[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A PILOT PROJECT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF MODEL BIO-VILLAGES
(A Pilot Project for Establishment of Model Bio-Villages with the Concept of Organic Vegetable Cultivation through Protected Cultivation Techniques for Livelihood Promotion of Women in District Tehri Garhwal in the State of Uttarakhand)
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
The soul of India resides in villages. Rural people constitute more than 70% of India’s total population. The march of independent India for assuming its rightful place in the comity of nations is not complete unless it is associated with significant improvement in the quality of life of its rural population. The Organization Himalayan Institute For Environment, Ecology & Development (HIFEED) is committed to improve qualitatively as well as quantitatively the life of rural people through a series of well structured and demand driven rural development programmes. Protected cultivation of vegetables offers distinct advantages of quality, productivity and favorable market price to the growers. Vegetable growers can substantially increase their income by protected cultivation of vegetables in off-season. Presently the vegetables produced during their normal season generally do not fetch good returns due to easy availability of these vegetable in the markets. Off-season cultivation of cucurbits under low plastic tunnels is one of the most profitable technologies under northern plains of India.
Walk in tunnels are also suitable and effective to raise off-season nursery and off-season vegetable cultivation due to their low initial cost. Insect proof net houses can be used for virus-free cultivation of tomato, chilli, sweet pepper and other vegetables mainly during the rainy season. These low cost structures are also suitable for growing pesticide-free green vegetables. Low cost greenhouses can be used for high quality vegetable cultivation for long duration (6-10 months) mainly in peri-urban areas of the country to fetch commensurate price of produces. Poly-trenches have proved extremely useful for growing vegetables under cold desert conditions in upper reaches of Himalayas in the country. For protected vegetable cultivation various kind of model like green house, poly house, poly tunnels, mist chamber is used by farmers. Low cost poly house and poly tunnels can be made by every farmer. Low cost poly house made by bamboo, rattan and iron angle on the life span of low cost poly house may be 5-10 years. The project has distinct advantage of the marketing setup. This will enable the women and marginal farmers to sell their vegetable at the same point on cash payment basis. Only those crops are selected that have ample market demand in market.
In developed countries protected cultivation is used as a tool to neutralized unfavourable conditions like extreme low temperatures, high range, unfavourable humidity, hail storm etc. In protected vegetable production all above risks are not involved and quality along with quantity, maximum production using less agriculture area is the chief objective of the protected vegetable cultivation. Such type of cultivation is better for those places in which climatic factors are not favorable for vegetable production where as natural resources like water, land and man power available. Decreasing land and increasing population may loss our productive land, protected vegetable cultivation may solve this problem.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
• Training of selected marginal farmers through demonstrations and implementation for differences in productivity in inorganic and organic farming, to harass the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides, improved methods of composting and cropping pattern and cash crop cultivation.
• Organization of marginal farmers for awareness generation for organic farming, cut off use of inorganic fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides improved method of composting, suggest improved cropping pattern and cash crop cultivation.
• Up-scaling small and marginal farmers for organic cultivation in open and poly house condition, post harvesting and value addition for better prices.
• Standardization of agro-techniques for raising mandate crops over extended periods under different structures and development of their package of practices for catching early markets.
• Establish technical support system for value addition such as sorting, grading, processing, packaging, branding and marketing through formation of CBOs/SHGs.
• Improve the living standard of community/women and reducing drudgery through cultivating high value crops in compact area.
COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
• Baseline survey of project villages.
• Identification of project area, villages and beneficiaries.
• Formation of producer groups (SHGs).
• Launching of training and capacity building programmes at centre and off-centre in collaboration with experts and SAU/KVK/ S&T Institutions.
• Establishment of demonstrative poly houses in selected villages for raising nurseries for selected crops and poly tunnels to each beneficiary to get quality planting material available at appropriate growing period.
• Establish the Seed Bank and Agro Service Centre in the project villages for providing agriculture inputs to the farmers.
• Production of organic manure/vermi compost involving improved technologies and demonstration of different crops cultivation through use of organic manure and compost.
• Production of hybrid seeds and seedling of vegetable at village level.
• Establishment of collection, value addition/grading, packaging, distribution and marketing centre.
• Provide farm gate market by developing forward linkages with externals agencies.
• Strengthen backward and forward linkages with the farmers for assured supply of internal and external inputs for growing good quality of seed, vegetables production and market simulations.
• Periodic impact evaluation, output monitoring and popularization of project activities in nearby areas.
TARGET AREA AND TARGET GROUPS OF THE PROJECT
The targeted area of the project is limited to five villages of Jaunpur Block of District Tehri Garhwal. The target groups/beneficiaries are comprised the more vulnerable groups which constitute mainly of the women with the objective of assisting them to move out of poverty.
FUNDING AGENCY
The project is funded by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW), Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India, New Delhi.
COST OF THE PROJECT
The project was sanctioned by NMEW during the year 2014. Total cost of the project sanctioned by NMEW for one year was Rs. 15,00,000.00[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”799,800,801,802,803,804,805,806,807″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row]