L. C. SIKKA
33
In spite of the foregoing increased production, there will still remain a deficit of some 6.66 million
tons of digestible protein and 40.50 million tons of starch equivalent. How may that be met ?
Obviously, the first thing to do would be to increase the supplies from the existing sources, as
much as possible, and then look for new sources. The waste lands, aggregating some 90 million acres
in British India, offer a great scope in this respect. These should be surveyed, and working plans
formulated for their development. Such waste lands, as can be brought under cultivation economi-
cally should be used for that purpose, if possible, for growing fodder crops; while the grass produc-
tion from the rest should be increased by suitable management. That there is a very great scope in
the latter direction, there can be no doubt. We have already the example of improvement of usar
lands in the United Provinces*, the hay production of which was increased from 2.75 maunds to 15.0
maunds per acre over a period of 5½ years by the simple and inexpensive practice of protecting them
from grazing during the six rainy months, in spite of grazing having been permitted after the hay
harvest. If each acre of waste land, suitably managed, were to yield annually even half a ton (dry
weight) of hay more than at present (surely, not an impossible target), the extra quantity of grazing
material thus obtained would provide nearly 2¼ million tons of digestible protein and 18 million tons
of starch equivalent.
In order to produce the balance—approximately 4½ million tons of digestible protein and 22½
million tons of starch equivalent—we must again look to our cultivated land. The total cultivated
area of British India approximates 260 million acres, of which some 45 million acres are classified as
'current fallows'. Only about 30 million acres are double—cropped at present, the percentage of
double-cropped area being nearly 14 per cent of the net-sown area. The required quantity of animal
food should be obtained through extending the double-cropped area by raising a catch crop of green
fodder, either before or after the principal crop as feasible. Provided the catch crop is a legume
there should be no danger of depleting the soil fertility by this practice. The raising of a crop of
pulse from paddy land, by broad-casting the pulse seed (khesari) in the standing crop of paddy†, is an
admirable practice, which must be extended with advantage both to the main crop and cattle.
Similarly suitable pulses can as well be grown on lands producing other cereals. Where means of
cheap irrigation are available, the extension of area under berseem and other clovers should be possible.
To increase the area under leguminous fodders by 30 million acres should, therefore, not prove im-
practicable.
SUMMARY
To summarise, the following are the adjustments recommended in the existing cropping with a
view to produce the required quantity of animal food:
Crop
Cereals . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pulses (for grain) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oilseeds . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fodder crops . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other crops . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total
Area (million acres) under
Existing
cropping
156.0
27.0
18.5
10.5
32.0
244.0
Proposed
cropping
137.5
27.0
37.0
40.5
32.0
273.5
REFERENCES
Burns, W. [1944]. Technological Possibilities of Agricultural Development in India.
Ware, F. [1944]. Ibid.
*Proceedings of the 2nd meeting of the Animal Husbandry Wing held in Madras, 1936, p. 244.
†Proceedings of the Cattle Conference held at Simla, 1937, p. 59.
F