Farmer Development!

PROJECT DESCRIPTION In advanced developed countries, farmers are using innovative techniques to produce and distribute food. Food is grown on rooftops, in community gardens and anywhere there is space. Agriculture is sustainable when it nourishes people and restores and protects the land, air, water and other living creatures. It is sustainable when it mitigates and is resilient to climate change and provides livelihoods and dignity for farmers, workers and rural communities. While achieving sustainable agriculture is one of the greatest challenges of Agriculture in India. In our country, we have recognised Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants & many more as profession. We forgot & we are still forgetting to recognise farmer as a profession. In our society, our farmers are not getting respect but they are treated as workers. We also forget that what we eat today is just because of that farmer who is doing hard work day & night. We as a foundation, creating awareness to recognise farmer as top most profession because he is the food provider.

PROJECT CONTENT

Volunteers required from each village Volunteer who is either studying in field of Agriculture or have obtained degree of agriculture in any subfield can help farmers about sustainable farming. Take support of Research Institutes, Universities and Taluka/Dist level Govt organisation. Educate farmers about cost less farming technology. Promote organic farming Supply of certified seeds free of cost to poor farmers and guide them to utilise available lands in proper manner. Door to door free facility to provide report on their land & water so that corrective actions can be suggested to make land more profitable. Why our farmers are dependent? Many universities, Institutions and Government organisations are doing study on why our farmers are still poor even though there is available water, technology and Govt. support. However, if we see the practical aspects, maybe we can address issues to some extent in coming time. Following are reasons behind this poor scenario.

No Hope & fear of future: There is no awareness among farmers and farming is their only livelihood so motivate them with better hope is required. Drought: Drought is a natural incident and we cannot control it. Govt has taken many steps to construct dams over the rivers and stored water is made available to farmers through the canal network. However, majority of areas are still not covered. Here farmers can use water harvest technology but awareness and support are the main reasons. Use of costly seeds, pesticides & fertilizers: Most of the farmers use branded seeds, pesticides and fertilizers to get maximum production and protection against crop failures. However still crops get failed due to various reasons and this investment is loss for the farmers. Organic farming is the best solution but we need to promote the same by giving preference to organic foods. Economic Policy & Govt. incentives: Govt has emphasized agriculture in the five-year plans and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies are taking place. However, many schemes & benefits are not reaching to farmers due to lack of proper system, corruption and awareness. Education: Education plays a vital role in upliftment of farmers. Majority of the farmers & farm workers in rural areas are still illiterate. Educating them atleast about their rights, farming techniques, available resources and various Govt. schemes may be helpful to make them financially & socially independent.

Seeds sector in India!

The agricultural sector is highly dependent on the availability and quality of seeds for a productive harvest. Therefore, in order to increase the quantity and quality of produce, efforts are made to introduce enhanced varieties of seeds with the help of advance technology and modern agricultural methods. Seed is the basic and most critical input for sustainable agriculture. The response of all other inputs depends on quality of seeds to a large extent. It is estimated that the direct contribution of quality seed alone to the total production is about 15 – 20% depending upon the crop and it can be further raised up to 45% with efficient management of other inputs. The Indian seed industry, over the years, has evolved by adopting and innovating upon scientific advancements in variety development and quality seed production.

The industry has grown at a rapid pace of 18.8% over the period FY’2007-FY’2013 and reached INR ~ million in FY’2013 on account of rapid adoption of BT cotton hybrids, single cross corn hybrids and hybrid vegetables. Rising awareness among the farmers related to the benefits of using certified/ quality seeds has led to an increase in the demand for seeds over the past few years. This has resulted in an increasing willingness among the farmers to pay higher price for quality seeds. The hybrid seeds market in India will grow profoundly during the forecast period and post an impressive CAGR of almost 15% by 2020. Growing focus on high-yielding varieties will aid in the strong growth of this market during the estimated period. It has been observed that the quality of seeds plays a crucial role in agriculture, and their efficacy determines the overall agricultural productivity. A good quality seed can improve production by up to 45%. However, a decline in the availability of resources can negatively affect the productivity of seeds and create a demand-supply gap. Due to the declining total arable land in India, the need for higher productivity to keep up with the growing demand for agricultural products and ensure food security has increased. This, in turn, has resulted in the high demand for high-yielding hybrid seeds among farmers in India.

Policy Initiatives in Seed Sector: The following policy initiatives have been taken by the Government of India in seed sector:-

• Enactment of the Seeds Act, 1966 • Seed Review Team-SRT (1968) • National Commission on Agriculture’s Seed Group (1972) • Launching of the World Bank aided National Seeds Programme (1975-85) in three phases leading to the creation of State Seeds Corporations, State Seed Certification Agencies, State Seed Testing Laboratories, Breeder Seed Programmes etc • Seed Control Order (1983) • Creation of the Technology Mission on Oilseeds & Pulses (TMOP) in 1986 now called The Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM). • Production and Distribution Subsidy • Distribution of Seed Mini-kits • Seed Transport Subsidy Scheme (1987) • New Policy on Seed Development (1988) • Seed Bank Scheme (2000) • National Seeds Policy (2002) • The Seeds Bill (2004) • Formulation of National Seed Plan (2005) • National Food Security Mission (2007) • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (2007)