Journal of Global Resources
Volume 4 (02)
July 2018
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page 79-88

11
DYNAMICS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN
MAHOBA DISTRICT OF BUNDELKHAND REGION OF UTTAR PRADESH
Devendra Singh Yadav1 and G. S. Chauhan2
12Research Scholar, Department of Geography, M.L.B. Govt. College of Excellence,(Jiwaji University) Gwalior, India Email: devyadavgis@gmail.com

Deputy Secretary, University Grants Commission, Central Regional Office, Bhopal, India

Abstract: Agriculture sector plays a pertinent role in the Indian economy particularly in rural
economy. Indian agriculture is facing the various issues and challenges mainly fragmentation ofland holdings, low yields of crops, land degradation, loss of soil fertility, erratic and irregular
rainfall etc. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the cropping pattern in spatiotemporal perspectives and suggests the important programmes and policies for the solution ofsustainable agriculture development of the region. Mahoba district of Bundelkhand region is oneof the most agricultural backward and rain-fed areas of India. The research study reflects thatthe whole area has gone through tremendous changes including land use, cropping pattern,
crops yields and so on. The findings of target area reveal that the land use has perceptiblychanged a lot during the last two decades or so (1991-92 to 2014-15) under various land use
categories, particularly the net shown area (204595 hectares to 2,37,217 hectares). The area
under Rabi and Kharif crops has also observed the rising trends. The area under Rabi crops
was recorded 1,69,562 hectares in 1991-92 to 2,19,045 hectares in 2014-15, under Kharif crops
was merely 40,972 hectares in 1991-92 which has grown appreciably around three folds i.e.
1,20,089 hectares in 2014-15.
Key words: Perception, Degradation, Perspective, Rain-fed, Soil Fertility
Introduction
Agriculture sector plays an important role in Indian economy particularly in rural economy. It isconsidered as the backbone of rural economy. As per the latest statistical figures, thecontribution of agriculture makes up around 15 per cent of the national economy. It has also
been observed that the rural economy is facing various challenges and it is in crisis whichneeds to be addressed at local, regional and national level by applying the various beneficial
and innovative schemes to strengthen the rural economy and promote the interest of rural
farmers. Fragmentation of land holdings, low crops yield, pest attacks, hail storms, drought,
falling market prices, poor irrigation and lack of access to credit, increasing no. of suicidal
incidences of farmers, rising debt are the key issues. Land acquisition for infrastructure projects,
negative agricultural growth, damages of crops due to increasing heat and temperature,
depleting ground water resources, recurrence of flood and droughts, minimum support price(MSP) regarding the development of agriculture especially different types of crops are theimportant issues. The other issues pertaining to determining the cost of production include
elements such as hired labour, expenses on their owner rented machinery as well as livestock,cost of seeds and fertilizers, expenses of irrigation including rent of leased land etc. However,
the entire global agricultural economies are also confronting with climate change, global
warming, frequently recurring disasters, land degradation and soil erosion, as well as rising sea
level.
In case of India, the Mahoba district of Bundelkhand region (U.P.) is affected by naturaland manmade disasters especially natural disasters predominantly droughts, intensive andillegal quarrying and mining, depleting water resources and land degradation. The key issues
are affecting the agriculture system of the country particularly the production and productivity ofvarious types of crops includes the decreasing size of agricultural land holdings, inadequate
access to irrigation, imbalanced use of soil nutrients, land degradation, misuse of water
resources as well as continuous depleting ground water resources. Consequently, loss of soil
fertility, loss of per hectare yield, unavailability of quality seeds, uneven access to modern
79technology in different parts of the country, limited procurement of food grains by government
agencies and failure to provide remunerative prices of crops to farmers.
It has been observed that Indian population engaged in agriculture sector has declined
sharply. As per the statistical figures of 2009-10, 243 million persons were employed inagriculture and its allied activities. The major line share of the country population depends on
agriculture for livelihood and survival consists of landowners, tenant farmers who cultivate apiece of land, and agricultural laborers who are employed on these farms. Agricultural output
has also been volatile over the past 10 years, with annual growth ranging between 8.6 per centin 2010-11, to -0.2 per cent in 2014-15 and 0.8 per cent in 2015-16over the past 10 years (Stateof Agriculture in India, 2017, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India). It contributes to about 17.5
percent of the GDP (at current prices in 2015-16). Over the past few decades, themanufacturing and services sectors have increasingly contributed to the growth of the economy,
while the agriculture sector contribution has decreased from more than 50 per cent of GDP in
the 1950s to 15.4 per cent in 2015-16 (at constant prices). The statistical figures of last coupleof years clearly reflect that India’s production of food grains has been increasing every year. Our
country is among the top producers of various crops namely wheat, rice, pulses, sugarcane andcotton as well as the highest producer of milk and second highest producer of fruits andvegetables in the World.
The phenomenal increase in food grains from 196.81 million tones in 2000-01 to an alltime high of 265.04 million tonnes in 2013-14 led to a surplus compared to domestic
requirements and contributed substantially to overall exports. Although, bad monsoon during
2014-15 affected the production of kharif crops and unseasonal rains and hailstorms during
February-March 2015 added to the production of Rabi crops. As a result, food grain production
during 2014-15was 252.68 million tones which have further increased to 275.11 million tonnesof major crops as per the second advance estimate of ministry of agriculture, Govt. of India.
However, various important studies have been conducted by the agriculturists and subject
expert on development of Indian Agriculture in including the various issues related to agricultureof Bundelkhand region such as Brown, D.D. (1971), Chakravarti, A.K. (1973), Mohammad, Ali,
Munir Abdul, Rehman Hifzur, et al., etd. (2007), Singh, J. (1974), Arakeri, H.R. (1982),
Athavale, R.N. (2003), Abhijit Sen (2016), Agarwal, Anil and Narain, Sunita (1992), Agarwal,
Anil and Narain, Sunita and Khurana, Indira (ed) (2001), Agarwal, A., Tinker, J. et al (1980),
Bhargava, R.N., Sinha, R.S. Dutta. V. (2010), Biswas, A.K. et. al. (Eds.) (1991) Some of thevery important studies which are indeed very relevant and familiar to the present research workare viz. , Athavale, R.N. (2003), , Agarwal, Anil and Narain, , Agarwal, A., Tinker, J. et al(1980), Bhargava, R.N., Sinha, R.S. Dutta. V. (2010), Biswas, A.K. et al. (eds.) (1991).
Aims and objectives• To study the agricultural development in study region• To analyze and to evaluate the land use changes in Spatio-temporal dimension• To examine the production and yield of major agricultural crops• To investigate and to explain the major impediments in the agricultural development.
• To highlight the people’s perception regarding agricultural development& related issue• To suggest the important policies for solution of sustain agricultural development issues
Data Collection and Research Methodology
The research study is based on both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data
has been collected by a detailed structured questionnaire. For primary survey, four blocks viz.,
Jaitpur, Kabrai, Panwari, Charkhari (10 villages from the each block) have been selected of
Mahoba district. The interviews have been conducted with 400 respondents to get personalobservation and to know their perception regarding the research problem on various
dimensions. The secondary data has also been collected from the different types of secondary
sources specifically District Census Hand book, District – Wise Land Use Statistics (1998-99 to
2005-06) Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Dept. of Agri. and Co-operation, Ministry ofAgriculture, Govt. of India, Identify Gaps in Input Supply, Credit Availability, Dissemination ofAppropriate Technology and Other Requirements Relevant for Improvement of Productivity of
Field and Horticultural Crops in Rain-fed Areas of Bundelkhand Region, National Rain-fed Area
80

Authority, NITI AAYOG (2010-13)13) Govt. of India, Comprehensive - District Agricultural Plan (C(CDAP) Mahoba, District Planning Committee, Mahoba (Uttar Pradesh),
Pradesh), Technologies
Tefor
Increasing Production of Rabi Crops in Bundelkhand, National Rain-fed
Rain fed Area Authority(Planning Commission), 2011, Mid – Term Quick Impact Evaluation Study of Special Package
for Drought Mitigation and Integrated Development of Bundelkhand Re
Region,gion, Prepared for Rainfed Area Authority, Erstwhile
rstwhile Planning Commission, now NITI AAYOG, Govt. of India
India, Land
Development and Water Resources Department of Mahoba district etc.
Geo-Physical Profile of the Domain Area
Mahoba is located in the south western
western part of the Uttar Pradesh and shares geographicalboundaries with Hamirpur district in north, Madhya Pradesh state in south, Banda and Jhansi
district in east and west respectively. The designated study area is the part of Bundelkhand
region which is situatedtuated between 25001′30′′ to 25039′40′′ north latitude and from 79015′00′′ to0
80 10′30′′ east longitude. It consists of an area of 3144 Sq.km comprising of 3 tehsil
tehsils (Kulpahar,
Charkhari, Mahoba) , 4 development blocks (Jaitpur, Kabrai, Charkhari and Panwari) and 521
villages inhabited by 8, 75,858 people with the population density of 279 persons per sq. km.
as per 2011 census which is very low in comparison to the state of 829 persons per sq.km. The
rural area covers 3116.1 Sq. Km. and urban recorded 27.9 Sq. Km. There are 247 Gram
Panchayats and 521 Revenue villages. The study region ranks 48th in literacy with 65.3 per centwhich is below than the state average of 67.7 per cent. The another distinction of the region isthat there are 86 uninhabited villages out total 521 vvillages, whereas Kulpahar tehsil has thehighest number of inhabited villages 227 while Charkhari tehsil has the lowest number of
inhabited villages (83). In the study area (Mahoba district) has the unique distinction to be thesmallest district in terms of population in the state (71th ranks).

Due to small Landholdings and limited irrigation facilities including harsh climaticcondition, most of the areas are cropped only once in year. Pulses, wheat, sorghum andoilseeds are the main crops of the region
region. The research area is famous for its betel leaf (Paan).
(
Due to scarcity of water, the district is backward in various agricultural crops production.
Geologically, the district comprises Precambrian Bundelkhand massif dolerites, granites andquartz reefs confirmatively
onfirmatively overlain by quaternary alluvium. The main and major rivers of theregion are Dhasan, Urmil, Birma and Arjun. Physiographically the area has been divided in two
parts viz.
1. Southern parts having high reliefs with hillocks and2. Northern part having relatively low relief with low hillocks.
The average annual rainfall is 864 mm in the study area. The climate is typicalsubtropical punctuated by long and intense summer. About 87 per cent of the annual rainfall isreceived from south-west monsoon and the soil has been produced by the weathering of
granites. Clay and loamy soil is dominant in entire region. Mahoba district mainly comprises of
hard rock formation of Bundelkhand massif. The water of rainfall does not percolate and store
subsurface zone since the rocks are of massive & compact nature. However, secondary
porosity in the form of joints and fissures allow some water to percolate inside the earth. On thebasis of hydro geological information ground water occurs in two forms:(i) Shallow zone- theprelatic conditions are only limited to the overburden of rocks the depth of which is maximum up
to 35-40 m., (ii) Deeper fracture zones, the ground water occurs in fractures and joints and thepotential fractures are encountered from around 35 m to 96 m in some places. Being the hilly
and rugged terrain, the occurrence of ground water in this terrain is highly uncertain. The annual
ground water recharge of the region is 47046.58 ha.m (hectare meter), the net annual groundwater availability is 42341.92 ha.m (hectare meter). The existing gross ground water draft for alluses is 20978.59 ha.m. The net ground water availability for future irrigation development is20863.84 ha.m. The stage of ground water development is 49.55 per cent.
Land Use Dynamics
The current land use system of study region is very dynamic and unique in nature. It is rather
full of challenges and opportunities consisting of many inconsistencies. Certain parts of study
region are very feasible to produce food crops and some are not appropriate for various otherimportant commercial and cash crops including some horticulture crops. To assess and to know
the agricultural performance for more than past two decades or so, it is essential to understandthe entire land use system and occurrence changes to get the overall result of crops production
and productivity. It has been evidently found that the land use system has perceptibly changed
a lot and has got a new dimension in more than 24 years and ultimately it indicates that the area
under various categories and sub-categories have increased and on the other hand, in some of
the categories the related area has gone down tremendously.
Table 1 shows that the net sown area has increased from 2, 04,595 ha to 2, 34,493 haduring 1991-92 to 2009-10 and it has escalated 2, 37,217 ha 2014-15. Simultaneously, the area
sown more than once has also recorded highest point of figures from 6173 ha to 103201 during
2009-10. However the area under the same category has slightly declined (1,01,956 ha) in theyear 2014-15, due to weak monsoon and scanty rainfall. The area under another important
category has also observed the similar trends of transformation and the total cropped area hasrose from 2,10,768 ha to 339173 ha. in the same time series. Irrigated area has also depicts
some ups and downs in span of some increasing trends from 1991-92 to 2009-10 but in theyear 2009-10, the area under the same category has drastically some down up to 86213 ha
However, it has again touched the highest figures i.e. 1,25,420 ha during 2014-15.sThe overall
picture displays that the area under various categories of land use has observed rising trends oftransformation with few exceptions within the designated time period.
Table 01: Land use Status of Study Region during 1991-92 to 2014-15 (hectare)
year

Total
area
reported

Net areasown

Area sown
more thanonce

cropped area sown
Total

Rabi

KharifJayad

1991-1992
3005472045956173
210768 169562 40972
218
1994-1995
30015120903516335
225370 181311 43840
216
1999-2000
29994721811732872
250989 195974 54680
299
2004-2005
32742923830158053
296354 222230 73859
265
2009-2010
327429234493103201337694 212689 124943 62
2014-2015
327429237217101956339173 219045 120089 39
Source: Land Record Officer, Economics & Statistics Department, District Statistical BookNet
irrigated areaGrossirrigated
area

64010
76890
94279
11118688213
125420

64604
78005
96102
1135168991
130276

Area under Major Crops
The statistical figures related to area under major crops reveal that it has shown some very
interesting pattern. In some of the major crops it has increased many folds whereas area under82

some crops has shown the declining trends (Table 2) during the given time series. However, inalmost all the major crops area under the various crops has observed pendulum like trends(both upwards and downwards). For instance, area under Sesamum crop was recorded only
5257 ha. In 1997-98 which has enlarged to more than six times i.e. 31808 (2014-15).In case ofanother important crop Masoor too, the area has swelled to a sizeable quantity from 13344 ha.
to 24737 ha in the same period, Whereas in case of the area under the other Jawar crop has
substantially gone down from 12750 to 1704 ha crop has also observed the same trends andthe area under this crop has drastically gone down from 1012 to 12 hectares in same period.
But the area possessed by the Urad crop has touched the maximum mark of 54330 ha. in
2014-15. The area under cash crops like sugarcane has also experienced the expanded areafrom 1027 to2545 ha. and is followed by mustard crop.
The area under almost all these pulses has increased in the given time period barring afew. For instance, area under Arhar was recorded 4432 ha which shrunk to 2609 ha in the year
2014-15. Although it has registered positive trend and the area under the same crop wasnoticed 5718 ha area in 2009-10. In rest of the other pulses, the figures have shown rising
trends (Table 2).Among the oilseeds crops, the area under Soyabeen and linseed has observed
the downward trends (Table 2). The area under Soyabeen was 894 ha in 1997-98 which has
simultaneous reduced during the designated period and it was recorded 339 ha in the year
2014-15. The same trends have also been observed in case of linseed, where as in rest of theother oilseeds crops, the area has depicted upwards trends namely groundnut, Mustard, andSesamum (til). The area under other crops especially sugarcane has increased two times form
1027 ha to 2545 ha during the given time period.
Table 02: Area under Major Crops (Hectares)
#
A
i
ii
iii
iv
B
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
C
i
ii
iii
iv
v
D
i

Crops
Cereals crop
Wheat
Rice
Jawar
BarleyPulsesArhar
MasoorMoong
GramPeas and beans
Urad
Oil seeds
Ground nuts
Mustard
LinseedSesamum (til)Soya bean
Other
Sugarcane

1997-98

1999-2000

2004-05

2009-10

2014-15

69343
1042
12750
2345

67838
1139
8729
2566

63683
724
5767
2494

66084
212
6150
4840

69598
12
1704
10701

4432
13344
4368
46394
43662
16692

3235
25231
4618
42935
47993
17139

NA
NA
NA
67115
NA
NA

5718
20241
8831
73161
24086
54366

2609
24737
6907
54605
37842
54330

11048
3455
10753
5297
894

10875
2861
8875
NA
593

7647
3241
7578
7783
175

9034
4211
7503
30922
138

11609
5736
6222
31808
339

1027

991

1547

1477

2545

Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

The major cereals crops of the target area are namely (i) Wheat (ii) Rice (iii) Jawar and(iv) Barley which are produced and grown on large scale by the majority of farmers for theirsurvival and to get good output and for better income. Apart from these crops, the otherimportant crops come under the category of pulses are viz., (i) Arhar (ii) Masoor (iii) Moong (iv)
Gram (v) Peas and beans. Similarly the crops which are termed as cash crops & fall under the
category of oilseeds are (i) ground nuts (ii) Mustard (iii) Lineseed (iv) Sesamum (Til) (v)
Soyabean, whereas under the category of the other crop is Sugarcane. The overall picture
concerned with the area under major crops depicts a very unique position. Such as wheat crop
83

covers the maximum area under all major crops i.e. 6,90,598 ha. During the years 2014-15(Table 2). The emerging pattern related to wheat crop has also reflect a certain ups and downs
during the given time series. Initially, the area under the same crop was recorded 69,343 ha in
1997-98 which has dropped continuously up to 2009-10 in comparison to the base years (199798) and finally performed slightly better achieving 69,598 ha area in 2014-15.The second
important crop of the region was Barley, the area under this crop was merely 2345 ha which
onwards rose to approximately 5 time between 1997-98 to 2014-15 with exception and it has
decreased to 2494 ha in 2004-05 (Table 2) whereas in case of rice crop, there the just reverse
trends. The areas has drastically gone down from 1042 ha (1997-98) to merely 12 ha in 201415. However, the years 1999-2000, it has increased to 1139 ha. (Table 2). As a result the area
under this crop has shown very poor area and if the same trends will continue, the crop area
under rice crop may diminish totally. In case of Jawar crop as well, similar types of pattern havealso been recorded. The area the crop was registered 12750 ha which has further decreased to1704 ha in the given time period. However, it has risen to 6150 ha in 2009-10 (Table 2).
Precisely, the areas under major crops particularly cereals crops have shown both ups anddownwards trends.
Production of Major Crops
In the changing agricultural scenario, the major crops have got the new dimension with positive
growth during the mentioned transition period. The data production figures related to agricultural
production of various crops reveal that a steady growth is being maintained. Table 3 vividly
depict that the production of barley has increased sharply i.e. four-times from 4202 to
18398tonnes during the period 1997-98 to 2014-15. The wheat production was recorded
118336 in 1997-98 and was lowered by over 67961 in the year 2014-15. Out of these selected
crops, sugarcane has achieved the maximum production level i.e. three times from the initial
production. Although, the production of other selected crops also increase to the highest mark in
the given time but not higher than the already recorded other crops.
Table 03: Production of Major crops (Tonnes)
#
A
i
ii
iii
iv
B
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
C
i
ii
iii
iv
v
D
i

Crops
Cereals
Wheat
Rice
Jawar
BarleyPulsesArhar
MasoorMoong
GramPeas and beans
Urad
Oil seeds
Ground nuts
Mustard
LinseedSesamum (til)Soya bean
Other
Sugarcane

1997-98

1999-2000

2004-05

2009-10

2014-15118336
1173
8614
4202

148821
1238
7751
4299

106844
784
5027
3987

102970
203
2552
4957

67961
19
936
18398

4268
9781
1354
34383
53137
6176

4661
NA
1284
29051
61095
5690

NA
NA
NA
63068
NA
NA

3454
10869
786
47098
20545
5219

1292
3983
2148
9576
16688
15634

7623
1423
4258
609
721

6764
1227
3835
NA
466

3356
1309
4456
663
72

1382
1668
3954
1422
146

4609
741
3603
2895
243

39485

49435

59846

59213

102932

Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India
N/A: data not available

Productivity/Yield of Major Crops
The issue of productivity entirely depends on various factors like quality of soil, slope texture,
available water resources including means of irrigation & application of modern methods andtechnology in agricultural operations since the whole area is rain-fed and yield per hectare in
agricultural productivity Table 4 clearly depicts the ups and down wards trends consists oflimited irrigation facilities and predominantly based on traditional methods of farming. The
84

productivity scenario of past more than 24 years indicates that there is steady decrease in the
average regarding the yield of principal crops. In case of the Arhar crop, the recorded yield was
merely 0.96tonnes per hectare in 1997-98 which has declined to 0.50 tonnes per hectare in theyear2014-15. The Masoor has also experienced the same pattern of yield per hectare and it hasregistered a decrease of 0.16 tonnes per hectare from 0.73 tonnes per hectare. The wheat has
also recorded the decline yield pattern in comparison to the other principal crops and it hasregistered nearly two times lesser yield tonnes per hectare during the given transition period. In
the year 1997 -98, the wheat crop yield was noticed 1.71 tonnes per hectare. In the same way,a decreasing trend has been noticed in the yields of ground nuts, peas and beans. Slightly
better performance made by sugarcane in relation to yield as witnessed in the given time
period.
Table 04: Productivity/yield of Major Crops (in Tonnes/Hectare)
#
A
i
ii
iii
iv
B
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
C
i
ii
iii
iv
v
D
i

Crops
Cereals
Wheat
Rice
Jawar
BarleyPulsesArhar
MasoorMoong
GramPeas and beans
Urad
Oilseeds
Ground nuts
Mustard
LinseedSesamum (til)Soya bean
Other
Sugarcane

1997-98

1999-2000

2004-05

2009-10

2014-15

1.71
1.13
0.68
1.79

2.19
1.09
0.89
1.68

1.68
1.08
0.87
1.6

1.56
0.09
0.41
1.02

0.98
1.58
0.55
1.72

0.96
0.73
0.31
0.74
1.22
0.37

1.44
NA
0.28
0.68
1.27
0.33

NA
NA
NA
0.94
NA
NA

0.6
0.54
0.09
0.64
0.85
0.1

0.5
0.16
0.31
0.18
0.44
0.31

0.69
0.41
0.4
0.11
0.81

0.62
0.44
0.44
NA
0.79

0.47
0.4
0.59
0.1
0.41

0.15
0.4
0.53
0.05
1.06

0.40
0.13
0.58
0.09
0.72

38.45

49.88

38.69

40.09

40.44

Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India
N/A: data not available

Consumption of Fertilizers in Agricultural Operations
The fertilizers use in the agricultural production of various food grains have also shown theenthusiastic rising trends and brought the overall positive development in the existing
agricultural productivity of various important crops. The statistical figures reflected in table 5
obviously display that the fertilizers use in the study area has got new and multiple dimensions.
In the initial period (19945) the consumption in the use of fertilizers (NKP) was 3239 metrictonnes which has increased to 50,273 metric tonnes in 2014-15, which was recorded highest
figure during the time series. Farmers of the area have started using fertilizers to get moreproduction, better output and good income. It has also been observed that in the use of
Nitrogen was maximum (10,874 metric tonnes) followed by Potash (2265 matrix tones) andPhosphorus (2265 metric tonnes) in the target area. The balanced use of fertilizers plays asignificant role in raising the production and productivity of various crops. Agricultural
productivity depends on the availability and quality of agricultural inputs such as good quality ofsoil, availability of water resources, irrigation facilities, use of modern methods in agriculture,facilities of crops in the vicinity of production areas, seeds and fertilizers, access to agricultural
credit and crop insurance, assurance of remunerative prices for agricultural produce, andstorage includes marketing infrastructure as seen in Figure 4. The irrigation facilities under
different sources have also played a significant role to increase the production the productivityof various crops.

85Table 05: Consumption of Fertilizers, 1994-95 to 2014 -15 (in Metric Tonnes)
Year
NitrogenPhosphorus
PotashTotal
1994-95
1439
1795
5
3239
1999-00
3683
4014
28
7725
2004-05
4125
3923
106
8154
1991-2000
1384
880
32
2296
2014-15
37134
10874
2265
50273
Source: Economics & Statistics Department, District Statistical Book, Mahoba (1994 to 2014-15).

People’s Perception regarding Agricultural Development
As per the people’s perception, the size of land holdings has reduced considerably that is very
important factor to diminish the average land productivity. The majority of people’s perception
reflects that wells (31 per cent) and canals (17 per cent) are the main sources of irrigation
whereas it is the opinion of majority of respondents (32 per cent) that they have no irrigation
facilities in their concerned areas viz., Charkhari, Jaitpur, Kabrai, and Panwadi.

#
1
2
3
4

Table 06: Size of Land holding (in percent)Size of Land holding
Charkhari Jaitpur Kabrai Panwadi
Land lessSmall (0-6 bigha)
Medium (6-13)
Large (above 13)
Total

21
35
22
22
100

16
43
24
18
100

23
35
25
17
100

Study Region

19
35
24
23
100

20
37
24
20
100

Source: Personal Survey

#
1
2
3
4
5
5
6

Table 07: Major Sources of Irrigation (in percent)
Source of irrigation
Charkhari Jaitpur Kabrai Panwadi
Well
19
51
27
25
Canal
24
9
12
25
Pond
4
4
3
1
Tube well
9
4
6
12
River
5
4
7
3
Others (Check Dam,
65
6
5
Khet-Talab, Bawari)
No Irrigation Facilities
33
25
40
31
Total
100
100
100
100

Study Region
31
17
3
7
5
5
32
100

Source: Personal Survey

Table 08: Most Beneficial and Preference of Farmers Producing Crops (in per cent)
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Beneficial crops
Wheat
Split bengle (gram)Pea
Peanuts/Groundnuts
Urad
Mustard
Peppermint
Others (Till, Oil Seeds)
Total

Charkhari
25
14
14
14
12
4
12
5
100

Jaitpur
21
18
13
9
14
8
12
5
100

Kabrai
24
15
13
13
13
6
11
4
100

Panwadi
20
17
18
12
10
13
2
7
100

Study Region
22
16
15
12
12
8
9
5
100

Source: Personal Survey

Suggestions• The fund sharing ratio between the centre and the states is restored to 9:10 for various
agriculture development programmes.
86

•
•
•
•
•

•

•
•
•

•
•

•
•

•

Urgent and concrete steps should be taken for doubling farmer’s income to achieve this goal
to redirect the focus and prove the essential institutional support.
Stressing the need to revert to the earlier sharing pattern to improve farm income, makeagriculture more sustainable and promote crop diversification.
On the one hand, growth in productivity a real farm income have materially slowed down; on
the other, the very sustainability of rice-wheat cropping system is under threat due to overexploitation of natural resources.
Farmers should grow more oil seeds to reduce dependence on imported cooking oil and cut
urea consumption by at least half by 2022 (PM).
The Govt. of India encouraging farmers to adopt suitable technologies and agronomic
practices; incentivizing the production of location specific, high yielding varieties, hybrid riceseeds and tolerant varieties against a biotic and biotic stresses; and promoting marketing
infrastructure.
The important schemes of Govt. of India for the agricultural development and production ofvarious crops for the welfare of farming community are viz., i)National Food Security Mission(NFSM), ii) Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), iii) Impact of Bringing
Green Revolution to Easter India, iv) Resources for Agricultural Production System
Various resources and inputs required for enhancing agricultural production are land andsoil, water, energy and farm power, credit and insurance, etc. Therefore, proper
management of these resources needs to ensure.
Efforts should be made to promote contract farming with the consent of farming community.
To counter these problems, policy emphasis is required on promoting soil test-based
balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers in conjunction with organic sources ofnutrients to protect the deficiency of micronutrients, such as zinc, iron, manganese andboron.
Like the other agricultural developed states, the Govt. should provide farmers interest-freeloans and are charged less rate of interest on money given for buying seeds and fertilizers.
On the same pattern the UP state including the Bundelkhand region should be covered
under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and extended additional support tofarmers under “Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana” (Price Deficit Financing Scheme) to compensate
the farmers. This Unique Scheme supports the farmers by providing compensation for
agriculture produce in times of price fall.
The continuous deterioration of soil health in the studied region, needs a permanent solution
such as balanced use of fertilizer by establishing soil testing laboratory in the Dist. /Tehsil
level and the Govt. is taking initiative on this issue from the year 2016-17.
In order to increase the productivity of Paddy and wheat, improve soil health, creation ofirrigation facility and better use of water, farm mechanization, use of Gypsum in saline land,community warehousing and to promote use of progressive farming system for reduction incost of farming, the govt. of UP has launched a sub-scheme Rastiya Krishi Vikas Yojna(RKVY) for the Green Revolution in Eastern UP.
Similarly in every block and in a district level agricultural extension center should beestablished to get the feedback from the farmers and to suggest them various techniques
and innovative ideas related to their crops, appropriate methods, more output from theircrops, to get more yield from less water, to protect the crops from different types of
diseases, maximum use of green manure in agriculture operation, balanced use of fertilizers
including diversification of crops to improve the soil health and to get better output.

Conclusion
Agriculture and its allied activities including horticulture have played an important role not only inthe country’s economic development but also to improve the socio-economic conditions of therural based farming community. The development of Indian agriculture in the last 68 years or so
is no doubt, appreciable and remarkable because India has globally achieved a high rank withregard to certain agricultural crops and got self-sufficiency in various food crops. The role ofGreen Revolution results in raising the agricultural production and other factors are also liable toget the overall agricultural development in the country like the introduction of improved irrigation
facilities, high yielding varieties, use of fertilizers, agricultural development programmes, large
scale plant protection measures, pesticides, new methods of farming, introduction of new87

agricultural policy and new technological innovations, etc. In the light of the above programmes
and policies lunched by Govt. of India as well as the State Govt. to develop and promote theagriculture sector of the state practically and target area of Bundelkand region. However, time totime the Govt. of India also given certain packages for the development of Bundelkand region.
As it has been already discussed and explain in the research paper that the study region is
predominantly a water deficit and drought prone. Subsequently, the amount of rain fall is lessand entire agriculture system depended on monsoon. Therefore, to increase the production andproductive of various crops with better output and to develop the agriculture system of the study
regions formers are advised to produce only those crapes which are less water consuming with
better output. Former should also be suggested to adopted crop diversification. In each andevery block, apart from of the dist. headquarters of study region the agriculture extension
counters as well as soil testing labs should be established for getting the feedback for the
farmers and suggest them the various latest techniques of agriculture innovations as well as tosuggest them the proper riming of sowing and harvesting of various crops and proper use offertilizer in agricultural operations. Similarly the farmers should also advised to adopt thetraditional and modern methods of conservation of water resources by creating additional
infrastructure to store maximum water for future needs for production of different types ofagricultural crops. Precisely, by following the suggestions and adoptions of various prestigious
schemes of centre and state Govt., the farmer’s income may raise their double income as wellas to increase the production and productivity of various crops be increased up to some extent
and they can self reliance in their agriculture and livelihood security.
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DPR for Critical Blocks Development Rain Water Harvesting and Ground Water recharge
District Mahoba Planning Year (2017-18 to 2021-22)

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