AGRICULTURE

Sikkim is a land of villages. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. Agriculture has an history of its own in Sikkim. By and large, Sikkim's wealth is derived from agriculture and forests. The original inhabitants were not agriculturists. They led a very primitive life. Gathering of wild roots, fruits, hunting and fishing were their means of livelihood. When Bhutia people migrated to Sikkim they started a semi pastoral economy and sedentary farming. They ploughed only the flat pieces of land available here and there. Settled agriculture stepped into Sikkim only with the arrival of Nepali immigrants. These sturdy, hardy, energetic and innovative people cleared large tracts of woodlands and made the land fit for cultivation.

The nature of the terrain and varied micro climatic conditions influence agriculture in Sikkim. Maize, paddy, wheat, barley and buck wheat are the main cereals grown in Sikkim. Sikkim has the largest area and the highest production of large cardamom in India. Cardamom and potatoes are two important cash crops. A special kind of tea much valued by the connoisseur for its taste and quality is also produced in the state. A government Tea Estate is being developed in Kewzing in the western part of Sikkim. There is one more tea estate at Temi. Both these estates extends over an area of 400 acres. Under horticulture, large quantities of oranges and apple are raised. Vegetables, pineapple and banana are other cash crops of Sikkim.

The humid tropical zone foothills of Southern Sikkim constitute the maize cultivation belt. Needing high temperatures and good amount of rainfall, maize is sown in early summer and harvested in September-October. Maize is an exacting crop and required a good amount of human labour for thinning and weeding process. To save the land from soil erosion longitudinal ditches have to be prepared in Maize fields. Maize is a staple food of this belt. Maize is also used for preparation of poultry feed and beer.

Paddy is another important crop of Sikkim. Paddy is a crop mainly of river valleys. Along river beds the crop is raised with the help of irrigation. Small channels taken out of the rivers irrigate the surrounding land. On higher areas where temperature and rainfall conditions permit the cultivation of paddy, the crop is grown on terraced fields. In the river bottoms transplantation method has been employed but on the higher terraced fields broadcasting method is employed. Now with the assistance of Agriculture Department new high yielding varieties of paddy are grown on the terraced farms with Japanese method. Paddy is a summer crop and it is grown every where in the state except very higher areas and most of the paddy is raised on unirrigated fields. Because of copious rainfall during its growth period it is possible to raise paddy on unirrigated fields.

Wheat and barley are winter crops. Wheat is raised in Southern and Central Sikkim where temperature and growing period during winter permit the cultivation of this crop. In areas with short growing period and insufficient moisture during winter barley and buck wheat are raised. On the soils which are not fit for paddy or wheat cultivation or where short growing period does not permit the cultivation of superior cereals, millets are raised.

Cardamom, oranges and apples constitute an important part of Sikkim's trade with other parts of the country. Luscious oranges are grown in the southern warmer area of the state whereas apple are grown in elevated areas of Central and Northern Sikkim. Cardamom is a foreign exchange
earner crop also. Therefore special steps are being taken to augment the production of cardamom.

Agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry constitute a mainstay of the largest segment of Sikkim's population.

Economic Plans

During the economic plans special efforts were made to develop agriculture on scientific lines. With the initiation of economic plans an agriculture department was established to look after the progress and development of this vital organ of the economy. Improved varieties of seeds and fertilizers were distributed in all parts of the country and trained personnel were posted at various places to assist the cultivator in day-to-day matters relating to increased agricultural production. Pesticides were also distributed in areas where crops suffered from insects and pests.

Many personnel from Sikkim were trained in different agricultural research institutes of India. During the second plan a 200 acres (about 80 hectares )seed multiplication farm for paddy, maize and vegetables was developed at Gyalshing. Another 150 acres (about 60 hectares) potato seed farm was set up at Ribdi in western Sikkim. Farmer orientation schemes were accelerated in the third plan. To save the valuable crops of paddy, maize, cardamom and oranges from insects and pests an extensive Plant Protection Scheme was successfully introduced.

The Government of Sikkim passed two acts, one preventing land-owners from terminating the cultivating rights of the tillers and receiving more than half of farm produce as share or rent and the other restraining the land lords from selling or other wise interfering with land. This gives the tiller of the land a real sense of security against the menace of the feudal land lords. The Sikkim Government has initiated a plan of land survey and have also succeeded in procuring S.F.D.A (Small Farmers Development Authority) project for the entire state.

NWO Facts

In light of the NWO craze I figured I'd post some quick NWO facts. All of this information is from Termite themselves.

"Furniture physics is not going to be in the MP test - but likely for the full game."

"One thing we're doing with NWO is keeping the player inside the gameworld as much as possible - the equip overlay is necessary but really minimised.

One thing I've learned, as a gamedeveloper, is that if you say no to the superficial ideas (that have already been done to death in all the mods anyway) and focus on making the actual gameplay as intense as possible, you end up with a way better game."

"For NWO, we're certainly more realistic than CS but never at the expense of fun and fluidity."

"Keep in mind though - NWO is more realistic than CS so there are some things that you will need to get used to.

The camera doesn't 'float' when moving, it is connected to the head of your player and moves according to your animation. Makes you feel as if you're 'there'.

You can jump as much as you want, but you will lose about 15% forward velocity for each jump. It goes up pretty fast again though, 3 jumps and you would be at ~70% forward velocity.

You get both stunned and pushed when bullets hit you. The stun does not stop you dead - just slows you down a bit. Combined with the push-effect you will want to stay away from confined places where you can be 'nailed to the wall'."

"bullets do ~20-30% more damage in NWO than in CS, in general. Headshots do ~10-20% more damage than in CS."

Some intresting gameplay elements, I do like how they did away with the "floating" camera with a gun cliche most FPS games have.