180 research outputs found
Boosting confidence in farm innovations: Simulating impact with systems modelling tools
No full text“The outcomes of farm-level interventions in highly complex smallholder farming systems are uncertain. Many variables determine the profitability, scope of manpower reduction and eventually, the adoption of an intervention. It is not feasible to try all available options on the farm before finding the right one. Therefore, the need for whole-farm systems modelling tools,” says Dr Shalander Kumar, Principal Scientist, Innovation Systems for the Drylands (ISD), ICRISAT
Increasing Income and Employment through Sustainable Farming Systems in Water Scarce Region of Uttar Pradesh
No full textThe farming systems in the water-scarce region of semiarid Uttar Pradesh have been examined. The availability of land and also of water has become the most limiting factors in farming for increasing the levels of farm income and employment. Therefore, an effort has been made to suggest sustainable farming systems through optimization of farm resources and also by putting restriction on the availability of irrigation water. It has been shown that the income and employment could be increased in the water-scarce situation if the farm resources are utilized optimally and less water-requiring crops/ activities are selected in the farm plan.Agricultural and Food Policy,
Desert farmers on the path to economic self-reliance
No full textEight villages in Rajasthan are quickly moving towards economic self-reliance through herbs production and turning into a role model for others, thanks to the government’s integrated agriculture project which has rekindled a new hope in the western parts of the state.
The development could have gone unnoticed had the herbal medicinal giant Dabur not signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the farmers of Dheerasar and Dhonk villages in Barmer last year to purchase the entire lot of ‘Shankhpushpi', a medicinal herb.
These two villages are among the eight being developed under the project.
The others are: Mansagar, Govindpura in Jodhpur district, Damodar, Didu, Deda, Sankariya villages in Jaisalmer district. Gramin Vikas Samiti director (NGO partner of the project) Shashi Tyagi said the cultivation of other medicinal herbs, like Arana, Vajradanti and Isabgole was also being encouraged under the project which were sure to attract other pharmaceutical giants like Dabur.
In fact, Dabur had purchased 10 quintals of Shankhpushpi at ` 1,600 to ` 2,000 per kg from the two villages. This may encourage even more farmers to grow herbs, sources said.
The project under which these schemes operate has a long name “Dryland Systems: Integrated Agricultural Production Systems for the Poor and Vulnerable in Dry Areas.”
But, it effectively addresses the weaknesses attached to an arid land and turns it into a high yielding zone through water harvesting, cultivation of improved quality crops through scientific methods, high breed cattle and herbal plants and help farmers market their produce, senior programme coordinator Rajendra Kumar said
Mainstreaming Gender and Empowering Women in Agriculture in the Thar Region of India
No full textSocial inequities based on gender norms reinforce nonparticipation of women in decision making at various levels, consequently
depriving them of the benefits arising out of any technological advances. These advances could be in all fields in general, and in
particular financial services. Integration of a gender responsive approach in all development initiatives assumes great importance in the
context of economic relations in an agrarian economy. Despite the fact that women contribute immensely to agriculture and allied
activities and consequently to food security, rural economy and development, their contributions go largely unrecognized. The need to
empower women and mainstream gender in agriculture is necessary not only due to the extent and importance of their contribution but
also for ensuring creation of equitable economic relations and progressive social milieu. This is important to build capacity of the large
human capital (women) supporting agricultural production, marketing and consumption. As part of the CGIAR Research Program on
‘Dryland Systems: Integrated Agriculture Production System for the Poor and Vulnerable in Dry Areas’, ICRISAT in collaboration with
GRAVIS, has implemented a project in eight randomly identified villages in three districts Barmer,
Jaisalmer and Jodhpur in western
Rajasthan. The program is aimed at developing technological, policy and institutional innovations to improve food security and
livelihoods using an integrated systems approach. The project reaches out directly to more than 3000 poor rural farming households,
about 11% of which are headed by women..
Impact of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India on Rural Poverty and Food Security
No full textA study based on regional and micro level household data was taken up to inquire in to the
impacts of a national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS) in India. Studies in four
sample districts in predominantly rainfed areas, which benefited from the scheme for the last six
years indicated that the scheme attempted to address the core issue of rural unemployment of
unskilled labor in earth works related to natural resource management. Primarily the rural labor
obtained seasonal employment, but the resource poor farmers also participated in the Scheme
more so in states like Maharashtra. The study findings indicated that the seasonal migration of
rural labor has come down significantly due to the opportunities of employment provided under the
scheme. The share of NREGS employment was up to one-third of wage days in some of the study
districts. Similarly the contributions of income to the family from the wages of participation in the
scheme were in the range of 12 to 33 per cent across the districts. These additional incomes were
used by the rural households primarily for food security, education of dependents, health care and
debt repayment. Wherever, the there were surpluses beyond these expenses, the households
acquired durable assets and created amenities in the households. The negative fall out of the
Scheme, albeit at a low scale, especially from the farming point of view is that there was abnormal
rise in the wage rates. The scheme thus is a revolutionary one with broad spectrum impact on the
rural milieu of India
Cropping systems intensification and resilience building
No full textFarmers’ preference of crops and cropping systems were identified based on the based on our RRAS conducted during 16-17th March 2015 at in the target villages viz., Balaganur and Mannur of Sindagi taluka and Nandihal of Basavana Bagewadi taluka.This study helped to identify farmer’s crop preferences and farm level restrains
Impact Assessment of New Pearl Millet Technology in Arid Rajasthan
No full textThis paper has assessed the impact of high-yielding short-duration pearl-millet hybrid on farmers’ income
in the arid region of Rajasthan. The decomposition of total change in net returns has shown that adoption
of modern technology accounted for 86 per cent of the incremental net income, in which the share of
varietal change was 58 per cent. This suggests that there is a considerable potential of raising farm
income through widespread dissemination of modern pearl millet technology in Rajastha
Farm level rainwater harvesting across different agro climatic regionsof India: Assessing performance and its determinants
No full texttRainwater harvesting and its utilization have a very important role to play in harnessing the productionpotential within dryland systems. This study assesses the performance of small rainwater harvestingstructures (farm-ponds) in 5 major rainfed states of India over the period 2009–2011 using data frommultiple sources and stakeholders. Rainwater which is harvested using structures of varying types andsizes was used for either supplemental irrigation or recharging open-wells. In many cases, the farm levelrainwater harvesting structures were highly effective for rainfed farming and had a multiplier effecton farm income. In some situations however, it was viewed by farmers as a waste of productive land.The use of farm ponds in Maharashtra, for example, resulted in a significant increase in farm produc-tivity (12–72%), cropping intensity and consequently farm income. In the Chittoor district of AndhraPradesh, farm pond water was profitably used for supplemental irrigation to mango plantations, vegeta-bles or other crops and animal enterprises with net returns estimated to be between US$ 120 and 320structure−1annum−1. Despite such examples, the adoption of the farm ponds was low, except in Maha-rashtra. A functional analysis of the reasons for high adoption of water harvesting structures indicatedthat factors such as technical support, customized design, level of farmer participation, age, existing own-ership of open wells, annual rainfall and household assets were the major determinants of performanceof farm-level rainwater harvesting structures. Based on this countrywide analysis, different policy andinstitutional options are proposed for promoting farm-level rainwater-harvesting for dryland agriculture
ICRISAT and GRAVIS develop models for sustainable management of community silvi-pasture systems in Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaisalmer
No full textIn western Rajasthan the common pastures resources are very important for sustaining rural livelihoods, with livestock being the most resilient component in such ecosystems. However, the common pastures in this region have become severely degraded making the rural poor households more vulnerable to climate and market risks.
As part of CGIAR research program on Dryland Systems which is a research for development project, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and GRAVIS have analyzed the causes leading to the degradation of common pastures and the factors hindering rehabilitation efforts and their sustainability in arid western Rajasthan. We are implementing improved management options for sustainable intensification of common Silvi-pasture systems in a participatory mode in Govindpura (Jodhpur), Dhok (Barmer) and Damodara (Jaisalmer) in 30 ha common land by involving the village development committees and the livestock keepers. Our strategy for sustainable management of CPRs focuses on economically viable model targeting equitable governance structure, NRM and productivity enhancing innovations in all three locations.
Harvested grass seeds are dried in the sun before being stored in bags for next season’s sowing.
The community was involved right from the design stage of the project. A committee representing all sections of the community manages the silvi-pasture system and a women sub-committee is responsible for managing the harvest from the CPRs. The selection of promising grasses and multipurpose trees for these CPRs was done through a participatory process using Mozer framework matrix. Along with promising grasses (for example Dhaman and Sewan), we have planted more than 7000 multipurpose trees (including arid fruit and agro-forestry trees) in these community based silvi-pasture systems. Moreover need-based soil and water conservation interventions have also been undertaken in these CPRs. The community has fully owned these efforts and that helps in up-scaling these interventions
- …
