| Home | Focus Area | Natural Resources - Agriculture & Energy |
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| Agriculture & Energy |
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| The Issue |
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| Agriculture is integral to the rural way of life. But our farmers still follow antediluvian practices that deplete the soil and are subject to the vagaries of the monsoons.
Rural areas also often experience an energy crisis. We are trying to meet this need for energy in an eco-friendly manner. |
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| Our Solution |
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| We educated farmers about a number of land management activities and have successfully introduced some agricultural “best practices”: |
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Horticulture – the cultivation of crops like mangoes, lemons, litchis, amla, apples, jatropha (used to produce
bio-diesel), coconut, cashew, mulberry, luciniea, guava, chikoos, custard apple, pomegranate, malta, karanj and kinu and jackfruit – has led to crop diversification, better soil utilization and opened up new income streams for
the farmers |
| Organic farming is encouraged rather than the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides |
| Vermi-composting units are being set up to meet the demand for organic manure |
| Salinity resistant crops – like barley - are being promoted in appropriate regions |
| Kitchen gardens are providing better nutrition and income for villagers |
| Farmers have been provided with grafts of high-value timber trees like teak |
| Bio-waste trenching is helping revive old horticulture plantations |
| Integrated Pest Management – incorporating yellow sticky traps, neem powder, pheromone traps – is being offered as an alternative to the rampant use of chemical pesticides, especially in states like Andhra Pradesh where this is a big problem |
| Alternate sources of fuel (like biogas) are being successfully promoted to conserve forest cover and reduce the indiscriminate chopping of trees |
| Smokeless chullahs and solar cookers have been made available to reduce pollution and avoid unnecessary health problems for women |
| Farmers clubs provide a forum for information exchange and sharing of experiences |
| Field-based agricultural training has been conducted on bee keeping, herbal cropping and mushroom cultivation |
| Farmers in waterlogged areas have been encouraged to take to pisciculture like those in Punjab |
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| The Outcome |
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| 1404 demonstration plots/summer/mushroom/demo farms cultivated |
| 3,55,545 horticultural plantations/farms cultivated |
| 256.99 drip irrigation systems constructed |
| 452 sprinkler irrigation systems installed |
| 2,594 kitchen garden plots/with drip irrigation set up |
225 farmers training/workshop programmes/Adarsh krishi mahotsava/street plays organized
13,491 participants |
| 8,091 nurseries, vegetable and fruit promotion/cultivation |
| 1,899 irrigation channels constructed |
35 farmer exposure visits organised
530 participants |
| 693 biogas plants have been set up |
| 1,449 smokeless chullahs/solar cookers have been set up |
| 169 solar energy kits (DSLU)/panels have been promoted |