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C O N F I D E N T I A L

Fkti (AAZ'i Report No. T.O. 78

T078 Copy No.

This report is limited to those members of thestaff to whs work it directl relates.

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

END-USE MISSION REPORT

ON THE

CENTRAL TRACTOR ORGANIZATION

INDIA

February 24, 1955

Department of Technical Operations

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page No.

Conclusions and Reconmmendations i - iii

The Project, The Mission, Terms of Refer-ence 1

I. The Organization and Machinery 1 - 3

II. Agricultural Statistics 3 -7CTO StatisticsSources of Agricultural StatisticsLand UtilizationCrop YieldsAdditional Agricultural Statistics

III. Agronomic Effects of the Project 7 9Deep Plowing and Follow-up CultivationImproved Farming MethodsSoil Erosion

IV. Costs and Benefits 9 -12New FarmsIncreased IncomesNational Food ProductionForeign Exchange SavingSkilled Personnel

TABIES

I. Reclamation Targets and Performance

II. Wheat Yields

END-USE MISSION REPORT

ON THE

CENTRAL TRACTOR ORGANJIZATION, INDIA

CONCLUSIONS AND RECONNENDATIONS

1. The Project is technically sound; it will substantially reachits objectives; and it will be of appreciable benefit to India.

2. CTO is technically in good shape and operations are continuingsatisfactorily. The tractor fleet is in sound mechanical condition andmaintenance of all equipment is efficient. Uncertainty as to the futureof CTO should not impair unduly the operating efficiency of the Organiza-tion.

3. Following considerable difficulty in making firm contracts withthe States for land reclamation, CTO has had to reduce the target area for195h/55 to 200,000 acres; contracts are being negotiated for 240,000 acresin 1955/16. The probable total area cleared by the end of 1955/56, thelast season, will be 15,005OO0 acres, against the modified target of1,600,000 acres established in 1951. This would be a reasonably satisfactoryperformance.

4. The total area of 1,213,000 acres reclaimed between 19h7/h8 and1953/54, which includes ltO,000 acres reclaimed with equipment not financedfrom the Bank loan, represents less than 1*5% of the total cultivated areaof the four State.s, However, the reclaimed area represents 12% of the es-timated Kans infested area.

5. Fallow land as a proportion of the total area reclaimed declinedfrom 56% in 1950/51 to 17% in 1953/54; the cumulative figure is 35%. Theproportion of fallow land in the reclaimed area is over 50% in Bhopal andUttar Pradesh and less than 30% in the other two States.

6. Agricultural statistics are not collected first hand by CTO butare provided to CTO by the State Governments. Changes in statistical method-ology and presentation, which occurred during the life of the project, con-tributed to the inherent difficulty of obtaining both accurate and sufficientdata. Statistics referring specifically to the Project are few. Neverthe-less, the statistical work done is good and is being improved steadily. Ad-ditional agricultural statistics are needed for a full appraisal of the ef-fects of reclamation work; most of the required statistics are collected buton too small a sample basis to provide representative figures.

7. Land utilization statistics show that over 70% of the reclaimedarea has been devoted to rabi (winter) crops of which wheat and gram are themost important. W,heat is grown on 40% of the area and gram on 25%. Thereis little double cropping on reclaimed Kans land.

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8. W!heat yields on reclaimed land can be estimated at 500 lbs.per acre, compared with a general average for all cultivated land of400 lbs. per acre. yields on Kans infested land prior to reclamationare estimated at 300 lbs. per acre, giving an increase on reclamationof about 200 lbs. per acre.

9. It is quite certain that deep plowing is an effective means ofdestroying Kans grass. Howevers, to be fully effective deep plowing mustbe done at the correct time when soil conditions are dry and the weatheris hot, between January and April.

10. Reinfestation, which to date has been slight, follows mainly onill-timed deep plowing, or unseasonable rainfall. Local implements are ade-quate for the cultivation necessary for reinfestation controle

ll. CTO has provided a first class piece of land reclamation but forfull benefits this has to be followed up by more frequent cultivation andby improved farming methods. Under attainable conditions wheat yieldscould be raised to 2000 lbs. per acre, against the present average of 400lbs. per acre.

12. Soil erosion presents a problem of great urgency. An effort tocombat it is being made by contour bunding; but wide grass strips placedon the contour would be less costly and more flexible, the strip providinga rest crop in a sound system of grassland and crop rotation.

13. The financial position of CTO appears to be sound. Providedreasonably good management continues and sufficient work is offered in1955/56 there is no reason to expect costs to exceed receipts over thelife of the Project.

14. Charges made by CTO for reclamation work are within the capacityof the cultivator to pay even at the recent low level of wheat prices.

15. The main benefits derived from the Project are:-

a) New farms have been created out of wilderness and some 5000 fam-ilies have been settled on the land.

b) Gross incomes from existing farms have been increased about Rs. 50million in 1953/54.

c) Some 60,000 tons of wheat, 40,000 tons of gram and a considerablevolume of other crops has been added to the national food production.

d) lPoreign exchange savings on foodgrain imports in 1953/54 were ofthe order of Rs. 24 million.

e) Personnel have acquired valuable skill in large scale machinery op-erations and land reclamation work.

16. The Mission recommends that:-

a) The good work done in the collection of agricultural statisticsrelated to CTO work should be expanded as much as possible by increasingthe number of samples taken.

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b) Every encouragement should be given by the Central and StateGovernments to efforts to ensure adequate follow-up on the reclamationwork of CTO. This should be developed at the farm level through morefrequent cultivation and improved farming methods.

c) Above all, every effort should be made to combat erosion, par-ticularly by encouraging the use on the contour of grass strips formingthe ley within the arable rotation.

d) The Project should be revisited in 1956, wrhen the actual valueof OTO assets is determined, in order to assist in the final assessmentof the costs of the Project.

END-USE MISSION REPORT

ON THE

CENTRAL TRACTOR ORGANTIZATION9 INDIA

The Project

1. The Central Tractor Organization was established in 1946. In1949, it was provided with heavy tractors and deep plowing, land clearingand servicing equipment, under Loan No. 19 IN for the equivalent of US$10,000,000. The loan was subsequently reduced to the equivalent of US$7,203,813, because later estimates indicated that foreign exchange re-quirements under the Project would be less than originally estimated.The objective of the Organization was to reclaim land infested with Kansgrass in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Bharat and Bhopal. Thereclaimed land was to be used to grow more food crops. In addition theOrganization was to carry out a pilot program in the Tarai of UttarPradesh for clearing jungle lands with the aid of modern equipment. Alldeep plowing and clearance work was to be administered, accounted for anddone by the Organization which was to apportion and recover from the Statesthe full annual cost (including depreciation of equipment) incurred in carry-ing out the Project.

The Mission

2. The End-use Mission, consisting of Dr. William Davies (AgronomicConsultant), Dr. Mads Iversen (Statistical Consultant), Mr. Jack Connors(Engineering Consultant) and Mr. Paul Craig-Martin (Chief of Mission), ar-rived in India on November 7, 1954 and left on November 30, 195h.

Terms of Reference

3. The terms of reference of the Mission covered four main groupsof inquiries:-

a) To review the present status of the organization and its machinery.

b) To assess the reliability of the agricultural statistics relatedto the Project, with special reference to crop yield data.

c) To appraise the effectiveness of deep plowing as a method of erad-icating Kans grass, the incidence of reinfestation and the action taken orto be taken to ensure effective use of the reclaimed land.

d) To assess the benefits derived from the Project.

I. IHE OR3ANIZATION AND 1ktCHINER

4. No decision has yet been made by the Government on the future ofCTO after June 1, 1956. Under the circumstances, it has become difficultto maintain the very high morale of the staff, which has been an outstandingfeature of CTO. The management has promised the personnel that every attempt

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will be made to have them placed in other departments of the Government,should CTO cease operations in 1956. In spite of these assurances. theMechanical Engineer in charge of the Delhi workshop and three assistantengineers have left the Organization, while others are seeking alternativeemplayment. However, unless there is a marked increase in the number ofpersonnel leaving, there should be sufficient personnel available to oper-ate the machinery efficiently during the remaining life of the Project.

5. The Delhi workshop is operating on a very light schedule andmost of the off-season overhaul of tractors is being undertaken by theBairagarh workshop. All of the scheduled work at Bairagarh in Bhopalshould have been completed by November 30, 1954 but, due to the shortageof parts, it will not in fact be completed until mid-January, 1955. Thedelay is not serious.

6. The shortage of spare parts has been created by the inability ofdealers to supply parts. This has been due to delays in granting importlicences, but the situation has improved and both Allis Chalmers and Cater-pillar dealers expect in future to supply CTO as required.

7. The tractor fleet is in sound mechanical condition. However,a number of Ransome moldboard plows will require extensive repairs by theend of the season. Sixteen of the Towner disc plows have been modifiedwith parts furnished, free of cost, by the man'lfacturer. The motor trucksituation is somewhat difficult as the American Army and British truckspurchased in 19h9 are wearing out. The Chairman of CTO is reluctant topurchase new trucks for possibly only cne or two years' operations.

8. CTO experienced considerable difficulty in getting the StateGovernments to furnish land for reclamation during 1954/55. Although con-tracts had been signed by June, 1954, Madhya Bharat later cancelled itscontract and the other States showed disposition to do the same. Theystated that, as the price of wheat had fallen to Rs. 12 per maund, culti-vators were no longer interested in reclamation work at the rate of Rs. 55per acre. After lengthy negotiations and the intervention of the Secretary,Ministry of Food and Agriculture, new contracts were signed at a reducedreclamation rate of Rs. 45 per acre. As a result of these delays the amountof pre-harvest reclamation was considerably reduced and the total area re-claimed in 1954/55 will probably not exceed 200,000 acres.

9. The Secretary, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, is personallyhandling the negotiations of land contracts between CTO and the StateGovernments for 1955/56. The probable outcome will be contracts total-ling 240,000 acres for that season. This should prove just about a man-ageable target, as 30% of the CTO tractors will have reached the 10,000hours mark during the 1954/55 season, when their economic life would haveto be reviewed to determine whether repairing them for further use wouldbe economic.

10. In general, CTO is technically in good shape and operations arecontinuing very satisfactorily. Tractors and machinery have been operatedand maintained sufficiently well to permit the full 10,000 hours economic

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life to be realized. In spite of uncertainty as to the future of CTObeyond 1955/56, sufficient personnel should be available to operate themachinery efficiently for the remainder of the Project. The probabletotal area cleared by the end of the last season for the Project, 1955/56,should be about ,S500,000 acres, against the modified target of 1,600s000acres established in 1951. This would be a reasonably satisfactory per-formance.

II. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS

CTO Statistics

11. Statistics collected first hand by CTO refer to the Operationsof the Organization, i.e. numbers of tractors in operation, hours workedor lost, acreage reclaimed, etc. CTO does not collect at first hand agri-cultural statistics, such as acreages cultivated to different crops, yieldsper acre, etc., but obtains these statistics from the State Governments.

12. CTO statistics of the areas reclaimed are reliable and are setout in Table I. The statistics show that:-

a) The 1,213,000 acres reclaimed between 1947/48 and 1953/54, includ-ing about 140,000 acres reclaimed with non-IBRD financed equipment, repre-sents less than l.5% of the total cultivated area of the four States; thereclaimed fallow land alone represents less than 0.5%. However, the reclaim-ed area represents 12% of the estimated Kans infested area of the four States.

b) The importanre of reclamation work done is greatest for Bhopalwhere the reclaimed area constitutes 18% of the total cultivated area.

c) Fallow land as a proportion of the total area reclaimed declinedeach year from 1950/51 when it was 56%, to 1953/54, when the season's figurewas less than 17% and the cumulative figure 35%.

d) The proportion of fallow land in the reclaimed area is over 50%in Bhopal and Uttar Pradesh and less than 30% in Madhya Pradesh and MadhyaBharat.

Sources of Agricultural Statistics

13. Research into agricultural statistical methods is conducted bythe Statistics Branch of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).Coordination, tabulation and presentation of agricultural statistics is doneby the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Both bodies form part ofthe Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

14. In 19h8 a National Sample Survey was instituted by the CentralStatistical Office, which is part of the MIinistry of Finance. Samplingmethods adopted for agricultural statistics under the Survey were deter-mined by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The agriculturalstatistics collected are tabulated and presented by the Ministry of Agri-culture.

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15. The first hand collection of agricultural statistics is done atpresent by officers of the State Governments under two systems, some Statesusing one and some the other. The two systems are as follows:-

a) Patwari System: Under this system agricultural statistics areobtained as a by-product of financial statistics. Land utilization figuresare obtained from the records kept by the Patwari, an officer of the LandRecords Branch of the State Revenue Departments, responsible for maintain-ing tax records covering four or five villages. Crop yield estimates aremade by the Patwari on the basis of visual inspection of fields in connect-ion with his normal duties.

b) Sample Survey System: Under this system agricultural statisticsare collected on a random sample basis. Crop yield figures are obtainedfrom crop cutting samples. The Patwari is asked to indicate suitable areasfor the survey teamst operations but from there on the team acts independent-ly and transmits its findings to the Central Statistical Office.

16. Formerly all statistics collected were transmitted to the CentralGovernment for processing but, recently, the four State Governments have or-ganized their own statistical groups; those in Madhya Bharat and Bhopal wereformed only in 1954. Local statistics are now processed in the State stat-istical groups and then sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for coordinationand presentation. Special extracts from the State statistics have been madefor the areas of CTO operations and have been reported to CTO direct, Insome cases special crop cutting sampling has been done for CTO.

17. The changes in statistical methodology and presentation, whichoccurred during the life of the Project, contributed to the inherent dif-ficulty of obtaining both accurate and sufficient data. Nevertheless, thestatistical work done is good and is being improved steadily.

Land Utilization

18. The soils, on which Kans is found, are used primarily for the pro-duction of rabi (winter) crops - wheat, gram (chick peas), masoor (lentils)and linseed. They are planted in September/October and harvested in February/March. Some kharif (summer) crops are grown - jowar (sorghum), sunn hemp,sesame, rice, tur (pigeon peas). They are planted in June/July and harvestedin November/becember.

19. Figures for land utilization are not yet available for 1953/54 butfigures for 1952/53 are illustrative. Double cropping is extensive in theTarai but on Kans lands is negligible. The figures, therefore, indicate thatvirtually all the land reclaimed has been cultivated and that rabi (winter)crops account for about 70% of the land use. The following figures for1952/53 account for only about half the area reclaimed to date but can betaken as representative for the whole area:-

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Utilization of Reclaimed Land, 1952/3(thousand acres)

TotalTotal Total Un- Reclaimed

Kans Lands Kharif Rabi Cultivated cultivated Preceding Years

Bhopal 81.8 114.3 196.1 - 196.1Uttar Pradesh 27.6 45.0 72.6 - 65.6Madhya Bharat 22.0 62.0 84.0 3.7 87.7Madhya Pradesh 4.2 146.8 15L10 0.3 151.3

Total 135.6 36I. 37 a 507Uttar Pradesh

(jungle) 16.2 13.2 29.4 0.4 18.3

20. Figures are not available to show the proportion of the reclaimedarea devoted to each individual crop. However, State statistics coveringseven Kans infested districts where reclamation work has been done show thefollowing distribution of crops:-

Expressed as %of Cultivated Area

Wheat 41Gram 26Other Rabi 1

Total Rabi vTotal Karif 32

Total Rabi and KarifT

Crop Yields

21. It is sufficient here to examine yields of wheat, the main crop.Table II gives the main yield statistics for the three States of MadhyaPradesh, Madhya Bharat and Bhopal for 1951/52 to 1953/54; fully comparablefigures for UtteLo Pradesh are not available.

22. The general average wheat yield for the three States is 400 lbs.per acre, according to figures published by the Ministry of Agriculture. Ex-tracts from these figures, as provided by the States to CTO, indicate thatthe general average for the districts in which CTO operates is also 400 lbs.per acre. Both these figures appear reasonable and accurate and show thatthe districts in which CTO operates are representative of the three Statesas a whole.

23. Extracts from the National Sample Survey figures indicate that theaverage yield after reclamation is 505 lbs. per acre on prior fallow and 525lbs. per acre on prior cultivated. Extracts from ICAR figures, obtainedthrough a special study of the Kans area by the National Sample Survey for"Results of Grow More Food Assessment Surveys" also indicate that the aver-age yield after reclamation is 505 lbs. per acre on prior fallow and 540 lbs.per acre on prior cultivated. If allowance is made for the fact that the

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Food Assessment figures include gram as well as wheat, the Sample Surveyfigures can be accepted. Since, however, higher than normal yields areusual immediately after reclamation, the longer term yield for these landscannot be expected to average over 500 lbs. per acre, under present culti-vation methods.

24. Extracts from the National Sample Survey and ICAR figures for"Results of Grow More Food A,ssessment Surveys", provide statistics for yieldsfrom Kans infested land not yet reclaimed. These give a figure of 430 - 445lbs. per acre. This figure does not appear to be accurate for the followingreasons:-

a) The yield of 445 lbs. per acre on land infested with Kans wouldbe 45 lbs. per acre more than the general average for all types of land.

b) Some officials consider that the samples chosen for these landswere not representative in that they were mainly lands which had not beendeep plowed because they were less infested than the lands offered to CT0.

c) Local opinion in the Kans areas considers that the additionalyield after reclamation varies enormously, depending on the degree of orig-inal infestation, but is at least 2 maunds (80 lbs. each) per acre and moreoften considerably more.

25. The Mission considers that the average yield of 500 lbs. per acrefor reclaimed land is representative of yields for the better land of theStates, which would account for about 20% of the total cultivated area.Since another 20% of the area is Kans infested the remaining 60% has averageyields, which over the past three years would be 400 lbs. per acre. Thiswould imply that the average yields on Kans infested land are around 300 lbs.per acre or that the average additional yield following reclamation is around200 lbs. per acre. This confirms local opinion, which the Mission considersacceptable until more reliable statistical data becomes available.

Additional Agricultural Statistics

26. For a full appraisal of the effects on yields of reclamation ofprior cultivated land, more than the statistics collected would be required.Also proper follow-up on reclamation work would be facilitated by additionalaccurate statistical information. The additional statistics required wouldbe as follows:-

a) Yields under different agricultural practices (irrigation, mechan-ization, fertilization, husbandry skill and crop areas), both before andafter reclamation, and for several consecutive years on the same land follow-ing reclamation.

b) Yields under different reinfestation conditions.

c) Holdings, according to tenure, size, manpower, draft power cul-tivation, management, etc.

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27. Of the foregoing a) and b) are in fact obtained but the numberof samples is too small to provide representative figures for the CTO area.Indian statisticians recognize the need for these figures and the inadequacyof the samples but contend that lack of funds and trained field personnellimit their action. Item c) above is being dealt with under a NationalCensus this year.

III. AGRDNONIC EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT

28. Kans grass infestation is not a new problem on the black soils ofCentral India and the peasant has attempted to control the weed with the meansat his disposal. One method employed was to inundate the fields for longperiods; control was obtained after three years inundation. Lack of waterlimited the area of application of this method. Another method employed wasto "fallowl the land, which meant to allow it to revert to jungle; controlwas obtained after about 12 years. This was a form of shifting cultivation,very expensive in the use of land.

Deep Plowing and Follow-up Cultivation

29. CTO offered the peasant a new weapon, in mechanical power to deepplow the land so as to expose the Kans grass roots and rhizomes in the top12 - 15 inches of soil to desiccation.

30. It is quite certain that deep plowing is an effective means of des-troying Kans grass.

31. However, to be fully effective deep plowing must be done at thecorrect time of year when soil conditions are dry and the weather is hot,i.e. between January and April. Under suitable conditions desiccation iscomplete and more or less total eradication can be effected.

32. Reinfestation follows mainly on ill-timed deep plowing, unseason-able rains or failure to effect proper follow-up cultivation. To date rein-festation has been slight. Local implements are adequate to provide thenecessary cultivation for reinfestation control, particularly if hand hoeingduring the growth of the crop is feasible.

33. There is no evidence that deep plowing brings up toxic subsoilmaterials which might inhibit plant growth.

Improved Farming Methods

3h. CTO has provided a first class piece of land reclamation but if thefull benefits of the project are to be obtained it must be followed up by ap-propriate methods of husbandry, in other words good farming.

35. To define good husbandry for Central India is outside the scope ofthis report but the principles of good husbandry are of universal application.Cultivation must be adequate, fertility of the soil must be maintained at ahigh level and the best possible varieties of seed should be used.

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36. The Indian wooden plow is an effective implement but is inflexibleas to depth and may tend to produce a soil pan at plow depth. The ttbhakar"tor ox-drawn hoe, also is an effective implement but its use is limited tothe period before wheat is sown. Mechanization, although not essential,would greatly assist the farmers efforts to provide adequate cultivation.

37. Soil fertility varies considerably but the most striking singlefeature comnmon to practically all Central Indian soils is the very low levelof organic matter. If soil has less than 2% organic matter then the cropyield is bound to suffer; the organic matter on Central Indian soils isseldom above 1% and very commonly less than 0.7% of the dry soil. There isa tendency to write off this problem as insoluble but the Mission considersthat experiments to test the effect of a grass/legume ley would be worthwhile.Unless some means can be found to raise the level of organic matter there canbe little hope of a permanent increase in the yield per acre of wheat or anyother arable crop.

38. The plant breeding institutes of India have been very active formany years and wheat breeding work has been of a high standard. The excel-lent material, however, is not finding its way into general agriculture.Facilities for multiplication which do exist are inadequate and many productsof the breeding stations lose their identity once they leave them. There isno wide and effective system of seed multiplication and certification.

39. Under attainable conditions of good husbandry wheat yields in theunirrigated parts of Central India could be of the order of 2000 lbs. peracre. The average at present is around 400 lbs. per acre and top yields areseldom above 800 lbs. per acre.

Soil Erosion

40. Wind erosion and, with it, dust storms appear to be frequent es-pecially in the pre-monsoon period. Sheet erosion, the washing away of thesurface soil, is widespread and gully erosion is common on both arable andgrazing lands.

41. Erosion should not be attributed directly to reclamation operations,although it can be an indirect consequence. Under the climatic conditions ofCentral India any soil, whatever its character, is liable to erosion. W4henlarge contiguous blocks of land are reclaimed, a more or less level and veryhighly erodible surface is produced. Consequently, reclaimed lands becomemore susceptible to erosion than before they were reclaimed, for Kans itselfhelps to reduce erodibility by providing a vegetable cover.

42. The problem is of great urgency. Since under farming conditionsa permanent vegetable cover is not possible, efforts should be made to buildup organic matter in the soil and the land should be contoured.

43. A beginning has been made with contouring by means of bunds. TheMission considers that wide grass strips placed on the contour would be lesscostly and more flexible. The strip could be so arranged that it would it-self provide a rest crop in a sound system of grassland and crop rotation,or the ley within the arable rotation. After a period of 3 to 10 years under

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grass the strip would be replaced by another, also on the contourp and theinitial strip plowed up. By this two important things would be accomplished:-

a) The dangers of erosion would be lessened, and

b) Soil fertility would be improved and yields increased followingthe ley.

IV. COSTS AND BENEFITS

44. The financial position of CTO appears to be sound. Although cumu-lative book losses have been recorded, amounting to about Rs. 5 million,cash reserves of over Rs. 11.5 million have been accumulated under "the re-serve created to meet the cost of major overhauls of tractorsn. If thelosses are offset against the cash reserves, there remains Rs. 7 million inthese reserves, which should be sufficient to cover the major overhauls andalso any foreseeable losses during the remaining life of the Project.

45. Provided reasonably good management continues and sufficient workis offered CTO in 1955/56, there is no reason to expect costs to exceed re-ceipts over the life of the Project. Until a final costing is made at theclose of the Project, when the equipment and parts can be correctly valued,it is impossible to state definitely that the Project has been self-supporting.

46. Estimated total costs per hour for Kans clearance operations com-pared with charges made have been as follows:-

Costs ChargePer Hour Per Hour

khs.) (Rs.)

1950/51 51.00 52.001951/52 49.75 52.001952/53 51.1.3 52.001953/54 45.78 55.001954/55 48.00(forecast) 45.00

47. Charges for 1954/55 were reduced below forecasted costs understrong pressure from the States (see Paragraph 8). CTO expects to be ableto keep costs below Rs. 50 per hour by effecting certain economies but doesnot expect to be able to lower costs to the 1953/54 level because of thesmaller area to be worked. The loss should amount to a little over Rs, 1million but this appears to be adequately covered by cash reserves (seeParagraph 44).

48. Charges made by CTO for reclamation work are paid by the StateGovernments, which collect from farmers by annual payments over five years.Reclaimed acres on many farms include both prior fallow and prior cultivatedland. Returns to farmers from reclaimed prior fallow land must be attractiveas yields from these lands are equal to the average of the best lands in the

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States. An additional yield of 200 lbs. per acre for wheat (see Para-graph 25) would provide an additional return of Rs. 30, even at Rs. 12per maund (80 lbs.) the lowest price reached in 1954. Since the cost tothe farmer for deep plowing an acre has been around Rs. 55 payable in fiveannual instalments, the annual cost to the farmer is Rs. 11 per acre.Thus on reclaimed prior cultivated land the annual additional return to thefarmer after payment for deep plowing is Rs. 19 per acre for the first fiveyears and Rs. 30 per acre thereafter. This return would have to cover anyadditional farm costs incurred. These vary enormously. No representativefigures for additional farm costs are available but the return should beample to cover them, even in the first five years. As reclaimed land onmost farms includes both prior fallow and prior cultivated land the benefitto the individual farmer is generally greater than that indicated for priorcultivated land alone.

49. Agricultural prices have been rising recently and with smallertotal Indian output forecast for 1954/55 they can be expected to rise fur-ther, particularly for wheat as Government stocks have been heavily reduced.Since yields on reclaimed areas appear to be much better maintained underless favorable climatic conditions, returns from these lands should show arelative increase.

5o. The benefits derived from the Project are five-fold, - new farmshave been created, income of existing farmers has been increased, the nation'sfood supply has been increased, foreign exchange has been saved and skills inthe use and maintenance of agricultural machinery have been developed.

New Farms

51. The Project is not primarily one of settlement except in the Taraiarea of Uttar Pradesh. However, it has made a contribution to it at Sultanpurin Bhopal. Out of the total 1,200,000 acres reclaimed some 440,000 acreswere of fallaw land, of which only about 40,000 acres are in the Tarai andSultanpur. The buLk of the remaining 400,000 acres was on existing farms.

52. The Tarai did not present a Kans infestation problem but an exper-imental area for jungle clearance techniques. In the Tarai 36,0o0 acres werecleared and malaria combatted permitting the settlement of 3115 farm familiesin cooperative colonies and the establishment of a large State Farm. Muchis being done in support of and as follow-up on CTO operations, VIH0 has pro-vided a malaria control team, 102 miles of road have been built, 29 tubewells have been sunk and electric power has been provided.

53. Bhopal State was originally owned by the Nawab and inhabitedlargely by Mohammedans, who have emigrated to Pakistan. The Central Gov-ernment of India acquired all the lands of the Nawab, except 100,000 acreswhich he still owns. Some of these lands were turned over to displacedpersons from the Punjab but they have not worked the land because they camefrom a criminal tribe and found banditry more profitable than farming.Settlement has been greatly slowed up until a screening program is estab-lished to prevent a recurrence of this experience. Private lands of formerMohammedan occupiers are under the control of the Custodian of Evacuee Pro-perty and, since the compensation problem has not been settled, title to

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these lands cannot be granted. The main settlement scheme in Bhopal ison the State-owned farm at Sultanpur on which the settlement of 2000 fam-ilies is planned. This is to be on a cooperative labor basis. Settlementon the State Farm has been held up as housing and other living amenitieshave not been completed.

Increased Incomes

54. If the fallow land reclaimed in the Tarai and at Sultanpur isexcluded, the vast bulk of the remaining fallow land reclaimed can be as-sumed to be on existing farms. On this assumption, the addition to grossincomes of farmers has been derived from both prior fallow and prior cul-tivated land in proportions of about 1:2. In 1953/54, the gross incomesof farmers whose lands had been reclaimed under the Project by CTO was in-creased by about Rs. 50 million as a result of reclamation (300 lbs. peracre. average additional yield x 1 million acres x Rs. 13 per maund, aver-age price received). Since 1953/54 was the fifth year following the earliestreclamation work under the project, all farmers, whose land had been reclaim-ed, were still paying for it so that the costs of reclamation was Rs. l1million (Rs. 55 per acre i 5). No information is available for additionalcosts of production incurred by farmers and, consequently, additional netincomes cannot be estimated.

National Food Production

55. No figures are available to show the increased production for eachof the crops grown on reclaimed land but, undoubtedly, almost all the landwas devoted to food crops. The greatest individual contributions to thenational food production were in the form of wheat, which probably covered40% of the reclaimed area, and gram, accounting for 25%. This would rep-resent increases in production of 60,000 tons of wheat and 40s000 tons ofgram, or 0.7% and 03%, respectively, of the national production in 1953/54.

56. Although the contribution to the food supply from such a limitedarea as that of CTO operations must be relatively small, it appears evensmaller because of the extraordinary increase in the food production of allIndia in 1953/54 caused largely by extremely favorable climatic conditions.Total cereal grain production in India in 1953/54 was 7 million tons higherthan in 1952/53, itself not a bad year; gram production increased by 900,000tons.

Foreign Exchange Saving

57. Under the circumstances of the marked rise in domestic production,Indian foodgrain imports in 1953/54 were 1432 thousand tons, or under 50%of imports in 1952/53. Savings of imports of foodgrains from increased pro-duction on reclaimed lands, equivalent to nearly 4% of imports, appear rela-tively large. The cost of equivalent wheat imports delivered at ports in1953/54 would have been over Rs. 24 million.

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Skilled Personnel

58. CTO has been developed into an excellent operating unit. Firstrate technical personnel have obtained experience in large scale machineryoperation and land clearance work. Nhether CTO continues to operate as aunit or whether its technical personnel are scattered over the country, avaluable addition has been made to India's development armament.

TABLE I

CTO PROJECT

RECLAMATION TARGETS AND PERFORANICE(thousand acres)

I. By Period of Reclamation

Kans AreaPre-harvest Post-harvest Jungle Area Annual

Season Period Period Total Total Targets

1949/50r 2.0 37.2 39.2 - a/

1950/51 59.8 166.5 226.3 1.3 - /1951/52 67.4 167.7 235.1 18.3 272.01952/53 71.0 178.5 249.5 16.6 222.0

1953/54 89.7 190.1 279.8 10.0 255.51954/55(estd.) 54.0 148.o 202.0 6.0 208.0

a/ No annual target set.

II. By Type of -Dnid

Prior Prior Annual

Season Fallow Cultivated Total Targets

1949/50 19.2 20.0 39.2 a/

1950/51 128.1 99.5 227.6 a/

1951/52 110.1 143.3 253.4 227.0

1952/53 66.5 199.6 266.1 222.0

1953/54 54h9 234.9 289.8 255.5

Total 178.- 697.3 1076 7

a/ No annual target set.

TABLE II

WIHEAT Y:IEDS(15s. per acre)

Averages for:- Seasons1951/52 1952/53 19573/

1. Three States - Madhya Pradesh,Madhya Bharat and Bhopal 291 441 465

2. Districts in which CTO operatesin the three States 3014 436 464

3. Lands reclaimed by CTOa) National Sample Survey figures

1) Prior fallow 502 519 4882) Prior cultivated 537 509 534

b) Grow More Food Assessment Sur-vey figures

1) Pricr fallow 511 509 5022) Pricr cul Livated 542 521 550

4. Kans infested land xiot reclaimedby C'±O

a) Nati_-nal Sample Survey figures 384 429 483b) Grow More Food Assessment Sur-

vey figures 400 443 494

NOTE:- Items 3 and 4 include gram; yields for wheat and gram areslightly higher than for wheat alone.