32
Food Requirements of Milch and other Cattle in India.
holdings, the land must needs be cropped essentially to produce human food of plant origin. The
production of animal food must remain largely subservient to that system, only surplus land being
devoted to the keeping of livestock, that in the absence of land, must subsist on the by-products
of human food.
As already stated, in order to attain self-sufficiency in human foodstuffs, the targets fixed are to
increase the production of cereals by 10 per cent, of pulses by 20 per cent and of fats and oils (and,
therefore, of oil seeds) by 250 per cent. That, when done, should also enhance the existing supplies
of straw by some 15 per cent, bran by 10 per cent, pulse husks and chuni by 20 per cent, and oil-cakes
by 250 per cent, thus giving us the following quantities of nutrients:
Roughages:
Fodder crops . . . . . . . . .
Grasses . . . . . . . . . .
Straws . . . . . . . . . .
Total .
Concentrates:
Oilcakes (excluding castor) . . . . . . . . .
Brans . . . . . . . . . .
Pulse, husks and chuni . . . . . . . . .
Cotton seed . . . . . . . . .
Total .
Grand Total .
Total production
(dry weight in
million tons)
19.53
67.74
100.28
187.55
7.50
1.84
1.55
1.40
11.99
199.54
Digestible
protein
in tons
976,000
3,387,000
501,400
4,864,400
2,402,500
134,200
78,000
157,500
2,772,200
7,336,600
Starch
equivalent
in tons
7,812,000
27,096,000
25,070,000
59,978,000
5,190,000
785,400
850,800
1,078,000
7,904,200
67,882,200
Compared with the total requirements, the supplies of digestible protein and starch equivalent,
which will thus become available, are 53.4 per cent and 62.6 per cent respectively.
It must first be considered how this projected increased production of human food (and, therefore,
of animal food) may be effected: whether by extending the area under these crops, or by obtaining
higher yields per acre, or by a combination of both these steps.
Burns [1944]. Ibid has already indicated the technological possibilities of crop improvement i n
India. He has shown that by adopting improved agricultural practices it is possible to improve
the yield of cereals by 20-50 per cent, of grain by 20 per cent, and of most oilseeds by 15-25 per cent.
In view of these results, the desired increased production of cereals and pulses should be obtainable
from the existing areas under such crops; while in case of oilseeds their present area (18.5 million
acres) must be at least doubled. However, in view of the great possibility for increasing the yield of
cereals, and their large area (156 million acres), there should be ample scope for finding the additional
land required for growing oilseeds out of that area.
It should also be stated that the use of edible oil-cakes as manures must be discontinued. Burns
[1944] Ibid has estimated that, in order to meet only one-fifth the manurial needs of paddy (to secure
increased yield per acre), the whole of the existing supply of oilcakes is required. If the use of edible
oilcakes as manure is to increase, the animal food supply position may further deteriorate. No doubt,
without the use of manures the scope for increasing the yield of our crops is, in most cases, very little;
but artificial fertilizers, farm yard manure, compost and green manures, rather than edible oilcakes,
must be looked upon to satisfy that need.
It is also essential to stop the export of oilseeds and oilcakes, and develop the Indian oilseeds
crushing industry.