Widows and Destitutes. –There was another lamented section of women who was to be helped. They were the widows and the destitutes. All those persons, whose bread-earners were either killed or were missing in Pakistan were to be provided with claims even before their finalization. Their settlement was a moral obligation. The figures below indicate the amount distributed to the widows and destitutes from 1952 to 1956:

Year		Amount distributed(Rs)
1952	..	16,398
1953	..	13,616
1954	..	5,822
1955	..	1,690
1956	..	640

(Source: Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur)

APPENDIX

Displaced Persons from Pakistan, etc. who Settled in the Hoshiarpur District on the Partition of the Country in 1947

District of Origin (Pakistan, etc.)		Persons	Males	Females
Lahore	..	6,859	3,707	3,152
Sialkot	..	27,559	14,332	13,327
Gujranwala	..	6,961	3,745	8,216
Sheikhupura	..	21,392	11,730	9,662
Gujrat	..	12,106	6,928	5,178
Shahpur	..	4,054	2,146	1,908
Jhelum	..	877	421	456
Rawalpindi	..	1,622	747	875
Atock	..	652	449	203
Mianwali	..	2,046	1,159	887
Montgomery	..	11,876	6,649	5,227
Lyallpur	..	23,122	12,050	11,072
Jhang	..	2,427	1,407	1,020
Multan	..	7,193	3,750	3,443
Muzaffargarh	..	1,165	764	401
Dera Ghazi Khan	..	501	328	173
Baluch Frontier Tract	..	59	9	50
Gurdaspur (Shakargarh Tahsil trans-ferred to Pakistan in 1947)	..	3,737	1,841	1,896
Dadu	..	1	1	-
Hyderabad (Sind)	..	429	213	216
Karachi	..	262	119	143
Nawab Shah	..	24	24	-
Sukher	..	208	66	142
Upper Sind Frontier Tract	..	400	191	209
Sanghar	..	66	66	-
Hazara	..	365	184	181
Mardan	..	134	82	52
Peshawar	..	620	280	340
Kohat	..	169	64	105
Bannu	..	238	115	123
Dera Ismail Khan	..	247	160	87
Quetta	..	321	260	61
Bulan	..	2	2	-
Bahawalpur	..	2,836	1,643	1,193
Baluchistan	..	38	21	17
Loraliai	..	1	1	-
East Bengal (Bangladesh)	..	4	3	7
Total	..	1,40,573	75,557	65,016
Burnt Slips	..	6,362	3,201	3,161
Grand Total	..	1,46,935	78,758	68,177

(Census of India, 1951, Punjab, District Census Handbook, Vol. I, Hoshiarpur District Table No. D. V)

CHAPTER IV

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

(a)	Land Reclamation and Utilization
(b)	Irrigation
(c)	Agriculture including Horticulture
(d)	Animal Husbandry, Poultry and Fisheries
(e)	Forestry
(f)	Floods
(g)	Famine

Agriculture has been, and is the most important avocation of the majority of the people inhabiting the district. It has assumed great significance in the context of the urgent need for stepping up production for achieving self sufficiency in food.

According to the 1971 Census, 88 per cent of the population of the Hoshiarpur District was rural against the corresponding figure of 76 per cent for the State. Out of the total working force, 62 per cent was engaged in agriculture as cultivators and agricultural labourers. The break-up of persons engaged in agriculture in the district in 1971 was as follows: -

		Total	Males	Females
As Cultivators	..	1,20,204	1,19,689	515
As Agricultural Labourers	..	49,321	48,794	527
Total	..	1,69,525	1,68,483	1,042

(Census of India, 1971, District Census Handbook, Series, 17, Hoshiarpur District, p. 125).

(a) Land Reclamation and Utilization

(i) Land Utilization. –The utilization of land resources forms a major item in any programme of economic planning especially in an economy which is predominantly agricultural. It reveals the various uses to which land is put and also indicated improved ways of exploitation of its resources for better production.

The following statement gives the classification of area by land use in the Hoshiarpur District, during 1965-66 to 1974-75: -

Classification of area by land use in the Hoshiarpur District, during 1965-66 to 1974-75

(Thousand hectares)

	Particulars		1965-66	1966-67	1967-68
1.		Total area according to village papers …	397	396	396
2.		Area under forests …	5	4	4
3.		Land not available for cultivation …	134	135	136
4.		Other uncultivated land exclu-ding fallow land …	15	14	12
5.		Fallow land …	18	15	10
6.		Net area sown …	225	228	234
7.		Area sown more than once	84	95	92
8.		Total cropped area (6+7)	309	323	326

1968-69	1969-70	1970-71	1971-72	1972-73	1973-74	1974-75
396	391	391	391	391	391	391
5	6	5	6	21	21	29
135	128	127	119	104	106	88
12	12	11	10	10	9	16
10	4	4	3	2	2	4
234	241	244	253	254	253	254
88	89	103	121	140	151	118
322	330	247	374	394	404	372

(Statistical Abstracts of Punjab, 1972 to 1975)

The area, according to village papers is based on returns of area prepared by village staff for revenue purposes in the district, whereas area by professional survey is worked out by the Surveyor-General of India. There is some difference in the two sets of figures because of different methods adopted by them. IN 1974-75, the area of the district was 391 thousand hectares.

The area under forests the district during 1974-75 was 29 thousand hectares. This includes actually forested areas on the lands, classed or administered as forest under any legal enactment dealing with forests whether state owned or private except in areas not cadastral surveyed. The area under forests given in this section does not tally with that of the Forest Department, owing to the fact hat certain lands though not wooded, are taken as forest by the Forest Department, while these are not treated as such by the Director of Land Records, Punjab.

Land not available for cultivation includes absolutely barren and uncultivable land like mountains, deserts etc. which cannot be brought under plough except at exorbitant cost, or land covered by buildings, roads and railways and water or otherwise appropriated for non-agricultural purposes. The total area of land not available for cultivation in the district in 1974-75 was 88 thousand hectares.

Other uncultivated land, excluding fallow lands denotes land available for cultivation, either not taken up for cultivation or abandoned later on for one reason or the other and includes culturable waste, permanent pastures, village common lands and other grazing lands, and lands under miscellaneous trees, crops and groves. In 1974-75, the area under this head was 16 thousand hectares in the district.

Fallow lands denote cultivable land which after abandonment remains uncultivated over a long period called ‘old fallows’ those kept uncultivated during the current year are called ‘current fallows’. Fallowing is practiced mainly to enable the land to recoperate. It also becomes necessary under too wet or too dry conditions when no crops can be sown. The area under fallow lands in the district was 4 thousand hectares. This area was under ‘current fallows’.

Net area sown is the area on which sowing is actually done during the course of a year. In 1974-75, the net area sown in the district was 254 thousand hectares. The total cropped area is the gross area under all crops in a year and is the total of net area sown and area sown more than once. Such area in the district during 1974-75 was 372 thousand hectares. The cultivable area per agricultural worker in the district, during 1974-75 was 1.47 hectares as against 1.72 hectare in 1960-61. The net area sown per agricultural worker also decreased in 1974-75 to 1.40 hectare from 1.52 hectares in 1960-61. The percentage of area sown more than once to the net area sown in the district during 1974-75 was 46.46 whereas it was 29.64 in 1960-61.

(ii) Reclamation of Waterlogged Areas, Swamps, etc. –Waterlogging and the salinisation of the land which often accompanies it, occur when the sub-soil water table invades the root zone of the soil and comes up to within 5 feet of the surface. As a result, the soil which needs adequate aeration for its health begins to lose its fertility and ultimately becomes totally unproductive. Upto 1974-75, 149 hectares i.e. 105 hectares under salinity (thur) and 44 hectares under waterlogging (sem) was affected in the district. The major cause of waterlogging and salinisation is the seepage which occurs from unlined rivers, streams (chos), canals and distributaries.

Any strategy for tackling the problem of waterlogging will have to take note of fact that it will avail very little of new areas continue to become waterlogged while large sums of money are being spent on reclaiming existing waterlogged areas. The main concern must, therefore be to stop new areas being lost to waterlogging and salinity. The remedy for waterlogging consists basically in providing the land with adequate drainage. The pumping-sets can be installed in the affected areas to diminish the water-level. The problem of salinity may need additional treatment by way of leaching and soil amendments.

The area under thur and sem in the district, during 1970-71to 1971-75, is given below:

(hectares)

Year		Thur	Sem	Total
1970-71	..	105	44	149
1971-72	..	105	44	149
1972-73	..	105	44	149
1973-74	..	105	44	149
1974-75	..	105	44	149

(Statistical Abstrafts of Punjab, 1971 to 1973 and Financial Commissioner, Revenue Punjab)

(b) Irrigation

Irrigation is an essential condition for intensive agriculture and increasing crop yields. The development of irrigation also helps to rebuild the agricultural economy. It is, therefore, necessary to improve the water resources and utilize them properly.

(i) Rainfall. –More than two-thirds of the rainfall in the district occurs during July to September. The average annual amount of rainfall in the district during the last, five years from 1971 to 1975 was 73.11 centimeters. With the extension of irrigation facilities after the independence (1947), the failure of crops for want of rains has not occurred in the district. This fact is well borne out by the following statement: -

Rainfall in the Hoshiarpur District, 1970 to 1975

Year		Annual Rainfall (cm)	Rainfall during month of
			January (cm)	February (cm)	March (cm)	April (cm)	May (cm)	June (cm)
1970	..	99.93	6.02	0.55	0.88	0.19	1.49	20.91
1971	..	80.71	0.67	3.71	0.24	1.01	3.93	11.57
1972	..	68.32	2.93	3.56	2.87	0.95	-	4.80
1973	..	86.65	5.02	3.76	0.54	0.07	2.32	14.99
1974	..	51.09	1.07	-	0.20	-	1.98	8.56
1975	..	78.78	4.00	4.10	3.16	1.60	1.59	5.27

July (cm)	August (cm)	September (cm)	October (cm)	November (cm)	December (cm)	Area under crops failed for want of rain (Hect-ares)
15.96	32.37	16.22	0.84	-	-	-
26.29	25.33	5.72	-	2.24	-	-
31.28	19.55	0.60	-	1.07	0.71	-
22.25	26.71	4.44	1.72	-	4.83	-
18.72	15.03	1.32	-	-	3.71	-
23.48	21.00	11.03	0.99	0.42	2.14	-

(Statistical Abstracts of Punjab, 1971 to 1976)

(ii) Irrigation Facilities. –Almost all the major facilities of irrigation, i.e. canals, tube-wells, wells and pumping-sets are available in the district. The gross area irrigated during 1974-75 was 146.8 thousand hectares as compared to 140.5 thousand hectares in 1973-74. The gross area irrigated as percentage to he total cropped area in the district during 1973-74 and 1974-75 was 34.8 and 39.5 respectively. The table given below shows the net area irrigated in thousand hectares, along with the percentage to the net area sown through different sources of irrigation in the district, during 1970-71 to 1974-75:

Year		Government canals	Wells including tube-wells and pumping-sets	Other sources	Total	Percentage to net area sown
1970-71	..	11.6	42.1	1.0	54.7	22.0
1971-72	..	11.7	43.7	1.0	56.4	22.0
1972-73	..	11.7	59.9	1.0	72.6	29.0
1973-74	..	11.8	62.5	1.0	75.3	30.0
1974-75	..	11.5	70.1	1.0	82.6	33.0

(Statistical Abstracts of Punjab 1970 to 1975)

Canals

Canals are a major source of irrigation. There are two canals viz the Shah Nahar Canal and Bist Doab Canal in the district. The Shah Nahar Canal takes off from the river Beas near Mukerian in the district. Up till 1949, this canal was controlled by the District Board. With a view to developing canal irrigation in the district, the management of this canal was taken over by the Irrigation Department in 1949. Since then irrigation from this system has vastly increased.

The Bist Doab Canal serving the district takes off from the right bank of the river Satluj from the Rupnagar Headwork’s. Besides Hoshiarpur, this canal also irrigates the Jullundur and Kapurthala districts.

The following table shows the area irrigated by the Shah Nahar and Bist Doab Canals in the District, during 1970-71 to 1974-75: -

Year		Area irrigated by Shah Nahar Canal (hectares)	Area irri-gated by Bist Doab Canal (hectares)
1970-71	..	27,857	1,018
1971-72	..	27,883	1,065
1972-73	..	28,292	1,015
1973-74	..	28,588	1,047
1974-75	..	30,014	1,103

(Source: Executive Engineer, Madhopur Division, U.B.D.C. Gurdaspur, and Executive Engineer Bist Doab Division, Jullundur)

Wells (including Tube-wells and Pumping-sets). –Well irrigation is the most ancient and familiar form of irrigation in the district. Wells may be worked by cattle, electricity or diesel. Wells worked by power are called tube-wells. Tube-wells and pumping-sets were introduced in 1950.

Irrigation with wells, tube-wells, and pumpings-sets has a superiority over canal irrigation since water from these sources is available all the year round and there is never overwatering of field as is quite often the case with canal irrigation. Well irrigation also does not bring forth the problems of waterlogging and rise of salts to soil surface. However, there is a great scope in this region for extension of well irrigation. Although tube-wells (including pumping-sets) have been introduced since independence, yet these cannot be installed in the sub-montaneous areas of the district. The water in the perennial streams (chos) is conserved through reservoir by installing embankments and check-dams and is stored as a result of these check-dams and embankments. Irrigation facilities are provided to the farmers through lift irrigation system. The loans for lift irrigation are given for a period of 15 years and subsidized to the extent of 50 per cent and later on they are recovered through 30 easy installments. The number of wells (percolation) tube-wells and pumping-sets installed in the Hoshiarpur District, during 1970-71 to 1874-75, is given below:

Items		1970-71	1971-72	1972-73	1973-74	1974-75
Wells (Percolation)	..	11,799	11,172	11,695	9,412	9,412
Tube-wells and pumping-sets	..	7,661	13,306	17,900	18,382	18,599

(Statistical Abstracts of Punjab 1971 to 1975)

The amount of loans granted by the Government for minor irrigation works in the district, during 1970-71 to 1974-75, is given below:

Item	1970-71 (Rs)	1971-72 (Rs)	1973-74 (Rs)	1973-74 (Rs)	1974-75 (Rs)
Wells (Percolation)	24,500	-	-	-	-
Tube-wells and Pumping-sets	5,00,000	-	22,66,000 (under Emer-gency Agricul-tural Produc-tion Prog-ramme).	-	-

(Source: Director of Agriculture, Punjab, Chandigarh)

(c) Agriculture including Horticulture

(i) Set-up and Activities of the Agriculture Department. –The department is represented in the district by the Chief Agricultural Officer, Hoshiarpur who is under the control of the Director of Agriculture, Punjab, Chandigarh. The Chief Agricultural Officer is overall incharge of the entire agricultural operations in the district. He is wholly responsible for the preparation and execution of district agricultural plans and is assisted by 1 Seed Development Officer, 1 Horticulture Development Officer, 1 Agricultural Information Officer, 1 District Training Officer, 36 Agricultural Inspectors and 45 Agricultural Sub-Inspectors, besides ministerial and Class IV staff.

To look after plant protection, an Assistant Plant Protection Officer is posted at Hoshiarpur also under the director control of the Chief Agricultural Officer. He is assisted by 6 Plant Protection Inspectors all posted at Hoshiarpur.

The Agriculture Department guides the farmers in the layout of gardens, in the extension of new orchards, in controlling various pests and diseases affecting agricultural crops and gardens, in the management and procurement of fertilizers and good seeds, and in laying out demonstration plots to bring home to the cultivators the superiority of varieties recommended for cultivation in the district. It also helps the fruit-growers in getting enhanced supply of canal water for establishing and developing new orchards. Loans are advanced by the Government to the cultivators for repairing old wells and constructing new ones and installing tube-wells and pumping-sets. Besides, taccavi loans are advanced for the development of horticulture. Loans for the reclamation of land and for grape cultivation are also advanced to the cultivators.

(ii) Soils and Crops

Soils. –The soils of the Shiwalik hill region are sandy with occasional layers of clay and loam or granuly loam. The soils are developed from the weathering of sand stone and conglomerates and are light in texture and poor in potential fertility status. A number of gullies, nalas and chos (seasonal streams) are found in hilly and plain areas of the district. In hilly and plain areas, soil profile development varies with elevation and local factors affecting it.

Physiographically, the soils of the district can be divided into five physiographic units, the description of which is given as under:

(1) Lower Shiwalik Hill Soils

The soils are gently to moderately sloping (1-3 per cent). The soil on the beds of lower strips in Garhshankar, Mahalpur, Dasuya and Talwara blocks are cultivated. The major group of soils fall in Garhshankar block and this area is popularly known as ‘Beet area’. The soils are deep sandy loam to loam at the surface and loam to clay loam in the subsurface layers. The soils adjoining the cho beds are slightly to moderately stony (15-20 per cent).

(2) Lower Shiwalik Foothill Soils (Kundi Area)

These soils lie at the foot of lower Shiwaliks and are called Kundi area. The soils are gently to moderately sloping (2-5 per cent) and are infested with seasonal chos with irrigation slope and excessive run off resulting in nutrient losses and poor water conservation. The soils are loamy sand to sandy loam at the surface and sandy loam in the subsurface layers, and cover major portions of Balachaur, Saroya, Mahalpur, Hoshiarpur I, Hoshiarpur II, Bhunga, Dasuya, Mukerian and Talwara blocks.

(3) Soils of gently sloping Uplands –broken at places by seasonal ‘chos’

These areas are in general, gently sloping (2-3 per cent) except for the areas around the ‘chos’ where the slopes may be up to 5 per cent. The areas cover major parts of Bhunga, Hoshiarpur I and Hoshiarpur II blocks and part of Mahalpur and Balachaur blocks. The normal intensively cultivated soils of this unit generally have sand to loamy sand texture at the surface and loamy sand to sandy loam below. Most of these soils are devoid of free carbonates and show weekly developed profiles.

(4) Soils of Flat Plains

These areas slightly at a lower topographic positions with in the plain and are nearly level with slopes usually less then one per cent. The areas cover major parts of Mukerian, Dasuya and Tanda blocks and are sandy loam to loam at the surface and loam to clay loam below. The soil show the movement of clay, silt and soluble salts to the lower layers. Some of these soils also show the presence of clay coating in the pores. The soils are well to imperfectly drained, irrigated and intensively cultivated. The localized depression areas are subjected to flooding and waterlogging during monsoon season which have resulted in the development of saline sodic patches in localized areas in Tanda Block.

(5) Soils of Floor Plains –partly cultivated

These areas are gently to moderately sloping(3-5 per cent) and cover bet areas adjoining river Beas (Talwara, Mukerian and Tanda blocks) and Satluj (Balachaur Block). These soils are young, highly stratified and variably in texture. The soils are sandy to loamy sand around the river beds and sandy loam to clay loam away from the river beds. In Talwara and Mukerian blocks, the flood plain deposits contain lot of stones and boulders of varying sizes. These areas are occasionally subjected to flooding and water table in most of these areas may be within one metre during monsoon season.

Major and Subsidiary Crops. –The crops grown in the district fall into two main categories, viz. kharif (sawani), or autumn harvest and rabi (hari) or spring harvest. The kharif or rainfed crops are sown in monsoon from June to August and harvesting lasts from early September to late December. The rabi or irrigated crops are usually sown in October –November and harvested from mid March to mid May. The main kharif crops of the district are paddy, maize, sugarcane, groundnut, cotton, moong, mash, til, (sesame) whereas wheat, gram, barley, and oilseeds are the principal rabi crops. Among vegetables, potato, tomato, brinjal, bhindi (ladi finger) chilli, cauliflower, etc. also are rabi crops.

The detailed particulars regarding the area under different crops and their total production in the district from 1970-71 to 1974-75 are given in appendices I and II at the end of this chapter on pages 141 and 142. The important kharif and rabi crops are discussed as under:

Wheat

It is the most important among food crops and is the staple diet of the people. The best time for its sowing is from the middle to end of October, but can be sown up to the end of December. In the riverain villages land becomes fit for wowing in latter half of November. The harvesting starts generally on the Baisakhi day i.e. 13^th April of the year. The area under wheat cultivation in the district during 1974-75 was 141 thousand hectares out of the total cropped area of 372 thousand hectares, which produced 292 thousand metric tons of wheat with a yield of 2,070 kilograms per hectare.

Paddy

It is cultivated on marshy lands or on land which receive irrigation. The land is prepared by three or four ploughs. Its nursery is sown in May and June and the transplantation is done at the end of June and in July. The harvesting time is October-November.

The area under paddy cultivation in the district during 1974-75 was 34 thousand hectares, which produced 64 thousand metric tons of rice with a yield of 1,894 kilograms per hectare.

Maize

Maize is an important kharif crop of the district and forms the staple diet of the people, especially in winter months when it is available in sufficient quantities. Next to wheat, it occupied the largest area among the cereals, i.e. 76 thousand hectares during the 1974-75 and produced 117 thousand metric tons of maize. The yield per hectare was 1,533 kilograms in the same year.

The maize seed is sown after the first fall of rain in June or July. The crop requires constant weeding and hoeing. Moderate and frequent rain with alternating sunshine, is best for maize. In a few fields, two maize crops are raised in the same season.

Bajra

The cultivation of bajra has greatly decreased during the last two decades due to its low yield. However, it is sown in June-August and harvested in September –November.

Barley

Barley is not an important crop of the district. It is a rabi crop, sown from October to early January and harvested in April.

Pulses

The important pulses grown in the district are mash, massar, moong, and gram. Moong is less popular in this district and is sown as a secondary mixed crop with maize, jowar and bajra. Gram is the major crop. The area under this crop during 1974-75 was 22 thousand hectares and the production was 26 thousand metric tons.

Sugarcane

This is perhaps the only cash crop of the district. It is planted in February-March. The crop requires heavy manuring and irrigation. Its harvesting starts from the middle of November and continues till February or even later.

There area under sugarcane, during 1974-75, was 10 thousand hectares which produced 39 thousand metric tons of gur.

Oil-Seeds

Among the oil-seeds grown in the district the most important are sesame, rape and mustard and groundnut. The total area under oilseeds in the district during 1974-75 was about 10 thousand hectares which produced about 7 thousand metric tons of oil-seeds.

Berseem

It is an important rabi fodder crop. It is sown during the last week of September and the first week of October. Berseem is highly nutritious fodder and keeps on growing after repeated cuttings throughout the winter and early summer seasons. The crops gets ready within 60 days after sowing.

Vegetables. –Agro-climatically, the Hoshiarpur District is very much suitable for the production of almost all types of vegetables. Because of the sub-montane situation of the district, it does not suffer from excessive heat during summer. The district is known for the raising of early variety of potato crop in autumn throughout the country. Major portion of the early harvested crop of potato is marketed in other parts of the country and generally fetches a good price to the growers and the State. In 1973-74, the area covered under the potato crop in the district was 5,700 hectares which rose to 8,565 hectares in 1974-75.

The total area under vegetables excluding potatoes, in the district, in 1973-74 was 880 hectares which rose to 1,486 hectares in 1974-75. The following vegetables are sown in the district: -

Summer Vegetables: lady finger (bhindi), bottle-gourd (ghia kaddu), ashgourd (petha), pumpkin (halwa kaddu), brinjal round and long (haingan), tomato (tamatar), musk-melon (sarda kharbuza), bitter-gourd (karela), sponge-gourd (ghia), radge-gourd (kali tori), cucumber (khira), water-melon (tarbooz), chillies (mirch), arun (arvi), sweet-patato (shakarkandi).

Winter Vegetables: cauliflower (phul gobhi), cabbage (band gobhi), knolkhol (gandh gobi), carrot (gajar), raddish (muli), turnip (shalgam0, funegreek (methi), spinach (palak), onion (piaz), garlic (lassan), peas (matar), and potato (alu).

Fruit Crops and Gardens. –Fruits and vegetables are among the most important foods of mankind as they are not only nutritive but are also indispensable for the maintenance of health. From the point of view of the agriculturist also, they are of great importance as he is assured of high returns, from their cultivation even on a small area.

Fruits like mango, citrus, guava, pear, peach and almonds are grown in the district. The area under fruits in the district, during 1974-75, was 3,044 hectares.

To encourage grape cultivation, loans upto Rs 3,000 per acre are advanced to the cultivators. The amount of loans, thus, advanced, in the district, from 1970-71 to 1974-75, is given below:

Year		Amount of loans advanced for grape cultivation (Rs)
1970-71	..	60,000
1971-72	..	60,000
1972-73	..	55,000
1973-74	..	75,000
1974-75	..	-

(Source: Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur)

(iii) Improved Agricultural Practices

Improved agricultural practices play a vital role in increasing productivity in agriculture. Increase in productivity is the result of increased irrigation facilities, use of improved and high yielding varieties of seeds, application of fertilizers, adoption of multiple cropping pattern, plant protection measures and use of improved agricultural implements, etc. But use of improved and high yielding verities of seeds is the most important in bettering agricultural production. The high yielding varieties of different crops sown in the district are given below:

Name of crop		Variety
Wheat	..	Kalyan Sona, P.V. 18, Sona Lika, W.G. 357, S. 308 and C. 306
Maize	..	Ganga hybrid No. 5, Composite Vijay.
Paddy	..	I. R. 8, Jya, Rice P.R. 106, Palman –579, H. M. 95, Basmati –370
Sugarcane	..	Co. J. 64, Co. J. 58, Co. J. 67, Co. 975, Co. 1158, Co. J. 46, Co. 1148.
Gram	..	C –235
Potato	..	Kufri Chandermukhi, Kufri Sindhuri, Kufri Shakti, Kufri Sheetman.

The area under high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice and maize, during 1974-75, was 85, 29 and 2 thousand hectares, respectively.

The percentage of area under high-yielding varieties to the total cropped area in the district for wheat, rice and maize during 1970-71 to 1974-75 is given below:

Percentage of area under high-yielding varieties to total cropped area in the Hoshiarpur District
Name of crop		1970-71	1971-72	1972-73	1973-74	1974-75
Wheat	..	47.33	41.45	44.52	48.98	60.28
Rice	..	22 58	45 95	60 00	72 97	85 29
Maize	..	5.19	1.30	1.23	3.37	2.63

(Statistical Hand Books of Punjab 1973-74, 1974-75 and 1975-76, issued by the Economic Adviser to government, Punjab, Chandigarh).

(iv) Farmer’s Training Camps

The programme of farmer’s training and education was introduced in the district in March, 1972 as a Centrally sponsored scheme. The District Training Officer, Hoshiarpur, is over all responsible for the efficient training of the scheme in the district. He is under the control of the Chief Agricultural Officer, Hoshiarpur, and is assisted by 1 Radio Contract Officer, 1 Training Officer (Male) and 1 Training Officer (Female).

The main object of the scheme is to increase agricultural production and also to popularize multiple cropping by involving a large number of farmers in the High-Yielding Varieties Programme and other agricultural activities. Under the scheme, farmers’ training camps at district/block/village level are organized at the crop season. The extension staff and progressive farmers are imparted training in the seminars attended by experts of the Punjab Agricultural University and Agriculture Department, Punjab. Practical Demonstration in respect of seed treatment, drill sowing, and efficient application of fertilizers are given during these camps.

(v) Marginal Farmers’ and Agricultural Labourers’ Agency Development Scheme, Hoshiarpur

This scheme was introduced in the district in November, 1971 with the setting up of the Marginal Farmers’ and Agricultural Labourers’ Agency (MFALA) at Hoshiarpur. It was set up as a pilot project financed by the Government of India. The scheme covers farmers having holdings of less than 1 hectare and agricultural labourers having homestead and earning 50 per cent or more of their income from agricultural activities.

The agency aims at bettering the economic conditions of the small farmers. The recent breakthrough in agricultural production has brought about a certain degree of prosperity in the countryside, but relatively bigger and well placed cultivators have been able to take an advantage of the economic progress. As the small cultivators do not possess the essential pre-requisites for agricultural development there has not been proportionate improvement in their economic conditions. This agency’s objective is to improve their lands, create minor irrigation facilities, improvement in land drainage, reclamation of saline/alkaline lands and encourage these farmers to take up horticultural poultry, dairy farming, sheep rearing and piggery farming, proper marketing of the produce, apart from the facility of providing funds for the purchase of animals and construction of sheds, etc.

(vi) Agricultural Co-operatives

The co-operative movement seeks to protect the agriculturist both against economic evils and moral degeneration. The theory of co-operation is, that an isolated and powerless individual can, by association with others and by moral development and mutual support, obtain credit and other material advantages beyond his reach, if he works independently. In other words, co-operation emphasizes the importance of self-reliance and mutual help for preventing material and moral deterioration of the downtrodden of the society.

The co-operative movement in India started with the passing of the Co-operative Credit Societies Act of 1904. The Act provided only for the formation of agricultural credit societies in the rural areas. Special stress was laid on rural rather than on urban credit in view of the grater importance of the former in India. There was a rapid growth in the number and activities of the societies between 1906 and 1911, but the Act of 1904 was found insufficient to meet the growing needs of the movement. The Co-operative Societies Act of 1912 was, therefore, passed which recognized three kinds of central societies in addition to the primary societies recognized by the Act of 1904. The Act also recognized co-operation in fields other than credit.

(I) Primary Agricultural Credit/Service Societies. –Finance is the hub of agriculture as in the case of industry. Farmers need short-term finance for purchase of seeds, manures and chemical fertilizers, insecticides and agricultural implements; medium-term loans for the purchase of livestock, sinking of well, etc. and long-term loans for redemption of land and for making other permanent improvements on it. For all these needs the farmer used to contract credit from the money-lender before the advent of co-operative movement. But now, most of the requirements of funds are met by the primary agricultural credit societies at cheaper rates of interest.

In the Punjab State, the short-term and medium-term credit structure is based on a three-tier system, i.e. Apex Co-operative Bank at the State level, Central Co-operative Banks at district/tahsil level and Primary Agricultural Credit/Service Societies at the village level. The major objectives of the primary agricultural credit/service societies commodities, provision of storage and marketing facilities and for light agricultural implements and machinery.

The first Agricultural Co-operative Society in the composite Hoshiarpur District was registered in 1891-92 in the village Panjawar, Tahsil Una (now in Himachal Pradesh). It was registered under the Companies Act and later on in 1905 under the Co-operative Societies Act, 1904. In 1921, there were 775 societies with 23,742 members and a share capital of Rs 5 lakhs. By 1930, the number of societies had increased to 959, 1357 in 1950 and 1963 in 1960 and the membership was 36,000, 81,000 and 1,57,749 having share capital of Rs 5.81 lakhs, 41 lakhs and 105 lakhs, respectively. On June 30, 1975, there were 1,215 agricultural co-operative credit societies in the district, with a members hip of 1,99,000. The loans advanced during the same year amounted to Rs 382 lakhs and the deposits to Rs 454 lakhs.

There was one Central Co-operative Bank functioning in the district with 20 branches at different places. This bank advanced loans amounting to Rs 507.83 lakhs during the year ending June 30, 1975. Four Primary Land Mortgage Banks, one each at Balachaur, Garhshankar, Hoshiarpur and Dasuya are functioning in the district to meet the demand for long-term finance of the agriculturists. These banks advanced loans to the farmers to the tune of Rs 95.95 lakhs during 1974-75 for the purchase of land, tractors, sinking of tube-wells debt redemption, etc.

(2) Agricultural Non-Credit Societies. –These kinds of societies owe their origin to the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912. Under this Act, not only credit societies, but any society which aims at the promotion of the economic interests of its members in accordance with co-operative principles, could be established.

These societies are set up for the purchase of agricultural requirements like, implements, machinery, manures and seeds; for sale of agricultural produce; for insurance of cattle, crops, etc. for purposes of cattle-breeding and for similar other purposes like village uplift, better farming and better living, etc. The number of agricultural non-credit societies in the district in 1974-75 was 144.

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