Vol. IX. No. 219. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



293 



IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIAN 



AGRICULTURE 



The means that are being employed in iliti'^reiit 

 parts of the vvorkl for the iniproveinetit of agricultural 

 methods, particularly uuder tropical conditions, cannot 

 fail to be ol' interest lo agriculturists in the West 

 Indies. It is for this reason that some of the chief 

 general points in a booklet entitled Report on the 

 Introduction of Improver)ients into Indian AyriciU- 

 ture, issued by the Inspector General of Agriculture in 

 India, are summarized here : — 



The essential ditl'erence between Agricultural Depart- 

 ments in the East ami in the West is that the latter have 

 arisen to meet the spontaneous demands of the cultivators of 

 the soil, whereas the former have been lately created by 

 a bureaucratic Government anxious to give all the a.s.sistance 

 it can to its agricultural subjects. The demand for improved 

 agriculture has not in India, except in special case;', come 

 from the cultivator. While, therefore, in the West the culti- 

 vator is naturally in direct touch with the Department of 

 Agriculture, in Inaia it is necessary for the Department to 

 put forth every eB'ort, first to ascertain the needs of the culti- 

 vators and then lo demonstrate how they can most effectually 

 be met. The suliject of the present report is a consideration 

 of the methods by which these ends have been attained, and of 

 the improvements which have been introduced as a residt. 



AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS. The formation of local 

 associations or .societies, which have as their object the 

 improvement of the agriculture in the district, has been one 

 of the most conmion methods employe<l for increasing inter- 

 est in the subject and bringing the Agricultural l)ej)artments 

 into immediate touch with the people. 



LOCAL DEMoN.sTRATioxs. It uiust be recognized that 

 local demonstration of any improvement it is desired to 

 introduce, is one of the most, if not the most, effective method 

 of securing its adoption. Considerable success has, indeed, 

 been achieved along these lines. In the case of this method, 

 however, very special adaptation to local conditions is neces- 

 sary, and it is impossible to lay down any scheme which will 

 be of general application. 



VILLAGE .-VGKNClEs. It has always been a prolilein of 

 considerable dithculty, in connexion with the introduction of 

 new implements, to get such as are of undoubted value 

 adopted by the cultivators, but the institution of village agen- 

 cies, as devised in the United Provinces, promises success. 

 These are managed by local agents, with whom implements 

 are placed, and from whom they can be hired out or sold. 

 Before the agency is established, the use of the particular 

 implement is always demonstrated carefully to cultivators on 

 the spot. A member of the staff of the Agricultural Department 

 then visits such agencies from time to time, accompanied by 

 a t/nstri, who can rejiair the implements. He also visits the 

 cultivators who have adopted them, ascertains whether they 

 are working satisfactorily, and arranges for such rej)airs as 

 are necessary. 



VERNACULAR AGRICULTURAL JOURNALS. Thesc have been 

 established in several parts of India by the Agricultural 

 Departments. 



LEAFLETS AND CIRCULARS. In many countries, one of the 

 best means of bringing practical agricultural information to 

 the cultivators of the land has been the issue of leaflets and 

 circulars couched in popular language. In India, where the 

 standard of education is lower than in most Western 

 countries, the value of such publications is more problem- 

 atical, but they have frequently been used with success. 



AGRicuLTUR.vL SHOWS AND FXHiBlTioxs. These, pro- 

 vincial or local, have been held in every province in India. 

 Large provincial shows have been held in Bombay in 1904, 

 in Calcutta, and in Nagpur in 1908, in connexion with large 

 industrial exhibitions. 



ITINERANT ASSISTANTS. In Bombay, some of the senior 

 assistants of the department have been employed for a num- 

 ber of years in travelling in the districts, and this method of 

 introducing improvements, getting in touch wuth the cultivators, 

 and finding out the local difhculties has been so successful 

 that a considerable extension of the system is being made. 

 Experience has shown that only men specially chosen as being 

 able to win the confidence of cultivators should be sent. 

 Further, they are always .sent out to tour for definite 

 purposes and are required to furnish frequent reports as to 

 the progress they are making. Definiteness of work and 

 regular supervision are felt to be absolutely essential. 



SEED PAEMS. Inasmuch as the provision of pure and 

 improved seed is one of the i)rincipal needs of the Indian 

 cultivator, and as there are no recognized seedsmen in the 

 country, the Agricultural Department in every province has 

 telt it its duty to arrange for the provision of such seed, and 

 this has proved to be one of the best means of getting into 

 touch with Indian cultivators. Many methods have been 

 used to obtain such seed for distribution, the method 

 followed varying with the conditions of the province and of 

 the class of seed it was desired to supply. 



SEED DEPOTS. Even when the department docs not grow 

 seed for distribution, great good can sometimes be done by 

 opening depots where superior seed, purchased in other 

 districts, can be had by cultivators. 



COLONIZATION WITH EXPERT CULTIVATORS. In SOme 



parts of India there are groups or castes of cultivators par- 

 ticularly skilled in some class of agricultural work. The 

 importation of a body of these men into a new ar^a will 

 generally raise the standard of cultivation in the district to 

 which there are transferred. The difficulty of getting people 

 to leave their own district is, however, in India always great, 

 and .so the application of this method is decidedly limited. 

 But instances of successful colonization of backward tracts in 

 this manner have occurred, some of them of very far-reaching 

 effect. 



UTILIZATION OF INDIVII)U.\L EXPERT CULTIVATORS. While 



it is only rarely j)ossible to colonize a backward area with 

 large numbers of better cultivators, it is frequently compara- 

 tively easj- to induce single men to go to a new tract, as em- 

 ployes of the Agricultural Department, to show the people the 

 methods in which they are experts. 



TRAINING THE SONS OF CULTIVATORS. An important 

 departure was made some years ago by starting, at the Nagpur 

 Agricultural School, a one year's course in practical agriculture 

 for training the sons of farmers. The teaching is given in 

 vernacular, and consists almost wholly of practical work on the 

 farm with a minimum of lectures and book work. That some 

 measure of success lias been secured in these cases has been 

 shown by enquiries into the work they have been doing in 

 the villages after leaving the college. 



OFFICIAL co-oPERATioN. There is a large scope for co- 

 operation between the executive officers of Government and 

 those of the Agricultural Department. The District Officer 

 has a close knowledge of his own district, his influence 

 is great among the people and his appointment as president 

 of the local agricultural association at once gives dignity and 

 status to it. His influence is particularly great in connexion 

 with all matters where co-operative credit is involved, and 

 these will be more and more important as time goes on. 



