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FIELDWORK SEGMENT

PRM 2013-15

A Theme Paper/ Faculty Participant Collaborative Research (FPCR)

Agriculture: Risks & Challenges

Based on Studies in # 2 Villages

Village: Bhargawan; District: Satna; State: Madhya Pradesh

Village: Dewlaha; District: Satna; State: Madhya Pradesh

--------------------------------

Submitted by:

Ishant Chandra Saxena (34071)

Shobhit Mathur (34101)

Faculty Guide:

Prof. Atulan Guha

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the FWS of the

Post Graduate Programme in Rural Management

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND 2013

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The fieldwork segment at DeenDayal Research Institute at Chitrakoot (M.P.) was a great

learning experience for us. This was the first time we stayed in a village. We would like to take this

opportunity to thank all those people who helped us during our stay in village to study various

aspects of the village life.

We are extremely grateful and indebted to IRMA and our field work coordinator Prof.

Asmita Vyas who helped us in all initial preparations before our stay started in village.

We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our host organization DeenDayal

Research Institute (DRI), for facilitating our stay in the village and for the valuable inputs that they

provided us throughout our study. We also thank our reporting officer Mr. Vineet Shrivastava and

Mr. Mahendra Namdeo and all the other staff of DRI for their assistance. Guidance provided by head

of the organization Mr. Bharat Pathak was invaluable.

The guidance provided by Prof. Atulan Guha for creation of this report helped us fully

articulate different aspects of the village.

We are indebted to the people of Bhargawan and Dewlaha for their co-operation and support

throughout our study. All of them helped us immensely during our surveys. Special thanks to all the

scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Majhgawan M.P.) for their invaluable inputs.

Ishant Chandra Saxena

Shobhit Mathur

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ABSTRACT

This theme-paper is a result of collaborative study which we undertook in two villages of Satna

district in Madhya Pradesh. Both these villages were economically and socially backward, with

limited external developmental intervention. Predominant caste-category, in both these villages,happens to be Tribals mainly Gond tribe.

In these villages we have attempted to explore the agricultural practices prevalent in the village

and the rationalities of the villagers behind it, in context of the continuing traditional agriculture

practices. Also our main focus as part of this theme paper was to identify and understand the

risks and challenges of agriculture which is the primary occupation of these villages. A common

observation in our study was that the villagers face a variety of risks and challenges whether it is

climatic fluctuations, drought or the attack of wild animals or be it the traditional destructivecustom of Aira/Anna pratha. We were also interested in finding out about what part of the youth

present in the village find this particular occupation interesting. But it was disheartening to find

out that the majority of the youth is not interested in this occupation and those of all who is

involved in this profession was either compelled due to lack of resources or had very minimal or

no choices for himself. Village youth is generally interested in daily wage occupations which

provide returns quickly and do not involve hidden risks and losses as attached to agriculture.

However the rural youth are not to be blamed for their low aspiration level because of the

numerous risks and challenges and marginal returns associated with agriculture in the region.

In order to get a quality output from our study we have rather concentrated our findings to only

two villages in Chitrakoot region. Hence, this report extensively deals with the problems of these

two villages only but due to similar geographical contours and climate, the results can be

extrapolated and can be generalized for the Chitrakoot region. In this report we have tried to

quantify the theme by involving case studies of certain farmers from our villages Bhargawan and

Dewlaha and provide a conclusion based on the calculations for testing the economic viability of

the farmers involved. Since the majority of the farmers of the village are practicing subsistence

farming thus the farming practices were inefficient and only for self sustenance and were not

contributing towards either for socio-economic upliftment or even for any asset creation. Wehave attempted to base our inferences completely on the findings of our study tools and tried to

be entirely impartial in our approach. Since, we had very rare experience of living in such

villages thus it was easy for us to be unbiased.

The village conditions were almost similar in both the villages thus the conclusions drawn have

been combined and generalized.

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Table of Contents

1.Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1

2. Objective ................................................................................................................................................... 1

3. Scope of Study .......................................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Village Profile ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Bhargawan ............................................................................................................................................ 2

Dewlaha ................................................................................................................................................ 3

3.2 Area of Interest ................................................................................................................................... 4

4. Methodology Adopted .............................................................................................................................. 4

4.1 Methods/Techniques ........................................................................................................................... 4

4.2 Work Plan ........................................................................................................................................... 5

4.3 Sources of Data ................................................................................................................................... 5

4.4 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 5

5. Agriculture ................................................................................................................................................ 5

5.1 Current Scenario ................................................................................................................................. 5

5.2 Risks and Challenges in Agriculture................................................................................................. 11

5.3 Identification of Risks and Challenges with respect to the Villages ................................................. 11

5.4 Suggestions ....................................................................................................................................... 18

6. Data Presentation & Analysis ................................................................................................................. 19

6.1 Bhargawan ........................................................................................................................................ 20

6.2 Dewlaha ............................................................................................................................................ 26

7. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 31

Based on the cases discussed above following inferences can be drawn with respect to the observed

risks and challenges in the villages: ........................................................................................................ 31

8. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) .............................................................. 32

7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 32

7.2 Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 32

7.3 Why Bhargawan was chosen?........................................................................................................... 32

7.4 NICRA Interventions ........................................................................................................................ 33

7.4.1 Natural resource Management ................................................................................................... 33

7.4.2 Improving Soil Fertility ............................................................................................................. 33

7.4.3 Improving Crop Production ....................................................................................................... 33

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7.4.4 Institutional Interventions .......................................................................................................... 34

7.5 Coping Strategies suggested by KVK, NICRA ................................................................................ 35

7.6 Outcomes and Results ....................................................................................................................... 37

8. References ............................................................................................................................................... 38

9. Annexure .................................................................................................................................................... i

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Households and Population Distribution based on poverty

Table 2: Agriculture land usage pattern

Table 3: Irrigation sources

Table 4: Irrigation equipments details

Table 5: Ground water usage details

Table 6: Agriculture production across seasons

Table 7: Cash Crops

Table 8: Historical Trends in rainfall (2008-2012)

Table 9: New varieties of crop introduced

Table 10: Custom hiring centre details

Table 11: Yield comparison before and after NICRA intervention

Table 12: Coping strategies proposed by KVK, NICRA

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Population distribution based on caste

Figure 2: Land holding based distribution

Figure 3: Rainfall pattern year wise and number of rainy days

Figure 4: Crop calendar

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LIST OF ANNEXURES

Annexure 1: Survey Questionnaire

Annexure 2: Village Location

Annexure 3: FocusedGroup Discussion Details

Annexure 4: Interview Questionnaire with Dr R. S. Negi (Project Director, NICRA)
http://-/?-http://-/?-

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1.

Introduction

Agriculture has been a way of life and continues to be the single most important livelihood of the

Indian masses. Agriculture contributes about 17% to the national GDP, feeds 1 billion peopleand employs nearly 50% of the population. But the growth rate of agriculture sector still does not

match the growth rate of Indian economy.

Indian agriculture is characterized by agro-ecological diversities in soil, rainfall, temperature,

and cropping system. Also Irrigation water is becoming a scarce commodity thus proper

harvesting and efficient utilization of water is of great importance. Hence there are numerous

factors influencing the agriculture and leading it to an unattractive occupation even for the

farmers. Thus the issues or the problems associated with these factors can be defined as the risks

and challenges for the agriculture and are often attached to the losses. Hence there is an urgent

need to study and address these challenges to make agriculture a viable occupation for the

farmers.

This study has been done keeping the same theme as context in background and it tries to list

various risks and challenges faced by the farmers of Bhargawan and Dewlaha villages in Satna

district of Madhya Pradesh, India. This theme paper also tries to explain the causes with the help

of quantitative techniques and illustrations with few suggestions for the problem concerned.

2. Objective

The objective of our study during village field segment was to observe and analyze agricultural

activities with respect to our village and the issues or problems involved.

This study facilitated us in understanding

1. The risks & challenges involved in agriculture and how these affect the viability of

agriculture as a source of income and food generation for the farmers.

2. Also to understand the economic viability of the agriculture and the returns received by

the HHs.

Risks: Risks in agricultural context refer to the problems/situations which have a probability

associated with them and cannot be controlled. There is always a level of certainty/uncertaintyassociated with the problem under consideration. Risks to farmers often results in income

fluctuations and other losses.

Challenges: Challenges in agriculture can be defined as the crisis/difficulties associated with the

profession of farmers which can be minimized or eliminated by planning and implementation of

area specific techniques or methods as preventive/corrective steps.

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3. Scope of Study

Our scope of study is confined to the two villages viz. Bhargawan and Dewlaha but can be

generalized for the region surrounding Chitrakoot in District Satna of Madhya Pradesh becauseof similar climatic and economic conditions existing in the area.

3.1 Village Profile

Bhargawan

Bhargawan village is located between Satna and Chitrakoot. It is situated at an offshoot of 4 kms

from the main road. Bhargawan is divided into 5 tolas viz. Bhargawan tola, Kakadaha tola, Ahari

tola, Khadar tola and Lanka tola with a total population of 543.

Table 1

Households and Population Distribution based on poverty

Total Population 543

No. of Households 85

No of Houses 45

No of BPL card holders (households) 54

No of AAY card holders 15*Source: - Gram Panchayat, Bhargawan.

The village population primarily consists of Gond tribe which constitutes around 70 % of thetotal population as visible from the following chart. Other two castes present are the Brahmins

and Yadavs.

Figure 1

Population distribution based on caste

*Source- Gram Panchayat, Bhargawan.

69%

26%

5%

Tribal(Gonds)

Other Backward

Classes(Yadav's)

General(Brahmins)

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Primary occupation of the villagers is agriculture with only 2% practicing any other occupation

like animal husbandry, carpentry and teaching. During our surveys and various interactions it

was observed that 80 % of the farmers are small or marginal and they farm for self-sustenance

i.e., can produce only for their survival. Thus in this particular village agriculture is not an

alluring profession and does not assist in asset creation for the HH. Total cultivated area

available for farming in the village is 151.56 Ha.

Figure 2

Land Holding based distribution

*Source: KVK Satna

Dewlaha

Dewlaha is a village in Majhgawan Tehsil in Satna District of Madhya Pradesh State, India. It

belongs to Rewa Division. Dewalaha is located 44 KM towards North from District head

quartered in Satna, 456 KM from State capital Bhopal.

Dewalaha village is surrounded by forests on North, South and Eastern side and hills on Western

side. The hills in the west are a part of the Sahyadari mountain range which is spread across

central India. The nearest road to Dewlaha passes adjacent to the hills. This road, called PahadiTolaconnects the District Headquarters of Satna and the popular tourist city of Khajuraho. The

eastern side is connected by a kacha road to the Majhgawan Block, under which Dewlaha is

listed.

Dewlaha has a population of 974 persons, which includes 477 men and 497 women. Hindi is the

most commonly spoken language in Dewlaha.

1%

34%

46%

17%

2%

Landless(0 Ha)

Marginal(10 Ha)

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The economy of Dewlaha is primarily agrarian with more than 80% families involved in

agriculture.

3.2 Area of Interest

Our area of interest in this study will focus on following questions:

a. What are the risks and challenges faced by the farmers in practicing agriculture as a

profession?

b. Can these risks and challenges be quantified?

c. How much loss does the farmer bear due to these issues?

d. Is this profession equally rewarding when compared to the efforts put?

e. The output of cost-benefit analysis for farmer.

The study of these questions will help us in identifying the issues involved and then these results

can be generalized for the particular region of study.

4. Methodology Adopted

This field work segment for writing theme paper is designed to be carried out over ten weekscomprising 8 weeks of field work and 2 weeks of data analysis and writing. The subject matter of

concern for this study was the risks and challenges faced by the villagers in their primary

occupation i.e., agriculture and their perception of it.

4.1 Methods/Techniques

Following techniques were deployed to get a clear understanding of the topic:

1. Transect Walks

2. Informal Discussions

3. Focus Group Discussions

4. Stratified Random Sampling

5. Structured Questionnaire Interviews

6. Documents available with village panchayat, KVKs & DRI

7. Data Analysis

Total Population 974

No. of Households 354No of BPL card holders 161

No of AAY card holders 64

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4.2 Work Plan

Weeks 1 to 4: Identification and mapping of village sites for understanding and getting know-

how of the agricultural practices prevalent in the village through unobtrusive observations,

informal discussions and transect walks.

Weeks 5 to 8: Collection of data according to a regular stratified random sampling schedule,focus group discussions, structured interviews and data entry.

Weeks 9 & 10: Analysis of the data collected on field and documenting the inferences &

conclusions.

4.3 Sources of Data

1. Primary Source of Data:

The primary sources of data collection include questionnaire surveys, focus group

discussions, unobtrusive observation and structured interviews.

2.

Secondary Source of Data/Literature Survey:The secondary sources of data collection include gram panchayat records, KVK &

NICRA documents and Samaj Shilpi Dampati

4.4 Data Analysis

The data collected from the above sources is tabulated and analyzed to get an understanding of

the theme and the practices concerning agriculture in the region specific in context of the risks

and challenges faced by the farmers. This analysis also identifies the existing gaps and tries to

study a pattern/trend existing and to generalize these results for the masses of the village.

5. Agriculture

5.1 Current Scenario

Bhargawan

Agriculture is the primary source of occupation for 98% of village households in Bhargawan.

But agriculture in the form of subsistence farming is practiced i.e., only for sustenance and not

for profitability or asset creation for the household. Total cultivated area for farming under

Bhargawan revenue area is 151.56 Ha. Some Villagers though have cultivable land, prefer lettingtheir land to other farmers on agreed terms of repayment in cash or kind whereas other landless

farmers either sell their labor to other farmers or practice farming on others lands for which rent

is to be paid in kind or cash at the time of harvest. Following is the operational holding

distribution of agricultural land available in the village area.

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Table 2

Agriculture land usage pattern

This village has been prone to

and makes it difficult for the f

which is dependent on monsoon

It can be observed from the fol

decade.

Figure 3

Rainfall pattern year wise and n

Agricultural land use Area (

Culturable wasteland 18.65

Pasture Land 21.04

Rainfed area 124.34

Net Irrigated Area 27.22

Gross Irrigated Area 39.22

Gross Cultivated Area 132.76

Total Cultivated Area 151.56

Cropping Intensity % 87.59

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

2000 2001 2002 200

Rainfall(m

m)

6

*Source: KVK Satna

eather fluctuations and thus the rainfall also

rmer to predict the rain and hence the outco

.

owing graphs that there have been serious fl

mber of rainy days for Bhargawan & Dewlaha

5% 6%

34%

7%11%

37%

Agricultural Land

pattern

C

P

R

N

GA

G

A

a)

3 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Year

R

aries every year

e of his harvest

ctuations in past

se

ulturable

asteland

asture Land

ainfed area

et Irrigated Area

ross Irrigatedrea

ross Cultivated

rea

ainfall (mm)

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*Source: KVK Satna

Bhargawan being a rain fed village and affected by these fluctuations in rain also utilizes

irrigation facilities available. But only 25.87% of total irrigated land is cultivated through variousirrigation sources and equipments as can be observed.

Dewlaha agriculture being rainfed is affected by rainfall fluctuations , and hence in addition to

rainfall , watersheds , hand pumps and community wells have been constructed in the village .

Table 3

Irrigation sources

Sources of Irrigation Number Area % of Irrigated Land

Tanks Nil -- --

Open Wells 9 6 15.29

Bore Wells 3 10 25.49

Lift Irrigation 1 23.22 59.2

Other Sources(River) 0 0 0

Total 39.22

25.87(of total cultivable land)

Table 4

Irrigation equipments details

Irrigation Equipments Description

Pump-sets(Electric Motor) 01

Defunct rain-water harvesting structures in the village 02

Drip systems 04

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

RainyDays

Year

Rainy Days

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Table 5

Ground water usage details

Groundwater availability and use

Depth of Water table in bore wells 250 Feet

Decrease of water table over past 10 years 6 Feet

Quality of Water Safe*Source- KVK Satna

Water availability in ground water table is rare and thus the villagers are not interested in digging

bore wells or wells for irrigation because the success ratio has been very less in previously

carried out ventures. Thus they are also reluctant in availing the facility of the government

scheme which promises to pay back the cost incurred in digging well if its a success and also

after failure in digging, it renders the ground useless.

Interesting part: How Irrigation was started?

Initially Bhargawan was home to only destitute Gond tribe who was totally dependent on

farm produces and were petrified of any kind of inhabitation. They tell numerous stories of

how they used to run upon seeing any vehicle which is an indication of how late they gained

awareness about any kind of technology. They were dependent upon forests because the land

available there is rocky and barren, in sense that the soil layer present is very thin and thus

has very little water retention capacity because of which agriculture becomes a tough job to

do. They started agriculture to meet their food requirements but were heavily dependent on

rain. The villagers understood the socio-economic value of agriculture and identified the

problem as scarcity of life-saving water and unavailability of irrigation thus in 1998 they

started their search of water. They knew of a seasonal nallah nearby but the problem with the

nallah was that it was around 2kms from the village so they didnt know how to make use of

that. They pondered and came up with an idea of changing its route and thus started their

laborious work with several spades and shovels. The work was proving to be futile but the

then District Collector Lt. T. Dharmarao intervened and facilitated with his army of

engineers in setting up a complete pumping station and irrigation channels worth Rs. 6 lakhs

for which government gave 50% grant. This loan was granted to a group of 15 farmers who

spearheaded this operation. But these farmers having no stable income were unable to paythe residual loan amount of 3 lakhs plus the interest charged thus invented a unique idea to

lease the loan to another big farmer from the same village wholl be responsible for the

repayment of loan and the maintenance of irrigation resources deployed and in return will

charge Rs. 60 per hour from the farmer utilizing the resource. This facility was made

available to each and every farmer of the village with priority given to the group of farmers

responsible for this operation. And hence began the story of successful agriculture in this

villa e.

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Various integrated Watershed programs have also been implemented in collaboration with

MGNREGA which is an ongoing government scheme which provides hundred days of labor

when the member of BPL family applies for work. Under this project various watershed

structures like boulder dams, check dams have been created to preserve flowing water and water

recharge. This has lead to following outcomes

Water conservation and optimum utilization of rain water

Water holding capacity has increased

Sustainable crop production

Appropriate utilization of available resources

Availability of safe drinking water

Finally welfare of socio-economic conditions of the farmers

Bhargawan is primarily an agricultural village. Crop rotation is practiced with crops grown intwo seasons i.e., Rabi and Kharif for which major crops is paddy (rice) and wheat respectively

with certain other variety of crops.

Table 6

Agriculture production across seasons

Crops Area (Ha) Av. Productivity (Q/Ha)

Paddy 34 10.12Pegionpea 12.36 4.75

Jowar 13.5 5.73

Wheat 37.1 9.75

Barley 1.8 4.78

Chickpea 20.6 6.79

Lentil 2.4 3.96

Sesame 0.4 2.6

Mustard 0.6 1.25*Source: Surveys & KVK Satna

The production cycle of these agricultural crops can be better understood with the help of crop

calendar which highlights the sowing season, transplanting season and the harvesting season

clearly.

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Figure 4

Crop calendar

Where, S Sowing season T Transplanting season H Harvesting season

Nowadays with the intervention of KVKs some farmers are also trying to cultivate their lands

with horticultural crops and fruits for their need fulfillment on experiment basis and sometimes

also as a cash crop.

Table 7

Cash Crops

Horticultural Crops Av. Productivity (kg/Ha)

Potato 8350

Onion 12500

Horticultural Crops-Fruits No of Plants

Mango 52

Guava 07

Mahuwa 21

Aonla 10

Others 54

Crops/month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Paddy S T H

Pegionpea H S

Jowar S H

Wheat H S

Chickpea H S

Lentil S H

Sesame S H

Mustard H S

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5.2 Risks and Challenges in Agriculture

To understand the risk and challenges we decided to study the entire chain of events in a farmingcycle from start till end. Thus we divided our study of risks and challenges into 2 parts

a) Backward linkages Study of the backward linkages in agriculture intends to study the risks

and challenges faced by the farmer in the farming cycle from start up to the harvesting stage.

This includes the following activities:

1) Ploughing (knowledge / machinery/cost/weather etc)

2) Seeds purchase/preparation (market / knowledge/cost etc)

3) Sowing (labour/weather /instruments etc)4) Fertilizers (cost/labour/market etc)

5) Irrigation (water availability/labour/pumps etc)

6) Deweeding (labour/intensity )7) Pesticides/Insecticides (cost/labour/market etc)

8)

Harvesting (instruments/labour/weather etc)

b) Forward Linkage-- This involves study of farm related activities post harvesting till market.

These activities include:

1) Post harvest storage

2) Labour to carry the farm produce from farm to other places

3) Processing of farm produce (threshing/winnowing etc)4) Transportation

5) Market access

6)

Market rates

5.3 Identification of Risks and Challenges with respect to the Villages

1) Ploughing:

Ploughing in our villages was originally done by wooden plough driven by ox. But

gradually with lesser availability of labour, farmers were forced to start using tractors.

The irony now is that on one hand ox driven harvesting is not feasible, on other hand

tractor harvesting is ill-affordable by the farmers, thus placing the farmers in an

uncomfortable situation.

Main problems faced by farmers regarding ploughing are as follows

Time of ploughing Many farmers were not aware of the correct time to plough the

farm. Due to delayed or advanced ploughing, soil moisture content turned out to be either

higher or lower than the adequate moisture levels. The desired time for ploughing in the

village was considered to be soon after first rain, but this was not followed by many

farmers.

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Availability of Tractor Ploughing in our villages was done through both Bullock and

Tractor.

Generally the small scale farmers used bullocks for ploughing, but the medium and small

scale farmers used tractor for ploughing. Here we observed while interviewing many

farmers that availability of tractor was a major obstacle in timely ploughing of the field.

Since most of the farmers could not afford tractors, they had to hire tractor for ploughing

their field. Since many farmers used to wait for the same tractor to plough their field, the

smaller farmers were mostly the last ones to have tractor in their fields, resulting in

delays of as long as 8-10 days from the desired date of ploughing .

High Rent of Tractor

Ploughing Rates for tractor, when taken on rent turned out to be quite high .i.e. Rs 500

per tractor hour approx. Average time taken per acre is 1.5 hr approximately, Rs 750

approx per acre. This turned out to be quite high for the medium and small scale farmer.In order to have a good yield, at least 3 ploughing are required before sowing is done.

Due to high cost of tractor, small and medium farmers mostly did 1 or 2 ploughing only,

thus loosing potentially higher yield.

2) Seeds purchase/preparation :

Source: There were multiple sources for seeds in our villages, mainly the following:

- Market

- Village Farmers Society

-

Seeds preserved from last year harvest

- Seeds exchanged with another farmer

- Krishi Vigyan Kendra

Most of the farmers preferred to use the seeds preserved from previous year or

exchanged seeds with other farmers, due to lower costs involved. But they did not

realize that continuous use of seeds from previous years gradually led to lower crop

yields .Hence while the input costs reduced, but the potential gains were lost.

Seeds in market were costly and most of the farmers did not buy from market.

Farmers society did not provide seeds in necessary quantity, so farmers did not buy

from the society too.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Many farmers bought seeds from the KVK in Majhgawan.

KVK Majhgawan had a transparent policy of seed distribution. The quality of seeds

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was also much better than other sources. Hence many farmers preferred KVK seeds

over other sources, though this was costlier than the market rates. But KVK

Majhgawan was also not able to meet the complete requirements of all the farmers of

the area.

Most common wheat seed variety bought by the farmers GPW, which was available

in the market at Rs 3000/quintal.

Quality/Type/Breed

Most of the farmers were unaware of the quality, type and breed of the seed. Their

main focus used to be around per acre yield from the given quantity of seeds .While

they preferred higher productivity seeds, farmers were not aware/were not told that

each variety of seed needed different amount of water and has a different time for

harvest. This led to under/over irrigation and early/delayed harvest thus affecting the

quality and quantity of output.

Seed Treatment To prevent problems of pests and to increase yields, its generally

recommended to treat the seeds of each crop i.e. paddy, wheat etc. Seed treatment

involves soaking the seeds in different chemicals depending on the type of seed. This

preventive measure was not followed by the farmers.

Reduced Subsidy: Due to the recent reductions in subsidy for seeds by the

governments, farmers have to pay much higher price for purchasing seeds from the

market. Hence the prefer to use the older seeds from previous harvest.

3) Sowing

Time of sowing: Many farmers did not focus on the seed specifications including the

right time to sow the seed. This they sowed the seeds earlier/ later than the desired time

and harvested earlier/later than the desired time, which again affected the quality and

quantity of output.

Method of sowing:

Seed Density: Most of the farmers sowed more seeds per acre than required and at a very

close distance due to the fear of seed failure. This close sowing led to competition among

roots for soil nutrients and led to poorer growth of the plants.

Seed Drill: To ensure proper moisture cover and nutrient supply, depth of sowing is also

essential. This crucial factor is generally ignored by the farmers. To facilitate correct and

fast depth of sowing, Seed Drill Tractor is available for rent, but due to the high costs

involved, farmers avoid seed drill in these villages .

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4) Wild Animals

Geographical location of the villages is such that the villages boundary the hills of

adjacent Sahayadri Mountain range. As a result there is a regular incursion by wild

animals in the farmlands, thus causing significant damage to standing or intermediate

crops.

5) Rainfall & Irrigation

The villages under consideration fall in drought declared district of Satna. Hence, clearly

water scarcity due to inconsistent and limited rainfall is a major challenge for all farmers.

Over past 4-5 years, rainfall in these areas was very limited, which affected the crops

negatively. This year when the rainfall was in excess, on one hand it increased the

productivity of main crops wheat and paddy while on the other hand it also caused

destruction of other crops like sesame seeds, soybean, etc.

Table 8

Historical Trends in rainfall (2008-2012)

Historical Trend 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Dry spell during Kharif > 10

days

1 2 1 2 1


days

1 2 1 1 0


days

NA 2 1 0 NA

Intensive spell > 60 mm a

day

3 7 4 8 4

*Source- KVK Satna

The above table gives a clear picture of the irregularities and the variations of the rain

over past few years.

Water requirement of seed: Many high yielding seeds of paddy and wheat specifically

required more than normal water. Farmers did not focus on this aspect while buying the

high yielding seeds. As a result the seeds were left under irrigated, and the crop was

much lesser in quantity and quality than needed.

Water availability was reported to be the main challenge in the survey of farmers. The

district Satna, where our villages were located was declared drought hit last year. While

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many crops needed 3-4 irrigations. They were provided only 1-2 irrigations due to high

cost of pumping (diesel rates were Rs 50 per litre) and lesser availability of water.

Due to rocky soil of the area, the water retention capacity of the soil was very less, as a

result most of the rain water ran off the farm and soil moisture was less .

Groundwater level in the area was not high (farmers did not know the exact depth). But it

was told that multiple futile attempts had been made to dig borewells in the villages and

now farmers not interested in further attempts.

Motor issues while pumping water from the water source to the farm were reported by

few villagers. The motors were provided with subsidy to the farmers, but the original

copper wiring in the motors was replaced by the silver aluminium wiring which was

damaged very frequently due to long motor runtimes. The repair costs affected many

farmers and they were ready to buy slightly costlier but sturdier motors in place of thecurrent motors.

Watershed programs had been successfully constructed in the village .Since the

construction of watersheds many families had benefitted from, but still following were

the main problems faced with watershed structures:

a) Nearness to some farms and excess distance from other farms resulting disputes with

other farmers and water stealing.

b) Lack of water in watershed structures post January due to long dry spell and

evaporation.

6) Small Land Holdings--

Due to small land holdings, the net output of the farmers is very low, which does not

enable them to bargain in the market and thus reinvest significantly in farming.

7) Fertilizers

The use of fertilizer in our villages is very limited. Only Urea and DAP are used here.

Rates of Urea: Rs. 300 per sack of 50kg

Rate of DAP is Rs 1250 per quintal.

Lack of awareness of benefits of fertilizer resulted in their limited use.

Cost of fertilizer was the main reason for lower use of fertilizer in the area.

Farmers did not have the correct idea about the dose of fertilizer per acre; this led the

farmer to apply fertilizer in both excess and limited quantity.

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8) Pesticides/Insecticides

These were used in very limited quantity. Pesticide sprays were not done as a preventive

measure, but only in case of offset of any plant disease.

Average rate of pesticides was Rs 125 per acre including labour.

9)

Harvesting

Time of Harvest: Most crucial aspect of harvesting is the time of harvesting. Many

farmers were not aware of the correct time of harvesting their crop and as a result

harvested the crop pre maturely. The identification of correct harvest time is done by

observing the colour of top edge of the paddy/wheat. The right shade of yellow indicates

time to harvest the crop, but due to hurry of taking the product to market and lack of

knowledge, farmers harvested the crop prematurely.

Means of Harvesting: There were no machines available for harvesting in our villages.

Since most of the farmers were small scale or medium scale farmers, and had small landholdings, they could not afford to buy machinery for harvesting and practically a

harvesting machine did not make sense due to small land holdings. Most of the farmers

harvested their crops themselves or by hiring labour for harvesting. Manual harvesting

generally took 1-2 mandays per acre in our areas.

Labour: Labour requirement before harvest is at multiple stages, including

(a)Ploughing

(b)Deweeding

(c) Sowing

(d)

Transplanting (in case of paddy)(e) applying fertilizer and pesticide

(f) monitoring the crop against damage from animals

(g) irrigation

(h)Harvesting

Due to high labour charges i.e. Rs 150 to 200 per manday, many farmers try to do

their labour work themselves.

Aira Pratha (Open Grazing problem): Villages of Satna District including ours were

severely affected due to open grazing practice followed by the farmers of the area. As

per this practice, cows and bulls were left loose from June to December of each year

to graze. This resulted in loss of standing or intermediate crop. Farmers reported

possible gains of 10-15% in absence of Aira pratha .

Main reasons observed for this practice were:

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(a)Since this practice is started with the onset of Naga Panchami, a religious

occasion, its difficult to convince the farmers not to promote open grazing due to

involvement of religious sentiments

(b)Low yielding livestock: Since the livestock does not yield much output i.e. at

maximum 1-2 litres per cow/and 3 litres per buffalo, the villagers did not find any

incentive of investing in the feed for the livestock.

(c)Self interest and Lack of cooperation among neighboring villages: The cows of

neighboring villages also used to enter the fields of our villages.

Forward Linkage

This involves study of farm related activities post harvesting till market. These activities

include:

1) Post harvest storage

Losses post harvest was mostly in the lowest layer of the stocked grain due tomoisture in earth surface. To overcome this farmers generally coat the earth surface

with cow dung and straw. Still post harvest losses accounted for 2-3 % of the

harvested crop.

2) Labour to carry the farm produce from farm to other places

Harvested farm produce is first kept in the farm in form of bundles and then carried to

a safe place where a heap of the bundles is made. Further labour is required to load

and unload the produce while taking it for threshing, and to market. Due to high cost

of labour (approx. 150 per manday), most farmers preferred to do as much labour

work themselves or with their family members.

Medium or large scale farmers preffered to hire labour for these work.

3) Processing of farm produce (threshing/winnowing etc)

Farm produce is processed at 2 stages.

Separation of straw Straw is separated by running tractor over the harvested crop.

Tractors charges Rs 500 per hour. This turns out to be costly for farmers. To lower

the cost for this operation, farmers sometimes use bullock driven straw separator also.

But this leads to longer time to market and higher losses.

Threshing Threshing is mostly done by taking the farm produce to the thresher,

mostly within the village. The thresher operator charges 10 kg per quintal of the

threshed produce. Small farmers try to reduce threshing cost by winnowing the

produce when wind blows at a reasonable speed. But this operation is time consuming

and weather dependant.

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4) Transportation

Transportation of the crops was a major problem in the villages we stayed. Most of

the farmers did not own a vehicle to carry their farm produce to the market and hence

had to pay at least Rs 200-500 for transporting their produce to the market. Due to

this, only those farmers chose to carry their produce to the market that had

sufficiently bulk produce to sell in market. Vegetable growing farmers rarely sold

their vegetable beyond their village boundary for the very reason of high cost of

transportation to the nearby market.

5) Market access

Farmers of Dewlaha and Bhargawan mostly sold their produce in Majhgawan or

Kothi mandis. This was because of the proximity of these mandis to the villages. The

next closest mandi was in Satna, but farmers rarely went to Satna Mandi due to lack

of transportation and less quantity of produce. Farmers were moreover not aware ofthe rates of these mandis in advance; as a result they went to the mandi and sold the

produce at the rates desired by the buyers in mandi. Less produce made put them in

weaker bargaining position.

6) Market rates

Market Rates of the mandis were not as per the expectation of the farmers. Following

were the rates in the Majhgawan mandi .

Paddy/Rice Rs 1000 per quintal,Desired rate by farmers Rs 1500 per quintal

Wheat Rs 1200 per quintal

Mustard Rs 2700 per quintal,

For these crops, the rates in District Satna mandi were told to be at least 25% higher, but

due to lesser quantities of produce farmers chose not to carry the produce to Satna and

sell at Majhgawan or Kothi mandi.

5.4 Suggestions

Based on above mentioned challenges, following solutions have been proposed keeping in mind

the geographical region and local conditions of the villages in consideration:

1) Farmers Cooperative

Group Ownership of machinery for timely operations

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Taking bulk produce in the market to gain bargaining power and reduce

transportation cost per unit of output.

Bargaining rates in Mandis for selling harvest as well as purchasing seeds,

fertilisers and other required inputs.

2)

Strengthening Krishi Gyan Doot Concept

To fill the extension services gap

Selection criteria Progressive farmer , social acceptability , preferably youth

Creating and training a small team of 2-3 krishi doots per village at KVK

Incentivising krishi gyan doot cash/kind seeds/crop sharing based on %

improvement observed

Performance monitoring of krishi gyan doot

3) Kisan Consultancy Software

Software used to consult farmers on crop selection, use of fertilizers andpesticides and other technical inputs customised for each farmer .

To be used by krishi gyan doot

MP state government computers to be used

Software to be installed on these systems

Operator can be a Krishi Gyan Doot or a trained person

6. Data Presentation & AnalysisAssumptions & Limitations:

Though risks have a probability attached to them, but for the duration concerned we do

not have a time series or cross-section data to analyze or calculate the probabilities of the

risks mentioned.

Risks and uncertainties are considered same in this study due to the unavailability of the

required data.

In addition to the direct costs, we have also added the opportunity cost for each activity

which the farmer could have got completed from others, but instead chose to do himself

to save direct costs. The activities where opportunity costs of self/family labour are usedare :

- Sowing

- Transplanting

- Loading/Unloading

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Due to limited availability of farmers owing to harvesting season , limited amount of data

is available for off season crops like Wheat and supplementary crops

Since the data for crops other than Paddy and Wheat was not exact and based on rough

recollections and approximations, we decided to assess viability of Paddy only in Kharif

season and , Wheat ,other crops in Rabi season .

In Dewlaha village, livestock rearing does exist , but does not account for significant

portion of income and expenses , hence livestock related income and expenses are not

included in following cost benefit analysis of agriculture in Dewlaha

The studies with their quantitative representations tries to explain the subsistence farming

practice prevalent for self-sustenance, producing just the sufficient output with normal or no

economic returns. Thus making agriculture unattractive and unviable for the farmers as a

profession. This analysis has been presented in form of case studies with respect to both the

villages so that the results can be extrapolated and generalized for the masses of the Chitrakootregion in Satna district having similar geographical as well as socio-economic features.

6.1 Bhargawan

To understand the theme of agriculture along with the risks and challenges attached a detailed

study considering various costs and revenues was conducted for individual farmers. The losses

occurring due to various challenges and the opportunity costs involved have also been taken into

consideration to get a clear idea of the economic viability of agriculture for the farmers of the

area. Revenue sources for the farmers include sales from agriculture harvest of crops and milkfrom animal husbandry. Various costs involved are due to agricultural inputs during production

cycle and the rearing costs for the cattle.

Following are the cases for 3 farmers from Bhargawan village

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Case Study 01

Farmer 01 Cost-Benefit Analysis (Kharif season)

KharifCrop

Acreage(in

Acre)

Seedsrequired

(in Kg)

Actual

Harvest(in

Quintal)

Loss inproduce

(in Quintal)

Loss(in Rs.)

SelfConsumption

(in Quintal)

NetSaving

(in Rs.)

Harvest

to sell(in

Quintal)

Market Rate(in

Rs./Quintal)

Incomefrom Sale

(in Rs.)

Rice 2.5 7.5 40 - - 10 12000 30 1200 36000

Til 5 10 1 10 100000 0.25 2500 0.75 10000 7500

Moong 2.5 15 4 2 10600 0.5 2650 3.5 5300 18550

Urad 1 6 - 1 600 0 0 - 600 0

Arahar 1 3 2 - - 1 4000 1 4000 4000

Soyabean 1 40 - 1 2800 0 0 - 2800 0

Total Loss 114000 Total Savings 21150

KharifCrop

Cost of fertilizer &Pesticides (in Rs.)

Cost of

Tractor/Machine Hired(in Rs.)

Misc Costs (inRs.)

Total Cost (inRs.)

Net Profit (inRs.)

Rice 1500 1250 1000 3750 32250Til 3000 2500 1000 6500 1000

Moong 1500 1250 1000 3750 14800

Urad 600 500 1000 2100 -2100

Arahar 600 500 1000 2100 1900

Soyabean 600 500 1000 2100 -2100

Total 45750

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Storage Losses (in Rs.) 2-3 % 1372.5

Opportunity Cost of Labour (in

Rs.) Rs. 150 per day per unit 67500

Deficit from Farming (in Rs.)Total Net Profit+ Net Savings-Storage Loss- Opportunity Cost -1972.5

Type of

Animal Nos

Milking

Cattle

Milk Yield

percattle

(ltr/day)

Yield perday

(ltrs)

Milk

consumed

Cost

incurred Revenue Remarks

Buffalo 2 2 5 10 2 0 14400 Cattle feed from harvest residual and forests

Cows 20 5 1 5 2 0 5400 Cattle feed from harvest residual and forests

Ox 4 - - - - 489 -489

Ox used for ploughing in Kharif season thus

given jowar of Rs. 12/day and Rs. 4.5 of

khari /day to increase productivity

Bull(Male

Buffalo) 1 - - - - 0 0 Cattle feed from harvest residual and forests

Goats 2 2 0.5 1 1 0 0 Cattle feed from harvest residual and forestsRevenue 19311

Revenue from Animal Husbandry Rs. 19311

Thus, Net Surplusfrom Agriculture Rs. 17338.5

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Case Study 2


Kharif

Crop

Acreage

(inAcre)

Seeds

required(in Kg)

ActualHarvest

(inQuintal)

Loss inproduce

(inQuintal)

Loss (in

Rs.)

Self

Consumption(in Quintal)

Net

Saving(in Rs.)

Harvestto sell

(inQuintal)

Market Rate

(inRs./Quintal)

Income

from Sales(in Rs.)

Rice 3 45 30 0 - 14 16800 16 1200 19200

Til 0.6 2 0 1.2 12000 0 0 0 10000 0

Moong 1.4 2.8 0.35 3 15900 0.35 1855 0 5300 0

Total Loss 27900TotalSavings 18655

Kharif Crop Cost of fertilizer &

Pesticides (in Rs.)

Cost of Tractor/MachineHired

(in Rs.)

Misc Costs (in

Rs.)

Total Cost (in

Rs.)

Net Profit (in

Rs.)

Rice 1800 1500 1000 4300 14900

Til 360 300 1000 1660 -1660

Moong 840 700 1000 2540 -2540

Net Profit 10700

Storage Losses (in Rs.) 2-3 % 321Opportunity Cost of Labor (in

Rs.) Rs. 150 per day per unit 27000

Net Surplusfrom Agriculture

Total Net Profit+ Net Savings-

Storage Loss- Opportunity Cost Rs. 2034

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Case Study 3


KharifCrop

Acrea

ge(in

Acre)

Seedsrequired

(in Kg)

Actual

Harvest(in

Quintal)

Loss in

produce(in

Quintal)

Loss(in Rs.)

Self Consumption(in Quintal)

Net Saving(in Rs.)

Harvest tosell

(in Quintal)

Market Rate(in

Rs./Quintal)

Incomefrom Sa

(in Rs.)

Rice 1.25 16 14 - - 7 8400 7 1200 8400

Til 0.4 1 0 0.8 8000 0 0 0 10000 0

Moong 0.2 1 0.03 0.4 2120 0.03 159 0 5300 0

Soyabean 0.4 20 0 0.4 1120 0 0 0 2800 0

Total

Loss11240 Total Savings 8559

Kharif Crop Cost of fertilizer& Pesticides (inRs.)

Cost of Tractor/Machine Hired (inRs.)

Misc Costs(in Rs.)

Total Cost(in Rs.)

Net Profit(in Rs.)

Rice 750 625 1000 2375 6025

Til 240 200 600 1040 -1040

Moong 120 100 500 720 -720

Soyabean240 200 500 940 -940

Surplus 3325

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Storage Losses (in Rs.) 2-3 % 99.75Opportunity Cost of Labor

(in Rs.) Rs. 150 per day per unit 27000

Deficit from Farming (inRs.)

Total Net Profit+ Net Savings-Storage Loss- Opportunity Cost -15215.75

Typeof

Animal Nos

Milkin

g Cattle

Milk Yield

percattle

(ltr/day)

Yield perday

(ltrs)

Milkconsume

d

Costincurre

d

Revenue (in

Rs.) Remarks

Buffalo 2 1 5 5 2 0 5400

Cattle feed from harvest residual

and forests

Revenue 5400

Revenue from Animal Husbandry (in Rs.) 5400

Net Deficit or Loss from Agriculture (in Rs.) -9815.75

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6.2 Dewlaha

To understand the economic viability of agriculture in Dewlaha, following data was collected

from 6 farmers of the village. For both Kharif and Rabi, seasons total cost of inputs for the

farmer is compared with the total returns from the respective crops and based on the net

positive or negative result, financial viability of agriculture is discussed.

Calculations for market rates :

Ploughing: Rs 400-500 per tractor hour,

Rs 350 approx per acre,

Average time taken per acre is equal to 1.5 hr

Seeds: Old Used from previous harvest

Sowing: Self Self labour, opportunity cost of Rs 300 for 2 family labourers added at

@150 per person per day

Transplanting manually: Rs 350/acre

Irrigation Rs 300 per acre per irrigation (20-22 litres diesel for 3 acres, diesel rate Rs 50/l)

Urea: Rs 300/acre (generally urea used @ 0.5 q/acre Rs. 600 per quintal)

DAP: Rs 1250/acre (1 quintal @ Rs1250 used per acre)Pesticide Spray (including labour): Rs 125/acre

Harvesting manually Rs 1350/ acre (Approx 9 mandays per acre at Rs 150 per manday)

Straw separation manually Rs 150/quintal (Rs 300 per acre, 2 quintal per acre )

Threshing 10kg/quintal

Transport Rs 200-500 per trip to nearest mandi

Loading/Unloading - Self-Opportunity cost of Rs 300 for 2 family labourers added at

@150 per person per day

Paddy Market rate: Rs 1000/quintal

Wheat Market Rate: Rs 1200

Mustard Market Rate: Rs 2700

Following table analyses the Cost & Benefit Analysis for 6 farmers in Dewlaha

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Cost Benefit Analysis (Farmers 1 to 3)

Farmer 1 Farmer 2 Farmer 3

Kharif Rabi Kharif Rabi Kharif Rabi

Paddy Wheat Other Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others

Acreage 3 acre 8 acres 2 acres 5 acre

Ploughing 3050 8000 800 1800

Seeds Old 300 Nil free

Sowing 300 900 900 300

Transplanting 1050 600 3500 1750

Irrigation 2700 2500 Rain 3000

Urea+DAP 900 1950 600 180

Pesticide spray 375 900 Nil nil

Harvesting 4050 1500 1900 1150

Net Output

harvested(quintals) 22.5q 45q 25q 16q

Straw separation 900 2500 1000 750

Threshing 2.25q(2250) 4.5q(5400) 2.5q(2500) 1.6q(1600)

Losses 2q 1q 3.75q .8q

Value of Losses 2000 6000 2300 800

Transport 100 500 300 200

Other Labour

Cost(loading/unloading etc) 600 2000 400 300

Total input cost(Actual +

Opportunity Cost) 18275 33100 13800 10230

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Paddy Wheat Other Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others

Net value of stored O/P 14000 18000 11000 10000

Net o/p sold 8q 25q 10.5q 4q

Net value of Sold O/P 8000 30000 10500 4000Net o/p shared with owner Nil nil Nil nil

Net value of shared o/p Nil nil Nil nil

Net value of O/P sold +

saved 22000 48000 21500 14000

Surplus/Deficit per crop 500 11900 7700 3770

Net Annual Surplus/Deficit Rs 12400 Surplus Rs 7700 Surplus Rs 3770 Surplus

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Cost Benefit Analysis (Farmers 4 to 6)



Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others

Acreage 1.5 1 na 0.25 1.5acre 1.25acre .5acrePloughing 600 400 na 300 1200 750 750

Seeds old old na 300 4500 Old

land

lord

Sowing 1500 300 na 1200 1200 300 300

Transplanting 1000 na na 300 na 6000 na

Irrigation rain 2000 na rain rain Rain 1200

Urea+DAP 300 75 na 500 1550 750 750

Pesticide spray 400 nil na 350 150 300 nil

Harvesting 1500 600 na 200 600 600

Net Output

harvested(quintals) 15q 10q 1q 5q 18q 35q 8q

Straw separation 2000 400 na 500 1500 2000 800Threshing 1.5q(1500) 1q(1200) na .5q(500) 1.8q(2160) 3.5q(3500) .8q(960)

Losses 2.5q 1.5q na .5q 3q 1q .25q

Value of Losses 2500 1500 na 500 3600 1000 300

Transport 400 0 na nil na nil nil

Other Labour

Cost(loading/unloading etc) 300 300 na 150 300 300 300

Total input cost(Actual +

Opportunity Cost) (A) 10500 5575 1000 4800 16660 13500 5960

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Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others Paddy Wheat Others

Net value of stored O/P 10000 7500 1000 4000 15600 13000 8400

Net o/p sold 5q 0q 0q 0 0 0q 0q

Net value of Sold O/P 5000 0 0 0 0 0 0

Net o/p shared with owner nil nil nil nil 0 17q 0qNet value of shared o/p nil nil nil nil 0 17000 0

Net value of O/P sold +

saved(B) 15000 7500 5300 4000 15600 13000 8400

Surplus/Deficit per crop (B)-

(A) 4500 1925 4300 -800 -1060 -500 2440

Net Annual Surplus/Deficit Rs 10725 Surplus Rs 1860 deficit Rs 1940 deficit

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7. Conclusions

Based on the cases discussed above following inferences can be drawn with respect to the

observed risks and challenges in the villages:

Based on the analysis we can infer that majority of the farmers are earning super normalprofits but it is due to inclusion of opportunity savings (savings in form of stock for self-

consumption).

But when opportunity savings are ignored and only opportunity costs are considered then

the venture incur net losses and agriculture as an occupation becomes economically

unviable.

We can conclude that by including all implicit costs and savings, the majority of farmers

are able to meet only their household consumption needs and are able to generate either

marginal or no profits from agriculture.

When farmers were asked about their interest in farming as an occupation, most of the

farmers showed a clear aversion towards farming due to several risks and low returns.

Due to low-yielding varieties of livestock, animal husbandry does not contribute

significantly to the income of the household and as a result the farmers are not interested

in making considerable investments in the maintenance and upkeep of the livestock. This

has lead to destructive practice of Aira/Anna pratha (open grazing) which results in losses

up to 15% of the potential harvest.

Because of the geographical locations of the village at the foothills, wild animal attacks

are rampant and lead to considerable losses.

The key challenge for the farmers continues to be water scarcity due to inconsistent and

very limited rainfall. Even in farmers opinion, if this issue can be addressed then theirreturns from agriculture would increase significantly. Even excess rainfall this year has

resulted in 100% losses for certain crops eg. Sesame seeds, soybean.

Due to fragmented land holdings, per unit investment increases and the returns are also

very limited as a result reinvestment in agriculture reduces creating a vicious cycle of low

output and low investments.

Technical ignorance of the farmers at various stages of the farming cycle results in

inefficiencies and low productivity from farming.

Also as observed when challenges are high then the farmers are more vulnerable to risks.

Thus these conclusions explain the unviable nature of agriculture in the villages concerned. Butdue to limited or no available choices, these farmers are forced to continue subsistence farming

for their self-sustenance.

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8. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)

7.1 Introduction

National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture was launched in February 2011 by Indian

Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) across 100 vulnerable districts of India with fundingfrom Ministry of Agriculture, GOI and is coordinated by Central Research Institute for Dryland

Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Satna. This project has

three major objectives of strategic research, technology demonstrations and capacity building. It

focuses on evolving climate resilient agricultural technologies that would increase farm

production and productivity vis-a-vis continuous management of natural and manmade resources

constitute an integral part of sustaining agriculture in the era of climate change and are aimed at

making farmers self-reliant.

7.2 ObjectivesThis project has two major objectives:

To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture including cropsand livestockto climate

changeand fluctuations through development and application of improved production

and risk management technologies.

To demonstrate site specific technology to farmers' by demonstrating them on their fields

for adapting to current climate risks.

7.3 Why Bhargawan was chosen?

Bhargawan under Majhgawan block of Satna district has been selected for the implementation of

this project because of the following reasons

1) Agriculture in the village is highly vulnerable to climate change. The productivity of the

crops in the village is very less.

2) The rainfall as well as rainy days during the last 11 years has been highly erratic and

unpredictable in the village resulting in moisture stress and terminal drought during crop

growth period of kharif crops.

3)

The water table in the village has lowered by 5-6 feet during the decade.4) The rabi crops in the village re affected by sudden rise in the temperature during

February-March.

5) Level of risk is upto 60% due to climate change.

6) The rain fed area in the village is 82.18% as compared to district average of 67%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cropshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crops

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7.4 NICRA Interventions

The interventions and the work done under NICRA project according to the action plan of KVK

Satna can be listed as follows

7.4.1 Natural resource Management

Rain Water Harvesting

1) Contour trenching was done at sloppy lands under this project so that rain water does not

flow off and ground water level can be increased through ground water recharging and

storing.

2) Loose boulder check dams were also created in the village from the funds provided under

the scheme.

3) Farm bundling techniques were utilized.

Better agronomic practices suggested under NICRA

1) Furrow sowing technique: Furrowing can place seed in or close to moist sand without

making the seed depth too great.

2) Contour tilling to reduce soil erosion.

7.4.2 Improving Soil Fertility

1) Around 20 community based vermi-compost pit were created under this project.

2)

Also Nadip compost pit were created for production of organic manure.

7.4.3 Improving Crop Production

Table 9

New varieties of crop introduced

Crop Variety Advantage over normal variety

Paddy JR 201 Utilizes residual moisture, shorter durationvariety 90 days

Pegion pea (arhar) ICPL 88039

Wheat Raj -3077 Minimizes loss when drought

ChickPea JG -14 Heat tolerant variety

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Strip intercropping system to cope with drought/frost

1) Jowar | Pigeon pea (4:2)

2) Maize | Pigeon pea (4:2)

The planting techniques suggested were:

1) Ridge and Furrow sowing for pigeon pea, vegetables and spices.

2) Spraying of urea or DAP (Di-ammonium phosphate) in standing crop to manage pest

attacks due to climatic variability.

3) In-situ moisture conservation techniques.

4) Submerged pitcher and pit depression system of planting.

7.4.4 Institutional Interventions

1) Setting up of farm machinery custom hiring centre: This would help in timeliness and

precisions in field operations. Also resources will be timely available for operations. This

custom hiring centre is not yet ready but below table gives the details of the plan

Table 10

Custom hiring centre details

Farm implement Units Cost (Rs.) Hiring charges (Rs/hr)Tractor drawn leveler 1 20,000 100

Multi crop thresher 1 90,000 100

Small Weather station 1 50,000

Computer 1 35,000

GPS 1 15,000

2) Formation of farmers group for managing:

a) Seed Bank (Participatory Seed Production at village level).

b) Visits to CRIDA Hyderabad.

3) Formation of VCRMC (village climate risk management committee):

This would act as an extension agency for spreading awareness amongst the villagers

about the activities suggested by the KVKs. There will be a Krishi Gyaan Doot in the

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village that will be heading this committee and will help in disseminating knowledge to

the farmers.

Since all farmers did not agree to use methods and crops proposed, these technologies

were demonstrated in fields of selected farmers who agreed. Below table shows the initial

yield before intervention and output productivity after the intervention of few kharif andRabi crops

Table 11

Yield comparison before and after NICRA intervention

S

No.

Crop Variet

y

Type Farmers

(nos.)

Area

(ha)

Demonstration yield

(q/ha)

% increase

in yield

Highest Average Prev.

year

1 Paddy JR-201 Kharif 17 4.4 27.8 24 13.11 84%

2 Pigeon

pea

ICPL-

88039

Kharif 11 5 5.8 5.4 4.75 13%

3 Black

gram

IPU-

94-1

Kharif 18 5 4.8 3.9 2.88 37%

4 Wheat Jw-17 Rabi 16 5 30 25 16 50%

*Source- KVK Satna, NICRA

From the above table we can see that the productivity has increased considerably after the

NICRA interventions.

7.5 Coping Strategies suggested by KVK, NICRA

Table 12

Coping strategies proposed by KVK, NICRA

Adverse Situation Coping Strategy

Technologies demonstrated by KVK,

NICRA

Early season drought(delayed onset)

Substitution of paddy withpegionpea and kodo

Substitution of paddy with green gram,black gram and sesame

Normal onset followed

by 15-20 daysdry spell Nil

Sowing of paddy, green gram, black gram,soybean and spraying of either urea or

DAP

2% besides application of life savingirrigation

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Mid season drought

(long dry spell,

consecutive 2 weeksrainless) Provide life savingirrigation

Thinning out plant population and

spraying

of either urea or DAP 2% can be repeatedin

case dry spell prolong besides application

oflife saving irrigation

Terminal drought Nil

Spraying of either urea or DAP 2%besides

application of life saving irrigation

Insufficient ground

water recharge dueto low rainfall/over-

exploitation Nil

Recharging of wells and deepening of

water

harvesting structure already available inthe

village, construction of percolation tanks

Scarcity of feed, fodder

and water foranimals during drought

Feed the herbs/weeds and

forestproduced leaves to theanimals,

shifting of animals near

perennialwater bodies

Plantation of perennial kachnar, drumstick onfarm bunds, community and private land

to

feed the animals in scarcity of feed andfodder

Feeding/reproductive

management

of livestock duringhea/cold wave Thatching

Awareness among the farmers forconstruction

of shed in North-South direction with

properventillation facility

Feed and fodder andwater for animalsduring heat/cold wave Open grazing

Dry Fodder: 3-4 kgGreen Fodder: 20-30 kg

Concentrate: 1.5-2.0 kg

Mineral Mix: 20-40 gAdditional feeding 500 & 400 g

concentrate per litre

milk production to milch buffalos andcows respectivelycool and clean water 4-5 times in a day

*Source-KVK Satna, NICRA

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7.6 Outcomes and Results

Water conservation and optimum utilization of rain water

Enhancement in soil fertility and productivity

Water holding capacity has increased

Sustainable crop production

Improvement in use efficiencies viz. water, nutrient, etc.

Appropriate utilization of available resources

Seed bank will ensure timely quality supply of seed to the villagers

Migration of the villagers will be minimized

Custom hiring centre can minimize the cost of cultivation and timely operations

Availability of safe drinking water

Nutritional kitchen gardens have a great impact on reducing malnutrition

Finally welfare in socio-economic conditions of the farmers

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8. References

NICRA-ICAR. URL: http://www.nicra-icar.in/nicrarevised/ (accessed 14 December

2013.)

NICRA, Annual Progress Report (April, 11 to March 2013) by Krishi Vigyan Kendra,

Majhgawan, Satna

Pandey, MM (2009) Indian Agriculture An Introduction paper presented at Fourth

Session of the Technical Committee of APCAEM, Chiang Rai, Thailand at a seminar

held by APCAEM, 10-12 February 2009

Abdul Kalam, APJ and Srijan Pal Singh. (2011) Target 3 Billion. New Delhi: PenguinBooks India.
http://www.nicra-icar.in/nicrarevised/http://www.nicra-icar.in/nicrarevised/http://www.nicra-icar.in/nicrarevised/

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9. Annexure

Annexure 1: Survey Questionnaire

1. Name-

2.

Age-3. Marital Status-

4. Occupation-5. No. of Family Members-

6. Had any family member migrated- Yes/No

6.1If yes, then how many-6.2For what reason-

6.3Does it affect your family income-

7. How many members involved in farming-8. Does women participate in farming activities- Yes/No

8.1if yes, then what activities-

9.

Children participation in farming- Yes/No9.1if yes, then do they go to school/college-

9.2Age of Children-

9.3Do they help whole yr-

9.4How they manage-10.Land ownership(in acres)-

11.Do you give land for farming-12.Do you farm on others land too- Yes/No

12.1 if yes, then as a hired labor/take land on some terms

12.2 How much land-

12.3 What is the mode of return- Cash/Sharing Harvest/Other(Please mention)

12.4

What amount is returned-13.Do you hire labor for farming- employed/hired

13.1 How many-

13.2 What is the mode of payment- Cash/Sharing Harvest/Other(Please mention)13.3 What amount is paid-

14.Is there any loan required- Yes/No

14.1 Starting/In between/End14.2 Loan Taken from- Bank/MFIs/local Sahukars/Sahyog from neighbor or

relatives/Any other(please mention)

14.3 Approximately how much loan required-

14.4 Rate of Interest-

14.5

Time period-14.6 For what activity loan is required- Buying seeds/Digging wells/Buying

fertilizers or pesticides/organizing family functions/other(please mention)14.7 What if default-

15.Where do you buy seeds-

15.1 Seed Market Location-15.2 How much seeds required-

15.3 Cost of seeds-

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15.4 Do you preserve/ produce seeds by yourself-15.5 Kind of seeds preferred- Hybrid/native/recommended seeds(by KVK/from

people)

16.Is there any funding- Yes/No

16.1 In what form- Rebate/Cash/Loan waiver/Any other(please mention)

16.2

Under what scheme/project(if applicable)-16.3 Funding provided for-

16.4 Funding from-16.5 How much funds received-

17.Details for Pesticides and Fertilizers

Type(Chemical/Organic/Traditional) Source Crop on which

used

Cost

17.1 If organic fertilizers used, then

17.1.1

Is it, self manufactured-Yes/No17.1.2 Knowledge gathered from- KVK/other(please mention)

17.1.3 Funds managed from- Self/DRI/NICRA/Others(please mention)

18.Details of Crops-

Crops

Acreage

Sowing

Month

Transplanting Month

Harvesting Month

SeedRequire

d

HarvestExpecte

d

PriceOffere

d

Before KVK intervention

Crops

Acreage

Sowing

Month

Transplanting Month

Harvesting Month

SeedRequire

d

HarvestProduce

d

PriceOffere

d

18.1 How much price variation observed(crop-wise) in last 5 yrs.-19.Do you also have kitchen garden- Yes/No

Area Vegetable

Grown

Sowing

Month

Harvesting

Month

Seed

Required

Harvest

Produced

Remarks

19.1 Is harvest enough(i.e., do not need to buy from market)- Yes/No

19.2 Do you sell access produce- Yes/No20.Other costs involved in farming- Ploughing/Sowing/Harvesting/Other(please mention)

20.1 Cost(approx.)-

21.What all farming equipments/Machinery required-21.1 what equipments are owned by you-

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21.2 If not, then how do you arrange it- Rented/Other(please mention)21.3 Rate at which rented-

21.4 Is there any waiting period- Yes/No

21.5 If yes, then how much time wasted-

22.Irrigation Source- Monsoon/Canals/Tube wells/Wells/Lakes/Nallas/Other(please

mention)22.1 Do you own well/tube well/other- Yes/No

22.2 If no, then how do you manage- Rented/Other(please mention)22.3 If rented, then at what rate-

23.Is storage facility available- Yes/No

23.1 What facility is utilized for storing produce- HouseBarns/Warehouses/Open/Others

23.2 Cost Involved-

23.3 Is there any damage while storing- Yes/No

23.4 If yes, then how much-23.5 Reason of damage-

24.

How do you sell your produce- Directly to the Mandi/Market/ToMiddlemen/Other(please mention)24.1 Nearest market available-

24.2 Do you own any kind of transportation(please mention)-

24.3 Cost of transportation-24.4 What kind of transportation preferred-

24.5 Any loss imagined due to middlemen/transportation-

24.6 If yes, then why not sell directly to market-25.Is there any insurance available to secure your produce-

26.Do you process your harvest before selling- Yes/No

26.1 If yes, then how-

26.2

Is it required/done to gain more price27.

Livestock in Agriculture

Cattle

Type

Purpose Quantity Milk

Yield

Income

generated

Expense

Incurred

Remarks

27.1 Why livestock production is not preferred-28.Any other source of Income-29.Do you own savings account- Yes/No

29.1 Savings Account in- Bank/Post Office/Other(please mention)

29.2 How often is it used-

30.

Do you think KVK intervention has benefitted you-30.1 Please explain in brief, How-

30.2 What other services does KVK offers-31.What government/private schemes have you utilized-

31.1 Has it assisted you in agriculture-

31.2 Amount utilized under the scheme-

32.What kind of natural hazards have you gone through- Drought/Flood/No or LessRainfall/Excess Rainfall/Earthquake/other(please mention)

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32.1 How much damage was done-32.2 Does government provide monetary help/relief in such cases- Yes/No

32.3 If yes, then how much-

33.What other risks/challenges/problems are involved in agriculture-

33.1 How much damage is caused-

33.2

According to you what can be the solution-34.What health problems do you suffer from-

34.1 Are they related to your profession-34.2 Do you prefer to go to nearest PHC- Yes/No

35.Why do you choose this profession-

Annexure 2: Village Location

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Annexure 3: Focused Group Discussion Details

Agenda/Theme/FPCR Topic- Risks & Challenges involved in agriculture

Participants-

Shri Lal Bahadur Yadav (Gond, Medium Farmer)

Shri Pooran Yadav (Gond, Small Farmer)

Shri Ramashray Yadav (Gond, Medium Farmer)

Shri Lalman Singh (Gond, Marginal Farmer)

Shri Guman Singh (Gond, Marginal Farmer)

Shri Brajesh Singh (Gond, Marginal Farmer)

Shri Gyanendra Bahadur Singh (Gond, Small Farmer)

Shri Dadu Lal Singh (Gond, Large Farmer)Shri Gulab Singh (Gond, Carpenter & Small Farmer)

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Annexure 4: Structured Interview Questionnaire for Dr. R.S. Negi (Project Director, NICRA)

1.

What is NICRA project?

2. Why was this project started?

3. Which Agencies were involved in project?

4. What was the role of agencies involved?

5. What was the budget of the project?

6. Why was Bhargawan chosen for the project?

7. What are the problems you have seen in Bhargawan w.r.t climate?

8.

What are the major climates affected crops in village?9. What was the action plan for various affected crops?

10.What was the overall action plan?

11.Did the interventions succeed?

12.How did you convince the villagers are using the new technology and crops?

13.How will this model be replicated in the country?