Write short notes on drought-prone area programme and agro-climatic planning. How do these programmes help in the development of dryland agriculture in India? (150 Words)
DPAD is region specific developmental plan where the rain- fall is less than 75 cms and does not has any reliable water resource, (India’s 2/3rd area comes under this i.e. plateau interiors). Its main component are-
- Promotion of region specific development i.e. diversification of agricultural income for e.g.- animal husbandry etc.
- Sustainable techniques such as rain water harvesting, water shed management are promoted.
In the same way Agro-climatic planning was promoted by planning commission for promotion of growing of those crops which are naturally suitable for that area. The major objectives of this are-
- Building capacity of local resident and imparting information so that suitable crops can be grown.
- Providing avenues for profit maximization like diversification of agricultural income.
As our country’s 75 % area is semi-arid so the need for these two can be overemphasized, they help by-
- By imparting knowledge regarding available resources and there use.
- Most importantly they promote local led development i.e. demand driven.
- Success stories such as of-
- Ralegaon siddhi ,
- Hivere bajar in Maharashtra and
- Sukhomajari in Haryana is e.g. of success of dry land farming due to effectiveness of the above two