Agriculture: Overview
Rajasthan, with its diverse agro-climatic conditions, is richly endowed in the cultivation of a variety of crops and a strong animal husbandry sector.
• Allied sectors of agriculture, primarily refers to activities including:
• Horticulture
• Animal Husbandry & Livestock
• Fisheries
• Forestry
Agriculture in Constitution
The Seventh Schedule of Constitution categories various subjects related to Agriculture as:
State List:
• 14. Agriculture, including agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases.
• 15. Preservation, protection and improvement of stock and prevention of animal diseases; veterinary training and practice.
• 21. Fisheries.
• 46. Taxes on agricultural income.
DPSP:
The directive principles of State Policy mentions:
• Article 48:
The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
Agriculture: Rajasthan
Contribution to State GDP
• Agriculture in Rajasthan continues to be the backbone of the State’s economy with Agriculture & allied sectors contributing 25.56% of State’s total GSDP in 2019-20.
Contribution within Agricultural Sector:
• Crops – 47.54%
• Livestock – 41.53%
• Forestry & Logging – 10.54%
• Fishing – 0.36%
Highlights of Agriculture & Allied Sector in Rajasthan
• Rajasthan has 11.26% of the country’s livestock population and contributes about 12.93% of the total milk production and 32.89% wool produced in the country.
• Animal Husbandry Sector contributes 8.74% to GSDP attributing more than 1/3rd share in Agri sector GSDP.
• Rajasthan is one of the largest states in India taking part in organic farming, with over 81,000 hectares of registered organic farm area.
Production of food grains and oil-seeds in Rajasthan:
o Cereals: 204.98 Lakh tonnes
o Pulses: 44.90 Lakh tonnes
o Oil-Seeds 65.79 Lakh tonnes
• As per preliminary forecast for the year 2019-20, the total food grain production in the State is expected to be 249.88 lakh tonnes, which is a decrease of 8.06 per cent as compared to production of 231.25 lakh tonnes for the previous year.
• The kharif food grain production in the year 2019-20 is expected to be at the level of 89.25 lakh tonnes (5.56 % annual increase) and Production of Rabi food grain production is expected to be 160.63 lakh tonnes (9.50 % annual decrease).
Crops produced in Kharif Season:
Food Crop (Cereals) | Area Under Crop | Max. Production District | Productivity Maximum |
Rice | Bundi | Bundi | Hanumangarh |
Jowar | Ajmer | Ajmer | Kota |
Bajra | Jodhpur | Alwar, Jaipur | Alwar, Dholpur |
Maize | Bhilwara | Bhilwara, Chittorgarh | Bundi |
Small Millets | Dungarpur | Dungarpur | Udaipur |
Tur | Banswara | Ganganagar | Ganganagar |
Moong | Nagaur | Nagaur | Tonk |
Moth | Churu | Churu | Sikar |
Urad | Bundi | Bundi | Kota |
Chowla | Sikar, Jhunjhunu | Jhunjhunu, Sikar |
Agro-climatic Zones of Rajasthan
• The entire country has been delineated into 126 agro-climatic zones by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• Similarly, Rajasthan has been divided into 10 agro-climatic zones.
• These zones have been classified on the basis of agro-climatic parameters like rainfall, temperature regime, topography, soil characteristics, cropping pattern and irrigation availability.
• The Agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan are as follows:
1. Arid North Western Sandy Plain
2. Irrigated North Western Plain
3. Hyper Arid Partial Irrigated Zone
4. Transitional Plain of Inland Drainage
5. Alluvial Plain of Luni Basin
6. Semi Arid Eastern Plain
7. Flood Prone Eastern Plain
8. Sub Humid Southern Plain and Aravallis
9. Humid Southern Plain
10. Humid South Eastern Plain
Arid North Western Sandy Plain
• Rainfall: The mean annual rainfall in this zone is 100 to 400mm. The zone has erratic and uncertain rainfall witnessing frequent droughts.
• Area: The plain is characterized by vast sandy plain with sand dunes, sandy plain pediments and palayas present in the region. The vast area covered with sand dunes has coarse textured soil with CaC03 and gypsum.
• This physiographic zone is located in the north western part of the state covering Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur districts.
• Groundwater is deep and saline but at few places tube-well water is used for irrigation.
• Rain-fed agriculture is practiced in some pockets and livelihood is primarily livestock based.
Irrigated North Western Plain
• Area: This plain extends in the northern part of the state in Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and north western part of Bikaner district.
• As the zone is irrigated by network of Indira Gandhi Canal, Bhakra and Gang canal, it is intensively cultivated.
• The plain is dominantly covered by the medium and fine textured deep to very deep soils. The bed of River Ghagghar stretching from Suratgarh to Anupgarh is fine textured and intensively cultivated.
• In addition, in the southern and eastern part the region there is vast Aeolian plain covered with dunes with small area of deep buried pediments.
Hyper Arid Partial Irrigated Zone
• Rainfall: The normal rainfall in the zone is 185 to 390 mm.
• Area: This zone is spread in the arid region of Bikaner, Jaisalmer and parts of Churu, where the farmers have partial dependence on the sources of irrigation.
• The region has desert soil characterized by sand dunes and aeolian soil. The soil is loamy coarse in texture and with calcareous characteristics.
Transitional Plain of Inland Drainage
• Rainfall: The zone has average rainfall of 300-400mm.
• Area: This plain is spread in the central part of the state covering western, eastern and northern part of Nagaur and entire Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts.
• There is no drainage out of this area.
• The zone is covered with sandy plain, sand dunes and occasional hills.
• The area distinguishes from western sandy plain in having better livelihood of villagers depends mainly on livestock rearing along with some rain-fed farming.
Alluvial Plain of Luni Basin
• Rainfall ranges between 400 and 500mm.
• Area: The physiographic zone is located in the central part of the state where a number of ephemeral streams and River Luni and its tributaries flow through this area covering Pali, Jalore, part of Nagaur, Jodhpur and Barmer districts.
• Water is saline in this zone.
• Cultivation of cash crops is Rainfed or done with the help of tube-wells. Dominant soils are medium to fine textured.
Semi-Arid Eastern Plain
• Rainfall: Average Rainfall in the zone about 500- 700mm.
• Area: This plain is drained by the river Banas and its tributaries.
• The zone is spread in the eastern part of the state covering Jaipur, Ajmer, Dausa and Tonk districts. The plain is sandy plain.
• Occasional sand dunes and buried pediments and scattered hills with substantial area under alluvium are features of this zone.
Flood Prone Eastern Plain
• Rainfall: The rainfall in the zone is 600 – 700mm.
• Area: This zone extends in Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts. Soils are yellowish-brown to dark yellowish brown, sandy loam to clay loam and non-calcareous.
• This zone developed on the alluvium deposited by the river Yamuna and its tributaries and is spread over the eastern part of the state and forms western fringe of the Indo-Gangetic plain.
• A large area of this zone is under kharif and rabi crops.
Sub Humid Southern Plain and Aravallis
• The zone receives 700-900mm rainfall.
• High hills are scattered through the zone and there is a contiguous appearance of the Aravalli hills, running south to north.
• The zone extends in the southern part of the state in Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Sirohi, Udaipur and Chittorgarh districts.
• Hills and pediments are under hills for rest which support natural vegetation cover including trees, shrubs and grasses.
• Cultivated land occurs in between the hills.
• Medium to fine textured deep soils are dominant in this region.
Humid Southern Plain
• This zone receives 900-1000mm rainfall.
• This plain characterized by hills and valley fills is spread in the southern part of the state in Dungarpur, Banswara and Pratapgarh districts.
• In Banswara and Pratapgarh districts the soils formed from lava flow of basalt are also found.
• In between, scattered areas of deep buried pediments are also encountered.
• The hills are covered with thick density of trees, shrubs and grasses.
Humid South Eastern Plain
• This zone receives the highest rainfall in the state of around 700-1000mm.
• Area: South-eastern part of the state covering Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Jhalawar, Baran, Kota and Bundi districts.
• The landscape is characterized by hills pediments and vast alluvial plain formed by the rivers Chambal, Parbati, Parwan, Kalisindh and their tributaries. Because of these rivers deep gullies and ravines have been formed. Because of the presence of fine textured alluvium deposited by the rivers in this zone the land is very productive.
Famines & Droughts in Rajasthan
• The state of Rajasthan is prone to famine and droughts, particularly the western-most districts consisting of Thar desert which often experience successive years of scarcity and droughts.
Types of droughts:
• Put simply, a drought is a failure of rain, leading to moisture stress, that in turn leads to agricultural losses and other forms of social and economic hardship.
• There are many definitions and classifications of drought, including that of the National Commission on Agriculture which has defined three types of drought:
• Agricultural drought:
o When crops are affected due to moisture stress and lack of rainfall.
• Meteorological drought:
o When there is more than 25 per cent decrease (from normal) in rainfall in any area.
• Hydrological drought:
o When recurring meteorological droughts result in decrease in surface water and groundwater levels.
• Under this classification, if drought occurs in 20 % of the years in any area, it is classified as drought prone area and if the drought occurs in more than 40 % of the years, it is classified as a chronically drought prone area.
Causes of droughts in Rajasthan:
• Droughts in the Indian sub-continent are mainly due to failure of rainfall from southwest monsoon.
• The root cause for failure of monsoon rainfall is cued to the widespread, persistent atmospheric subsidence, which results from the general circulation of the atmosphere.
• Recent studies on interactions between global circulations and drought showed that the El Nino phase of the Southern Oscillations (EN SO) has the largest impact on India through drought.
Declaration of drought in Rajasthan:
• The Scarcity Manual (formerly known as the Famine Code) for Rajasthan lays out the rules and procedures to be followed in declaring a drought.
• While the Scarcity Manual includes many criteria, in practice, the State government has come to rely almost exclusively on the girdawari report and the losses in sowing and production reported therein.
• The girdawari report is a land-use report and is prepared by the patwari (land records official) of each panchayat. To calculate the losses, the current year’s figures are compared with area sown and production in “normal” years (defined as the average production for the past few years).
• On the basis of this, calculations of affected population are made. The other criteria in the Scarcity Manual include distress migrations, increase in thefts, news of starvation deaths, etc.
Difference between droughts and famine
• Famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, inflation, crop failure, population imbalance, or government policies.
• This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality.
Frequency of Droughts in Rajasthan
• Low rainfall coupled with erratic behaviour of the monsoon in the state make Rajasthan the most vulnerable to drought.
• Based on historical data the frequency of occurrence of droughts in the state is given in following table.
1. Once in 3 years Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur and Sirohi
2. Once in 4 years Ajmer, Bikaner, Bundi, Dungarpur, Sriganganagar, Nagaur, Hanumangarh and Churu
3. Once in 5 years Alwar, Banswara, Bhilwara. Jaipur Jhunjhunu, Pali, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Dausa and Karauli
4. Once in 6 years Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Kota, Udaipur, Tonk, Rajsamand and Baran
5. Once in 8 years Bharatpur and Dholpur
Land Use pattern of Rajasthan
• Land use pattern of an area affects vegetation, land quality, local weather and quality of life.
• This determines the ensuing per unit load on agriculture land, forest land, periphery areas to cities and factors responsible for land degradation.
• The land use pattern of a region determines the ecological balance in the region and helps to understand the environmental status as well.
• Located in north-west part, Rajasthan is the largest state of country, having a geographical area of 3,42,239 hectares which constitutes 10.41 % of area of the country.
Net-Sown Area:
• More than half of the total report area is under agriculture operation which proves that Rajasthan is still essentially an agricultural state.
• The high density (above 50%) districts are Alwar, Jaipur, Bharatpur and Tonk in eastern Rajasthan and Churu, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Nagaur and Ganganagar, Hanumangarh in western Rajasthan.
Area under Forests:
• Area under forest in Rajasthan is small, the concentration of forests being more in the districts adjoining Aravallis — like Ajmer, Banswara, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Pali, Sawai Madhopur, Sirohi, Udaipur and Kota.
• Due to low rainfall and aridity forest areas are few and almost negligible in the arid zone districts of Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, Jalor and Jodhpur.
• In rest of the districts the area under forest varies from 1 to 2% and are concentrated in the favourable locations of foothill slopes.
Non Agricultural Uses
• These include settlements, building, roads, other lands appropriated for non-agricultural use — like mountains and shifting dunes, etc.
Permanent Pastures & other grazing land
• The availability of permanent pasture and grazing land determines the status of livestock economy in the regions. It constituted about 5 per cent of the reporting area in Rajasthan.
• In Irrigated North Western Plain, the grazing land is also found negligible.
• The Sub humid Southern Plain is endowed with pastures and grazing lands in one-tenth of the reporting area. Largely, it constituted about 4 to 7 per cent across the zones.
• Hanumangarh and Ganganagar have the least area whereas Barmer, Jodhpur and Bhilwara have the largest area under this category.
Land under misc trees & grooves
• Area under fruit crop fall under this category of land use.
• In Rajasthan, the area under fruit crops is also negligible i.e. less than one per cent.
• Churu and Rajsamand districts have no land under miscellaneous trees, crops and groves. Districts Nagaur, Jalore and Hanumangarh cover the least whereas Dungarpur, Ganganagar and Jhalawar cover the maximum area under the same category.
Culturable Wasteland
• Culturable wastelands are wastelands that can be brought under cultivation by providing irrigation.
• Culturable Wasteland is highest in Ajmer, Alwar and Jaisalmer and minimum at Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu and Bharatpur.
Fallow Lands:
• A fallow field is land that a farmer plows but does not cultivate for one or more seasons to allow the field to become more fertile again.
• Fallow lands includes two types of fallow lands – Current fallow lands & Other fallow (long- fallow) lands.
• Current year fallow are the lands that have been left fallow for the current year, while other fallow lands include lands that have been left fallow for more than a year.
• In arid regions, except in the districts where irrigation is practised the extent of such fallow land is very high; Barmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur dominate this category.
Changes in land use pattern in Rajasthan:
• In general there is an increase in total area under cultivation in Rajasthan.
• Permanent pastures and grazing lands and miscellaneous trees and grooves are declining having serious unfavorable implications for the ecology of Rajasthan.
• Although growth in forest area is positive in all the regions of Rajasthan still forest area is only 7.8% of total geographical area, which is well below the minimum norms of 33% of geographical area under forests as set under the National Forest Policy (1952).
• There has been declining growth in barren and other unculturable lands. Land that is being released from barren and unculturable land is shifting towards non-agricultural sector.
Land Holding Pattern in Rajasthan
• The agricultural census collects Primary and Secondary data on structure of operational holdings by different size classes and social groups in the state.
• Operational Holding refers to all land which is used wholly or partly for agricultural production and is operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others without regard to the title, legal form, size or location.
Based on Size, there are five kinds of Land Holdings in India:
• Marginal holdings: Size 1 hectare or less
• Small holdings: Size 1 to 2 hectares
• Semi-medium holdings : Size 2 to 4 hectares
• Medium holdings: Size 4 to 10 hectares
• Large holdings: Size above 10 hectares
Land Holding Pattern in Rajasthan
• As per provisional data for Agriculture Census 2015-16, total number of operational land holdings in the State was 76.55 lakh. Out of these:
o Marginal – 40.12 %
o Small-21.90%
o Semi medium – 18.50 %
o Medium – 14.79 %
o Large holdings – 4.69 %
• There is an increase in the number of marginal, small, semi medium and medium land holdings and decrease is in number of large land holding in the year 2015-16 in comparison to the year 2010-11.
• This indicates that there is an increase in number of divisions of land due to splitting of joint families.
Food Processing Industries in Rajasthan
• Rajasthan is India’s largest state by area (3,42,239 square kms and 10.41 % of India’s total area).
• The state, with its diverse agro-climatic conditions is richly endowed with the cultivation of a variety of crops.
• Agriculture & allied activities make up for 24% of the State’s GDP, with 62% of total working population of the State dependent on this for livelihood.
Together, Rajasthan has good scope for food processing Industries.
Major strengths of Rajasthan for food processing industry:
Geography and Climate:
• Rajasthan has a wide range of climate varying from extremely arid to humid.
• The state has 10 agro-climatic zones, suitable for wide variety of cereals, fruits, vegetables and a large number of livestock.
Raw Materials:
• State is largest producer of Psyllium, Cluster bean, Fenugreek, cumin, mustard, pearl millet, moth bean and Coriander.
• Rajasthan has 10% of the total livestock in India and is the second largest producer of milk in India.
Agricultural Marketing:
• 141 main market yards and 315 sub market yards, 4 big pack houses, 5 small pack houses and 7 cold storages are in operation and one walk-in cooling chamber at Jaipur Airport. 8 AGMARK (a certification mark embossed on agricultural products in India) laboratories for grading of the produce.
Marketing Reforms:
Marketing Reforms in Rajasthan to ease procurement of raw materials
• Contract Farming: Allow contract farming for fruits, vegetables, medicine plants, barley, maize and aromatic plants.
• E-Commerce: Permit the setting up of private sub e-markets.
• Direct Purchase: The state has allowed to remove all restrictions on direct purchase of agriculture and horticulture products produced in the State by the agro-processing enterprises
• Market Fee: The market fee on fruits and vegetables has been exempted and trade outside yard is free.
• Private Market Yard: Private sector can establish market yards to enhance supplies to industries.
Supporting Infrastructure:
• State has 6 Inland Container Depots
• 2 Agri Export Zones – 1 for Coriander covering Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar & Chittorgarh and 1 for Cumin covering Nagaur, Barmer, Jalore, Pali and Jodhpur
• Out of 344 Existing Industrial Areas, (as per RIICO -Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corp), there are 26 Industrial areas marked suitable for food processing industry.
• There are 6 food parks in Rajasthan. One Mega Food Park in Ajmer and five other in, Alwar, Kota, Jodhpur and Sri Ganganagar.
Policy Support:
• The state has released “Rajasthan Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy – 2015”.
• Food Processing sector has been accorded the status of a Thrust Sector under the Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme, 2014 (RIPS 2014).
• 5% Interest Subsidy for 5 years for various categories food processing enterprises
Important Food Processing Companies in Rajasthan
• Lotus Dairy – Bikaner, Sikar, Jaipur, Shri Ganganagar
• Paayas Dairy – Jaipur
• Adani Wilmart Pvt. Ltd. – Bundi
• Advantage Overseas Pvt. Ltd. – Bundi
• Mahesh Edible Agro oil India Pvt. Ltd. – Kota, Alwar
• Goyal Protein Ltd. – Kota
• Otekar India Pvt. Ltd – Alwar
• Barmalt Malting Ltd. – Alwar
Food Processing Clusters in Rajasthan
Spices and Condiments Processing Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur
Milk Processing Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner
Pulses Processing Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur
Snacks Processing Bikaner, Jaipur
Mustard & Soybean Processing Kota, Bundi
Barley Processing Jaipur, Sikar, Dausa, Tonk, Bundi
Maize Processing Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Banswara
Prepared Foods Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer
Wheat Processing Jaipur, Alwar, Shri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Kota, Bundi,
Oil Processing Alwar, Ganganagar, Bharatpur, Bundi, Kota
Fruits & Vegetable Processing Sikar, Ajmer, Bans wara, Chittorgarh
Horticulture in Rajasthan
• Agriculture and allied sector is the backbone of the State’s economy and contributes around 24% to the GSDP.
• Nearly 75% of the population on of the State resides in the rural areas and about 62% depends on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood.
• Rajasthan is also a key state in terms of production of horticultural produce, particularly spices, medicinal and aromatic plants.
• The State contributes around 10% to India’s total spices and 15% to Medicinal and Aromatic Plants production.
• The state is one of the leading producers of Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Fenugreek, Ajwain, Garlic, Dilseed, Psyllium Husk and Henna.
Produce | Key producing areas/districts | Key Mandis |
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES | ||
Potato | Bharatpur, Dholpur | Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jaipur |
Tomato | Jaipur, Sirohi, Ajmer, S. Madhopur, Tonk | Jaipur, Chomu, Bassi, Reodar |
Onion | Sikar, Jaipur, Jhunjunu, Nagaur, Jodhpur, Alwar | Sikar, Jaipur, Chomu, Phalodi, Alwar, Khairtal |
Orange | Jhalawar | Bhawani mandi, Jhalrapatan |
Pomegranate | Jalore, Barmer, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Sri Ganganagar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer | Jaipur, Jodhpur |
Guava | Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Bundi, Bharatpur | Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur |
Kinnow | Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh | Sri Ganganagar |
Date Palm | Bikaner, Jaisalmer | – |
SPICES | ||
Garlic | Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh | Chhipa Barod, Jodhpur, Kota |
Cumin | Barmer, Jalore, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali | Jodhpur, Merta, Nagaur, Phalodi, Barmer |
Coriander | Baran, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Kota | Ramganj mandi, Kota, Baran |
Fenugreek | Chittorgarh, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Kota, Nagaur, Sikar, Churu, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur | Kota, Jaipur |
Ajwain | Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Rajsamand | Bhilwara, Jaipur |
Fennel | Nagaur, Jodhpur, Pali, Tonk | Lalsot, Newai |
OTHERS | ||
Isabgol (Psyllium Husk) | Barmer, Jalore, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh | |
Henna (Mehndi) | Pali, Jodhpur |
Horticulture related Research Institutes in Rajasthan
• Ajmer:
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Tabiji Reasearch Institute
• Alwar:
o Agriculture Research Station, Navgaun
• Bharatpur:
o National Rapeseed & Mustard Research Institute o Adaptive Trial Centres, Malikpur
• Bikaner:
o Agriculture Research Station, Beechwal
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Toonkaran
• Bundi:
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Chattarpura
• Chittaurgarh:
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Chittorgarh
• Jaipur:
o Agriculture Research Station, Durgapura
• Jalore:
o Agriculture Research Station, Keshwana
• Jodhpur:
o Central Arid Zone Research Institute
o Arid Forest Research Institute
o Agriculture Research Station, Mandore
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Rampura
• Kota:
o Agriculture Research Station, Ummedganj
• Pali:
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Sumerpur
• Sikar:
o Agriculture Research Station, Fatehpur
• Sriganganagar:
o Agriculture Research Station, Ganganagar
o Adaptive Trial Centres, Shri Karanpur
• Tonk:
o Central Sheep & Wool Research Institute
• Udaipur:
o Agriculture Research Station, Udaipur Centers of Excellence:
• Six Centers of Excellences on Citrus, Mango, Orange, Guava, Datepalm and Pomegranate have been established in the state.
Fisheries
• As per National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), India is world’s third largest fish producer.
• In aquaculture, India is second only to China, with a 7% share in global production.
• Fish production also contributes around 1% to India’s gross domestic product and over 5% to the agricultural GDP.
• In Rajasthan, besides providing fish production, the sector also provides low cost food rich in protein & employment to rural and weaker sections.
Fisheries Resource in Rajasthan:
• In water resources Rajasthan state stands on 11th position in the country.
• Rajasthan has good aquatic resources to become a leading fish producer in the country, water resources in Rajasthan include:
• 3.36 lakh hectare – large and medium water bodies
• 0.94 lakh hectare – small water bodies and ponds
• 0.87 lakh hectare – rivers and canals
Fish Production in Rajasthan
• The fish production potential of Rajasthan is more than 80,000 metric tonnes annually while production achieved in the year 2019-20 is only 35,256 (till December 2019) metric tonnes in the State.
• Hence, there is good scope for further development of fisheries sector in the State.
Government Departments:
Union Level:
• Department of Fisheries – Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying [New Ministry formed in May 2019 ]
• National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB)
Rajasthan Government:
• Department of Fisheries
Schemes Related to Fisheries in Rajasthan
• The Department has started implementation of ambitious scheme on ‘livelihood model’, which is a ‘zero revenue’ model, for the upliftment of tribal fishermen in three reservoirs namely,
o Jaisamand Udaipur),
o Mahi Bajaj Sagar (Banswara) and
o Kadana Backwater (Dungarpur)
National Mission for Protein Supplement
• Under National Mission for Protein Supplement scheme, a cage culture project has been sanctioned by Government of India for the dissemination and demonstration of modern fisheries-techniques at Mahi Bajaj Sagar (Banswara) and 56 cages have already been installed there.
• After completion of second phase the cages for the third phase are being allotted to tribal fishermen society Bassipada (Banswara) to take up fish culture.
• Rs. 3.64 crore has been sanctioned for Ornamental Fish breeding unit and aquarium gallery and it is under construction as an innovative work at Bisalpur Dam (Tonk).
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
• Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), an amount of Rs. 15.30 crore has been approved for the modernization/ construction of 41 fish landing centres of Rajasthan to reduce the post-harvest losses.
• The construction of fish landing centres at Ramsagar (Dholpur), Bisalpur (Tonk) and Rana Pratap Sagar (Rawatbhata) have been completed.
• Construction of landing centres at Jawai Dam (Pali) and Jaisamand (Udaipur) has been completed and working at present.
Blue Revolution
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India has accordingly restructured the schemes by merging all the ongoing schemes under an umbrella of blue revolution.
• It will ensure achievement of food & nutritional security in a sustainable manner keeping in view the bio security and environmental concerns.
Forestry
• Forestry is the pivot of ecological and environmental balance and plays a significant role in the state’s economy.
o The State has ample opportunities for eco-tourism.
• There are 3 National Parks, 26 Wild Fife Sanctuaries, and 14 Conservation Reserves in the State. Besides this, 3 Biological Parks at Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur have also been developed.
• Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) have been empowered to get income from the collection of minor forest produce from forest as well as non-forest areas.
o Planting activities on non-forest land also vests with PRIs.
Crop Diversification
• Crop diversification is intended to give a wider choice in the production of a variety of crops in a given area so as to expand production related activities on various crops and also to lessen risk.
• Crop diversification in India is generally viewed as a shift from traditionally grown less remunerative crops to more remunerative crops.
• The crop shift (diversification) also takes place due to governmental policies and thrust on some crops over a given time, for example creation of the Technology Mission on Oilseeds (TMO) to give thrust on oilseeds production as a national need for the country’s requirement for less dependency on imports.
• Rajasthan is promoting crop diversification as a way of shielding farmers against the vagaries of nature.
• The farmers have made use of the soil health cards issued to them for selecting crop patterns on the basis of productivity of land and the local agro-climatic conditions.
• With low land productivity and increasing use of pesticides in agriculture adversely affecting nutrients in the foodgrains, farmers are also taking up horticulture, dairy farming, pisciculture and food processing to augment their income.
Government Initiatives:
• The Government has been instrumental in exploring different crops that can grow in climatic conditions of Rajasthan but have higher demand and potential to improve farmers income.
• These include:
Olive cultivation
• State Horticulture Department of Rajasthan government had initiated the olive cultivation project with technical support from Israel in 2008.
• Seeing the ample possibilities, the state government formed the Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd (ROCL) in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. ROCT was incorporated on 19.4.2007 under the Company Act, 1956.
• Olive cultivation in Rajasthan is at present spread over 800 hectares, in different agro-climatic regions of the state in districts of Sri Ganganagar, nagaur, Bikaner, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Jaipur.
• Rajasthan government, with Israel’s help, has set up a centre of excellence at Jaipur’s Bassi area to provide high-quality plants to the farmers. Additionally, the state government also provides subsidies on plant saplings, fertilizer and drip-irrigation systems.
• The Indian state of Rajasthan is set to launch its own brand of olive oil under the name “Raj Olive Oil,” the first Indian olive oil produced within the country.
Olives in Rajasthan
o Olive oil refinery: Lunkaransar, Bikaner
o Olive Green Tea production: Bassi, Jaipur
Dragon fruit farming in Rajasthan
• Rajasthan State government is trying to integrate traditional agriculture with allied forms of farming. Fruit cultivation is a major focus area and the government aims to double area under fruit cultivation in the next five years.
• Dragon fruit or Pitaya is native to Mexico and grown extensively in South-East Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
• Now, this fruit is being grown on an experimental basis at the agriculture department’s centre of excellence at Bassi and at Deorawas near Tonk and if the project is successful, it will be replicated in districts of western Rajasthan.
• Rajasthan has started cultivation of three varieties Cassia tora (medicinal plant), Dragon Fruit (Pitaya), and Pistachio (pista).
• While, Dragon Fruit would be cultivated in 5,000 sqm in Rajasthan, steps have also been taken for cultivation of pista. India was importing pista (pistachios) from foreign nations, but state has better climate in fianumangarh and Sriganganagar district for cultivation of pista.
Date palm farming in Rajasthan
• Rajasthan government aspires to double farmers income by 2022 through new initiatives like organic farming and cultivation of horticulture crops like Olives, Citrus fruits and Date Palm.
• With agriculture in the state being primarily rain-fed, especially in the arid Western and Northern regions, the Rajasthan government has been encouraging farmers to cultivate exotic plant species like olive, jojoba, dragon fruit and date palms that need comparatively less water and have potential to make cultivation profitable.
• Since 2007-08, the state government had started date palm cultivation on a trial basis in 135 hectares of its own farmland in Jaisalmer and Bikaner and had imported around 21,000 tissue culture raised saplings from the UAE.
• Later in 2008-09, Rajasthan government started promoting date palm farming on farmers’ land in 12 districts — Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Nagaur, Pali, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Sirohi and Churu.
• Date palms take 4 to 8 years after planting before they bear fruit. Yields improve as trees grow older and the tree has a lifespan of 15 years with maximum fruits from 10th year onwards.
• The first harvests for date palms have started in Rajasthan and the state is expecting an output of around 800 Tonnes.
Rajasthan Government Support for Date Palm Cultivation:
• The state government is promoting date palm farming in arid desert regions of north-western Rajasthan and giving tissue culture raised sapling to farmers at a subsidised rate under the centrally-sponsored scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
• The state government has also tied up with a private company Atul Ltd for cultivating fine quality tissue cultured date palm saplings for distribution to farmers at a subsided rate.
• A single sapling of date palm costs Rs 2,000- 2,500 but Rajasthan Government is giving subsidy up to 75 per cent provided farmers use drip irrigation.
• The agriculture sector working on Indo-Israeli collaboration, started the date research at Sagra- Bhojka farm and after its success, efforts are being made to start a centre of excellence to develop date using Israeli techniques.
• In State Budget 2020-21, it has been announced to increase area under Date farming to 1500 hectares in next 4 years.
Custard Apple
• Despite its semi-arid conditions, Rajasthan is the sixth largest producer of citrus fruits, fourth largest producer of orange and eighth largest producer of pomegranate in India, according to Rajasthan Horticulture Board (RHB).
• Now, a new variety of custard apple (Sitaphal), bigger in size than the ones present in Rajasthan, is being studied by the agriculture department for cultivating it on a bigger scale in the desert state.
• Custard apple, a rich source of vitamin C and an anti-oxidant, is widely grown in the tribal belt of Rajasthan which includes Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Rajsamand and Jhalawar.
• The sample samplings for new variety, known as Saraswati Sevan, have been received from Nagpur, Maharashtra and will be grown in Nanta area of Kota district.
• Rajasthan is also coming up with a Centre of Excellence for custard apple in Chittorgarh.
Orange Cultivation in Rajasthan
• In India, Rajasthan occupies sixth place in production of orange.
• The main variety of oranges cultivated in Rajasthan is ‘Mandarin or Nagpur orange’ with Kota division is contributing 98% of the State produce of this variety.
• The suitable rainfall and climatic condition allows higher productivity and Jhalawar in Kota region is known as “Nagpur of Rajasthan”.
Rajasthan Government support for orange cultivation:
• Development of Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Citrus Fruits at Nanta near Kota.
• Development of 24 varieties including Clementine, Michale Daisy, Kirtnow, Nagpur Mandarin, Nagpur Seedless, and Jaffa among others.
• Introduction of better technology like mulch, drip and ridge bed system for irrigation and promoting mechanization in orchard operations.
• The horticulture department of Rajasthan Government is mulling a project to market orange from the state under the brand, ‘Raj Santra’.
Quinoa
• Quinoa, a pseudo cereal, which sells for a premium in the international market, is being promoted in Rajasthan.
• State Agriculture department in Rajasthan has entered into an agreement with a private company, according to which, two quinoa processing units will be set up in the state (Udaipur & Tonk) and quinoa will be bought back from farmers.
• As per official data, quinoa is being cultivated on 3,300 hectares in 11 districts of agriculture divisions including Bikaner, Bhilwara, Jalore and Udaipur by 10,000 farmers. Its production is 60,000 quintals.
Other Varieties for Crop Diversification
• State government is encouraging farmers to grow strawberries near Bassi in Jaipur, alongside promoting protected cultivation of capsicum and cherry tomatoes.
• Also, farmers have taken up cultivation of exotic flowers like gladiolus, lilium, gerbera, rose and carnations in open fields as well as in the shade.
• Stevia, a natural alternative to sugar, is now grown in the state.
Government Departments & Schemes relating to Agriculture
Agriculture Department
• The Department of Agriculture is responsible for agriculture, food production, farmer’s income & other related activities.
• The main schemes implemented by Agriculture department include:
Mukhyamantri Beej Swavalamban Yojana:
• The main objective of the scheme is to promote the production of quality seeds by the farmers in their own fields.
• Initially the scheme was started in the 3 agro-climatic zones viz.: Kota, Bhilwara and Udaipur.
• From 2018-19, the scheme is being implemented in all 10 agro-climatic zones of the state.
• Seed production of Wheat, Barley, Gram, Jo war, Soybean, Moong, Moth, Groundnut, and Ur ad varieties upto 10 years old are being taken under the scheme.
Eradication of pest and diseases in non-endemic areas:
• It is very important to protect crops from infestation of insects, pests and diseases to keep causal organisms, insects/pests population below Economic Threshold Tevel (ETT) for efficient economic production. Therefore, provision has been kept for eradication of pests/diseases in Endemic/Non endemic areas by use of plant protection chemicals.
• In integrated pest management, the economic threshold is the density of a pest at which a control treatment will provide an economic return. An economic threshold is the insect’s population level or extent of crop damage at which the value of the crop destroyed exceeds the cost of controlling the pest.
Training for women:
• One-day trainings for women are being organized at Gram Panchayat level where in the government provides an assistance of 3,000 per training for 30 women farmers.
• They are being trained in agricultural technology to disseminate the technology to fellow farmers. Apart from the above activity, incentive for crop cutting experiment is also included under Agriculture extension service.
Incentive to Girls in Agricultural Education:
Department of Agriculture is providing incentives at Senior Secondary, Graduation, Post-Graduation and Ph.D. levels. State Government is providing assistances of:
• Rs 5,000 per girl per year for Senior Secondary (Agriculture),
• Rs 12,000 per girl per year for B.Sc. (Ag), M.Sc. (Ag);
• Rs 15,000 per girl per year for Ph.D.
Agriculture Demonstration:
• Crop demonstrations are being organised on farmers’ fields for communicating agriculture technology on the principle of “seeing is believing” to the farmers.
• Demonstrations of state specific crops, Gwar, Barley and Wheat in non-National Food Security Mission (NFSM) districts are being organized.
Seed Mini-kit:
• Seed mini-kits are given to farmers at token amounts for 0.1 hectare area to popularize the newly released varieties of different crops among the farmers.
Micronutrient Mini-kit:
• Micronutrient mini-kits are being provided to farmers at 90 per cent subsidy on the basis of Soil Health Cards to enhance use of micronutrient for increasing crop production.
• Besides, activities such as operation of Adaptive Trial Centres and Award to cultivators for adoption of organic farming practices are also undertaken.
Zero Budget Natural Farming:
• In compliance of Budget Announcement 2019-20 made by Hon’ble Chief Minister, a pilot project on Zero Budget Natural Farming is being implemented in Tonk, Banswara and Sirohi districts of the state.
• This will eventually make the farmers self-sustainable through the use of agri-inputs prepared by themselves in-farm and reduce the cost of cultivation, it would also allow them to grow chemical free agriculture produce.
Rajasthan Agricultural Competitiveness Project (RACP):
• With the objective to increase production and productivity, farmer’s income, promote climate resilient agriculture, reduce water use in agriculture, and involve farmers in processing and value addition, RACP is being implemented in 17 clusters of 17 districts of the state with credit from World Bank.
• Besides, establishment/ operating expenses of field staff/labs/Kisan Aayog/capital works, Kisan Seva Kendra cum village knowledge centre, Information and Media support, Computerization and State Matching Share towards Central Sponsored Schemes have also been included in the State Plan.
National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
• National Food Security Mission on Wheat and Pulses was launched in Rajasthan in the year 2007-08 as a centrally sponsored scheme by the Central Government. During the year 2015-16, Gol has changed the funding pattern and now Gol: GoR ratio is 60:40.
Components in Rajasthan:
• NFSM Pulses
• NFSM Wheat
• NFSM Coarse Cereals
• Nutri Cereals Bajra
• Nutri Cereals JOWAR
• Commercial Crops Cotton
Salient Features:
• The major interventions of NFSM-Wheat and Pulses relates to distribution of certified seeds, demonstration on improved production technology, support to farmers by providing biofertilizers, micronutrients and gypsum, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), agricultural implements, sprinklers, pump sets, pipe line for carrying irrigation water and cropping system based training.
• NFSM-Nutri-Cereals mission was launched in Rajasthan in 2018-19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• The Major interventions in NFSM Nutri-Cereals relates to distribution of certified seeds, production of certified seed, demonstration on improved production technology, support to bio-fertilizer, micronutrients, integrated Pest Management (IPM) and cropping system based training for farmers.
• NFSM-Commercial Crops: Front line demonstration and distribution of plant protection chemicals for cotton crop.
• NFSM Oil seed & TBOS: Main Components of this mission are production of foundation seeds and certified seeds, distribution of certified seeds, crop demonstration, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), , biofertilizer, Gypsum, farmers’ trainings, agriculture implements, sprinkler set, infrastructure development etc.
National Mission on Agriculture Extension and Technology (NMAET)
The aim of the Mission is to restructure & strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to the farmers. During the year 2015-16, Gol has reduced the funding pattern between Gol and GoR to 60:40. NMAET consist on 5 sub-missions:
• Sub Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)
• Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
• Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM)
• National e-governance plan in agriculture
Rain-fed Area Development (RAD):
• Different types of area-specific Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) have been envisaged in different agro-climatic zones of the State i.e. Tivestock based, horticulture based and agro-forestry (Tree) based farming systems.
• Assistance is being provided for various IFS activities and allied activities.
• The farming systems are being taken up along with other activities like establishment of vermi compost units, construction of water harvesting structures and green houses, and beekeeping.
Soil Health Card Scheme (“Swasth Dhara Khet Hara”):
• The scheme envisages promoting the soil testing services, issue of soil health cards and development of judicious nutrient management practices for different crops.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY):
• Organic agriculture is production of agricultural products free from chemicals and pesticide residues, by adopting eco-friendly low cost technologies.
• Under PKVY, organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic village by cluster approach and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) certification.
• Participatory Guarantee System under PGS-India programme is the key approach for quality assurance under the PKVY. The farmers have options to adopt any form of organic farming in compliance with PGS-India standards.
Sub-Mission on Agro-forestry (SMAF):
• Sub-Mission on Agro-Forestry was launched in 2017-18 with the objective to encourage and expanding tree plantation in agriculture, ensuring availability of quality planting material and popularizing various Agro-Forestry Practices and models for different agro climatic zones and land use conditions and to creating database and knowledge support in the area of agro-forestry.
• The funding pattern with respect to Gol: GoR is 60:40.
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
• Government of India started RKVY during 11th Five year to achieve the 4 per cent growth rate in Agriculture and allied sector.
• The scheme aims to draw up plans for agriculture sector more comprehensively, taking into account agro-climatic conditions, natural resource issues and technology.
• In this scheme project based assistance is provided to prepare Integrated District Agriculture plan in the field of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Poultry, Horticulture and Dairy, considering the agro-climatic conditions and natural resources of the State.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)
• PMKSY has been conceived as an amalgamation of ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM).
• PMKSY is being implemented in the state, since 2015-16. PMKSY funding pattern between Gol: GoR is 60:40.
• Horticulture department is the Nodal department and different activities are being implemented by Agriculture, Horticulture, Watershed development & soil conservation and Water Resource department.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
• PMFBY was restructured by the Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) during the year 2016-17.
• This scheme has been implemented since kharif crops 2016.
• The scheme covers food grain crops (cereals, millets and pulses), oilseeds and Annual Commercial/Annual Horticultural crops.
• The farmer premium for Kharif crops, Rabi crops and Annual Commercial/Annual Horticulture crops is 2 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. The Central and State Government pay remaining part of the premium equally in the ratio of 50:50.
• For payment of premium subsidy and incentive to primary workers for conducting crop-cutting experiments, a state funded scheme is in operation.
Schemes relating to Horticulture
National Horticulture Mission (NHM)
• To increase the area, production and productivity of different horticulture crops like fruits, spices and flowers in selected 24 districts namely Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar, Chittorgarh, Kota, Bar an, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore, Barmer, Nagaur, Banswara, Tonk, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Jhunjhunu, Sirohi, Jaisalmer and Sri-Ganganagar.
• Activities include establishing fruit orchards, providing green-houses, plastic tunnels, plastic mulching, vermin-compost units, low cost onion storage units, pack-houses and water harvesting structures etc.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana – Micro Irrigation (PMKSY-MI)
• Additionally, during 2015-16, Government of India launched Micro Irrigation Scheme under PMKSY.
• The ratio of central share and state share for all categories of the farmers is 60:40.
• Activities include promoting efficient water management practices (like drip & sprinkler irrigation) to improve crop yields & quality along with water-saving.
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
Under this scheme activities include
• Date palm cultivation, horticulture development programme in non NHM districts,
• Vegetable cluster in urban areas,
• Establishment of center of excellences at Jhalawar, Dholpur, Tonk, Bundi, Chittorgarh and Sawai- Madhopur,
• Strengthening of center of excellence of pomegranate in Bassi (Jaipur) and Nanta (Kota),
• Promotion of protected cultivation; skill up-gradation in citrus production.
National Agro-Forestry and Bamboo Mission (NABM)
• Under this scheme, the districts of Karauli, Sawai-Madhopur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Dungarpur, Sirohi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Rajasmand and Pratapgarh were taken up for promoting bamboo cultivation.
National Mission of medicinal plants
• National Mission of Medicinal Plants aims at promoting cultivation of medicinal plants, raw materials to pharmacy sector could easily be made available in sufficient quantity.
• Ayush Department of Rajasthan is the nodal agency for implementing the scheme.
Agricultural Marketing
• The Directorate of Agriculture Marketing is functioning in the State to implement ‘Mandi Regulation and Management’ effectively.
Kisan Kaleva Yojana
• Kisan Kaleva Yojana has been introduced for farmers to provide them quality food on subsidized rates in ‘Super’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ class krishi upaj mandi samities of the State.
Mahatma Jyotiba Phoole Mandi Sharmik Kalyan Yojana
Important features of the scheme are:
• Pregnancy assistance of rupees equivalent to 45 days non-skilled labour rate is being provided to license holder lady labourer for two pregnancy period.
• Marriage Assistance: Licensed lady labourer will be entitled for a sum of ‘20,000 for marriage of her girl. This assistance is limited for marriage of upto 2 girls only.
• Scholarship: The son/daughter of licensed labourer obtaining 60 per cent or above marks is entitled for scholarship under this scheme.
• Medical Assistance: Financial assistance of Rs. 20,000 will be given to licensed labourers in case of serious disease.
• Parental Leave
Water Resources:
Irrigation potential of the state has been raised to 38.60 lakh hectare by 2018-19, while before independence it was only 4 lakh hectare surface irrigation. During the year 2019-20, irrigation schemes are under progress include:
• 7 major Projects
o Narmada Canal Project
o Parwan (Jhalawar)
o Dholpur lift
o Navnera Barrage (Kota)
o Upper high level canal (Banswara)
o Piplakhunt (Pratapgarh)
• 6 Medium projects
o Garadada, Takli, Gagrin, Lhasi, Rajgarh and Platiyadeh
• 45 minor irrigation schemes
Parwan Irrigation Project
• Construction of Dam under execution in Akawad Kalan, Khanpur, district Jhalawar on Parwan river.
• Along with drinking water to 1821 villages, this project will provide irrigation facility in 2,01,400 hectare CCA in 637 villages of Jhalawar, Baran and Kota district.
• The project will also provide 79 million cubic meters of water to the Thermal Power Project, which will produce 2,970 Megawatt electricity.
Narmada Canal Project
• For first time, Sprinkler irrigation system has been made compulsory
Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP)
• Transfer the surplus water of Kool, Kunu, Parvati, Kalisindh, Mej and Chakan river into the Banas, Morel, Banganga, Gambhir and Parbati river in basin of Chambal river during monsoon period.
Relining of Indira Gandhi Feeder (Punjab Portion) & Sirhind Feeder
• A tripartite MoU has been signed by Government of India, Government of Rajasthan and Government of Punjab on 23 January 2019 for relining of Indira Gandhi Feeder (Punjab portion) & Sirhind Feeder.
Watershed Development
• Rajasthan, with a geographical area of 343 lakh hectare, is the largest State of the country, having 10.40 per cent of the total area of the country. Out of this area, about 101 lakh hectare is waste land and only 168 lakh hectare area is cultivable.
• Despite being the largest state in terms of area, only 1.16 per cent of total water resources is available in the state. The annual rainfall in the state also varies from 100 mm in the arid west to 900 mm in the South-East.
• Usually, every three out of five years, most districts of the state are affected by drought because of uncertain and varied distributions of rainfall. Moreover, owing to high intensity of rainfall and improper water conservation system, a large percentage of this rainfall goes waste resulting in continuous depletion of water table and further, conversion of cultivable land into waste-land.
Rajiv Gandhi Jal Sanchay Yojna (RGJSY)
• State Government has launched the Rajiv Gandhi Jal Sanchay Yojna (RGJSY) to ensure maximum rainwater harvesting, water conservation and judicious use of available water sources in the State.
• Rajiv Gandhi Jal Sanchay Yojna (RGJSY) is being implemented with effective convergence of various Central and State schemes, effective convergence of funds, assistance of Corporate, Religious trusts, Social sects, NGOs and public contribution, and by providing State fund to execute water conservation and water harvesting activities.
Major Objectives of RGJSY:
• To generate awareness about water conservation.
• To ensure effective implementation of rejuvenation of traditional water resources, construction of new water sources, water conservation and water harvesting related activities in rural areas.
• To make efforts to ensure availability of drinking water within village/ nearby village vicinity and resolve the issue of shortage of drinking water.
• To improve the status of ground water availability and to check the rate of depletion of water table.
• To increase cultivable area and irrigated area through water conservation and rain water harvesting activities.
• To increase green cover through intensive afforestation
Major Activities:
• Watershed (catchment) area treatment: Trenches, Farm Ponds, Mini Percolation Tank (MPT), Khadin, Johar, Tanka, Small Anicuts, Earthen check dams, Water harvesting structures, Field Bund, Water storage structures etc.
• Repair of minor irrigation work, renovation and reinforcement work.
• Reinforcement of drinking water sources.
• Construction of artificial recharge structures.
• Pasture development & plantation.
• Promotion of advanced methods of cropping & horticulture (Drip, Solar pump etc.).
The first phase of Rajiv Gandhi Jal Sanchay Yojna commenced on 20 August 2019 in around 4,000 villages of all 295 blocks of all 33 districts of the State. The completion period of phase-I is two years.
Animal Husbandry
Initiatives during 2019-20:
• Under the mandate of Foot and Mouth Diseases (FMD), free Rajasthan FMD-CP is being implemented in the State with the assistance of Government of India. Mass Vaccination Campaigns are going on in the State for cattle and buffalo twice a year.
• Livestock Breeders are being benefited under Pashudhan Nishulak Arogya Yojna regularly.
• Breed improvement program has also been strengthened.
• Training facility for livestock farmers has been improved and extended.
• Under the National Livestock Mission, Genetic Improvement of Goat and Sheep (GIGS) scheme has been. Under the scheme exhibition and training camps are organized for selection of male and female goats with preferred genetic characters.
• Under the National Livestock Mission, Innovative Poultry Productivity Project (IPPP) has been started for Poultry Farmers. Under this project IPPP for Broiler and LIT Birds projects has been included.
Gopalan Department
• The aim of the Directorate of Gopalan is to act rigorously for promotion, conservation programmes and development of the cattle population of the State including cattle reared in gaushalas of the State.
• This is done by means of various training programmes for imparting managerial skills to gaushala managers in the fields of organic farming and fodder production, marketing of cattle products, renewable energy, use of Panchgavya and value addition etc.
Some Important Schemes:
• Nandi Goshala Jan Sahbhagita Yojana
• Gau Abhyaranya Yojana
Dairy Development
• The Dairy Development Programme in Rajasthan is being implemented through Cooperative Societies.
• Under this Programme, 15,017 Dairy Cooperative Societies have been affiliated with 21 District Milk Producers Cooperative Unions spread over the State and a State level Apex Body, ‘Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF) Limited, Jaipur is functional.
Some Important Schemes:
• Saras Surksha Kavach (Janshree),
• Raj Saras Surksha Kavach Bima Yojana (Accidental)
• Saran Samuhik Arogya Bima
• Chief Minister Dugdh Utpadak Sambal Yojana
Agri-Tourism
• In a new initiative labelled as Agri Tourism, Rajasthan Government is preparing to host tourists on fields to provide a complete hands-on farming experience.
• The initiative will introduce agriculture tourism in the state, developing both food parks and encouraging farmers to develop their farm fields.
• Agri tourism will give tourists an attractive option to witness farming activities and learn more about rural way of life.
• Visitors will receive direct exposure and taste of rural life with stay on farm fields. For farmers it will be a source to generate additional income.
Brief about Agri-Tourism:
• Agri tourism is the incorporation of tourism with agriculture. It promotes agriculture and allied activities as a tourism product and incorporates an operational farm along with a commercial tourism element.
• The concept of Agri tourism was initiated and developed in Europe and North America and has since spread in many countries.
• In India it was initiated in 2005 at Malegaon village, near Baramati, Maharashtra by Agri Tourism Development Company (ATDC).
Activities planned/taken-up by Rajasthan Government:
• Agri-tourism is being promoted in Mega Food Park at Roopnagar in Ajmer. The park provides facilities for visiting organic farms and learn about different agriculture practices and produce. Government is planning to open up four more facilities. However they will be on public private partnership.
• Government is also considering developing similar visits in orange fields of Ihalawar & Sri Ganganagar, where tourist can see citrus fruits plants, taste them and understand the processing of fruits.
• Other activities like cow milking, cooking food on rural chulha’s made of mud, learning basic rural handicrafts also have potential of developing tourism in villages.
• The development of agri-tourism can not only helped farmers to hedge their risks from normal farming activities and increase revenues, but also improve their lifestyles.