Winter Cropping and Development of Cultivable Land Scheme

What is the Winter Cropping and Development of Cultivable Land scheme?

Winter Cropping and Development of Cultivable Land is a Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Meghalaya, scheme head concerned with two linked problems: getting a second crop off land that currently grows only one, and bringing fallow or degraded land into cultivation.

An honest caveat first. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare publishes a detailed scheme record for each of its heads on megagriculture.gov.in: objective, pattern of assistance, entitlement, eligibility, how to avail, mode of selection and whom to contact, and maintains a parallel directory on meghalaya.gov.in. As of this fact-check, neither carries a scheme-specific page for Winter Cropping and Development of Cultivable Land, and no departmental FAQ entry sets out its subsidy rate. This guide therefore does not invent one. What follows is the verified application route that applies to every agriculture scheme in Meghalaya, plus the schemes that do carry published rates for winter cropping and land development, which is what a farmer asking this question actually needs.

Who is eligible for winter cropping support in Meghalaya?

You can apply if:

• You are a bonafide farmer of Meghalaya engaged in agriculture. This is the eligibility line the department applies uniformly across its state plan and centrally sponsored heads.
• You have cultivable land, owned or leased.
• You apply through the officer with jurisdiction over the area where you ordinarily reside. The department's Citizen Charter is explicit on this point.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a bonafide farmer of the state or have no cultivable land.
• You are seeking an individual cash grant for land development, the department's land and water development support is delivered in kind or against a feasibility report, not as a lump sum.
• You want to apply online. No agriculture scheme in Meghalaya other than farm mechanisation and agricultural studies has an online application route; the rest are plain paper through the block.

Selection across the department's heads is on a first come, first served basis, subject either to availability of materials or to availability of fund.

How to apply for winter cropping and land development schemes

1. Work out what you are asking for. A water harvesting structure to make a second crop possible, contour bunding to stabilise a slope, liming to correct acidity, or rabi seed at subsidy, these sit under different heads and it helps to name the one you want.
2. Write a plain-paper application addressed to the District Agriculture Officer (DAO) of your district. Give your name, village, C&RD Block, the area of land, its present cropping pattern and what you propose to do in the winter season.
3. Submit it through the Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) of your C&RD Block or Agriculture Circle. Meghalaya has 39 CD Blocks, 16 Agriculture Circles, 11 agriculture sub-divisions and 11 districts, so there is an officer within reach. The Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer is an equally valid route.
4. Ask for the entry number in the office receipt register, that is what fixes your position in a first-come, first-served queue.
5. Cooperate with the joint inspection if you have applied for a water harvesting structure. For PMKSY, the DAO or DHO organises a joint inspection with the Executive Engineer of the Water Resources Department, and the feasibility report from that visit decides whether the work is taken up.
6. Follow up before the season turns. Winter cropping support is only useful if it arrives before sowing, so start the paperwork well ahead of the rabi season rather than at the start of it.

There is no fee for any of these applications, and prescribed forms, where they exist, can be downloaded free from megagriculture.gov.in.

Which schemes actually fund winter cropping in Meghalaya?

These are the heads with rates the department has published, and they are the practical answer for a farmer trying to get a second crop:

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). The department states the objective as "creation of Water Harvesting Structures at the Farm Level for efficient water conservation and management so as to promote double cropping and enhance crop production." Infrastructure development is fully funded as per the feasibility report. Apply on plain paper through the ADO of your C&RD Block or Agriculture Circle. Selection is by joint inspection with the Water Resources Department, not by a queue.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, Rainfed Area Development (RAD). Under Value Addition and Resource Conservation the department publishes these cost norms, with 50% borne by the farmer:

RAD also funds Integrated Farming System packages at Rs 50,000 per hectare for a horticulture-based system, Rs 50,000 per hectare for small ruminant plus mixed farming and Rs 80,000 per hectare for crossbred cow plus mixed farming, again with 50% borne by the beneficiary. RAD is implemented on a cluster approach, so beneficiaries are selected by the Cluster Development Committee rather than individually.

Sub-Scheme Reclamation of Problem Soil under RKVY. For land that will not crop because of acidity, this head supplies liming materials, rock phosphate, bone meal and bio-fertiliser in kind. Selection of village and location is based on the Soil Health Card report, not on individual application, which is a good reason to get your soil tested first.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM). Quality seeds, machinery and equipment at 50% subsidy plus training, for rice, maize, pulses, jute and oilseeds — several of which are the crops a Meghalaya farmer would put in during the winter season.

What should I do first?

Get a Soil Health Card. Soil testing is free under the department's Soil Testing Laboratory scheme and under the NMSA Soil Health Card scheme, and the card carries a fertiliser recommendation and identifies acidity and other soil problems along with the amelioration measure, such as liming. It costs nothing, it is the gateway to the Reclamation of Problem Soil head, and it tells you whether your winter crop will fail for a reason no subsidy can fix.

Apply on plain paper through the ADO, or take your samples directly to the Research Officer of the Soil Testing Laboratory at Shillong, Tura or Jowai.

Common reasons winter cropping applications stall

• Applying after the season has started. Water harvesting structures need a feasibility report and construction time; seed needs to arrive before sowing.
• No Soil Health Card. Two of the four related heads key off soil test results.
• Expecting cash. The department's land development support comes as materials, structures or cost-shared works, with 50% borne by the farmer under RAD.
• Not being in a cluster. RAD works on a cluster approach and the Cluster Development Committee selects beneficiaries, so an isolated application outside a notified cluster will not be taken up.
• No land proof. A village headman's certificate is the document block offices normally accept where there is no patta.

Help and grievance redressal

• Director of Agriculture, Cleve Colony, Government Fruit Garden, Shillong 793003 to telephone (0364) 2222460, fax (0364) 2223228, email agri-meg@nic.in
• Director of Horticulture, same address; telephone (0364) 2227464, email hort-meg@nic.in
• Agriculture Information Officer, Directorate of Agriculture; telephone (0364) 2229127, email aio-agri-meg@nic.in
• District Agricultural Officer of your district to 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM in summer, 10.00 AM to 4.30 PM in winter
• Kisan Call Centre; toll free 1800-180-1551, 6.00 AM to 10.00 PM daily
• 1917 iTEAMS: dial 1917 free for agro-advisory, market prices and transport at Rs 2 per km per quintal
• Online grievances. The state grievance portal at mii.nic.in

The Citizen Charter of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare states that grievances may be given in writing to the concerned District Agricultural Officer during office hours or directly to the Director of Agriculture at the Shillong headquarters. Before acting on any rupee figure quoted for the Winter Cropping and Development of Cultivable Land head on a non-government website, confirm it with the DAO. The department has not published one.