ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes to give a brief description of subsistence farming at Comilla, East Pakistan, and then discusses three major aspects of the "Comilla Experiment" in rural development. In Comilla Thana 30,000 farm families operate 50,000 acres of cultivated land. An average farm of 1.7 acres supports a family of six persons. In Comilla all the cultivable land has been brought under cultivation. However, the intensity of cultivation is low. The Government of Pakistan turned over the Comilla Thana to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development as an "experimental laboratory" where the Academy could develop and test patterns and procedures that might be suitable for developing East Pakistan's agriculture. Various departmental offices assist the Central Association in its training and extension program. The chapter discusses three major aspects of the program, namely, credit, extension, and irrigation.
