All Academician s Mine

in states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. If the small farm system under private ownership is to sustain such a large population, it must become a highly productive enterprise. This will demand community co-operation. "Under conditions of small and fragmented holdings, it becomes essential that fanners carry out some aspects of farm operations, such as water management, plan; protection and post-harvest technology on a watershed basis.... Owing to the lack of appropriate community action, the efficiency of water use is nor as high as it could be, and also that intensity of cropping pattern is much below the desired levels. Plan: protection is poor because of the absence of an area approach in land-use planning and pest control" (p 451), As for agriculture's potential to generate employment, Swaminathan suggests two avenues: multiple cropping and improved post-harvest technology. Data derived from various centres of the All-Inia Agronomic Research Project of ICAR indicate that appropriate crop sequences can generate considerable additional employment. For example, data from Palampur centre (Hima- chal Pradesh) show that labour require- ment goes up from 181 man-days for Maize-Wheat-Fallow sequence to 450 man-days for Rice-Potato-Potato sequence. In Ludhiana, the labour requirements go up from 251 man-days for Maize-Wheat-Maize fodder sequence to 488 days for Maize-Potato-Mung Hean- Pota'o. Improved and enlarged post- harvest operations generate additional employment.