District Plan

• Introduction

• Growth Drivers

• Innovative Schemes

• Vision of Next Plan

• District Plan

This will include:

• Target for production and productivity for Next Plan (year-wise)

• Strategy for achieving five year plan projections

• Input requirement projections (year-wise) - Main focus shall be given for certified seed production of Agri/Horti/Fodder crops

• Identify the thrust areas sector-wise of the district

• Strategy for bridging the gap of Research & Extension

• Budget required in the existing schemes and new schemes to be proposed (year-wise)

• Regulatory issues/ reforms if required

• Projected Infrastructure requirement including Market yards, Godowns, Cold storage units, etc with estimated budget requirement for five year plan

• Scope for public private partnership approach (specify the areas)

• Strengthening of Self Help Groups/ Voluntary Institutions participation

• Market linkage programme

• Improvement of logistic and transport network

• Scope for value addition of the produce, export potentiality/ forward linkage.

• Mass media status and projection for the future

• Improved technology dissemination with teaching/ research/ extension institutions

• Existing average farmer's income and future projection

• Scope for economic bio fuel production

• Any special projects which require immediate attention should be prioritised in the other of merit

• Monitoring mechanism proposed.

The Credit Plan of the district should be incorporated in the Comprehensive District Agriculture Plan. The projection for Cooperative Sector and Commercial Banks shall be indicated separately. The lead bank of the district should coordinate this credit plan with various developmental departments in tune with the projection for five year plan. Refer the NABARD PLP already developed.



Issues to be addressed in C-DAP

• Agriculture: Trends in agriculture growth and food grain production during IX & X plan period in the district, changes in the land use pattern, land holding pattern, cropping pattern, production, productivity, gaps in productivity, technology, institutional support (extension, research, credit, marketing and risk mitigation) and infrastructure, quality seed production/availability, gaps in input and other support services, extent of farm mechanisation and its spread, need and problems in crop diversification and farmers margin for various crops (eroding/static/ increasing in the last 5 years).
  
  Several land related regulatory issues often lie at the root of continuing and chronic poverty. These include backlogs in land survey, confirmation of grant of title to those who do not have title, identification of land alienated illegally, restoration of alienated land so identified through Gram Sabhas under powers vested in them under Provision of Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Area) Act 1996 (PESA) and in an analogues manner in non-Scheduled Areas and recognition of community control over traditional Jhum/Podu areas and promotion of programmes of tree culture and husbandry, as a step towards self-sufficient and sustainable use of resources.
  

• Irrigation: Status of irrigation projects implemented and problems of ongoing projects in the district. Extent of irrigation and scope for improvement, over/under exploitation of ground water, status and trend of water use efficiency (declining or increasing), status and problems of Participatory Irrigation Management and problems in promoting micro irrigation.

• Natural Resource Management and Watershed Development: Mapping of potential in Rainfed areas and its systematic exploitation, need for more coordinated implementation of watershed development programmes instead of the present system of implementation through various agencies, degradation of soil and deteriorating soil health (salinity, alkalinity, reduction in organic carbon and micro nutrients).

• Agricultural Marketing and Processing: Status with regard to APMC Act, problems in marketing, storage and processing, possibility of linking with commodity futures markets and contract farming.

• Plantation and Horticulture: Trends in area under fruit and vegetables, plantation crops and production, gap in availability and requirement of planting material, postharvest management and cold chain infrastructure, prevalence of contract farming and problems, if any, linkage of farmers to corporate retail outlets and futures market, status and problems of food processing units, gap in technology and its transfer, organic farming and its scope.

• Forestry: Extent of degradation of forest land in the district, status of Joint Forest Management, Pace and problems in implementation Social/ Farm forestry programmes and Tree-borne oil seeds programme, hurdles in marketing forest produce and problems faced by farmers growing medicinal and aromatic plants. These would include completing the process of conversion of forest villages into revenue villages and settlement of other old habitations, regularisation of pre-1980 occupations and resolution of other disputed claims over forest land in terms of Government of India directions, livelihood rehabilitation of those whose occupation cannot be regularized, identification of all occupied lands and preparation of maps authenticated by the Gram Sabha concerned, the Forest Department and the Revenue Department.

• Animal Husbandry: Gaps between potential milk production and productivity demand and supply for milk, eggs and meat, available and required processing infrastructure, fodder and feed shortage, deficiencies in quality and clean milk production, availability of crop residues, problems in breed improvement, integration of animal husbandry with crop husbandry, poor demand for processed egg, meat and poultry from consumers. This should also include analysis of the status of bio-security in livestock rearing and measures to improve the same. The potential of animals for draft power should be properly studied. Some of the indigenous breeds are really very good for providing required draft. Thus the animal husbandry sector has very wide and sustainable potential which should be properly planned.

• Fisheries: Huge gap between demand and supply for both marine and fresh water fish, shortage of quality fish seeds, potential and problems in exploiting export market.

• Credit and Usury related issues
  
  These would include the following initiatives:
  
       ? Assessing the debt liabilities of members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other         weaker sections
       ? Revival and restructuring of the Large Area Multi-purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) and Primary         Agricultural cooperative Societies (PACS) with the specific targets of providing all credit needs of the         Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and weaker sections.
       ? Providing special arrangements for provision of long-term loans for purchase of land by asset less poor         and resource less families, who are dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood.
        ? Proving effective support price operation for all items of agriculture and minor forest produce.
        ? Strengthening of the public distribution system, through a system of buffer stock within a village from       out of local produce, supplementing the same from outside, to the extent of deficiency.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Agriculture Extension: Weaknesses in Public extension systems, Linkages with SAUs /KVKs, farmer to farmer extension, market led extension, PPP, Village Knowledge 38 centres/ Common Service Centres(CSC)/ Rural tele-centres, involvement of NGOs, Farmers? Clubs, SHGs, JLGs, etc.

• Risk Management: Deficiencies in crop insurance, alternatives for risk mitigation. Prevalent models of insurance for livestock and risks associated with the outbreak of diseases like bird flu should be included.

Strategies would be developed on following categories:

• Farming Systems: Identification and analysis of the existing major farming systems in the AES, and possible interventions for diversification and intensification of existing farming systems

• Improvement in productivity / income of different enterprises in existing farming systems

• Identification of gaps in production of each crop/ commodity by using situation based analysis

• Identification of problems and issues related to NRM, INM, IPM, Seed material, breed of the animals, fish production, marketing, etc.,

• Dovetailing of the ongoing schemes and programs (Macro-Micro)

• Capacity building of the extension, research Personnel, NGOs and others.

Steps in developing Strategic Research and Extension Plan

• Orientation of District Heads of Line Departments, Scientists, NGOs, and other Key Stakeholders on Strategic Planning

• Identification of Agro-eco situations (AES) in the district with the help of Heads of line departments and the scientists of KVK / SAUs

• Identification and selection of representative village(s) under each ?AES? for collection of data / information through participatory approaches

• Constitution of ?AES? teams representing Block Level Functionaries, Scientists of KVK / SAU / ICAR and NGOs.

• Training of ?AES? teams on team building, participatory tools, FSA/FSBE concepts, sustainability issues - NRM, IPM, INM, etc.

• Collection of primary and secondary data by the AES teams

Integration of resources:

There are several schemes both Centrally sponsored and State sponsored which Panchayats can utilize, integrate into local plans and to which they can contribute additional resources. This would comprise of two aspects, as below:

Integration with State Plans:

There are several State Plans, which as implemented can be strengthened by increased allocation from Panchayat funds. In some cases a component having a complementary nature could be added to the State Plan Scheme. For instance, the drawing of electric wires to villages could be complemented by the Panchayat taking up the wiring of BPL houses.

Integration of Centrally Sponsored Schemes with local plans:

It is important that in the interest of efficient use of resources, there ought to be only one development plan for the local government prepared through a common planning process and not a set of separate plans prepared in accordance with the guidelines of each programme. Thus once priorities and works are identified and prioritized through a single planning process, components pertaining to a particular sector could be taken up through schemes, including CSSs while still keeping within the guidelines of those schemes.

Integration with local resources:

Planning can provide for local investments to be catalysed through local resources or initiatives. For example, village knowledge centers and Rural business Hubs could be catalysed by Panchayats. This is also possible by extending the concept of PURA to encompass the concept of rural business hubs. By this, we do not meant that Panchayats ought to run industry locally, but that it catalogs local skills and natural resource endowments and facilitate the development of business linkages.

Rural Urban Integration:

Integration of urban-rural plans, which is particularly important in the light of increasing urbanization, is an area where the District Planning Committee could contribute a great deal. The DPC should work out mechanisms of joint programmes to be financed by State government institutions and joint contributions by urban and rural local bodies.

PLPs of NABARD



The planning process could effectively make use of the Potential Linked Credit Plans (PLP) being prepared by NABARD for all districts. A brief note on the PLP is given below.

   ? NABARD has been influencing district level credit planning process through PLPs since 1988-89

   ? PLP is a comprehensive document providing a blueprint for development of district by optimally exploiting       the existing bankable potential, with main focus on agriculture & allied sector and non-farm sector including       service activities.

   ? Document available almost six months in advance of the planning/ budgetary process of state governments

   ? Also identifies non-credit inputs such as critical infrastructure, gaps to be bridged, extension & other support services, linkages required for realisation of the identified development potential

   ? All important sectors are covered viz., Crop Husbandry, Minor Irrigation, Land Development, Farm Mechanisation, Plantation and Horticulture, Forestry, Waste land development, Animal Husbandry (dairy, poultry and others), fisheries, storage and market yards, rural non-farm sector (weavers, cottage/village/tiny/small industries), food & agro processing, SHGs, etc.

   ? Emerging activities, e.g., Jatropha, Bamboo, MACs, contract farming, organic farming, watershed development covered

   ? The PLP presents critical infrastructure & linkage support gaps identified sectorwise. These identified Infrastructure and Linkage gaps are useful places for the C- DAP to address, as these gaps have been identified so that if these gaps are plugged then the long term potential for the sector can be effectively exploited.

   ? The PLP also presents exclusive chapters / coverage on

      1. Infrastructure support requirements of district and broadly indicates projects that could be taken up with support under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) from NABARD

      2. Food & Agro processing

      3. Major commodities for the district, with profile covering various stages starting from production to marketing

      4. View points & expectations of farmers & non-farmers with perspective of major problems faced relating to credit, infrastructure & linkages support services, prices, markets, insurance, etc. & specific action plan for different agencies