525 square miles. B class forest were purely fodder reserves and their total area was 31 square miles. C class forest were primarily pasture land and its area was 537 square miles. Table No. 5 gives the statistics of forest area in Yeotmal district during the years 1966-67 and 1967-68.

TABLE No. 5

FOREST AREA IN YEOTMAL DISTRICT DURING THE YEARS 1966-67 AND

1967-68

(In Hectares)

TABLE No. 5—contd.

(In Hectares)

Forest Products.

The principal forest products comprise timber and firewood. The minor forest produce included bamboo, grass, temburni leaves etc. Table No. 6 gives the statistics of major and minor forest products in Yeotmal district during the years 1966-67 and 1967-68.

TABLE No. 6

MAJOR AND MINOR FOREST PRODUCTS IN YEOTMAL DISTRICT DURING THE YEARS 1966-67 AND 1967-68

TOP