agriculture production

The objective of this activity is to optimise and stabilise agricultural production in the watershed area by promoting sustainable, cost-effective, indigenous and modern eco-friendly practices, which will ultimately lead to conservation of biodiversity in crops and animal husbandry.

The project will develop Grama Gnana Kendra (GGK) as an institution of local resource persons and paratechnicians along with the Sustainable Agriculture Team comprising of PRAWARDA staff. They will then take up sustainable agriculture interventions like Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Integrated Farming System (IFS) through GGK.

Women and landless local resource persons and paratechnicians (such as local healers) will be carefully inducted and supported. They will be developed as professionals to cater to the counselling needs of the village. With the sustainability of the project in view, ways of utilising their services are being developed.

The main focus for the year 2002 to 2005 will be germ plasm preservation, IFS, fodder and livestock development and other sustainable agricultural interventions.

The priority for this period will be seven villages (two overlapping villages in Phase 1, five VDS villages in Phase 2) covering the entire agricultural land, and comprising 18243 families including 491 marginal farmers, 466 small farmers, 302 semi-medium farmers, 176 farmers and 48 large farmers.

Expected Results:

• Cost effective, sustainable agricultural interventions will be implemented in seven villages of the watershed.
• hree GGKs in three villages will be promoted, through which at least 15 local resource persons and paratechnicians will be capacitated to cater to the counselling needs of the community in various areas like agriculture, livestock management etc.
• Germ plasm of major Kharif and Rabi crops will be preserved and promoted in seven villages.
• 45 farmers in seven villages will be developed into IFS farmers.
• Fodder cultivation will be taken up on a regular basis to mitigate fodder scarcity in the watershed. In seven villages, various options like fodder sorghum, maize, and forage crops will be promoted.
• Deoni breed retention will be accomplished by providing bulls to three families in three villages through the Village Development Society and establishing links with university breeding stations.
• Soil and moisture conservation practices like Tur stalk bunding, mulching, deep ploughing, and vegetative bunding will be taken up.

The project has given a fillip to agricultural productivity in the area. The contribution to the gross income by seven important crops is Rs. 384.58 lakhs per annum as per broad estimates. The increased cropping (it is still increasing) has created employment opportunities for landless labourers and small and marginal farmers. A rough estimates of additional employment generation is as follows:

The annual value of this increase in labour requirements is around Rs. 53.00 lakhs at Rs. 40/- per day. It is a fact the small and marginal farmers use family labour on the farm to the extent of 90%. It is estimated that the big farmers normally use 30 to 40% of labour needs from family sources.

The project area comprises of 90% of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers. Thus they do appear to share the benefits of development to a large extent.