Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting Crop rotation and crop diversification
a) Food Crops like Millets & Pulses etc.
AF
is educating and advocating Multiple cropping in the place of groundnut mono
crop and crop rotation. The crops advocated are redgram, caster, pearl millet,
sorghum, foxtail millet, field beans, cow pea etc. All can be grown as mixed
crop or intercrop with groundnut. AF field staff organized special meetings and
campaigns before the kharif sowing season. The focus is to go in for food crops
with a view to improve food and nutritional security at each household. More and
more women are mobilized to these meeting and campaigns. During the period,
28,298 rainfed farmers have grown food crops like millets & Pulses. This
abnormally high no. of farmers is because of the delayed monsoons. Women have
played a key role in cultivation of food crops, besides this the seed banks were
actively involved in promoting alternate crops. The cost of cultivation of food
crops comes to Rs.740/per ha. The contribution from beneficiaries is Rs.500/ in
the form of kind.
b) Vegetable cultivation.
AF Ecology Centre is promoting vegetable cultivation in two ways. One is in the farm lands and another is promoting kitchen gardens. AF is advocating household food and nutritional security through kitchen gardens. 4,718 farmer families cultivated vegetables in their farm lands. 10,413 families raised kitchen gardens. The cost vegetable seed is Rs.35/ the beneficiary contribution is Rs.5/ the balance amount Rs.30/ is paid as an incentive by AF.
c) Fodder cultivation.
Annual fodder seeds are being supplied to farmers by animal husbandry department on subsidy. AF is organizing and facilitating the farmers to access the seeds from department. For raising perennial fodder plots AF is supplying fodder slips. 6,472 perennial fodder plots were organized by 5,594 farmers. As an incentive AF is providing Rs.30/- ha, and farmer contribution in the form of kind @ Rs.180/- ha.
