eChapters

Introduction

Vegetable crops include a large number of species, mainly used as an essential complement to the daily diet, providing vitamins, minerals, fiber, specific amino-acids and other active metabolites. Largely emphasizing the need to accumulate and conserve in gene banks the genetic diversity that is most useful to breeders. One of the primary reasons to sustain conservation of plant genetic resources in gene banks is to prevent the loss of genetic diversity. The great diversity of types in cultivation is also considered a genetic resource itself, to be maintained or increased, since it adds to the diversity of vegetables being grown and consumed and could serve to replace more established but similar crops in case of need (Crisp and Astley, 1985). The risk of genetic erosion due to the introduction of single new cultivars was considered especially high by Crisp and Astley (1985) for those vegetables that are built on a narrow genetic base, such as garlic, broccoli, tomato, cucumber, etc. Genetic erosion is difficult to document with solid data available in vegetable crops. On a global level, efforts of the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR, now IPGRI) to conserve vegetable crop germplasm began in 1980, with the definition of a number of priority crops for conservation, according to their importance for rural development and to their economic value for farmers in the tropics (Abelmoschus esculentus and related species, Allium spp., Amaranthus spp., Brassica spp., Capsicum spp., Cucurbita spp., Lycopersicon esculentum, Momordica charantia and related species, and Solanum melongena). During last six–seven decades, germplasm of promising and profitable varieties have been built up and developed by different agencies, initially assembling local types and selecting from them and by introducing promising types from other parts of the world. The introduction and acclimatization of vegetable germplasm from within the country and all over the world is important for exploitation and incorporation of useful characters such as early maturity, high yielding capacity, resistance to diseases and pests and tolerance to different climatic hazards, viz., drought, heat, cold and flood situations.

Introduction

Plant genetic resources represent a huge reservoir of genes of economic importance, which acts as buffer against environment fluctuations. These genes are largely spread in the land races and traditional cultivars, which have been conserved by virtue of their specific merits. The human and natural selection interventions have resulted in establishment, improvement and differentiation of numerous types, which represent genetic wealth of the crop species and are commonly referred as plant genetic resources (PGR).

Genetic Erosion and Need for Conservation

In view of the availability of high yielding varieties/hybrids, the traditional cultivars/ land races have been disregarded by the farmers due to their low economic potential. Sustaining the green revolution, changing cultivation practices and intensification of land use pattern have been the potential threats for rapid erosion of plant genetic diversity. The erosion of these resources has resulted into the extinction of several valuable genetic materials. Realizing the consequences of genetic erosion and importance of plant genetic resources, more diversity needs to be conserved for future. Prior to conservation the collection and characterization of germplasm through morphological and molecular markers for establishing the identity of genotype is essentially required. For effective utilization of PGR in vegetable improvement programme, the proper characterization and evaluation of genotypes for breeder driven traits including biotic and abiotic stresses in target environments is urgently needed. In addition, value addition is an important area of concern especially in vegetable crops. After implementation of recommendations of Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), the major thrust has been given on conservation of bio-resources. In view of the globalization and emerging IPR regimes (UPOV, TRIPS, ITPGFRA etc.), there is a need for having suitable mechanisms for the protection of bio-resources.

Introduction

Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) are uniquely placed within the overall ambit of biodiversity and play an important role in providing food, fuel, clothing, medicine and shelter for the whole mankind. The value of plant genetic resources or the plant germplasm can be visualized from the fact that Sir Joseph Banks, the Director of Kew Botanical Gardens accompanied Captain Cook on a plant collecting voyage. Plant genetic resources are going to occupy the centre stage in plant breeding and seed industry development in India as will be the case with other countries. However, despite the great importance of plant genetic resources in crop improvement programmes, there is ever increasing threat to the PGR due to degradation of their habitats, changes in ecology, cropping systems, modernization of agriculture, rapid replacement of locally adapted indigenous cultivars by modern high yielding varieties and the effect of massive urbanization. This calls for a sustained and scientific management of plant genetic resources. The issue of PGR management remains basically the same whether we are dealing with field crops, vegetable crops or perennials with slight changes in specific cases. For an effective management of PGR, all the CGIAR funded international agricultural research centres have independent units/divisions on PGR management. IPGRI is coordinating and strengthening the PGR management programmes at the international level. In India, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi is the nodal organization on PGR management. This article shall deal with the core components of PGR management in vegetable crops.

Introduction

National Gene Banks are now entering into an era of increased activity and responsibility, particularly for managing their own indigenous germplasm activities extending from collection to actual use of the genetic variation in crop improvement programmes. However, these tasks must be achieved with limited resources in best possible time frame. The core collection offers a potential opportunity to meet these challenges. Recognising that the sheer size of a germplasm collection could deter its use, Frankel (1984) proposed that it could be pruned to a ‘core collection’, which would represent, “with minimum repetitiveness, the genetic diversity of a crop species and its relatives”. The core collection consist of a limited set of accessions derived from a germplasm collection, chosen to represent the genetic spectrum in the whole collection, and including as much as possible of its genetic diversity (Brown, 1995). The remaining accessions would not necessarily be discarded but would be managed as a ‘reserve collection’. The proposal, the rationale, purposes and general principles of core collections have been critically examined (Brown, 1989 a and b). As to the size of a core collection, sampling theory of selective neutral alleles in finite populations indicate that about 10 % drawn randomly from the whole collection was relatively efficient in retaining its allelic variation (about 70 % retained). The core collection concept has attracted considerable discussion and debate in the past and has met criticism in many areas. Most of these concerns appear to arise from misuse or misunderstanding of the core approach and a number of core collections have been established during the past decade.

Introduction

Vegetable crops are a big group of crop plants, consisting of diverse kinds with differing breeding systems and varying consumer preferences. In India there are native vegetables like eggplant (Solanum melongena), beans (Lablab purpureus), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and a few gourds, namely smooth gourd (Luffa cylindrica), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina) and pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica), while there are several introduced crops and which have long history of domestication and adaptation like garden pea (Pisum sativum), onion (Allium cepa), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) etc. and also some others like tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var.botrytis), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), chillies, (including Capsicum), frenchbean (Phaseolus vulgaris) etc, which have been introduced during the last 4 or 5 centuries. With such a diversity of crops, characterization and evaluation of genetic resources in each of them become a stupendous responsibility requiring extensive infrastructure facilities and varying methods of evaluation. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi with its Regional Stations at Shimla, Bhowali, Akola, Thrissur, Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Umiam-Barapani, Base Stations at Ranchi, Cuttack and Satellite centre at Amravati and Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi-designated as National Active Germplasm Site (NAGS) for vegetable crops and Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore, are holding over 40,000 germplasm collections in different vegetable crops.

A large number of lines have been collected from various parts of the country. A number of varieties have developed either through selection from local landraces or through hybridization resulting in development of a large number of open pollinated varieties with resistance to some important diseases, such as wilt. Also, a number of hybrid varieties have been developed both by public and private institutions, however there is a scope to increase further yield and nutritional quality using some of the modern techniques, such as molecular marker aided selection. The promising genetic resources utilized in vegetable improvement work have been described under following three heads

Introduction

The term ‘biodiversity’ comes from the words biological diversity and quite simply means the variety of all living things, including microbes, plants and animals– from single-celled organisms to the largest mammals and trees. Biodiversity also refers to genetic diversity within a species (essential for evolution) and also the diversity of the woodlands, wetlands and other habitats which provide the food, water and shelter for these species. Human life itself depends upon healthy ecosystems (e.g. wetlands, forests and grasslands) and the biodiversity that they contain. Biodiversity gives us many of the essentials of life – water, oxygen, food, clothing, and medicines, without which we could not survive, and therefore contributes greatly to our economy. Access to nature is also a popular form of relaxation that greatly enriches our lives and helps to keep us healthy. Species are linked in an infinite number of ways via food-webs and the habitats they share. If one species becomes extinct, it may affect many more. If too many species become extinct then whole ecosystems can collapse, with severe consequences for the way we live. Across the world, biodiversity is under threat from human activity such as over-intensive or inappropriate farming, large-scale commercial forestry, forest clearance, mineral extraction, pollution and urban development. Conservation of plant diversity assumes greater importance when the world is facing unprecedented loss of biological diversity. As per an estimate about 60,000 out of 2, 87, 655 species of plants known in the world are facing the threat of extinction.

Agro-ecosystems are defined as ecological and socio-economic system comprising domesticated plants and/or animals and the people who husband them, intended for the purpose of producing food, fiber, or other agricultural products. Agro-ecosystems are ecological systems transformed and simplified for the purpose of agriculture. In the case of agro-ecosystems productivity, these systems have Holling resilience if, in some state, they are able to maintain productivity and withstand stress or external shocks (e.g., due to lower rainfall and droughts). In many situations, biodiversity provides the link between stress and loss of resilience is a system (Perrings et al., 1995). Genetic variation within species and within population increases the ability to respond to the challenges of environmental stress (Mainwaring, 2001).

The various adverse effects of Shifting cultivation, the need for its replacement have been widely discussed at various levels. It has been a matter of concern not only for the Government of India and the Planning Commission but also to the various state governments and the union territories of the region. Although considerable data on the extent of Shifting cultivation and its various adverse effects including its effect on agricultural production have been discussed in various forums, yet detailed scientific studies on shifting cultivation from various angles were not taken up until recently. The prevalence of shifting cultivation is so extensive in the region that it would not be possible to tackle the problem within a short period of time whatever, large the efforts may be. It will, thus, be necessary to approach the problem so that alternative systems of farming can be introduced in areas where the cycle of rotation has been greatly reduced.

Agriculture is an important economic activity for a large population of the developing world. The view that industrialization is the main hope of the developing countries has undergone remarkable changes in more recent times. Today, agriculture and rural development are viewed as the sine qua non of national development. A reorientation where in rural development is well balanced with industrial growth is now considered essential to correct serious imbalances in the economy, for equitable distribution of wealth and for social justice. It is against this background that increases in agricultural production in the developing world need to be viewed and evaluated.

Introduction

Shifting cultivation, developed over centuries of experience is known as “Swidden”, “Slash-and–burn agriculture”, “Rotational bush-fallow agriculture.’ or by a variety of local names; in India, it is commonly referred to as Jhum cultivation. This farming system is believed to have originated in the Neolithic period around 7000 B.C. This is the most primitive form of agriculture and is still common amongst the tribal people in various pockets. Shifting cultivation is mainly confined to medium to high rainfall zones between 100 meters and 2,000 meters above sea level. It is practised in three types of vegetation, such as forests, bush and grasslands.

Since seed deterioration is irreversible process and the rate of deterioration might be arrested using proper packaging material, moisture proof packaging material are very effective for preserving seed viability, germination ability, vigour and other quality traits of orthodox seed. For the locations, with inadequate storage facilities and high humidity, moisture proof material is favoured. The use of high cost material is justified considering the advantage under such conditions in terms of maintaining the quality of the seeds.

In hills, farmers usually store their own seed for sowing in the next season. The uncertainty about the availability of good quality seed at proper time in the remote hilly areas develops a habit in the farmers for storing their own seed. This chapter attempts to highlight the different methods/sources of packaging of seed and their relevant advantages and limitations.

Among different containers polyethylene bags appear to be promising packaging material for storage since it is effective in preserving seed viability longer, are easily available, less expensive and need less space for storage.

“Biodiversity, the planet’s most valuable resource, is on loan to us from our children.”

The significance of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR’s) is on top of agenda of all those who are concerned with food, nutritional and environmental security by using the Earth’s plant - biodiversity judiciously in a vital form. Agro-biodiversity is the backbone of a nation’s food security and the basis of economic development as a whole. The top-down system of agricultural research, where farmers are seen merely as recipients of research rather than as participants in it, has contributed to an increased dependence on a relatively few plant varieties. Global cooperation from farmers to agricultural scientist is critical for maintaining the balance across the agricultural landscape. Over the years this diversity in India is under pressure due to the massive commercialization of agriculture leading to the almost extinction of traditional farming systems and plant- biodiversity is under immediate threat. Behind this commercialization there lies the interest of the breeders for obtaining intellectual property rights. Around 1.6 billion people depend on farm-saved seed, yet up to 75 per cent of varieties of some key crops have already been lost this century. The rate of loss may well increase as global trade rules, intellectual property rights regimes, the concentration of agricultural research and development on inappropriate technological‘solutions’, and now the introduction and promotion of genetically engineered products, all combine to erode local resources from the fields of smallholder farmers. At the moment, it should call for a balancing on research into modern biotechnology, in favour of a redirection of research and development resources into sustainable, environmentally-friendly technologies that, sustain poor people’s livelihoods, agricultural biodiversity and agro-ecosystem functions. In this context, the importance of farmer-derived Agricultural Biodiversity that includes the variety and variability of plants and micro-organisms which are necessary to maintain the structure, processes and key functions of the agricultural ecosystem for, and in support of, food production and food security.

Underutilized crops can be found in many different agricultural ecosystems, but they are mainly grown by small landholders in the marginal areas especially in hill agriculture. Some crops remain underutilized because they are in some way not competitive with other species in the same agricultural environment. They are usually characterized by having local importance in consumption and production systems, requiring relatively low inputs, adapting to specific agro-ecological niches, receiving scarce attention by national agricultural and biodiversity conservation efforts, mainly consisting of local types or landraces, and being cultivated with indigenous knowledge. Many underutilized species are adapted to low-input agriculture and depended on by a large number of people in marginal areas in hill agriculture of developing countries.

This chapter attempts to provide a detail picture of one such underutilized crop i.e. Grain Amaranth. In an effort to explain the decrease in grain amaranth cultivation, fanciful myths have arisen. The mystery is especially intriguing when one considers that maize, with which amaranth co-evolved, was selected and developed into a major world crop. The small seed size of amaranth may have been a partial cause for the reduction in amaranth cultivation. A small seeded crop, such as amaranth, requires greater attention to detail in the early parts of the growing season than does a larger seeded crop, such as maize.

This chapter discussed all the factors related to its cultivation, the constraints in the production and importance of grain amaranth in the economy of hill agriculture etc.

Sustainability in agriculture is the prime importance for maintains its productivity particularly for crops over time and space. Sustainable agriculture is a system of farming as well as a philosophy which has its roots in a set of values that reflects an awareness of both ecological and socialrealities. It includes design and management procedures that work with natural processes to conserve all resources for maintaining or improving farm profitability keeping least waste and environmental damage.

The influence of environment on Indian farming revealed that future agricultural growth and productivity will have to occur simultaneously with environmental sustainability. The environmental challenges (land degradation, groundwater depletion, water logging and excessive use of chemical inputs) are posing problems for the future of Indian agriculture. Organic farming included in the policies has emphasized the sustainability in agriculture. Various other approaches and policy instruments, however, will be required to address these problems. The shift from input-intensive to sustainable, particularly organic farming is a difficult task as it involves a number of policy measures dealing with a variety of issues ranging from the transfer of information and technology to the development of markets. Another difficult task, and perhaps more difficult, relates to marginal and small farmers – which comprise a substantial part of Indian agriculture. Although, the marginal and small farmers considered as organic by ‘default’, severe resource constraints makes the shift to the modern sense of organic farming prohibitive.

Livestock manure is principally composed of organic material. When this organic material decomposes in an anaerobic environment, methanogenic bacteria produce methane. These conditions often occur when large numbers of animals are managed in confined areas (e.g. dairy, swine, and poultry farms, and beef feedlots, where manure is typically stored in large piles or disposed off in storage of lagoons or tanks).

Manure management will always be a part of livestock production. Management practices will have a significant impact on the environment regardless of the size of the operation. Producers who make wise manure management decisions help to maintain a healthy environment now and for generations to come. To reduce the risk of air or water quality damage from manure, understand how manure impacts air and water quality, keep the public in mind when locating, expanding or maintaining a facility, reduce the amount of material entering the waste stream, collect and store manure to preserve nutrients and minimize gas/odour emissions, apply manure to fields in a way that most fully utilizes the available nutrients, follow compositing to increase manure value, establish bio-gas unit as an alternate energy source and for the electricity generation and if possible integrate with fish production to augment income.

Based on the observations a model system of waste management was designed by systematic and scientific integration of a bio-fuel unit, settlement and slurry processing unit, aerobic composting, traditional composting, and preparation of value added products like Panchagavya, Jeevamritham, packed dried dung and fresh cow urine. There were no reports of odour or water pollution from nearby water sources. The overall results of the waste management indicated that this integrated system can be recommended as a model for waste management in dairy enterprises with beneficial effects on economic efficiency, environmental hygiene and quality control.

Although the efforts to develop hill agriculture were initiated in early fifties, planned development programme came to be evolved only in the late sixties. The phenomenal increase in food grains called the ‘Green revolution’ bye passed these hilly regions because of paraphernalia of constraints. Furthermore severity of soil erosion and soil degradation is much more and widespread in hill agriculture due to fragile ecosystem and its impact on plains through downstream sedimentation and flooding. Because of these constraints, traditional agriculture cannot be the lead sector for development. Thus the country faces the challenge of promoting livelihoods to minimize migration through local employment and income generation, and to enhance the quality of life of people living in villages. The positive features of these hilly areas are that they are rich in biodiversity, have enormous potential for tourism, a suitable climate for high value crops that can be harnessed for a development strategy.

In order to improve the existing system and to harvest newer opportunities in the hill agricultural system, a proper understanding of the composition of agri-horti-silvi-pastoral farming system and livestock based farming system is necessary. There is a considerable scope for development of agro-ecological zone specific farming along with horticultural interventions in the hill agriculture. At the same time there is an urgent need to give top priority to land use pattern, soil and water conservation and environmental sustainability. Agri tourism can be exploited in hill agriculture. What Hill agriculture needs is the appropriate technology, emerging markets, investment and risk cover.

The Agreement on Agriculture, the AoA, was negotiated to cover loopholes in the agriculture sections of the original GATT and was signed in April 1994 at Marrakesh, Morocco. Its first step was to get all countries to replace the various quota and other non-tariff restrictions on agricultural imports with equivalent-level tariffs; then countries would progressively cut those tariffs (by 36% over six years for developed countries, 24% over 10 years for developing countries). Restrictions were also mandated in other areas, such as export subsidies and in the AMS, the “aggregate measure of support”, which measured all the assistance going to a country’s farm sector. However, developing countries already had low levels of agricultural support, while developed countries had very high levels, meaning the field was still tilted in favour of the rich countries.

The WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture which came into effect on 1^st January 1995 brought world agriculture production and trade under multilateral trade rules. It was supposed to herald a new era of trade liberalization in the agriculture sector, as hitherto agriculture had been mainly exempted from the disciplines of GATT.

The adoption and use of a new technology causes disruptions in the sociocultural system of a nation and induces a change from established practices to distinctly different and complex forms of social practice. The deployment of ICT into the predominantly traditional societies of developing countries is therefore very disruptive. In view of this, a seamless integration of both the technical and socio-cultural systems of societies where technology transfer takes place is necessary for a thriving ICT deployment. Unfortunately, technological transfer to developing countries is driven by a perspective that is based on the development experience of Western industrialized nations.

It is indeed highly inspiring to see that in India, people are gradually getting aware of the multiple roles of Information Technology in the overall growth of the country. The bureaucrats and policy makers have equally emphasized the significance of exploring and exploiting the benefits of IT. Moreover, the governance has also realized that with availability of vital infrastructure Information and Communication Technologies can be used to improve the lives of the rural and underprivileged section of the Indian society, especially the ones living below the poverty line (BPL). Nonetheless, the Government will have to play the role of a catalyst in this huge integration project. A strategic framework including actors from Central & State Governments and Civil Society Organizations to capture the benefits of ICT and make it reach the countryside can do wonders in this regard.

Recent advances in information technology are making it more feasible to provide farmers with marketing information they need. However, farmers are still lagging behind in getting the information as accessibility to this technology is not available to them for various reasons. The major reason for this is abundance of small and marginal farmers without formal education and training in proper decision making. This problem is more acute for North Western (NW) hill farmers as besides above constraints, accessibility to information centers is very difficult due to undulating topography and lack of communication and transport facilities.

In the North-Western hill states, not many initiatives have so far been taken to use the information technology for the rural/agricultural development. Presently, use of radio and television for acquiring the information is limited as these media do not give focused information for different target areas. Even newspapers, in their local versions, do not provide regular updates for different major mandis regarding vegetables. This area has also been neglected by AGMARKNET (www.agmarknet.nic.in) for the market information regarding hill crops. For Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, only one and three markets, respectively, has been covered. This shows the apathy of agricultural development departments towards incorporating ICT into the day-to-day activities of hill farmers.

In spite of development of irrigation and expansion in transportation and communication; the risk or we can say threat in agriculture sector such as its production and yield has increased in the country. The risk is much higher for farm income than production, as is evident from lower risk in area and higher risk in production. It has been reviewed from the state wise results of area and production which shows that only in the states where irrigation is very consistent; it helped in plummeting the risk and vice-versa. In some states farmers face twin problem of very low productivity accompanied by high risk of production. Also, with the course of time, neither technology nor any other measure helped in reducing production risk in all over the country. Therefore, there is strong need to plan and broaden insurance products or we can say insurance policies for agricultural crops and their production. No doubt various insurance schemes has been launched by the Government of India for covering various agricultural crops in the country as well as in the states but agriculture insurance has served very limited purpose. The coverage through insurance schemes in terms of area under crops, number of farmers and value of agricultural output obtained is very small and the payment of insurance based on area approach fail to notice affected farmers outside the compensated area, and most of the schemes are not workable. It has been viewed in most of the parts of the country. So there is a need to restructure the programme vigilantly to make it feasible and to increase its prospects for future expansion to impact more farmers. This whole process is in immediate need of rehabilitated efforts by Government of India as well as state governments in provisions of introducing new crop insurance policies with full financial support. The government should also extend support to private stakeholders for providing agricultural insurance which in turn will help in increasing insurance coverage and in improving viability of the insurance schemes over time. Moreover the crop insurance policies shouldbe simple in plan so that they are easily understood to the farmers. At last we can say that, good insurance products with good management are key for successful operation of an agriculture insurance scheme all over the India.

The financial system in India has grown rapidly in the last three decades and more. The functional and geographical coverage of the system is truly impressive. Nevertheless, data do show that there is exclusion and that poorer sections of the society have not been able to access adequately financial services from the organized financial system. There is an imperative need to modify the credit and financial services delivery system to achieve greater inclusion. The implementation of the recommendations made in this Report could go a long way to modify particularly the credit delivery system of the banks and other related institutions to meet the credit requirements of marginal and submarginal farmers in the rural areas in a fuller measure. However, creating an appropriate credit delivery system is only a necessary condition. This needs to be supplemented by efforts to improve the productivity of small and marginal farmers and other entrepreneurs so that the credit made available can be productively employed. While banks and other financial institutions can also take some efforts on their own to improve the absorptive capacity of the clients, it is equally important for Government at various levels to initiate actions to enhance the earnings capacity of the poorer sections of the society. The two together can bring about the desired change of greater inclusion quickly.

India is basically agriculture, which is the main source of livelihood for 70% of people. Livestock enterprise is not the exception. The primary sectors included the agricultural labourers, labours (workers) etc. The agriculture contributes about 40% of National income. And two problems in Agriculture are lack of Technology and Institutional arrangements. The investment is not possible an account of poor yielding resulting in pitiable economic conditions and. The establishment of NADARD with it objective in promoting health and strength of credits institutions forming front of the delivery system, i.e. COoperatives, Commercial Banks, RRBS is the Landmark in Agricultural Finance.

In recent years poverty elimination has become the most important development objective. Introduce the land reforms and laws for the hill areas as per the needs of the tribal people in keeping with the changing times. It is concerned on the social inequality between the advance majority sections of the society and the backward hill people, negligence relating to the roads and transport, health service, electricity, water supply, education, agriculture and sports. It shall strive to protect, safeguard and ensure proper management of the lands, forests and mineral resources of the hill people. As inequality in the distribution of production inputs, especially agricultural land seems to be the main cause of rural poverty and income disparity. A successful redistributive land reform may increase small household production and contribute directly and immediately to reduce poverty and economic inequality. Redistributive land reform has been an increasingly important strategy for both poverty alleviation and socio-economic development. The impetus for land reform is then the possibility of improved social justice and equity. An effective land reform program must boost efficiency and promote equity and so land ownership should be targeted towards those who use it most productively.

The significant marginal value of land of both consumption and income implies that an effective land reform policy could well be the most effective approach to alleviate hills poverty. The study investigates the effect of other complementary factors along with land on consumption and income. These all suggest that programmes of access to land must be packaged as elements of more comprehensive programmes in order to secure the poverty reduction potential of land. This study also analyses the economic relationship between access to land and poverty in hills area by establishing the link between land and consumption as well as land and income. The significant marginal value of land of both consumption and income implies that an effective land reform policy could well be the most effective approach to alleviate rural poverty. So in this paper we would like to trace the problems related with Land reforms in hills area, agriculture development and poverty alleviation. What are the major problems in Land reforms in Hills are and how to cope up with those problem.

Traditionally, agriculture in India was practiced on a subsistence basis; the villages were self sufficient, people exchanged their goods, and services within the village on a barter basis. But, with the development of means of transport, storage facilities and other infrastructure, agriculture has become commercial in character. The hills of India produces a wide range of goods starting from temperate fruits like apple to subtropical fruits like guava and cash crops like saffron, kala zeera, buckwheat etc. that are demanded at every corner of the country and even the world. The hills in India lacks infrastructure because of which farmers are not able to fetch a better price for their produce.

Agriculture is the dominant activity in the hill economy, which confronts multiple risks and uncertainty. The low yield of food and cash crops, fodder, fuel and other minor forest produce and their stagnant growth affected the agrarian economy and in particular the household food security. The scattered land holdings, traditional mode of production, low use of modern inputs and lack of market incentives are the primary causes of the poor performance of agriculture in J&K. Increase in Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) of major crops, Popularization of hybrids, Soil and Water conservation measures, and Public-private partnership are important aspects need to be considered for agriculture development in hilly areas of J&K. Strengthening of markets, Innovative marketing techniques and On-line trading can help in a big way for solving the problems of marketing in such areas.

Fast increasing population, changing climate, shrinking land and water resources are the major challenges before us to meet the food and nutritional security of the population at global level. Improvement in the production and productivity of crops are the immediate need to boost the availability of food and improvement economic conditions of the farmers. Greenhouse technology has shown tremendous potential in improvement in production and productivity of crops even under uncongenial soil and climatic conditions. The farmers having very small farm holdings in countries like Japan, Holland and South Korea have improved their income and living standards by adopting protected cultivation technologies. However, India is yet to trap the potentials of the technology. Modern green houses require uninterrupted huge electric power for control of environment (heating/cooling/air circulation etc), which is considered one of the major cause for global warming. High installation and running (energy) cost, high cost of production; poor government support and lack of farmers’ friendly/cost effective greenhouse technology are some other challenges. Low cost zero energy based solar greenhouse technology popularizes the green houses in small and marginal farmers of remote areas. Such greenhouses are specifically design using local resources and also to trap the natural solar radiation/ heat and maintain it for longer period. The designs do not require electric power which ultimately reduces the installation/running cost and also does not have the adverse effects on the environment. This will not only improve the economic status of the farmers but also provide nutritive food to their families and also enhance production and productivity of various crops in the country without deteriorating the environment.

In India, only two species viz. Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens are known and most of the cultivated varieties belong to the species Capsicum annum. Insect pests and diseases are among the major constraints to enhancing production and productivity of chilli. There are a number of diseases, bacterial and viral infections that can attack chilli plants. They can sometimes be difficult to identify as they can have similar symptoms. The limited availability of commercial cultivars, resistant to pests and diseases especially in hilly areas affects its productivity. This makes more important for the farmers to rely on proper management practices to control pests and diseases.

This chapter attempts to brief the effect of insect pest and diseases on production of chilli. It also describes the proper management techniques of insect pests and diseases in chilli, highlighting the economics of their management. The chapter covers the description of insect pests of chilli like Aphid, Red Spider Mite, Slugs and Snails, Caterpillars, Capsid Bugs and Thrips and diseases like Bacterial Wilt, Anthracnose, Cercospora Leaf Spot, Damping off and Leaf Curl.

Introduction

India is a major producer, exporter and consumer of chilli. Chilli (Capsicum annuum) belongs to the genus Capsicum under Solanaceae family. It is also called as hot pepper, cayenne pepper, sweet pepper etc. Chilli besides imparting pungency and red colour to the dishes is a rich source of vitamin A, C and E and assists in digestion. Recently, Russian scientists have identified Vitamin P in green chilli which is considered to be important as it protects from secondary irradiation injury. The pungency in chilli is due to an alkaloid capsaicin which has high medicinal value. Capsaicin has many medicinal properties, especially as an anti-cancerous agent and instant pain reliever. It also prevents heart diseases by dilating blood vessels. The Chilli plant is a white flowered, dark green or purple leaved plant that grows upto 1.5 m in height. The major chilli exporting countries with their percentage share in world total exports are India (25 %), China (24 %), Spain (17 %), Mexico (8 %), Pakistan (7.2 %), Morocco (7 %) and Turkey (4.5 %).

Seabuckthorn is an important plant of India and other regions of the world, where it is being widely used as an orchard plant for fruit production and in the ecological rehabilitation of waste lands and eroded areas. In India, seabuckthorn has been developed into a major environmental resource. Many areas that are virtually treeless and losses huge soil due to erosion, seabuckthorn has turned out to be useful because it withstands severe weather and grows huge root systems in poor soil. This is the reason that seabuckthorn is grown in Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir which is known as cold desert. In Mongolia several wild animal species have found a habitat in the sea buckthorn forest, including pheasant, hare and fox.

In Garhwal Himalayas, various economically important tree species including Seabuckthorn (Hippophae salicipholia) have been over exploited for fuel, fodder and seed, therefore presently exist only in some patches here and there. Due to excessive lopping for fodder, the seed are generally not available for natural regeneration. Hence, there is a need of developing technique for mass multiplication of these multipurpose tree species for afforestation and general well being of the rural people.

Originating in the New World tropics, peppers have become ubiquitous culinary essential now grown not only in warm climates but in temperate areas as well. They include both sweet and hot chilli varieties. Botanically chilli belongs to the genus Capsicum. The North East region has its own unique combination of living species, habitats and ecosystems, which together make up its diversity rich resource. While speaking strictly about plant diversity, two regions of the country are termed as hot spots. These are – Western Ghats and the North Eastern hill regions. The King’s chilli is an inter-specific hybrid cultivated in the Nagaland and Assam region of northeastern India and parts of neighboring Bangladesh. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Bhut Jolokia as the world’s hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. From time immemorial, traditionally the Bhut jolokia is been cultivated and consumed by the local people in North eastern states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. A good amount of genetic variability exists in the landraces of the crop in respect of Pod size, shape, and colour etc.

In recent years, the King’s chilli (Bhut jolokia) is gaining importance in the scientific community as it was reported as the hottest chilli. Though Bhoot jolokia or Naga chilli was cultivated from time immemorial, but nobody really bothered to compare its heat with other record setters. The field of King’s chilli is still in a growing stage and it components and their beneficial uses are still to be exploited fully. Very little research towards the scientific cultivation of this potential crop was accomplished in recent years and until now no standard scientific package of practice is available for the cultivation of the crop.

There is tremendous scope for utilizing the available genetic variability of the crop in a well-planned plant breeding programme for further development of elite genotypes in this crop. Development of proper and efficient post harvest mechanism and also of different value added products of King’s chilli shall generate a great potential for earning revenue in the national as well as international markets.

The vegetable crops like knol-khol, Broccoli and kale belong to the genus brassica of the cruciferae family. They are essentially cold weather, hardy crops and thrive best in cool moist season. These crops, if grown under warm conditions, the produce become pungent due to development of glucocide called sinigrin containing sulphur. According to Chowdary (1967), the crops of this group have developed from wild cliff cabbage, also known as cole wrots, from which the name cole has been given. Their taste founds to be more sweat in hills due to low temperature and constitute at top in the list of preference vegetables for people all over India.

This chapter attempts to describe the cultivation of these three cole crops, exclusively grown in hills of India.

Knol-Khol

Knol-khol (Brassica oleracea var. gonylodes) is a well known green–leafy vegetable, which is consumed with leaves and knobs. It is popular among Kashmiri people and the people of hilly areas. Its cultivation is confined to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pardesh, West Bengal, Uttranchal and Punjab. Due to its year round demand and conducive agro-climate available in J&K, it can be cultivated round the year. The crop is of short duration and be grown three to four times a year. Thus it gives very high productivity per unit area.

The present study was undertaken to study the trends of area, production and productivity of major fruit crops in the Himachal Pradesh state. The study was based on secondary data from 1974-75 to 2010-11. The data was collected from several government publications and website. To analyze the trend of area, production and productivity of major fruit crops in the Himachal Pradesh state, the linear, quadratic and exponential functional forms were used. To fit the trend, quadratic functional form was used due to its higher R² value as compared to other two forms. Besides these, compound growth rate, coefficient of variation and instability index was also estimated. The effects of area, productivity and their interaction towards increasing production were also estimated in the present study. The growing of major fruit crops was not risky in the Himachal Pradesh state as revealed by the lower coefficient of variation. The coefficients of variation (CV) of area, production and productivity of major fruit crops were less than 100.13 per cent. The instability indices for area, production and productivity for major fruit crops in the Himachal Pradesh state were positive and thereby indicating less risk for growing major fruit crops in the state. The increase in production is due to increase in area as well as interaction of area and productivity of fruit crops in the state. This may be due to the adoption of high yield variety seed of major fruit crops and adoption of improved methods by the farming community during last decade.

As long ago as 1881 Charles Darwin wrote: “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures”.

The soil of the food bowl states of our country viz. Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and plains of Uttarakhand have become deficient in organic matter, macro and micro nutrients and trace elements. Now soil has become non living due to death of earthworms and beneficial micro organism. Farmers are using mainly nitrogen and phosphorus in crop production. However 17 elements are essential for plants nutrition for growing of crops. To get maximum yield and output from the crop plants, a vicious cycle of using the maximum amount of chemical amendments is going on. In the chemical amendments, indiscriminate use of both fertilizers and pesticides are included. Due to this indiscriminate use of these fertilizers and pesticides, our environment is being polluted and living organisms on this planet are experiencing the deleterious effects of all this on their health. These chemicals also exert their influence on soil flora and fauna, therefore the balance of macro and micronutrients release in soil is being disturbed and as a consequence soil fertility and productivity is decreasing day by day. Therefore, for sustainable agriculture healthy farming is fast becoming an urgent necessity.

The problems being faced are the destruction of the soil health leading to reduction in production potential, failure of pest control strategies due to the development of pesticide resistance, biomagnification of pesticides such as reside problems in food and water. The food grain produced and assessed with attributes of fertilizers, the fertilizer efficiency seems to be decreasing. In 1970-71 it was 17.1%, declined in 1980-81 to 10.3% and in 1988-89 reached to 8.1%. Now a day, farmers are not properly using organic, green and compost manures in crop husbandry. Soil fertility and ground water level has been declining very fast by adopting intensive farming. If soil health of any country has been depleted, then the food grain production will also tend to decrease.

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. Organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides but excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured (synthetic) fertilizers, pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, genetically modified organisms, human sewage sludge, and nano materials.

There is a need to look for new means to check this menace. Chemical fertilizers are necessary to feed the ever increasing population of the nation but this needs to be supplemented with the organic manures. But organic manures are not available in sufficient quantity. Besides, they alone cannot meet the nutritional requirement of the crops and have to be applied alongwith the chemical fertilizers. Experimental results have shown that if organic fertilizers are applied then chemical use can be brought down to half. This will lead to favourable impact on the soil ecology besides saving large amounts that are being pumped to subsidize the chemical fertilizers.

Organic agriculture is picking up in some parts of our nation and it can generate viable farming option to small and marginal farmers. But short supply of the organic inputs is emerging as one of the major bottlenecks. Vermicomposting of city wastes and farm wastes can generate substantial volume of the organic fertilizer for use in our fields, thereby, helping us to overcome major hurdle in taking up organic agriculture production. This chapter attempts to identify the find out the ways and benefits of practicing organic farming and determines the economics of Vermicomposting technology.

The North Eastern Hill Region is the most suitable area of India for organic agricultural farming because of its numerous advantages. This region is said to be, by and large, organic by default or the farmers of this region are de facto organic producers. Truly, the farmers of this region are using very minimal or not even minimal amount of inorganic inputs like fertilizer and pesticides. Almost in all the seven states of this region, farmers are practicing traditional agriculture for thousands of years. Recently, only pockets of the region, the use of inorganic inputs have been started but the level of use is almost negligible. This low chemical input use (inorganic input) is the biggest strength in term of the possibility of organic agriculture in this hilly region. The conversion period of organic from inorganic agriculture will be much lower and easier in this region as compared to other parts of the country. Further, the conversion process will be much easier due to the readily available huge amount of forest biomass and the residues of diverse livestock population. Moreover, experimental results show that during the transition period, the farmers face the problem of yield losses, but in NE India it was observed that yield loss was minimum, sometimes nil, because farmers of this region are using very low level of inorganic inputs. Additionally, the organic products usually fetch higher prices, nearly 20-25 per cent premium as compared to the conventional products, which, may compensate the problem of yield losses during early period of conversion and thereby increase the level of income.

North-Eastern Hill Region is suitable for growing a number of high value crops and following good agricultural practices for cultivation of these crops are likely to increase farm income substantially. Enabling the state to follow systematic organic farm practices is likely to make the farming profession more remunerative. Present socio economic study indicated that the organic farm practices might be quite favourable particularly for few crops like pineapple, turmeric, ginger and cashew, which have readymade potential.

Medziphema rural development block is known for producing sweetest pineapple in Nagaland. A few years earlier, farmers predominantly practised indigenous method of pineapple cultivation where productivity was less. Under horticulture technology mission, farmers have been trained to grow pineapple scientifically. Therefore, a study was conducted to know the scientific orientation of pineapple growing farmers in Medziphema rural development block of Nagaland. Sample pineapple growing farmers were selected as respondents from three purposively selected villages under Medziphema rural development block. Respondents were selected following random sampling procedure. A structured and pretested interview schedule was used for collection of primary data from the respondents. Data analysis was done using SAS software. Findings of the study revealed that, majority of the pineapple growing farmers possessed medium level of scientific orientation, followed by high and low level of scientific orientation. The variable ‘scientific orientation’ was significant and positively associated with the ‘entrepreneurial behaviour’ of the pineapple growers and it was found as an important predictor variable influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour of the pineapple growers. It was inferred from the study that off late, farmers are realising the importance and benefits of growing pineapple scientifically. Scientific orientation can promote the pineapple based entrepreneurial activities which can bring about the socio economic development of the rural people.

Animal Husbandry is a major activity in hilly areas and women contributed the most in maintaining this enterprise. It is of immense importance to conduct study for alleviating drudgery of farm women in hilly areas. Since women’s contribution in animal husbandry is significant to our economy, their technological empowerment is equally important and needs to be given high priority.

This chapter covers a study of a project conducted in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. The concerted efforts made under this project through skill training, field demonstration, constant technical support and motivation resulted in acquisition of knowledge and skills in handling various drudgery reducing technologies in animal husbandry. Technological intervention has made farm women aware of new technologies available to assist them in performing the tasks. As a result there is a change in the practices of women and they have begun to adopt new technologies to improve their work efficiency in animal husbandry. By the use of technologies, there is considerable reduction in the drudgery of farmwomen. Equipment like rake, shovel, and wheel barrow and chaff cutter has not only decreased time and energy consumption but have improved work efficiency in terms of output.

Introduction

Livestock development has always been a major concern in the Indian economy along with agriculture. Animal husbandry and Dairy development play a prominent role in the rural economy in supplementing the income of rural household particularly, the landless, small and marginal farmers. It also provides subsidiary occupation in semi-urban areas and more so for people living in hilly, tribal and drought prone areas where crop output may not sustain the family. Animal husbandry output constitutes about 30 percent of the country’s agricultural output. In recent years, animal husbandry has become more indispensable for human kind because of increasing pressure on cultivable land owing to the population explosion.

The Himalayan region extends all along the Northern boundary of India. It experiences harsh environmental conditions, coupled with unfavourable climate, poor physical capacity of soil and threaten habitat. However, low and mid altitude areas provide environment ranging from sub tropical to temperate, where plant life thrives. The diverse eco-habitat of Himalayan region hosts a wide range of plant diversity as well as crop diversity on which native people rely for their food and nutritional security. Among them, amaranth, buckwheat, chenopod, job’s tear millet and rice bean are the potential crop species of the region as they can easily be grown in harsh environments and degraded lands. These crops possess an exceptionally high nutritional value with higher content of protein, lipids and minerals as well as balanced composition of essential amino acid as compared to other cereals. Majority of people in the country are unaware of the nutritive values of underutilized crops. The chapter provides information on taxonomy, origin and distribution, nutritive value, uses, improved varieties, production and protection technology of the major underutilized crops grown in Himalayan region.

Underutilized crops are well adapted to the lands of Himalayan region and provide food and nutritional security to millions of impoverished people who do not have access to modern agricultural inputs. Owing to their nutritional superiority, underutilized crops are becoming popular in urban area as well as in developed countries as for example Amaranth in USA. With constantly increasing awareness for health products, the demand of underutilized crops is likely to grow in near future. Accelerated research and development are, therefore, essential for increasing production as well as productivity of underutilized crops along with mechanization and value addition.

A lot of infrastructure in the form of sheep breeding or production facilities such as sheep breeding research stations with adequate number of animals have been established and research technologies generated. The research technologies generated have however not been fully adopted by State Animal Husbandry Departments in the field except in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Parts of Rajasthan because of artificial insemination under field conditions due to migratory and semi-migratory practices in sheep husbandry, illiteracy among sheep farmers, their prejudices and convictions and difficulties in the preservation and storage of ram semen and main power requirement.

There is need to study the factors associated with adoption and rejection of sheep rearing as a subsidiary occupation and to know the attitude and knowledge of rural people. So that measures could be suggested to bring greater adoption of sheep rearing. The present study was undertaken to reveal the knowledge and attitude of adopters and non-adopters towards sheep rearing with the identification of factors helping and hindering the adoption of sheep rearing enterprise.

This chapter deals with the review of problems, objectives, hypothesis, research methodology and summary of major findings and conclusions based upon them. In addition, recommendations have also been made to accelerate adoption of sheep rearing programme in the five villages of Block Rajouri, District Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir.

The present study was conducted to measure the knowledge and attitude of rural people towards sheep rearing and to find out the factors responsible for adoption and rejection of sheep rearing. Suitable measures are therefore suggested to bring greater adoption of sheep rearing in the hills of Jammu & Kashmir.

Sustainable sericulture has to take more care about retaining or rebuilding soil quality and health, since it is very high drain on the nutrient content of soil. Sustainability should an evolution criterion in the process of identifying, screening and adopting techno-biological solutions to the sericultural problems. Greater attention should be paid to learn from the indigenous knowledge. In many of the government-sponsored programmes sericulture has been regarded as one of the essential tool for the rural development in the country. As the activities in the sericulture are capable enough to engage the households completely throughout the year and is ideally suited for improving the socioeconomic standards of the rural poor and has often been utilized under various employment programmes in India. As a result, sericulture is being intensively promoted in traditional states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and J & K.

This chapter tries to find out the constraints in adoption of sericulture as subsidiary enterprise the farmers in the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir. Since sericulture is not a major activity in the district and farmers never reluctant to cultivate mulberry in their land and allow only dry land for plantation of mulberry and hardly take care thereafter. Under such circumstances the mulberry grows with lesser leaves production and farmers always faced acute shortage of mulberry leaves during silkworm rearing and they did not get the expected return out of the sericulture. Land, water, proper training of mulberry plants, application of fertilizers guarantee high production and productivity over a wide range in the same areas would qualify to be called as sustainable sericulture system in dry/hilly areas. Besides, other components of technology that can ensure sustainability are soil and water conservation, pests control etc.

Livestock plays a subsidiary role in the farm as far as food production is concerned. Their role in absorbing the huge quantities of crop residues, coarse grains, cereals by-products and farm left-over and returning valuable manure to the soil to sustain their fertility for generation is significant. Livestock in general and dairying in particular is emerging as a driving force in the growth of agricultural sector in India. Dairying is the backbone of the marginal farmers and landless labourers spread over numerous villages scattered throughout the country. It is primary source of income and employment for many of India’s poor. This sector can play an important role in determining future prospects for the employment generation and poverty alleviation in the country.

After the Independence of India, the occupational avenues have undergone a tremendous change. With the spread of education and other amenities of life the traditional occupational structure has considerably changed. The Gujjars who had been a nomadic tribe are extensively becoming sedentary. The Gujjars are one of the important pastoral communities of India. Different social scientists and anthropologists have documented the origin and social aspects of the present Gujjars, who lived a pastoral life. Gujjars have their own Gujri language, which they generally speak among themselves. But they correspond with other people in Urdu generally. The main source of income for Gujjars is dairying. Consumers also prefer milk sold by them, as the quality of milk is good. The role of Gujjars to the rural and urban economy cannot be undermined.

Though information on sociological and anthropological aspects of the pastoral communities has been generated in various studies elsewhere but socio-economic studies are scanty. No concerted efforts have so far been made to study the socio economic of Gujjars, particularly with reference to various important economic parameters like resource structure, family composition, education status, economic status.

The present chapter is an attempt to study the socio economic aspects of one of the well known pastoral communities- the Gujjars of the Jammu district.

Rainfed areas currently constitute 55 per cent of the net sown area of India and are home to two-thirds of livestock and 40 per cent of human population. Livestock plays an important role in the rainfed agro-ecosystem, because of inherent risk involved in the crop farming. The aspect of milk production costs in the country need to be reduced to make the dairy industry competitive. The milk production costs are generally high because of small herd size, difficult collection conditions in hills and high feed costs. Cost of production of rearing animals can be reduced either by improving per unit productivity or reducing feed cost which is the major constituent of total cost. The scientific practices of growing feed and fodder needs to be disseminated among the farmers for increasing the efficiency of dairy animals.

Forages also contribute in prevention of soil erosion and decline in organic matter and fertility. They can also help in reducing nitrogen fertilizer costs and the energy costs associated with application of nutrients.This chapter attempts to determine the economics of different fodder and fodder seed crops for highlighting their importance in the livestock sector in hills.

Introduction

Livestock are vital to subsistence farming and sustainable livelihood in most developing countries. Of India’s population of one billion people, more than 70 percent live in the rural areas. India also has more than 30 percent of the world’s bovine population. So, Milk production costs are generally high Livestock rearing plays a significant role in the economy of the Indian people. Crop residues and pastures / grasslands are the major feed resource for this activity.

Climatic, topography, physiographic factors, altitude and related aspects have influenced the distribution of various crop and grass species, which determine the fodder/forages production both qualitatively and quantitatively (Whyte, 1968). Though livestock rearing is an important occupation of farmers in India, the scientific forage cultivation has remained almost neglected. Thoughtless cutting of trees and indiscriminate use of grazing areas has lead to denudation of hill slopes, which has resulted in critically low biomass availability and adverse effects on livestock production in hills and thus, the livestock productivity remains very low.

The North-East Hilly Region (NER) has a good dairy and animal husbandry infrastructure and climatic condition conducive for raring high yielding dairy animals. Other than acting as a supplementary source of family nutrition, dairying is more as a source of livelihood as 90 per cent of the milk is sold out. The various dairy development programme and schemes launched in the region provide the necessary backward and forward linkages to the dairy farmers in term of feed and veterinary aids and collection, processing and marketing of milk. Considering the changing trends of competitiveness in the dairy market and dairy enterprise as such there is a need for a scientific and technological intervention to transform the traditional dairy farming system into a modern and profitable enterprise. The farmers need to be trained and exposed to modern dairy farming system in order to survive in the long run. The outlook for milk production has changed a lot and people are more concerned on the quality of milk and so necessary emphasis has to be made on clean milk production. To order to use the resources effectively and in order to sustain dairying there is a need to upgrade or replace the low yielding animals by high yielding breed/ variety. The SWOT analysis gives a strong signal for opportunities and avenues for further development of dairying in the region. To harness the opportunities of dairying a strong dairy supply chain need to be developed in an organized manner starting from milk producer to ultimate consumer.

Mechanization should not be an end in itself and therefore, in a free choice situation, Governments should refrain from making policies which will stipulate by which means or by how much, agriculture will be mechanized. The type and degree of mechanization should be decided by the producer to best suit his business and his own particular circumstances, and the choice of suitable methods will therefore be just one of a number of choices that the farmer has to make. The decision on if and how to mechanize is often a complicated mix of reasons with economic reasons paramount. The introduction of machines will not only make agriculture more acceptable but will also provide opportunities for the use of higher intelligence, skill and initiative. This chapter attempts to work out the comparative economics of some of the machinery that are useful for hill regions.

For the sustainable development of agricultural mechanization, it is needed to locally fabricate widely used agricultural tools, implements and machinery. However, the prevailing policy does not favour production of agricultural machinery locally (high custom duty of raw materials, no support in promotion, irregular power supply, high electricity cost, poor research & testing support etc.). Hence there is need of reform in policy and program to encourage and support local fabricators to fabricate/manufacture agricultural machinery locally. There is need of testing and standardization of agricultural machinery to reduce the accidents related to agricultural machinery and to provide quality standard agricultural machinery to the farmers.

The functioning of the Women Dairy Cooperative Societies depends upon the variations in managerial capacity leading to profit and loss of different WDCS. To make an in-depth analysis, the study was undertaken in undivided Cuttack and Dhenkanal district of Odisha covering 22 randomized WDCS with a sample of 110 women respondents.

The analysis of the findings after statistical treatment have been presented objective-wise as follows;

Socio-economic profile of the members of WDCS involved in dairy production activities.

Gap between procedures prescribed and followed in formation and functioning of WDCS.

Identification and analysis of key performance areas in the WDCS.

Determination of management practices and milk production profiles of WDCS members.

Extent of participation of women members in dairy activities.

Entrepreneurial characteristics of members of Women Dairy Cooperative Society.

Impact of WDCS on socio-economic status of the members.

Correlating variables and their interrelationship in predicting smooth functioning of WDCS.

Constraints faced by the WDCS members.

Suggestions of members for improvement in functioning of WDCS

The major focus of the study was to critically analyse the overall performance of Women Dairy Cooperative Societies (WDCS) in two districts of Odisha. The methodology used in carrying out investigation has been outlined in eight sections as mentioned below.

1. Selection of problem
2. Research design
3. Plan of work
4. Locale of the study
5. Sampling procedure

The study was undertaken in the state of Odisha. The state lies in between 17^o-31’ to 22^o-27’ North latitude and 81^o-27 to 87^o-30’ East longitude. It is bounded by West Bengal in the north east, Jharkhand in the north, Chatisgarh in the west, Andhra Pradesh in the south and Bay of Bengal in the east. The main features of the state is appeared inTable 3.1.

Status of Women

As per 2011 Census, women account for 586.46 million, and represent 48.5% of India’s total population. However, from global perspectives, they constitute half of global population, and 1/3^rd labour force, but receive only 1/10^th of world income, and own less than 1% of world’s property. Further from national point of view as Reddy et al. (1994) in his study opined that “although women constitute 50 percent of India’s population, perform two-thirds of the work and produce 50 percent of food commodities consumed by the country and they earn only one-third of the remuneration and 10 percent of the property or wealth of the country.

The vast majority of working women are uneducated cultivators and agricultural labourers residing in villages. Most of the women, working on the family farm are unpaid labourers. 63 percent of all educated women with at least a high school certificate are unemployed, and of the 37 percent who are employed 15 percent are clerks, 5 percent teachers, 7 percent nurses and 10 percent are other professionals. Only 6 percent of Government employees are women (Jain, A.K. 2004). Rural Women form the most important productive work force in the economy of majority of the developing nations including India. Agriculture, the single largest production endeavour in India, contributing about 18% of GDP, is increasingly becoming a female activity. Agriculture sector employs 4/5th of all economically active women in the country. 48% of India’s self-employed farmers are women. There are 75 million women engaged in dairying as against 15 million men and 20 million in animal husbandry as compared to 1.5 million men.

Despite progress in several key indicators, a gender analysis demonstrates that women continue to be relatively disadvantaged in matters of survival, health, nutrition, literacy and productivity. Further, more than 90 percent of rural women are unskilled, restricting them to low paid occupations. Women generally have no control over land and other productive assets which largely exclude them from access to institutional credit. Further, agricultural wages for women, on an average 30-50 percent less than those for men. Though they work for longer hours under inhospitable conditions, their participation in decision making process is less than desirable.

Livestock Population and it’s Economic Contribution

According to 18th Livestock census of India (2007), India has about 199.1 million cattle, which constitute 44.29 per cent of Asian and 12.7 per cent of the world cattle population. The current buffalo population is 105.34 million which accounts 57 per cent of Asian and 55 per cent of the world buffalos. The major output of the entire livestock sector is from the milk, which is the second most agricultural commodities next to paddy. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, during 2006-07, the contribution of milk alone (Rs.1,44,386 crore) was higher than paddy (Rs.85,032 crore), wheat (Rs.66,791 crore) and sugarcane (Rs.28,488 crore). The value of output from meat group animals as per estimates of Central Statistical Organization (CSO) at current prices was Rs. 34, 310 crore during 2006-07. Total export earnings from livestock, poultry and related products were Rs.5,213.80 crore during 2006-07. Eighty percent rural households keep livestock for their subsidiary income, important for employment, livelihood, nutrition, constant flow of quick and fast income, reduces the vulnerability of agricultural production. Trends indicate that animal protein consumption would rise proportionately with increase in income. The 18th Livestock Census (2007) has placed the total livestock population at 529.698 million and total of poultry birds at 648.830 million.

19.1 INTRODUCTION

Roselle is a perennial shrub but grown as an annual. In the seventeenth century, the vegetable types were introduced to India and the United States of America. It is locally known as Mesta or Meshta in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the important fibre crops, which stands next to jute in production. In India, mesta is grown in larger parts covering areas from Karnataka to Tripura including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Meghalaya. However, Andhra Pradesh has maximum area under mesta in the country. In many tropical regions, it is a popular vegetable, which is cultivated for its leaves, stems, seeds and calyces. Tender young leaves are eaten as a vegetable and the red calyces surrounding the fruit can be used to prepare non-alcoholic beverages and as colouring reagent for jelly, jam, and beverages. The stem is utilised for extraction of fibre. The plant stalks are used in making paper pulp, structural boards, as a blend for wood pulp and thatching huts. The leaves are a source of mucilage used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Culinary cultivars are many branched, bushy and generally 1-2 m tall.

19.2 CHOICE OF CULTIVARS

Roselle is cultivated as a vegetable as well as fibre crop. In the beginning the tender leaves, stems and calyces are consumed. In the later stage it is used for fibre. The details of cultivars developed by different institutes and State Agricultural Universities for various uses are given below

18.1 INTRODUCTION

Sorrel is a perennial herb, which is found in grassland habitats throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts of Central Asia. It is of two types such as Garden sorrel that is a native of Europe and south western Asia and French sorrel that is originated in the mountains of southern France and the southern and central regions of Europe and south-west Asia. The name sorrel is derived from the Germanic word, Sur and the old French word Surele, both meaning sour. It is primarily used as a culinary herb for its leaves, which are used in salads too. The leaf of this plant resembles that of spinach and have a lemony lettuce flavour and the plant is well known for strong acidity in Europe and the United States. Sorrel is a rich source of potassium, iron and vitamins A, B₁ and C. The flavour of sorrel leaves is mainly due to oxalic acid, which is harmless when consumed in small amount. Owing to high level of vitamin C content, it was rightly believed to protect against scurvy disease. It is a dioecious plant, that bears unisexual flowers, as the male and female flowers appear on different plants. When the plant flowers, they look very attractive and are often used as an ornamental plant.

18.2 CHOICE OF CULTIVARS

In India, it is not a common leafy vegetable and is grown on a limited scale, mostly in kitchen gardens. Even in Europe and other countries, different local strains are grown for both home gardening and commercial cultivation. Profusion is a cultivar, which mutated naturally in France and produces only leaves without forming seed, and hence, the plant always has fresh and ready to pick leaves.

17.1 INTRODUCTION

Basella is a short-lived but productive leafy vegetable of the tropics. Its resistance to pests and diseases makes it very promising for small-scale production in home and market gardens. The plant is a climbing vine with thick fleshy stem and leaves. They are chopped and cooked as vegetables and has ornamental value too. Its leaves are rich source of vitamin A (3250 IU/100g), protein (1.2%) and rich source of iron (1.4mg/100g). The succulent leaves with petioles and tender leaves are cooked as vegetables. The plant is a climbing vine with thick fleshy stem and leaves. It was cultivated since long in South-East Asia and China, and is now widespread throughout tropical Asia, Africa and America. It is a popular vegetable in Malaysia and the Philippines. The colouring matter present in the red cultivar is reported to have been used in China as a red dye for official seals, as ink. These are used to allay fever and as a mild laxative for pregnant women. A decoction from the plant is used to alleviate labour pains. Boiled leaves are used as a poultice. Flower spikes are sold as vegetable in northern Thailand markets. Flowers have been reported as an antidote to poisons. Fruit juice is used as eye-drops in the treatment of conjunctivitis. Cooked roots are used to cure diarrhoea, while cooked leaves and stems are used as a laxative. The red types of Ceylon spinach are very popular ornamentals and are grown as a pot plant in Europe.

16.1 INTRODUCTION

Portulaca is an annual potherb, but may be perennial in the tropics. In many parts of the world, it is still regarded as a weed with nutritional potential. Its young stems and leaves are succulent and edible with a slightly acidic and salty taste. Stems are glabrous, f leshy, purplish-red to green, arising from a taproot, often prostrate, forming mats. It is described as a power food of the future because of its high nutritive and antioxidant properties. It contains more omega-3 fatty acids (300 to 400 mg/100 g of fresh leaves) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Succulent leaves and stem also contain dietary minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium, as well as vitamins A, C and E and some amount of vitamin B and carotenoids. It has been recommended as a cholesterol lowering agent and as a therapy for arteriosclerosis. Generally, roots and leaves contain more iron and manganese than stems. Due to oxalic acid and nitrate content, excessive consumption of purslane is not recommended. The cultivated form of Purslane, i.e., Portulaca oleracea (garden or green purslane) and Portulaca sativa (yellow leaves, less hardy than the green purslane but possessing the same qualities), is hexaploid. Purslane is a succulent and well-branched herb, leaves are spirally arranged, f lowers are yellow, stamens 7-10, style with arms, fruit ovoid, capsule, seeds numerous, tiny and black in colour.

15.1 INTRODUCTION

Curry leaf is an important perennial tree vegetable cum spice crop of India mostly used in South Indian culinary preparations for flavouring food stuff. It is an underexploited crop. The leaves have slightly pungent, bitter and feebly acidic taste and they retain their flavour and other qualities even after drying. Curry leaf is used in many of the Indian Ayurvedic and Unani prescriptions. It has many industrial values and medicinal uses. Its leaves, roots and bark are credited with tonic, stomachic and carminative properties. Leaves are reported to cure piles and allay heat of body. The green leaves are said to be eaten raw for treatment of dysentery. External application of pulped bark and root is reported to relive eruptions and bites of poisonous animals. An injection of toasted leaves is used to stop vomiting. The tribal people of India use its ground bark to rub on the bitten Part As a snake bite remedy. The powdered leaves are also used to aid in healing of fresh cuts. The dried curry leaf powder is also a good spice powder for use in the food stuff preparation and is exported. Fresh leaves on a steam distillation under high pressure yield 2.6 % (curry leaf oil) volatile oil which is used as fixative for heavy type of soap and perfume. Rectified leaf oil is deep yellow in colour with a strong spicy odour and pungent clove like taste. A volatile oil, a crystalline glucoside ‘Koenigin’ from the leaves and ‘Murayam’ from the flowers are industrial products. Curry leaf is grown on large scale in West Bengal, Assam, Deccan plateau, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It is cultivated in Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli districts of Tamil Nadu on a commercial scale.

14.1 INTRODUCTION

Drumstick is one of the most popular perennial tree vegetables in the south Indian households and known as miracle tree. This perennial vegetable survives for several years and goes on yielding vegetables without much care and attention, and is planted on the side of the kitchen garden without much interference with tillage operations of other annual crops. The fruits, leaves and flowers are used in culinary preparation. Immature fruits are cut into pieces and used in several culinary dishes. Fruits are rich in Vitamin C, carotene, Phosphorus and minerals like Mg, K, S, Cl etc. Tender leaves and flowers are comparable to that of Colocasia in vitamins and minerals. Drumstick leaves contain high amount of vitamin A (four times more than carrot), vitamin C (seven times more than orange), protein (5-10%), calcium (four times more than milk) and potassium (three times more than banana).The roots of the plant are used for seasoning pickles. Its roots are a good substitute for Horse Radish so called as Horse radish tree. It is highly valued for the distinct and appealing flavour for its tender fruits. They are rich source of protein, minerals and vitamins. Seeds contain an oil called ben or behen oil which has been much used for illumination, soap industry and highly priced for lubricating watches, computers, delicate machinery and so known as Ben oil tree. Seeds contain 38-40% of non-drying oil which is clear and odourless, that never becoming rancid. The oil contains high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid up to 67.8%. It is edible and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hair dressing. The press cake remaining after oil extraction is high in saponin, not edible, but utilized as manure. The oil cake is a water coagulant and used for purifying effluent water. It is used as organic substitute for water purifying chemicals such as aluminium sulphate. Wood yields blue dye and coarse fibre. The plant is used for treatment of rheumatism and as cardiac and circulating system stimulants. It has fragile and cory stem. The trunk is gaining importance as a raw material for paper making. The gum of stem has medicinal properties. The leaves are usually tri-pinnate with elliptic leaflets. Seeds are trigonous with wings on angles. Flowers are produced on current seasons growth on large and erect panicles or monocladial cymes. Flowers are yellowish creamy white and sweet smelling. It is a cross-pollinated crop. Pollinator is carpenter bees, bumble bee, honey bee and flee beetle. Flowering mostly varies from place to place and is greatly influenced by rain, temperature, humidity, wind, soil moisture and soil temperature etc. Peak period of flowering in central parts of India and Kerala is December-January while in southern part it is February-March and July-August with maximum flowering in February-March. Fruits take 60 days for horticultural maturity during rainy season while 30 days in summer.

13.0 INTRODUCTION

Cucurbits belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, commonly known as the melon or gourd family. The term cucurbits was coined by Dr Bailey. From nutritional point of view, cucurbit seeds are valued for their high oil and protein contents. Seed proteins and methionine of cucurbits are higher than legumes. Vegetatively propagated cucurbits are pointed gourd, ivy gourd and chow-chow. Long day of 16 hours and high temperature result in maleness. Short day of 9 hours results in femaleness. They are widely distributed in the tropics and warm temperate regions of south, southeast and East Asia, Africa including Madagascar, and central and south America. Cucurbitaceae family is represented by about 117 genera and 825 species. The most common uses of cucurbits are as vegetables and fruits. They are valuable sources of vitamins and minerals. The important cucurbits that are cultivated commercially are cucumber, watermelon, musk melon, long melon, round melon, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ash gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, pumpkin, squash, snake gourd, pointed gourd, spine gourd, ivy gourd and chow-chow etc. Cucurbits are used as vegetable, salads, dessert and pickle, and for making of sweets.

Vegetable: Bitter gourd, ridge gourd and sponge gourd, round gourd, pointed gourd and pumpkin are used as vegetables. Immature fruits of musk melon are also cooked as vegetable only in some areas.

Salad: Excellent salad is made from cucumber and little gourd.

Dessert: Muskmelon, water melon and cucumber are used as desserts.

Pickle: Cucumber, little gourd and bitter gourd are used for making pickles.

Sweets: Pointed gourd and ash gourd are used for making sweets.