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Participatory Varietal Selection and Promotion (PVSP)
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PVSP is one of the central interventions under the productivity enhancement activities. Seeds of improved varieties of crop can increase production levels significantly. The adoption of new varieties is still not a common practice among farmers, especially in resource poor areas which is dominated by small and marginal farmers. The number of new varieties grown is small and the most used varieties are mostly local, occupy sometimes nearly hundred percent of the area. Widely grown old varieties (age of these varieties is over 15-20 years) are not only low yielding, but also vulnerable to pests and diseases due to improper preservation, mono culture and because of decay in genetic purity over the years. Generally, the rate is also very low. In Participatory Varietal Selection and Promotion methodology or PVSP, a method ASA has pioneered in India over the last ten years, intends to understand the felt and perceived needs of the farmers for suitable crop varieties and allow them to test, identify, and adopt/spread the suitable “farmer preferred” varieties from a “basket of choices” provided to them.
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Farmers’ Field School
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Most significant amongst the numerous activities ASA has undertaken through Agriculture productivity enhancement is the development of Farmers' Field Schools (FFS).The purpose is the extension of technologies through a participatory & trickle down approach along with grooming of local group leaders for future extension. FFS is basically a virtual school in-situ where the farmers are given hands-on training on various productivity enhancement technologies with primary focus on learning by doing. The FFS includes on-farm trials and demonstration, training and exposure of farmers, field day, etc. The objective here is to expose farmers on various agriculture technologies, test and validate them under their own management conditions so as to improve adoption of technologies by the farmers.
Specifically under the FFS the technologies that will be introduced, validated and promoted are mostly the factors responsible for low productivity of that particular area like (a) introducing new crop varieties , (b) Integrated Nutrient Management, (c) Integrated Pest Management, (c) reducing household level risk by taking up mixed cropping, (d) Balanced Fertilisers Application, (e) Soil health management-application of vermicompost /organic manure, (f) Crop rotation, and various other small but crucial agronomic practices. The FFS would concentrate on the major crops of the area with emphasis on crop change for cash crop. As stated above that one of the major objectives of the FFS will be the refinement of the technologies to suit to the local conditions and to the requirement of various socio-economic categories of farmers. In a way the FFS would enlarge the basket of choices of technologies to the farmers
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System of Wheat Intensification (SWI)
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The SWI intervention aims at the productivity enhancement associated with the cultivation of wheat particularly for the poor and marginal farmers. SWI follows the same principles of root intensification however with different set of agronomic practices. In SWI, practices like seed rate, sowing of seeds with proper spacing, control of water in the main field, weeding and hoeing are modified to ensure higher ratios of tillers to mother seedling, For SWI 10 kg/acre of seed is required and direct seeding of wheat is recommended at 1-1.5 inches depth in a tilled land. Two seeds are dibbed at one place so that birds and other predators do not cause losses and at least one seed germinates properly. Wider spacing of 20 cm Row-to-Row and also 20 cm seed-to- seed are given to allow profuse tillering in later stages.
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System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
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Systems for rice intensification or SRI is a methodology rather than a technology, in which the management of soil, water, plant and nutrients is altered for greater root growth and nurturing microbial diversity resulting in healthier soil and plant conditions. In SRI, practices like seed rate, method of raising of seedlings in nursery, transplantation, control of water in the main field, weeding/hoeing are modified to ensure higher ratios of tillers to mother seedling, increased number of effective tillers/hill, enhanced panicle length and bolder grains, or in short enhanced yield of paddy. SRI talks about change in package of practices of paddy cultivation. The intervention aims the productivity enhancement as well as reducing the risk factor associated with production system particularly for the resource poor areas & beneficiaries with low land holdings.
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Promotion of Responsible Soybean
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Responsible Soybean Promotion activity in Madhya Pradesh was initiated by ASA in the year 2009-10. Responsible soybean means fostering the production, processing and trade of responsible soy throughout world by means of global standard which favours Legal Compliances and Proper Business Practices, Responsible Labour Conditions, Responsible relationship with communities, Environmental responsibilities and Good Agriculture Practices. At the farmer’s level it means-they adopt good agronomic practices for soybean cultivation. Some critical indicators of good practices signify – seed treatment, line sowing, use of recommended doses of agriculture inputs, safe disposal of pesticides/insecticides containers, no use of child labour, equal wages to men and women labourers, ensuring environmental safeguards, compliance with legal requirements, etc. These criteria are approved by the Round Table for Responsible Soy Association (RTRS), an international body for soybean value chain improvement. It is a voluntary scheme for farmers and if they qualify through a third party audit then their product is certified as “Responsible Soybean”. There is an emerging market for the responsible soybean worldwide.
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Promotion of Better Cotton
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Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a global certification programme with the involvement of multi-stakeholders of cotton value chain, has been launched as an alternative in cotton cultivation with objectives to promote (a) good agricultural practices, i.e. maintain soil health, Integrated pest and nutrient management, safe use of agro-chemicals confirming to WHO recommendations, (b) environmental safeguard like water conservation, efficient water use, (c) socially responsible like equal wages to men and women workers, ban on child labour, right to promote and participate in associations, etc. and (d) market linkages. There are standard procedures for internal and external credibility check to confirm compliance with the BCI criteria for certification as Better cotton.
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Digital Green- Application of ICT in Agriculture
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Digital Green (DG) initiative of adding audio-visuals as a tool in the basket of extension services tries to address the gap of conventional agriculture extension methodology. It seeks to disseminate targeted agricultural guidance to small and marginal farmers through audio visual media in an efficient and cost-effective means to a substantial audience, spread over vast distances. The production of videos of successful agriculture interventions/practices from the farmers fields in local language is done using instruments such as low cost Pico Projector, Camcord Camera. The videos are then screened to farmers in smaller groups in an interactive manner through Pico Projector, a low cost handheld battery operated projector.
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