Climate Smart Agriculture for Miltigating Global WarmingBAIF Journal Jan-March 20… · Climate Smart Agriculture for Miltigating Global Warming. BAIF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Vol. 36 January-March 2014

Rural Poverty

Climate Change

Food Insecurity

Global Warming

Denudation of Natural Resources

Environmental Pollution

Climate Smart Agriculture for Miltigating Global Warming

BAIF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION

THE BAIF JOURNALA quarterly journal of the

Mr. Hrishikesh A. Mafatlal, Chairman

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Vice Chairman

Mr. Hasmukh S. Shah, Chairman, Executive Committee of BAIF Trustees

Smt. Rajashree A. Birla

Mr. Kishor A. Chaukar

Mr. Sunil. S. Lalbhai

Mr. Deepak C. Mehta

Dr. Sudha N. Murty

Mr. Pratap G. Pawar

Mr. Sharad Upasani

Dr. Narayan G. Hegde

Mr. Ramesh Rawal

Mr. Girish G. SohaniPresident and Managing Trustee

Founder: Late Dr. Manibhai Desai

BAIF TRUSTEES I n t h i s I s s u eJanuary-March 2014 Vol. 36

Annual SubscriptionInland: Rs. 50/-

Overseas: US $10

Managing EditorMs. Sucharita Dhar

Editorial OfficeBAIF Bhavan, Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar

Warje, Pune 411 058

1 Climate Change Adaptation and Environmental Conservation

2 Coping with Climate Change Effects: Tree-based Farming to the Rescue

6 National Workshop on Green Economy in Relation to Rural Development

7 Recognition for BAIF Programmes

8 Skill Development for Sustainable Livelihood of Tribal Communities

11 Comparative Study of BAIF Livestock Development Models in Rajasthan

13 Regional News

18 Strengthening Goat Development in the Country

1 Climate Change Adaptation and Environmental Conservation

2 Coping with Climate Change Effects: Tree-based Farming to the Rescue

6 National Workshop on Green Economy in Relation to Rural Development

7 Recognition for BAIF Programmes

8 Skill Development for Sustainable Livelihood of Tribal Communities

11 Comparative Study of BAIF Livestock Development Models in Rajasthan

13 Regional News

18 Strengthening Goat Development in the Country

Gandhian Approach to Rural Prosperity released by Shri. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Former Governor of West Bengal

in the presence of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan and Dr. Narayan Hegde, Author on April 12, 2014 in Chennai.

Edited, Printed and Published by: BAIF Development Research FoundationDr. Manibhai Desai Nagar, Warje, Pune 411 058E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.baif.org.in

Designed and Printed by:Varad Printers, Pune

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The effects of changing climate are now being felt increasingly through extreme episodes such as cloudbursts, drought spells and more recently, hailstorms. These uncertainties have to be coped with and as experience builds up, various strategies for mitigation and adaptation need to be built into our living. Our team recently concluded a six district study in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to understand the local effects, farmer coping strategies and choice of technologies for adaptation. We have also introduced a number of adaptive measures in our Karnataka programme.

BAIF's flagship programme for livestock development continues through evolving technical content and adapted delivery arrangement. Through an on-going process of demystification and a range of financing patterns, alternate models of delivery have emerged in different states. These are in the

process of continued scrutiny to hone them better.

Various programme learnings and innovations continue through other programme components - such as growing remunerative intercrops like vegetables and marketing them; efficient water harvesting and utilization; and work on small ruminants. These learnings and sharings contribute to enriching programmes elsewhere.

In the recent past, BAIF was privileged to organize two important consultations; one for Skill Enhancement for Tribal Development and another on Developing a Green Economy.

This issue of the journal brings you an account of all these and more.

Happy Reading!

F r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

1 The BAIF Journal

Climate Change Adaptation and Environmental Conservation

Girish G. Sohani

2 The BAIF JournalThe BAIF Journal

"If the Global community fails to respond and adopt mitigation measures to minimise climate change effects, then there will be at

0least 4 C rise in temperature by 2100", cautioned the UN team working on issues

1 related to climate change. The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in its report 'Climate variability and climate change projections-Karnataka Region 2011', has projected the

0average rise in temperature from 1.8 to 2.2 C by 2030.

Rise in temperature has been attributed to the burning of fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, kerosene), burning of charcoal, fuel wood, forest fires, burning of garbage, weeds, agricultural residues, etc. These, in turn, are adding carbon dioxide and other green house gases in the atmosphere. Green house gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, etc. have the capacity to trap or absorb heat in sunlight and prevent it from escaping into space. The presence of these gases in the atmosphere beyond certain limits is the main reason for the increase in global temperature. It has been estimated that the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the pre-industrial period was 280 ppm, whereas it has increased

2to 400 ppm now.

The impacts of climate change may vary from place to place - change in the rainfall pattern, erratic rain fall, heavy down pour, heat waves, concurrent droughts, reduction in crop yield, reduction in the evapotranspiration etc. Karnataka is already experiencing drought since last two to three years and during 2013 rainfall was not uniform in the state.

Coping with Climate Change Effects:Tree-based Farming to the Rescue

Change in rainfall pattern: Earlier, there used to be good rains during June to July. Nowadays, farmers have to wait till end of August and September to complete sowing operations. There is also decrease in the average rainy days.

In Karnataka, more than 60% of land is under rain fed conditions. Hence, the impact of climate change and global warming will be severe in Karnataka. An increase in temperature by 1 degree Celsius may lead to 5 to 10 % reduction in crop yields and 2 degree Celsius raise may lead to heavy crop losses. Hence, adopting mitigation and adaptation measures becomes inevitable. Among certain measures, Integrated Farming System (IFS) is one which could protect the livelihood of dry-land farmers in times of climate adversity.

Integrated Farming System (IFS): IFS includes low cost, environment friendly interventions like planting horticultural trees, forestry trees, fodder trees and fodder grasses; composting, disease and pest management, rearing of dairy animals and small ruminants, soil and water conservation etc. In this system farmers are required to plant 3 to 4 fruit species (mango, tamarind, cashew, guava, etc.) and 8-10 forestry species along with seasonal crops. The fruit trees can be planted in the cropping field or they can also be aligned along the internal bunds and boundary bunds. Depending on the land utilisation, farmers can plant up to 40 plants per acre. Forestry plants can be planted all along field bunds and boundary bunds,

1 Prajavani newspaper, dated 14.06.2013, Karnataka, India.

2 “Growth and low carbon can co exist” by Kieran Cooke,

Climate News Network, 19.9.2013, London.

L e a d A r t i c l e


farmers in Tumkur, Mysore, Hassan, Davanagere, Bellary, Gulbarga, Raichur, Haveri, Gadag, Bijapur, Sirsi districts. The Initiatives for Development Foundation (IDF) based at Kunigal is implementing IFS through a project called “Sujeevana” in Kunigal and Gubbi talukas, Tumkur district. Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) based at Chintamani, Kolar district, is engaged in the promotion of seed dibbling on barren hillocks and agro forestry systems in private lands. The Agriculture, Man, Ecology (AME), based in Bangalore is involved in motivating farmers to adopt low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA) practices.

Other Initiatives

Many Government-sponsored programmes are also supportive of mitigating climate change effects. The Government of Karnataka has initiated several programmes which have the potential to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects. The organic farming village project, supported by the Dept. of Agriculture, GoK, has resulted in bringing over 38200 ha

4 under organic farming. Farmers are encouraged to use alternat ives l ike vermicompost, enriched compost, liquid fertilisers, organic urea and green manure instead of chemical fertlisers. This directly helps in controlling the release of greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. The Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board is promoting plantation of biofuel species like Pongamia, Simaruba, Madhuca, etc. Biofuel plants have been planted in Gomala (grazing land), school and temple premises, waste lands and forest lands. The Hasiru Honnu project supports small and marginal farmers to plant 100 biofuel plants all along the field bunds.

which should include fuelwood species like Acacia auriculiformis, Cassia siamea and Gliricidia sepium, timber species like Tectona grandis (teak), Silver oak, Melia dubia, Dalbergia sissoo etc. and fodder trees like Sesbania grandiflora, Erythrina indica, subabul and Moringa pterigosperma (drumstick).

The forestry plants start yielding biomass and firewood after the fourth year of planting. Biomass produced from forestry plants can be used as substrate for producing vermicompost and applied to the field. This helps to reduce the application of chemical fertilisers and thereby emission of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. The fodder trees would yield enough quantity of fodder, thus sustaining the dairy activity. There will be enough firewood production by the fifth year of plantation. This will meet the firewood requirement of the family and reduces pressure on the forests, thus make a contribution towards preventive deforestation! The fruit trees which start

th bearing fruits from the 5 year of planting would fetch income for the farmers. Thus, in a period of 5-6 years, dry lands under IFS will become diversified farms with increased food security, fodder availability and resilient to climate change effects.

It is found that soil under IFS or organic farming would harvest 733-3000 kg or more carbon per

3hectare per year from the atmosphere. Increasing the sequestration of carbon in soil is a vital process to mitigate climate change. By increasing carbon absorption, IFS has a lower climate impact than modern agriculture.

Initiatives by Civil Society Organisations

In Karnataka, many NGOs are engaged in the promotion of IFS. BAIF Institute for Rural Development, based at Tiptur, Tumkur district, has implemented IFS (tree-based farming system) on 21852 acres involving 19708

3 Manifesto on climate change and the future of food security,

ARSIA Secretariat, Regional Govt of Tuscany, Italy, May-2008, PP, 16-17.

4 Progress reports, organic farming project, GoK.


The Government of India has initiated steps to face the changing climate situation. It has started a network programme - National initiative on climate resilient agriculture through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The objective of the programme is to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture through strategic research on adaptation and mitigation (covering crops, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management) , technology demonstration, capacity building and sponsored/competitive grant projects. ICAR has estimated the decrease in the yields for crops based on various crop simulation models.

The decrease in the yields is due to rise in 0temperature by 1 to 2 C. It can be seen that

wheat, irrigated paddy and irrigated maize are going to be affected badly compared to other crops.

Hints for low carbon agriculture:

Stop burning residues: Certain actions look very small, but if done by the larger community, they will produce results at the macro level. As

far as possible, avoid burning of crop residues, agricultural residues or any biomass. Instead, convert them into compost. During weeding season, farmers throw away the weeds on the bunds or on the roads and burn them after some time. Weeds can be converted into good quality compost. Burning any biomass adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and in turn contributes towards the raise in temperature and global warming.

Tillage: Continuous tillage increases the microbial activity in the soil and this again adds gases to the atmosphere. Hence, it is better to stop ploughing in irrigated orchards and minimize ploughing in rain fed orchards. Over a period of time, these farms will get converted into ecological farms. Ecological agriculture is found to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by

564%.

Live hedge fence: Establish a live hedge fence around the orchards and field boundaries. The fence can be established with low cost materials. Plant the cuttings of glyricidia, erythrina, lantana etc in the rainy season. Also seeds of fast growing species like Sesbania, subabul and glyricidia, can be drilled into the soil along the boundary. From the second year onwards, the fence will start providing a large quantity of biomass which can be used for making compost. Over a period of time, native species will start growing all along the fence. All the species help in carbon sequestration and thus act as mitigation against climate change.

Ridges and furrows: Making ridges and furrows is a traditional practice. This is disappearing today. Ridges are made for every sixth row (or as per the convenience of the farmers) during sowing or during hoeing operations. This helps in conserving moisture for a longer period and helps in minimizing losses due to prolonged

5 Manifesto on climate change and the future of food security,

ARSIA Secretariat, Regional Govt of Tuscany, Italy,

May-2008, PP, 16-17.

Source: Response to Rajya Sabha questions by Sri. Tariq Anwar, Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Processing, GoI, August, 23, 2013.

Sr. Crops Year and estimated No. changes in the yields

2020 2050 2080

1. Irrigated 4% 7% 10%paddy decrease decrease decrease

2. Rainfed 6% 6% 2.5% paddy decrease decrease decrease

3. Wheat 18% 23% 25% decrease decrease decrease

4. Irrigated 18% 23% 23% maize decrease decrease decrease

5. Rain fed 2.5% 2.5% 8% sorghum decrease decrease decrease

Table 1. Estimated changes in Yield of Crops


drought conditions. In groundnut growing areas of Pavagada and Chitradurga, very few farmers still practice making furrows along with hoeing operations. Both practices are very important in facing drought conditions arising out of climate change.

Mulching: Protecting young horticultural trees during summer is crucial for their survival. Proper mulching avoids frequent watering. Mulch the basin of the plant with dried biomass or crop residues. Mulching needs to be done before the onset of summer. Mulching also suppresses the growth of weeds and prevents evaporation of moisture. During winter, mulch absorbs moisture in the mist. Watering frequency can be reduced to once in a week. This helps in reducing fuel required for the transportation of water to the orchards and also minimizes emissions.

Mixed cropping: Mono cropping drains the nutrients from the soil while mixed cropping replenishes the soil. In the traditional practices, farmers used to grow cereals (finger millet, sorghum, bazra) with legumes (red gram, cow pea, green gram). Cereals draw nutrients from the top soil while the legumes draw nutrients from the deeper layers of the soil. They replenish the top soil with the leaf litter; fix the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil through root nodules. Thus soil fertility is maintained reducing the application of chemical fertilisers.

The Way forward

Mitigating the effects of climate change needs coordinated efforts from the government, farmers, NGOs and the scientific community. Farmers need to be trained and oriented with regard to the effects of climate change and mitigation measures to be adopted.

Support for converting from modern methods to organic methods needs to be extended to more farmers. It has to be extended to one

village in a gram panchayat so that, the village can be demonstrated as a model for the other villages in the gram panchayat.

Support the NGOs and Department to organise exposure visits to the successful organic farms and natural or ecological farms. Sri. Papanna, former MLA, Hunsur, Sri. A.P. Chandrashekhar, Kalalawadi, near Mysore, Sri. Sadashivaiah, M a r a g o n d a n a h a l l i , T i p t u r t a l u k a , Sri. Krishnamurthy, Nelahal, near Tumkur, Prof. Nanjundappa, near Tiptur have successfully adopted natural farming in their coconut gardens.

Support farmers in dry lands to take up agroforestry systems. Planting at least 200 trees per acre should be made mandatory for availing benefits of any government schemes. Planting trees needs to be imbibed as a culture and not by force. This requires strong community mobilization. Here NGOs can play a major role.

Promote tree plantation in common lands, school premises, temple premises, fallow lands, roadside plantations, etc. In villages, involvement of self help groups, youth clubs, school children helps in plantation activities. Depending on the availability of space, plant at least one or two plants in the backyards. Ultimately, it is the trees that are going to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and helps in mitigating climate change effects.

M.N. Kulkarni, Tumkur


National Workshop on Green Economy in Relation to Rural Development

conomies world over, more than ever, have Estarted adopting green development pathways with the realization that social and economic development cannot be continued at the cost of environment and the alternative ways of environment friendly development will have to be increasingly emphasized and promoted. Countries are aiming to transform their economies into Green Economies that are "low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive economies"to be able to achieve more stable and sustainable development.

The transition to Green Economy covers many sectors. It is also seen as a useful strategy to combat growing risk of climate change and includes expansion of green production and markets, reducing depletion of natural resources and increasing reliance on low carbon energy supply. This transition is expected to reduce development risks, reduce cost of production, use the available natural resources optimally, and create opportunities for job creation and local livelihoods in rural areas as well.

The scope of Green Economy is vast and includes essential sectors having relevance even for rural economies such as agriculture, food production, energy generat ion and environmental management. Interestingly, many economic

activities of traditional rural India have intrinsic elements of Green Economy which remain to be understood well.

For a country like India, there are many enablers who facilitate this transition to Green Economy. These include civil society, students, individual experts, local communities, government, private players, policy makers and corporate business houses. There is a need to understand the knowledge, skills, technologies, innovations and best practices that are available with these stakeholders for better integration of Green Economy principles in development efforts.

In the above context, a national level workshop on "Green Economy in Relation to Rural Development" was organized by BAIF with support from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India in Pune from January 29-30, 2014.

More than ninety delegates representing green solution providers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutions participated in the workshop. The one and half day event was split into five technical sessions, namely "Green Technologies and Innovations", "Green Energy Initiatives", "Green Experiences", "Green Farming" and "Green Enablers".

The workshop focused on highlighting the available experiences, technologies, tools and services that help in transition to a low carbon, sustainable, resilient and socially inclusive economic development in the rural context. The deliberations also included the possibility of networking among multiple stakeholders to achieve green goal targets. The workshop has been able to provide a platform for spreading greater awareness about various aspects and constituents of green economy in relation to rural development amongst participants.

Mr. Rakesh Warrier

Mr. G.G. Sohani, President, BAIF was conferred the Praj Maha Intrapreneur Award 2013

under the category “NGOs, Semi Government, Society and Trusts”. The award instituted by

Praj Industries Limited, global leaders in biofuels plants, in association with Symbiosis

Institute of International Business

(SIIB), Pune was conferred on

Mr. Sohani on December 21, 2013 in

Pune at the hands of Mr. Prataprao

Pawar, Chairman of Sakal Media

Group. Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Nuclear

Scientist and former Chairman,

Atomic Energy Commission of India,

Mr. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive

Chairman, Praj Industries and

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Principal

Director, Symbiosis Society were also

present on this occasion. The Maha-

Intrapreneur Award endeavours to recognize individuals with intrapreneurial skills within

companies, NGOs and Government organizations, who have taken up the responsibility of

converting ideas into profitable ventures. The award included a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, a

trophy and a Certificate of Appreciation.

Recognition for BAIF Programmes

7 The BAIF Journal

Gujarat Rural Institute for Socio-Economic Reconstruction, Vadodara (GRISERV) was

conferred the "Golden Jubilee Memorial Gujarat Association for Agricultural Sciences

(GAAS) Award-2013" for i ts

outstanding contr ibut ion to

Improved Agriculture and NRM in

143 talukas, 23 districts and 3528

villages development of Animal

Husbandr y as a support to

sustainable farming". The award was

received by Dr. A.K. Chaurasia,

Programme Director, GRISERV, on

December 23, 2013 at the hands of

Prof. Y.K. Alagh, Chancellor, Central

University of Gujarat at Gujarat

Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad.


ribal Communities are seen as one of the

most deprived and disadvantaged groups Tof our society. Realising their plight,

developmental interventions to benefit the

Scheduled Tribes have been launched by both

public and private institutions. One of the

major areas of such interventions has been

'Skill Building'. With new types of skills it is

possible for them to explore avenues for their

further development. Recognising this need,

"Skill Development of Scheduled Tribe

Communities for Sustainable Livelihood:

Strategy Building Consultation" was organized

on November 11-12 2013 in Pune jointly by

Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government

of India and United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) in partnership with BAIF

which has been recognized as a Centre of

Excellence by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

The Consultation was chaired by the Secretary,

Tribal Affairs, Government of India, Smt. Vibha

Puri Das. The other dignitaries present on this

occasion were the Joint Secretary, Tribal Affairs,

Government of India, Dr. Sadhana Rout,

Principal Secretary, Tribal Development,

Government of Maharashtra, Shri. Mukesh

Khullar among others. The Union Cabinet

Minister for Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj,

Shri. V. Kishor Chandra Deo, chaired the

Concluding Session.

The two-day meeting was attended by more

than 70 participants including Senior Officials

of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of

I n d i a , S tate Tr i b a l D e p a r t m e nt s o f

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan,

A n d h ra P ra d e s h , M a d hy a P ra d e s h ,

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Himachal

Pradesh, Assam and Tripura, Officials of

National Rural Livelihood Mission, UNDP, IFAD,

Skill imparting Institutions in the participating

states, Development Agencies and reputed

Civil Society Organizations.

Focus Areas:

Some of the areas which were identified were:

4Counselling and Confidence Building

Skill Development for Sustainable Livelihood

of Tribal Communities


4Vocational Trainings

4Value Addition/ Price Realization

4Institutional Arrangements/Market Linkages

4Partnerships

4Skill Gap Analysis

Some of the key issues which emerged from the

discussions were:

Ministry of Tribal Development:

ØDevelopment processes in countries like

India should focus on an 'all-inclusive'

approach. STs should be seen as one of the

most important sections of our society with

huge potential for overall development.

ØPotential of the Tribal Communities should

be recognized in terms of the various

existing groups such as women, youth,

children, etc.

ØDevelopment in i t iat ives in Tr ibal

development should be geared towards

s o c i a l i n c l u s i o n a n d e c o n o m i c

empowerment.

ØEach Tribal Community should be treated

differently with different contexts,

locations, culture and needs. A universal

model of development can never be

recommended looking at the existing

diversity.

ØEach State should ideally carry out a

detailed skill need assessment in the given

tribal dominated areas to understand their

specific needs and aspirations. Counseling

processes are highly recommended.

ØSkill building should be seen as an all-

encompassing process which does not only

focus on income generation but also on

awareness generation and decision making

processes. The communities should be

made aware of their Rights and an exposure

towards their decision making abilities is

also recommended.

ØThere should also be a focus on the

promotion of allied sectors like for instance

developing the food processing industry

can serve as an important factor in the value

chain of various products.

ØSkill Building for Tribal Communities should

be designed in such a way that the most

vulnerable sectors in their particular

contexts can be catered to. For instance,

looking at the limited scope of health care

services in Tribal dominated areas, more

focus should be on providing the youth with

skills in terms of healthcare and medicine

practices.

BAIF:

ØIntensive focus should be on the

'aspirational needs' of tribal youth, who

constitute a substantial part of the current

youth-pool in India. Individual assessment

of the needs is very important to

understand the requirements.

ØFocus should be on 'new-skilling' and 'up-

skilling' of various processes. For instances

sectors like traditional handicrafts can be

benefitted to great extent by various

processes of up-skilling the trade, providing

new technologies, etc. On the other hand

new skill building can also help community

members to enter new trades like service

sector, entrepreneurial activities, etc.

ØEach context should be considered to be

substantially different from the other. For

instance, skill building needs in Himachal

Pradesh where there is a low population

density would vary from the needs of states

like Odisha and Chhattisgarh.


ØMapping out the 'need' aspects is

extremely essential. Potent questions like

whether we are working towards creating

skilled 'labourers' or skilled 'entrepreneurs',

depending on the needs of the overall set

up is very important.

ØSkill building should be seen as an integral

part of all ongoing livelihood promotion

programmes. Skill building should be seen

as an additional plus point that will help the

beneficiaries in the long run. For instance,

skills imparted in various stages of the wadi

project such as basin preparation, green

manuring, etc. can be put to use by

individual farmers in other contexts as well.

ØEmphasis should be given on sectors other

than agriculture such as livestock, dairy,

non-farm products, etc. to enhance the

scope of skill building.

United Nations Development Programme:

ØSkill Building for ST Communities should not

be seen as an isolated process but should be

designed in such a way that its benefits are

reaped by individuals as well as families,

communities, etc. A more pro-active work

base is needed with substantial attention

on infrastructure, institutions, social

determinants, etc.

ØFeedback mechanisms in training

programmes are highly recommended as it

helps in the overall assessment of existing

initiatives and acts as a lesson-learning

process which tends to increase the

sustainabil ity and applicabil ity of

subsequent programmes.

ØSkilling programmes which are 'sequenced'

over a period of time can generate a better

success rate as compared to those carried

out as a one-time process. The sequential

nature helps keep up the interest among

the beneficiaries as well as facilitates a

constant feedback mechanism.

Challenges:

lThe scope of value addition is limited

under the present conditions. Each

product obtained by the local tribals has

to pass through middlemen before

reaching the market. This leads to a

greater difference in price realisation.

lAdequate marketing structure for

various MFP is not available. Generally,

the communities tend to sell their

products in the local weekly markets at

nominal prices.

lIn a lot of cases it could be seen that it is

extremely difficult to mobilize the tribal

groups to take up the trainings or to

move out of their locality. In such

situations, counselling can be effective

in association with residential training

centres.

lLanguage is also a major limiting force.

Most of the instructors in the training

institutes do not know the local dialects

which made it difficult to impart skills. It

is necessary to identify and train people

from the community itself as future

instructors.

lCertification of the training programmes

is another challenge. In most cases due

to lack of institutional recognition of the

training programme, it fails to generate

the desired positive impact.


ajasthan Rural Institute of Development RManagement (RRIDMA), an Associate Organisation of BAIF is implementing an integrated rural development programme in semi-arid regions of the state for over 35 years with livestock development as one of its major programmes and with wider replicability aspects. Veterinary dispensaries managed by the State Government in rural areas of the state are located at a distance of 2.5 km from interior areas, creating hardship for the farmers to bring their animals for timely health check up, vaccination and other critical services leading to poor health status of the animals and unbalanced feeding practices. Realising the existing gaps in breeding, feeding and health care services of livestock in remote areas., the BAIF livestock development model which is based on a pro-poor approach, strives to fill up these gaps and serve as a link between the farmer and the State Department of Animal Husbandry. Over the years, with the efficient distribution network established by BAIF, the livestock development model has become very popular among the rural and tribal communities as a reliable source of livelihood in times of crisis and as a tool to generate year-round employment and come out of poverty while facilitating the emergence of a viable milk pocket in the region. Based on the impact of the programme so far on the lives of small and marginal farmers and with a view to strengthen breeding and advisory services to the families while ensuring remunerative employment for rural youth who are keen to engage themselves in rural development, a self-sustainable model popularly known as the “Swarojgari” model has been launched in the operational areas with encouraging response. Presently 142 “Swarojgaris” are operating as para-veterinarians and providing critical doorstep services to the farmers for efficient breeding and management of cattle and buffaloes. As a result, poor quality dairy animals are being upgraded with high genetic quality due to a well established cold chain promoted by scientific professionals at BAIF leading to the emergence of a milk pocket in the region through suitable management practices.

Livestock Development Centre: The basic concept of a livestock development centre is that essential services for breeding in cattle and buffaloes should be available locally within a radius of 10 km from a competent livestock development officer who is the In-charge of the centre and who has received intensive training on the field. With this approach, RRIDMA is ensuring sustainability of the livestock development centre and effective management of the livestock development cold chain.

Programme Strategy

1. RRIDMA approaches the Government of Rajasthan or a Corporate Organization for suitable financial support to operate the centre. Based on the response of the donor agency, funding support is received periodically for supporting the functioning of the livestock development centre. During this phase, based on the type of support received, the centre is popularly known as a Government-sponsored centre, if it is under the scheme of the Government of India, it is known as an SGSY Centre; if it is supported by a voluntary organization, it is known as a NGO centre and if supported by a corporate organization, it is known as a CSR centre.

2. After 5-7 years of operation of the centre, while ensuring critical services to the farmers through the door-to-door model, it is realized that such services need to be provided on a long-term basis for the benefit of small and marginal farmers to enable them to receive good returns from dairy husbandry. In the second phase, the approach is slightly different. RRIDMA submits a new proposal for extension of support to the Centre In-charge of the centre to a suitable sponsoring agency for ensuring sustainability of the programme and assured livelihood to the “Swarojgari”. In this phase, support is planned for the next five years to ensure non-recurring items and essential critical inputs to manage the cold chain. However, the salary of the Centre In-charge is not planned and he receives revenue

Mr. R.S. Sharma


Table 1. Comparative Performance of Model Centre

Model Support Revenue Revenue Need for AI Services Record Owner for break even keeping

SGSY Full support Limited Sponsor NA Complete package Very Good

GOPAL Partial support Yes Swarojgari 80 AI, PD, Calving Fair

Para vet Partial Support Yes Swarojgari 100 AI, Calving Not satisfactory

CSR Fully supported No NA NA Complete package Good

TADD Fully supported No NA NA Complete package Good

MADA Fully supported No NA NA Complete package Good

NGO Fully supported Limited Sponsor NA AI, PD, Calving Good

BAIF All services paid Yes Swarojgari 100 AI, Calving Not satisfactoryModel by Swarojgari

from the service charge paid by farmers. This centre is known as a “Gopal” centre.

3. An enterprising “Gopal” receives substantial revenue at the closing of the Gopal phase. After this phase, the infrastructure and assets are handed over to the community by the donor and budget is provided only for critical recurring inputs such as frozen semen, LN2 containers for the subsequent period of support on the basis of the proposal submitted by RRIDMA. During this phase, the centre is known as a Para vet centre.

4. After Para vet phase, the Swarojgari manages the centre with technical and cold chain support from RRIDMA and pays for various inputs. In this phase, the centre is known as a franchised centre or BAIF centre. This phase indicates that the centre is now a self-sustained centre and the Swarojgari is able to earn a minimum revenue in the range of Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 per month in terms of net income.

Strategy for Tribal Region: In tribal areas, the centre takes more time to achieve self-sustainability due to poor socio-economic status of the community. In such a situation, RRIDMA prefers to establish the centre with the support of the Tribal Area Development Department/ Marginal Area Development Agency for long term association. This centre known as TADD or MADA centre, provides a comprehensive package of management practices up to ten years. After withdrawal of support, the Centre In-charge manages the operations of the centre as a “Swarojgari” in the form of franchise or BAIF centre.

Scaling up of the Model: In the 80's, the first phase of support was received from Rajasthan Cooperative

Dairy Federation with the establishment of four centres in Kota district. This model was rapidly scaled up under SGSY scheme and the centres benefitted subsequently under Phase 1, 2 and 3 as highlighted above. At the time of closure of SGSY scheme, the programme covered 427 centres in 18 districts. In 2004, the Government of Rajasthan also felt the need for replication of this model and decided to open a livestock development centre as Gopal centre or Para vet centre directly under Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the project, thereby providing an opportunity to extend the BAIF approach. The model has generated sustainable employment for Swarojgari after 5-7 years of establishment of the centre.

Conclusion

4The model requires phase-wise development to achieve sustainability. Initial support up to 5 years is necessary. If the programme proceeds to “Gopal” or Paravet phase in new areas directly, sustainability is bound to be affected.

4Revenues should be determined in consultation with the “Swarojgari” based on paying capacity of the local community. There should be a system in place to record the revenue and to give a receipt to farmers.

4Pregnancy diagnosis and Calving report should be ensured from “Swarojgari”.

4The model should be planned keeping the local community in mind and “Swarojgari” is a byproduct of the community. Monitoring should be ensured from the initial stage of the centre as the “Swarojgari” model does not believe in commercialization of the system which is against the mission of BAIF.


UTTAR P

ESH

RAD

Regional News

Remembering Manibhai

R

ANDHRA PADESH Tribute was paid to

Dr. Manibhai Desai by the staff of BAIF Institute for Rural

Development, Andhra Pradesh on November 14, 2013 at Mahabubnagar.

Dr. Sreenath Dixit, Principal Scientist, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Mr. Hussain Babu, Additional Project Director, DWMA and Ms. Mrudula, Additional Project Director, DWMA were the chief guests at this function. Mr. B. Shivaruddrappa, Chief Programme Coordinator, BIRD-AP highlighted the contribution of Manibhai to rural development and traced his journey from his participation in the Quit India Movement to the growth of BAIF. Four farmers

To mark the 20th death anniversary of Dr. Manibhai Desai on November 14,

2013, a meeting was organised in Allahabad in which employees of BIRD-UP Head Office, Raniganj office and Zonal Offices participated. Tribute was paid to Late Dr. Manibhai Desai by offering of flowers and lighting of the lamp by Dr. V.P. Sharma, Programme Director, BAIF and Mr. G.A. Patil, Chief Programme Coordinator. The film 'In the Footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi: The Manibhai Desai and BAIF Story' which highlights the development strategy of BAIF was screened.

Dr. R.R. Singh and Zonal Officers who have been associated with AIF for a long time, shared their experience in working in close association with Manibhai. Many newly joined employees also expressed the far reaching influence Manibhai's

commitment towards the development of rural society had on their decision to join the organisation. Senior Advocate, Mr. Ashok Mehta, who was the Special Guest at the function paid rich tribute to Manibhai and shared information on the prized herd at Urulikanchan – Dharmaraj, the first bull, Jamuna, Gauri, Ranjan, Javeri - cows, Savitri - the first cow to be artificially inseminated and Trueman - the first bull) which played a significant role in strengthening the cattle development programme of BAIF. Dr. Sharma narrated his experiences in working with Manibhai and his positive attitude which was a great boost for the staff. Shri. Patil proposed the vote of thanks and announced that this sort of a meeting would be organized from time to time at the zonal level to enable the staff to imbibe the values of Manibhai.

from Agri Business Development, Livestock Development, Improved Agricultural Practices and Natural Resource Management apart from one best AI Technician for achieving highest insemination in cattle for the year 2012-13 were felicitated. The Best AI Woman technician shared her challenges


and success. The film "In the footstep of Gandhi: The Manibhai Desai and BAIF Story" was screened during the first half of the programme. Dr. Dixit, highlighted the need to work in a stress-free and

relaxed environment for greater productivity while Mr. Hussain Babu shared his experience in visiting BAIF Urulikanchan and influence of Gandhian values in his life.

A high-level Mission comprising of 14 Members of the 14th Finance Commission,

Government of India, visited Jharkhand from January 8 to 10 2014 to finalise the budgetary allocation of the State for 2014-15. The team headed by Dr. Y.V. Reddy, Chairman and Prof. Abhijit Sen, Ms. Sushma Nath and Mr. M.S. Bhatia among others, were hosted by the Chief Minister of the State Shri. Hemant Soren.

To showcase the progress in dairy cattle development, the team visited BAIF's cattle development centre at Harahi in Ranchi. The dignitaries escorted by Mr. Aditya Swaroop, Principal Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Dr. Alok Pandey, Director, Mr. M.P. Singh, Assistant Director interacted with the local farmers some of whom such as Bisheshwar Sahi, Ramesh Gop and a few others described various benefits received from the centre. Regular provision of feed and fodder seeds, Productivity

Enhancement Camps, supplementary nutrition and regular follow up have built the confidence of farmers while raising their income. BAIF officials - Mr. L.R. Singh, Mr. A.L. Yadav, Mr. R.P. Pandey, Mr. Sushant Kumar and Mr. Rajesh Kumar were also present on theoccasion. Mr. Mohan Pandit, Centre-in-charge briefed the dignitaries about the services being provided to farmers and the fact that in Harhi village 80% of the breeding population is covered under the breeding programme of BAIF. The high-level mission was appreciative of the work.

Visit of 14th Finance Commission

BAIF–RRIDMA has recently launched the Saheria Farm Development Programme in

19 villages of Shahabad and Kishanganj blocks of Baran district with the support of Tribal Area Development Department (TADD), Government of Rajasthan. The general objective is to enhance the socio-economic status of Saheria families through eco-friendly resource management focussing on minimization of risk and uncertainty, maintaining regular flow of farm income, increasing profit gradually and maintaining farm productivity, uplifting the socio-economic status of targeted families and building the capacity through a handholding approach.

Based on the Model i.e. Specific, Measurable, Affordable, Replicable and Time Bound (SMART)

model, this farming approach aims at short term income from one acre land and enhancing the commercial viability of the farm. While a part of the plot will be maintained under cash crop such as soybean in Kharif and chick pea in Rabi for rain fed condition, another part will be used for raising fodder crops and a small portion for growing 40 vegetable and horticultural crops with early fruiting. It is planned to construct a small pond called Dabari for effective irrigation and to protect the plantation in summer season with a stone filter located near this pond. This farm model will also include a Goat Unit (at least 1+5male and female), crop insurance and Nadep composting and will be implemented by a team comprising of a Project Leader, Agriculture Officer, Community Organizer and Field Officer.

Saheria Farm Development Model RAJA

STHAN

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ORI SA

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ADHYA P

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A goat rally was organized under Kalyani Integrated Livestock Development Programme in association with the Department of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Government of Odisha on May 22, 2013 at Samantrapali village in Deogarh district under the Goat Development Centre at Samantrapali. The programme was inaugurated by Sri Deviprasad Mishra, Minister Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Resource Development, Housing and Urban Development Government of Odisha. 1500 goats belonging to 700 goat keepers from 10 surrounding villages participated in the programme. The most outstanding goats were awarded first, second and third prizes while consolation prizes were given to 50 other goats.

Smt. Sushama Behera, President Zilla Panchayat Deogarh, Mr. Sanjib Pradhan MLA Deogarh, Sri Julius Lakra, Collector Deogarh, Dr. Satyajeet Nayak SP Deogarh, Dr. Sanat Mishra Chief Executive Officer Orissa Livestock Resources Development Society Bhubaneshwar, Dr. D.N. Shindey Vice President, BAIF, Sri Y.A.Thakur, Chief Programme Coordinator, BAIF, Dr. Bhagwan Das CDVO Deogarh and Dr. Ranjeet Samantray Nodal Officer ARD Department Deogarh, Dr. Tushar C. Mishra VAS Barkot, Dr. Satyabrat Mishra VAS Tileibani, Dr. Shivcharan Singh VAS Reamal, Dr. Ajeet K. Pandey, Project Manager GDP Deogarh, Mr. Pramod

Ghosh Area Officer GDP Deogarh and Mr. Ranjan Bhokta Area Officer GDP Sundergarh were also present on the occasion. Sri Thakur welcomed the dignitaries. Dr. Shindey proposed the vote of thanks.

All the guests highlighted the significance of goat rearing in rural economy and the need to improve goat rearing practices to increase the profitability. The speakers highlighted the activities of Kalyani Goat Development Project like breed improvement by induction of bucks of improved breeds, vaccination, deworming, weight monitoring etc. and how these activities reduce losses and increase earnings from goat rearing activity. They appealed to the villagers to participate in the project and to receive benefit from it.

Mrs. Prema Sahu, a participant of Kalyani Goat Development project shared her experiences. Starting with 5 goats, her flock size reached 12 even after selling 5 goats for Rs. 22,500/-. She has not encountered any mortality of goats in the last two years. Due to induction of Black bengal buck in her flock, the kidding rate had increased and the kids born are healthy. The goats have higher demand in the market and fetch more price than the local goats, she added. She achieved zero mortality in one year. She owes all this to the project interventions, she concluded.

Goat Rally

Madhya Pradesh: Democratising Water Management

In the Tikamgarh district of Bhopal, a total of 24 villages are involved in an

ambitious Integrated Water Resource Management

scheme (IWRM). This takes a holistic approach to supply and demand, taking into account the various different uses – agriculture, animal husbandry,


MAHARASHTRA

industry and domestic purposes – and the impact each of these has on the other. It promotes conservation along with technologies such as micro-irrigation systems and drought-tolerant crop varieties, while also building water harvesting and storage capacity. The programme is implemented by the Society for Promotion of Eco-friendly Sustainable Development on behalf of HUF, in partnership with the Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Development, with the support of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. In each village, members of the community took account of the baseline situation on water and assessed its use for all their needs, forming village watershed committees, which worked with other user groups (known as Samitis) throughout the villages, involving both men and women. Members of the community show a sense of ownership of the structures in the village (such as rainwater harvesters and storage tanks), and are motivated to carry out maintenance work. Women report that they are saving time in fetching water, and that more is now available for drinking, bathing, washing

clothes and carrying out puja. Agricultural productivity has also increased: farmers are now growing wheat, sarson and peas during the Rabi season, which would previously have been too dry. With more work in the fields, villagers are staying at home in the summer, as opposed to travelling in search of new livelihoods, and income levels are up, too.

PIA Feedback: Confidence building among the community was the main issue. Hence it was decided that community members and influential local people both be involved actively from the beginning and in every stage of the project. – S K Pandey, Chief Program Coordinator.

Community Feedback: Community members are particularly pleased with new income earning opportunities. Ms Phulla from Garoli village and Ms Phullabhai from Kudila village each earned a month's wage for their work in the construction of stop dams.

Courtesy: WATER FOR PUBLIC GOOD - Collaborations for a shared future

Hindustan Unilever Foundation, 2013.

A team of senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

comprising of Dr. R.R. Hanchinal, Chairperson, PPV & FR, New Delhi, Dr. R.C. Agarwal, Registrar General and Dr. Ravi Prakash, Registrar, accompanied by Mr. V.B. Dyasa, Chief Programme Coordinator and Mr. Sanjay Patil, MITTRA and Dr. J.S. Desle and Mr. P.S. Takwale from BAIF visited the Crop Germplasm Project on October 20, 2013.

During this visit, the team visited the Central Seed bank at Jawhar campus, Community seed bank, In-situ conservation centres and seed plots of paddy and millets, farmer breeder who was a recipient of Plant Genome Savior Recognition award, crop diversity exhibition and also interacted with the members of the seed committee, farmers and staff.

The team expressed their satisfaction with the conservation, purification and upgradation of crop landraces along with active participation of the community apart from scientific maintenance of in-

situ conservation centres of paddy and millets, capacity of the farmers in participatory seed and varietal selection, maintenance of seed catalogue and documentary evidences through characterization data and suggested that the Institute would like to develop crop germplasm activity at Jawhar as a Model Centre for crop diversity conservation in India and extended invitation to the seed savers' farmer group to participate at the national seed congress in Nagpur in January 2014.

Visit to Crop Germplasm Conservation Programme


GUJARAT

“It was a great pleasure to visit BAIF Development Research Foundation and MITTRA and see the excellent work being carried out for the conservation and protection for the sustainable use of plant genetic resources and their involvement with Jawhar block tribal farming community for saving the farmers' varieties and agro biodiversity of the region. In fact, this organization facilitated the farming community of this region to get Genome

Saviour Community Award and two Genome Saviour Farmer recognitions by PPV & FR. The maintenance of farmers' varieties is rich and formation of seed community banks is worth mentioning. PPV & FR would like to support these activities for outscaling. Congratulations!”

BAIF Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Chaswad in Bharuch district in association with Department of Micronutrient, Anand Agriculture University, Anand, organized a Farmers' Day on 'Importance of Secondary and Micro Nutrients in Agriculture' at Chaswad.

The objective of the programme was to highlight the need for secondary as well as micro nutrients in major crops grown in the region. The results of trials conducted by KVK on application of micronutrients in cotton, rice, soybean and pigeon pea were discussed. Interactive session between scientists and farmers offered an opportunity to the farmers to solve their problems caused by heavy rainfall.

Dr A R Pathak, Vice Chancellor, Navsari Agricultural University and Chief Guest at the function, emphasized the need to adopt recommended package of practices to reduce cost of cultivation, water saving through drip irrigation and fertilizer use based on soil testing. He also suggested crops and varieties to be grown instead of Kharif crops damaged due to flood in September last year. The Guest of Honour, Dr. A.K. Shukla, Project Coordinator, Indian Institute of Soil Sciences, ICAR, Bhopal expressed satisfaction with the progress of the trials in Gujarat and advised farmers to balance soil fertility status to reap maximum production. He highlighted the role of micro nutrients in plant growth and uptake of major nutrients. Dr A.M. Sheikh, Vice Chancellor, Anand Agricultural University, chaired the programme. In his address, he emphasized on environment friendly

agricultural practices to avoid adverse effect on natural resources like soil and water. Dr. Sheikh focussed on improved soil status through crop rotation, green manuring, use of bio fertilizers and organic manure.

Scientists from Anand Agricultural University, Dr. K. B. Kathiria, Director of Research, Dr. P.P. Patel, Director of Extension Education, Dr. K. P. Patel, Dean, Dr. D. M. Korat and Dr. M. M. Pathak, Associate Director of Research, Dr. V. P. Ramani, Officer Incharge were also present as special guests during the event. During the programme, a farmer's pocket diary on importance and management of micronutrients required for plant growth was released and distributed among the farmers. Around 700 farmers, farm women, scientists, representatives from BAIF and line department participated in the programme. Mr. M.M. Patel, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Chaswad, proposed the vote of thanks.

Lalit M. Patil, KVK, Chaswad

Farmers' Day

Dr. R.R. HanchinalChairperson, PPV & FR

Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, New Delhi


AIF in collaboration with International

Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Bimplemented an innovative Goat Development

Project in Dumka district of Jharkhand and

Udaipur district of Rajasthan from June 2010 to

June 2013.

To learn about the good practices promoted by

various project implementation agencies and to

seek policy support for expanding similar goat

husbandry programmes across the state,

Experience Sharing Workshops on Goat

Development were organized in Udaipur and

Ranchi on December 2-3 and 18-19, 2013

respectively.

The Technical Sessions focussed on the following

aspects:

1. Problems, Opportunities and Success Stories

in Goat Development in the region;

2. Scope for improvement in Goat Husbandry

with special focus on breeding, feeding,

disease control and marketing and

3. Policy Interventions and Recommendations.

Udaipur, Rajasthan: The workshop was organized

by BAIF in association with Rajasthan Rural

Institute of Development Management

(RRIDMA), an Associate Organisation of BAIF. The

workshop enlisted the active participation of

Director, Animal Husbandry, Additional Directors,

Joint Directors and several Senior Officials of the

Animal Husbandry Department, Dean, Veterinary

College, Director, MPower Project, AGM,

NABARD, Senior Scientist, CAZRI, a large number

of representatives from various NGOs involved in

Goat Development, BAIF teams from Andhra

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat

and Karnataka, Dr. Avinash Deo, Project

Coordinator, imGoats Project. Dr. Saskia

Hendrickx, Project Coordinator and Dr. V.

Padmakumar, Senior Programme Manager

represented ILRI. The workshop was inaugurated

by the Director, AHD while the Guest of Honour

was Dr. R.K. Nagda, Dean, Veterinary College,

Vallabhnagar. Dr. Narayan G. Hegde, Project

Leader, imGoats Project in India and Principal

Adviser and Trustee, BAIF highlighted the

background and objectives of the workshop.

Strengthening Goat Development

in the Country Experience Sharing Workshops Show the Way


The Director, AHD and his team appreciated the

initiatives of BAIF in goat and cattle development

and announced that goat farmers would receive

all the support required including health camps,

vaccination, deworming, medicines, mineral

mixture, etc. from the Department. The Director,

MPower Project shared that the IFAD-funded

project which had received a two-year extension

particularly for goat development, was being

visited by hundreds of goat keepers and several

batches of Field Guides from this project had

been oriented by BAIF. The Dean - Veterinary

College showed interest in taking up a

collaborative project for technology transfer in

goat development.

Ranchi, Jharkhand: The workshop was organized

by BAIF along with BAIF Institute for Rural

Vocations and Advancement (BIRVA), an

Associate Organisation of BAIF in Jharkhand. The

meeting was attended by 83 participants

including senior officials from Animal Husbandry

Department, Tribal Development Department

and several NGOs. The Director, Animal

Husbandry, Capt. Dr. A.G. Bandyopadhyay was

the Chief Guest while the DGM, NABARD, Ranchi,

Dr. Amare Haileslassie and Dr. Ramkumar

Bendapudi, ILRI, were the Guests of Honour at

the inaugural session. BAIF Chief Programme

Coordinators of Uttarakhand, Bihar, UP and

Orissa with their teams attended the workshop.

Dr. S.B. Gokhale, Dr. K.S. Chapalgaonkar, Dr. V.P.

Sharma, Dr. D.N. Shindey, Dr. R.K. Mahuli and

Dr. Avinash Deo were the Resource Persons.

During these meetings, the following Good Husbandry Practices were identified for promoting in all the goat development programmes.

1. Prior to developing the Proposal, a detailed baseline survey should be conducted which should include information on general status, breed preference, fodder availability and disease mapping to help prepare a strategy for training and action plan.

2. For genetic improvement and production of breeding stock, superior quality does in the field should be identified and selected on the basis of their breed character, body weight at birth, at puberty, kidding interval, average number of kidding, milk yield, etc. The progeny of these does can be groomed as future breeding stock.

3. With regard to buck selection, it was felt that good quality male kids should be identified at the young age of 5-6 months and arrangements should be made to

maintain these young bucks till puberty. A month before shipping the bucks, necessary vaccinations should be carried out to prevent diseases in transit.

4. It is better to introduce a history card for each goat to record pedigree, periodic weight gain, vaccination carried out and the history of illness. This would help in motivating farmers to improve the feeding and also enable the farmers to fetch better price for their goats as breeding stock.

5. With regard to feeding of goats, does must be fed with concentrate during the last 2-3 months of their pregnancy to ensure birth of healthy kids and better performance of the does. Emphasis on feeding of kids with green leaves and concentrate from the age of 15 days should be given. Special feeding of kids with concentrate upto 6 months would help in good health and weight gain.

6. A growth chart highlighting expected monthly weight gain of goats of different breeds must be prepared. The goat keepers

Good Practices in Goat Husbandry


must be sensitized to weigh their growing stock every month and ensure that adequate weight gain is recorded (general gain is 2 kg/month). If the weight gain is poor inspite of good feeding, they must be advised to refer to a veterinarian to check the health of such goats. Goat keepers should be advised to sell off the goats which are not gaining weight inspite of good feeding and replace with better quality animals.

7. It was observed that many of the crop residues such as maize stalks and wheat bhusa are not consumed by goat. Hence, special trials must be conducted to improve the palatability of available agri-by-products and crop residues. Field demonstrations on feeding goats using locally available feed, should be an integral part of the programme. A grinder for crushing leguminous pods and a hand-operated mobile chaff cutter may be kept at the cluster which could be borrowed by the goat keepers.

8. Periodic goat camps should be organized to address health care issues other than deworming as this is being done regularly by our field guides. This will help in establishing close linkage with AHD and take up disease mapping in the region while controlling the diseases.

9. Emphasis on herd size and regular culling of inferior animals must be given.

10. Along with goat husbandry practices, these groups should also be engaged in micro savings and micro-credit, and subsequently explore the possibility for linking with financial institutions. Each doe requires concentrate worth Rs. 500-600 during the last 2-3 months of pregnancy. Such money can be borrowed by goat keepers to ensure better feeding. Credit for preventing distress sale should also be provided. There is a special scheme in NABARD, which can support goat keepers' group formation and financing.

11. Market survey must be carried out and a suitable strategy should be prepared right at the inception of the project. Farmers should be exposed to market conditions and prices right from the beginning which can motivate them to take care of their animals.

12. Periodic training, once in six months should be organized for Field Guides with the support of local Government Veterinary Doctors to facilitate cordial relations and to avail technical support whenever required.

13. As there is an opportunity for goat groups to take part in the NRLM Programme, the groups should be developed as per the guidelines laid down by NRLM.

BAIF has established the

for promoting sustainable livelihood in rural India.

We invite generous donors to support this worthy cause by associating

with us as our Patrons and Associates.

You can become our Patron by contributing over Rs. 25 lakhs and

our Associate by contributing over Rs. 10 lakhs.

Dr. Manibhai Desai Endowment Fund

PATRONS AND ASSOCIATES OF BAIF:

A CALL FOR PARTNERSHIP

~mE’$Ûmam {dH${gV H$m¶©H«$‘

Under the Jana Utthan Project

implemented in Nandurbar district

of Maharashtra covering livestock,

wadi and improved agriculture,

the People's Organisations

promted under the Project have

played a major role in ensuring

sustainable livelihood to the

families. The dairy cattle

development programme has

transformed the lives of the

families who are enjoying enhanced

income and better quality of life.

Nandurbar DudhgangaA Film on Milk Collection and Marketing by Women's Organisation

Registration with R.N.I., Registration No.: 39839/82

mFro the

Bo k helfo S

Rush Your Orders to [email protected]

Pages 216, Price: Rs. 100/-

The book summarises the Approach of

BAIF in providing food security and

sustainable livelihood to the rural poor

especially through management of

natural resources. Spread over 16

chapters, the book covers the rural

development initiatives of Mahatma

Gandhi and subsequently, the

programmes initiated by the

Government of India and various

Non-Government Organisations

across the country.

It further highlights the need for

adopting a holistic approach with

multidisciplinary programmes to

address all the weaker sections of

the society based on skills and

resources they possess and finally,

the Gandhian philosophy of

empowering the communities

particularly women, spirit of

ownership (Swadeshi), selfless

dedication and service,

transparency and modesty with bottom-to-top approach,

the most critical factors influencing the success. The book also emphasizes on the need

to provide solutions to specific problems at the micro-level.

Prof. M.S. Swaminathan has written a Foreword for the book, endorsing the practical

approach to achieve the goals with multidisciplinary agro-based development

programmes.

The book can serve as a reference manual for Government and Non-Government

Organisations engaged in food security, natural resource management and rural

development across the country.

New Title

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