[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]OFF-SEASON VEGETABLE CULTIVATION PROJECT
(Joint Farm Management for Off-Season Vegetable Production in Hill Area through Adopting Eco-Friendly Crop Rotations and Practices, Phase- I)
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
Scattered and fragmented land holdings are a continuous trend to become a complex comb of problems in view to increase cash incomes from per unit area of holdings. Examples are often quoted from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and North-East hills by doubling the value of problems, because Uttarakhand hills farming is quite tough to rejuvenate for production purposes without ownership consolidation of land. Nevertheless the approach is optimistic, but our Organization foresee many of the socially inbuilt problems like family disputes, fertility status of land, money involved in making process illegal etc. If wisdom really needed at this venture, then it must be for functional purposes i.e. productivity increase and there is no guarantee whether land consolidation on papers for purpose of ownership will increase yield. Our doubt is it will be a helpful mean to negotiate for land trading between single owner and land Mafias.
No doubt, yield must be increased and for this purpose, large holding is an essential. Rationally we can look for alternatives? It could be done with the approaches like cooperative farming, lease farming, contractual farming etc. Our experience says theoretically that co-operative farming is ideal one, but benefits distribution among the beneficiaries remains always a matter of disputes. Similarly contractual or lease farming have been opted since antiquities under heads “TIHAD” or “ADHEL” systems and then under new settlement Act of 1952 it become a motivational tool to go people to the course for justice. No need to say how long this disputes remained persistent among societies and how it disturbed socio fabric.
Similarly, the next example of leased farming being done by Nepali labourers narrates the same story of agony accumulations between locals and these. However, it also brought few social evils also viz., liquor addiction, flash trading and inhabitable problems of diversified crimes. It means the only solutions is among the people, for the people and by the people with the help of any prevalent local Voluntary Organizations and that too with Joint Farm Management means identified the land, identified the people of similar interest and plan for them with their full participation by the involvement of any facilitator agency.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
• To increase the off-season vegetable production and unit area production in terms of cash and volumes.
• To increase the self employment opportunities.
• To facilitate adoption of appropriate technologies for removal of drudgery, increased efficiency and higher income of farm women and youths.
• To introduce and integrate the appropriate technologies to increase the vegetable productivity with marketable surplus in commercial, on and off farm production systems.
• To facilitate adoption of appropriate post-harvest technologies for conservation and on-farm value addition of vegetable products, by-products and wastes for greater economic dividend.
• To find out right type of crops between two vegetable based crop rotations (as cash crop) so that the risk for multiplication of disease and pest inoculums in the same affinity crop will be interrupted (Breaking repetitive crop rotations).
• To strengthen backward linkages with the farmers for assured supply of external inputs like organic fertilizers, agriculture equipments, seeds, advisory services, etc.
COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
• Provide trainings, exposure visits, enrichments trainings to the practicing farmers.
• Training programmes at centre and off centre with collaboration with hired services of experts and expert Institution.
• Formation of different production groups (SHGs).
• Operate a quality germplasm centre/nursery to produce superior quality seeds and seedlings of vegetables which will be readily available to the local farmers.
• Establishment of demonstrational vita.
• Establishment of collection centres for vegetables and vegetable produces.
• Establishment of agro service centres/input supply centres for agriculture implements, seeds, organic fertilizers, etc.
• Establishment of advisory service centre on technology, marketing information, etc.
• Product launching in the market through media, networking, advertisement and publicity, simulated marketing network, exhibition and expos, workshops, seminars, etc.
• Provide farm gate level market by developing forward linkages with externals agencies and established fruit and vegetable mandies.
TARGET AREA AND TARGET GROUPS OF THE PROJECT
The target area of the project was limited to approximate 20 village of Chamba-Mussoorie fruit belt in Chamba Block and Saklana Patti in Jaunpur Block of District Tehri Garhwal.
The Target groups/beneficiaries are comprise the more vulnerable groups, which constitute mainly of the women, SC, OBC and small and marginal farmers living Below Poverty Line (BPL) with the objective of assisting them to move out of poverty and those households that are marginally above the poverty and those households that are marginally above the poverty.
FUNDING AGENCY
The Project was funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi under the Science and Society Programme.
COST OF THE PROJECT
The project was sanctioned by DST during the year 2004. In the first phase, total cost of the project sanctioned by DST for pilot study for one year was Rs. 3,90,000.00.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”740,741,742,743,744,745″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row]