Agriculture

DIST: SILVASA

SOIL:
The Union Territory is having clay- loam type of soil, which is poor in drainage. The terrain of south-eastern part is undulating to hilly and is a shallow soil. An area of about 10751 hects. of the territory forms a part of catchment area of Damanganga Reservoir Project. The command area is about 7044 hectares.

RIVERS:
The terrain is intersected by Damanganga river which originates in Nasik District and its three tributaries viz. Varna, Piparia and Sakartod. These rivers are seasonal and get flooded only in monsoon.

CLIMATE & RAINFALL :
The climate of the district is moderate. The winter is brisk, lasting from November to February. The summer is hot with moisture commencing from March and extending up to June. The South-West winds bring rain to the area during the period from June to September. The average annual rainfall ranges between 1800 mm and 2000 mm. .

LAND UTILISATION (AREA IN HECTS.):
As per the data collected for the year 1993 the total reporting area is of 49100 hectares, out of which net cultivated area is 22952 hectares. Fallow land 209 hectares, area under forest is 20947 hectares, area not available for cultivations is 3680 hectares, the other uncultivated area is 1312 hectares.

IRRIGATION :
In this territory sizeable part of cultivated area is without irrigation. Due to hilly topography of the territory possibility of execution of major irrigation project is limited. Therefore open wells, lift irrigation scheme and check dams are the main sources for expanding irrigation facilities. Source-wise net irrigated area in hectares is given herein below.

No medium or major project has been taken up in this U.T. till now, except the Damanganga Dam Reservoir project, which is a joint venture of Govt. of Gujarat, U.T. of Daman & Diu and the U.T of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The project area caters to
1. 7044 hectares of land to be covered under irrigation.
2. Industrial water supply. 12.75 MFD.
3. 200 K.V.A Power. (Power Generation yet to start)

CROPPING PATTERN :
Paddy, Ragi, Tur other pulses and Jawar are the main crops of the territory. Wherever irrigation facilities are available, the crops like wheat, summer paddy, vegetables and sugarcane are grown. The gross cropped area is 26615 hectares and double / multiple cropped area is 2973 hectares.

LAND HOLDING:
As per agriculture Census 2001 there were 13022 land holders having 21629 hects. of Agricultural land. Marginal Farmer having 3249 hect., Small Farmer 5345 hect., Semi Medium Farmers 5369 hect. Medium farmer 4868 hect., Big Farmer 2798 hect.

CONSUMPTION OF FERTILZERS AND PESTICIDES :
The details of consumption of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as on March, 2005-2006 are as under:- FERTILZERS : N.P.K. 1650 Tones. PESTICIDES : Liquid & Dust 1080 Liters & 4060 Kgs. The use of chemical fertilizers is an important factor for augmenting agricultural production.

FARM MACHINERY / EQUIPMENTS AS PER LIVE STOCK CENSUS 2000. 
As major part of land holders (about 78%) are occupying land below 2 hectares, farm machinery are not found more popular in comparison with the neighboring districts. However there are more than 61 tractors, 9 power tillers, 9 threshers (paddy), 418 sprayers and Duster 109 chaff cutters area owned by progressive farmers having facility of irrigation. The farmers are also having more than 15,869 ploughs, 463 diesel engines, 155 electric engines/pump sets with them in the U.T.

ANIMALS AND BIRDS:
The major area of the territory is covered under forests and grass land. It’s wealth of provisional live stock population is as under

FISHERY :
The U.T. has a potential for the growth of inland fisheries. A few ponds have been made suitable for fishery. People living near the banks of river Damanganga have developed fishery business. Schemes have been formulated by the concerned department of the Administration for them.

DIST: DAMAN & DIU

AREA DISTRIBUTION:
Out of the total geographical area of 72 Sq. Km, total agriculture land is 3111 Hectare whereas the total cultivable land is 2832 Hectare out of the cultivable land net area sown is only 2707.64 Hectare. Due to Industrial zoning of land, the area under cultivation has been gradually diminishing in Daman. There are 4965 operation holdings covering an area of 3110.97 hectares.

CROPPING PATTERN:
About 1000 hectares or about 50% of the net cultivated area are covered by hybrid, high-yielding variety. Among the field crops, paddy accounts for the highest share (78 %) with 2114.90 hectares. The other important field crops are pulses (mainly red “Val”), and vegetables that, together account for the remaining 589.74 hectares. Important horticultural crops are coconuts, fruits like Chikoo, Mangoes, Bananas, etc. The most prominent change in the agricultural scenario in the UT over the years is the shift in focus away from agriculture in favour of secondary sub-sectors like industry and tourism. This has resulted in agricultural area diminishing each year and shortage of agricultural lab ours. The Damanganga Irrigation Project, a joint venture of Gujarat and the UTs of Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, will create an irrigation potential of 3071 hectares in the UT District of Daman once fully implemented / commissioned.

IRRIGATION:
At present irrigation is available through minor irrigation schemes from dug wells, bore-wells etc. Three rivers viz. Damanganga, Kolak and Kalai are prone to FLash floods during monsoon, but tidal effect of the sea keeps water under control. There is hardly any surface water irrigation either through Canals or Tanks. The total irrigation potential created through minor irrigation scheme 833.73 hectares, while the net irrigated area is 242.44 hectares. The Damanganga Reservoir, a medium sized irrigation project, which is a joint venture of Gujarat State and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, island to yield an irrigation potential of 3071 hectares in Daman District is commissioning. Due to rapid industrialization, the area under cultivation has been gradually diminishing; the area under crops is only 2832.43 hectares.

ALLIED AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES FISHERIES:
District of Daman has a total coastline of 12 Kms that has made marine and brackish water fishery a potential major economic activity. About 3000 families are directly or indirectly engaged in this sector. The UT is famous for producing a variety of economically important fish like Pomfret, Bombay duck, Prawns, and Jew Fish etc. that fetch a good value in national / international markets. The fish catch in Daman is dwindling year by year, fish catch as on 31.03.2008 is only 1300 Tones. There are 5 fishing villages and as many loading Centers in the Daman District. Most of the catch is auctioned and the loading centre among the bulk traders from Mumbai. About 14 trawlers, 33 traditional crafts, 53 gill neuters, 33 dugout canoes and 53 plank-built boats are operating on Daman Sea coast. There are 25300 fishing gears. The marine fish production during 2007-08 was 1300 tones. The Administration has recently developed 20 ponds / tanks for inland fisheries.

PLANTATION AND HORTICULTURE:
The District of Daman is contiguous to what could be rightly regarded as the Horticulture Hub of Gujarat i.e. the Districts of Valsad and Navsari and, hence, there is a little variation in the agro-climatic features between the two regions. In the UT District, about 345.83 hectares of land is already under plantation crops like mango, sapota and coconut. South Gujarat has been declared an Agri Export Zone (AEZ) for exports of Mango and vegetables. The steady growing tourism and hotel industry in the UT has also generated scope for fresh owners, greenhouse vegetables, mushroom, etc.

POULTRY:
Poultry farming has not developed to any signicant extent in the region despite there being substantial potential / demand generated through tourism. This demand is, at present, met from poultry products imported from nearby centres in Gujarat.

INTEGRATED DAIRY DEVELOPMENT SCHEME:
UT Daman has launched IDD scheme under which milch animals comprising of Crossbreed cows shall be given to the beneficiaries families over a period of two Years. These families also rear one heifer to enable them to  have 3 crossbreed Animals at the end of the project. The Valsad District Co-op Milk Producer Union Limited popularly known as Vasudhara Dairy. As on Date 7 mahilasanchalit milk societies have been formed in Zari,Jampore,Pariyari,Dholar,Dori,henslore and Dabhel and functioning. Successfully.