eChapters

Introduction

Ever since the civilization of mankind, efforts have been directed towards accumulating and storing foods when they are in plenty in order to meet needs during the days of scarcity. In case of food grains not much problem was faced due to nature’s noble way of reducing the moisture level as the grains mature. However, in case of fruits and vegetables, long-term storage in their fresh form was not possible (until development of modern methods) primarily due to their high degree of perishability owing to high moisture content of these commodities at the time of harvest.

Appropriate Post Harvest Management (PHM) of horticultural crops fruits and vegetables in their fresh form prolongs their usefulness and in some cases improves their quality. It also checks market glut, helps in orderly marketing, increases financial gain to the producers and preserves quality of produce for much longer time. Horticultural produce like fruits, vegetables and cut flowers are living, respiring tissues separated from the parent plant. Therefore, the aim of PHM is to control various physiological processes viz. respiration, transpiration and other metabolic activities to keep produce in maximum usable form.

Introduction

Ration formulation is a process by which different feed ingredients are combined in a proportion necessary to provide the animal with proper amount of nutrients needed at a particular stage of production. It requires the knowledge about nutrients, feedstuffs and animal in the development of nutritionally adequate rations that will be eaten in sufficient amounts to provide the level of production at a reasonable cost. The ration should be palatable and will not cause any serious digestive disturbance or toxic effects to the animal.
 
Different species, strains or classes of animals have different requirements for energy (carbohydrates and fats), proteins, minerals and vitamins in order to maintain its various functions like maintenance, reproduction, egg production, milk production and/or growth.
  
Least-cost ration formulation for non-ruminants is being prepared by  linear computer programming. For ruminants the approach used is to maximize the use of roughage, then, concentrate is used to supply the deficient  nutrients to meet the requirement of the animals. It should be remembered that rations for ruminants are formulated on dry matter basis due to wide variations in moisture content of feeds especially roughage.

Introduction

Fisheries represent an important and fast growing food production sector in India that contributes more than 1% to the National GDP and 4.7% to the agricultural GDP. With an annual production of about 7 million tonnes from marine and inland waters, the country is the 3rd fish producer in the world and the 2nd largest producer of inland fish, next only to China. With a coastline of 8,129 km and EEZ of 2.02 sq km, our marine fish production is to the tune of 2.95 million tonnes. Similarly, the inland fisheries resources comprising 29,000 km of rivers, 0.3 million ha of estuaries, 0.19 million ha of backwaters and lagoons, 3.15 million ha of reservoirs, 0.2 million ha of floodplain wetlands. 0.72 million ha of upland lakes and 2.34 million ha of ponds and tanks produce 3.76 million tonnes annually. Annual export earnings from fish and shellfish are about Rs.8.357 crore, accounting for nearly 20% of the agricultural export. Fish is a health food that is relatively cheap and affordable to the poor. Fisheries and aquaculture provides income, food and livelihood to more than 14 million people directly or indirectly. The annual per capita availability of fish in the country is 9 kg that sustains the domestic market price of fish and the sector has registered an impressive overall annual growth rate of over 4% over the years, with growth in some farming activities going beyond 5%. However, stagnating growth in marine and inland capture fisheries is a cause of concern.

Introduction

In India, the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) sector plays a pivotal role in the overall industrial economy of the country. It is estimated that in terms of value, the sector accounts for about 39 per cent of the manufacturing output and around 33 per cent of the total export of the country. Further, in recent years the MSE sector has consistently registered higher growth rate compared to the overall industrial sector. The major advantage of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. As per available statistics, this sector employs an estimated 31 million persons spread over 12.8 million enterprises and the labour intensity in the MSE sector is estimated to be almost 4 times higher than the large enterprises.

Definition for SMEs is often considered to be an obstacle for business studies and market research. Definitions in use today define thresholds in terms of employment, turnover and assets. They also incorporate a reasonable amount of flexibility around year-to-year changes in these measures so that a business qualifying as an SME in one year can have a reasonable expectation of remaining an SME in the next.

Introduction

The achievements in agriculture and its allied areas has made our country self sufficient economically. Our country has many landmarks in production of the grains, milk, meat, flower, vegetable etc which not only fulfill our own demands but even earning a lot of foreign exchange from export. Unemployment is a major problem effecting the growth of our country. The reasons for higher state of unemployment in rural areas can be attributed to poverty, law education and lack of job appointment. Alternatively, if the youths are self employed in the agrobased enterprises, then the problem of unemployment could be reduced to a certain limit, especially in the villages. There are so many vocations in which youth could be engaged such as dairy farming, poultry, piggery, beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, flower cultivation etc.

Introduction

Civilization of mankind began with the process of domestication of livestock and poultry. The Indian Red Jungle fowl is considered as the ancestor of modern day chicken breeds. Chickens were first domesticated in S E Asia (India, Southern China, Burma, Malaya region) between 5000 – 3000 BC and then spread westwards and then Africa, Europe and America. Poultry in India was a leisurely and backyard village venture till sixties. The entire poultry scenario of Indian sub-continent changed only in last 4-5 decades and now India ranks 3rd in egg production (3.9%) after China (45%) & USA (8%) and 5th in broiler production (3.3%) after USA (26.5%), China (17%), Brazil (15.5%) & Mexico (4.3%) with about 54,000 and 1800 million eggs and broilers produced annually. But in terms of per capita availability it ranks amongst the lowest. Poultry production systems of the developing nations including India can be broadly categorized into two distinct classes: one - low external input traditional family poultry production system or free range or backyard poultry in unorganized sector in the villages and the other one is high input industrial or intensive poultry production system in urban and peri-urban areas. The former is highly unorganized and consists of thousands of small holders (5-15 birds) where birds scavenge and forage on house-hold wastes, shrubs, weeds, crop residues, insects and aquatic plants with no or little external inputs.

Introduction

India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Fruits and vegetables are the reservoir of vital nutrients. Being highly perishable, 20-40% of the total production of fruits and vegetables goes waste from the time of harvesting till they reach the consumers. It is, therefore, necessary to make them available for consumption throughout the year in processed or preserved form and to save the sizeable amount of losses. At present, about 2% of the total produce is processed in India mainly for domestic consumption. The most alarming situation is the post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables worth approximately Rs. 18,500 crores per annum. Fruits and vegetables have great potential for value addition and diversification to give a boost to food industry, create employment opportunities and give better returns to the farmers.

Post harvest management of fruits and vegetables plays a significant role in achieving the target of nutritional security to the ever-growing population as well as to meet the requirement of processing industry and export trade.  With the advent and development of food consciousness amongst the consumers, to elaborate food standards, codes of hygienic practice, are necessary to maintain the quality of the food products.

Introduction

Good quality seed plays an important and crucial role in deciding the performance of any crop. Availability of quality seed is one of the important factors for increasing the production and productivity of agriculture. Seed is the cheapest and most efficient input as compared to other inputs like fertilizer, pesticides, water etc. Timely availability of quality seed of the right variety/ hybrid in adequate quantity decides the strength and health of agricultural economy.

Seed has been defined in many ways. Botanically, seed is defined as “a mature fertile ovule”. Seed is also defined as “an embryo, a living organism, embedded in the supporting or food storage tissue surrounded by seed coat”. Seed is also defined as “any plant part (cuttings, corms, bulbs, rhizomes etc.) used for growing commercial crops”.

Seed a basic input in Agriculture, a carrier of new technology, a basic tool for secured food supply. Seed is a principal means to secure crop yield in less favorable production areas. Seed is an important medium for rapid rehabilitation of agriculture in cases of natural disaster.

Introduction

Vegetables are one of the potential crops in meeting the food requirements and improving the nutritional status of our people. They play a vital role in crop diversification, employment generation, and nutritional security and in improving the economic conditions of farmers.

Our country has made a tremendous progress in vegetable production and ranked as second largest producers of vegetables in the world with a total production of more than 125 million tons per annum. Our estimated demand is about 225 million tons by 2020 AD. This target can be achieved through use of improved vegetable varieties, hybrids and production technologies even with diminishing land and water resources.

In Indian vegetable scenario, IARI has contributed significantly by developing more than 168 improved varieties and 24 hybrids in different vegetables. Apart from high yielding, many of these varieties/F₁ hybrids are resistant to biotic and abitic stresses and also suitable for processing, value addition and export. Besides developing large number of improved varieties and F₁ hybrids of vegetables, IARI has developed/standardized improved hi-tech vegetable nursery and off-season production technologies which require commercialization by the entrepreneurs as these can bring quantum improvement

Introduction

In spite of considerable progress achieved during the last three decades in horticulture production in India, the average productivity of different horticultural crops is quite low as compared to the best yields at national and world level. This indicates the scope to enhance the yield in different horticultural crops by many fold along with its quality specially in vegetables. This is because of an appealing gap between potential yield and the actual yield of various vegetable crops. For many vegetable crops, the yields realized are even less than 50% of their potential yield. Some time the farmers who are growing their horticultural crops during main season are even not getting back their cost of production, but the prices of the same horticulture produce is very high during off season. Several biotic and abiotic stresses are the major factors for low productivity and poor quality in several horticultural crops under their open field cultivation during rainy and post rainy season more specifically in vegetables. The increasing demand of off-season and high quality vegetables in various markets of the big cities has calls the attention of the vegetable growers for diversification from traditional way of vegetable cultivation or from traditional agriculture.

Introduction

Having decided to become an agri-preneur, the next task is to decide what business to venture into, the product or range of products that shall be taken up for manufacture and in what quantity. This may sound simple, it is the hardest and the single most important decision one will take in this whole business of setting up a small-scale enterprise. As the old saying goes “well begun is half done”, and if the decision to select a product is right, basically enterprise will do well, if not there are likely to be troubles ahead. One of the reasons why many small scale units become “sick” is that no serious thought is given by the entrepreneur before starting the unit on whether there is reasonable chance of succeeding in the product selected.

Even after one has taken a correct decision, all sorts of things can happen and upset the plans, but in such cases, one can retrieve the situation, provided the product selected is intrinsically sound. There could be factors beyond control and one must be prepared to face them.

Of all kinds of resources; financial, natural, physical and human resources, the most critical resources for any endeavor are the human resources involved in it. Physical, natural and economic resources are important for facilitating development of any nation but the most important are the human resources. Human resources are the most significant of all the resources to convert all other available resources into production and economic entities. Capable, efficient and motivated human resources can bring about the tremendous positive change towards progress. No doubt, it is equally true that inefficient people can wither away a whole empire and squander away its precious wealth and abundance. People are the real wealth of nations.

Resource appraisal is very significant for micro-enterprise development especially in rural areas. A developing economy like India needs entrepreneurs who are competent to perceive new opportunities and are willing to incur the necessary risks in exploiting them. Rural areas are infrastructurally poor and to take up any entrepreneurial venture in such a scenario appears to be enormous to the simple farmer who has been engaged in cultivating the land in a traditional manner. Developing agri-enterprises is needed urgently to enhance the productivity and incomes of the farmers from their ever shrinking agricultural lands.

Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development of any country. India is moving progressively towards becoming a ‘Knowledge economy’ it becomes increasingly important that the focus is made on advancement of skills and these skills have to be relevant to the emerging economic environment. In old economy, skill development largely meant development of shop floor or manual skills. In new or knowledge economy the skill sets can range from professional, conceptual, managerial, operational behavioral to interpersonal skills and inter-domain skills. In the 21^st century as science progresses towards a better understanding of the miniscule, that is, genes, nano-particles, bits and bytes and neurons, knowledge domains and skill domains also multiply and become more and more complex. Micro enterprise development is one of the strategies seen to bring about pro-poor economic growth.

The concept of entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. On one extreme, an entrepreneur is a person of very high aptitude who pioneers change, possessing characteristics found in only a very small fraction of the population. On the other extreme of definitions, anyone who wants to work for himself or herself is considered to be an entrepreneur. The word entrepreneur originates from the French word, entreprendre, which means “to undertake.” In a business context, it means to start a business. The Merriarn-Webster Dictionary presents the definition of an entrepreneur as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.

Many research studies have contributed to the literature on characteristics of entrepreneurs. Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter’s definition of entrepreneurship placed an emphasis on innovation, such as new products, new production methods, new markets and new forms of organization. Wealth is created when such innovation results in new demand. From this viewpoint, one can define the function of the entrepreneur as one of combining various input factors in an innovative manner to generate value to the customer with the hope that this value will exceed the cost of the input factors, thus generating superior returns that result in the creation of wealth. From an economist’s point of view, an entrepreneur is one who brings resources, labour, materials and other assets into combinations that make their value greater than before.

India occupies second position among the silk producing countries of the world, next only to China. Sericulture as a farm enterprise is highly suited to rural poor, especially small and marginal farmers and other weaker sections of the society, since it requires low investments but provides good and quick returns at individual family level. Several socio-economic studies have established that cost-benefit ratio in sericulture is highest compared to agricultural crops. Though there are limitations to the number of broods that can be raised per year in Himalayan region due to ecological conditions, net returns from sericulture activities are quite remunerative and effectively supplement the rural economy through part-time employment opportunities and utilization of local resources.

Introduction

Ever since its discovery, silk as a unique product of a plant-animal interface, continues to reign supreme despite the onslaught of natural and man-made textile fibres, because it is exclusive and the most beautiful of all textile fibres. It is associated with comfort, festivity and fashion.

Sericulture has established itself as an economic activity with a rural-base. It presents an intriguing example of an agro-industry whose potential to act as a safety-net for the poor in rural areas is unquestionable. From “Soil to Silk” activities, sericulture creates around 6 million person-years of incomegenerating opportunities. It generates employment @ 11 man-days per kg of raw silk production in a year in associated upstream and downstream activities. Sericulture is thus a labour-intensive cottage industry in all its phases, namely, host plant cultivation, silkworm rearing, silk reeling, and other post-cocoon processes such as twisting, dyeing, weaving, printing and finishing.

Beekeeping symbolizes the biological interdependence between insects, pollination and production of seed. Honey bees have been tirelessly rendering this yeoman service to benefit human-kind since time immemorial. Beekeeping is defined as “the science and art of rearing honey bees for man’s economic benefits”. Since, honey producing bees are restricted to the genus Apis beekeeping is also called ‘Apiculture’. A suitable place selected for housing honey bee hives, equipments and related accessories is referred to as an “apiary”. The invention of movable hive with separable frames in 1851 by L.L. Langstroth gave beekeeping the impetus to flourish. Further fine-tuning of scientific rearing techniques in these movable hives helped in spreading beekeeping to the newer areas.

Honey Producing Species of Bee

About 20,000 bee species are found worldwide. However, only four species viz. the European honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), the oriental bee (A. cerana Fabricius), the dwarf bee (A. florae Fabricius), and the giant or rock bee (A. dorsata Fabricius) are commonly recognized as honey producing. Amongst these two, only A. cerana and A. mellifera are hived because these build multiple-combs in dark cavities. The other two build single comb nests in the open (Akratnakul 1987a, Ruttner 1987).

Abstract

The hilly regions of western Himalayas comprise of three states namely Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal which are divided into High Altitude Temperate, High Hill Temperate and Valley Temperate zones. Through observations, trial and error, man has developed skills related to cultivation, utilization and livelihood. These were transmitted through generations and in this way, a system of traditional knowledge developed and moved forward for the benefit of the society. Food is the basic necessity for the survival of human beings. Since ancient times, various methods have been used to process and preserve foods especially in the Himalayan regions. The food habits and preparation of various dishes depend upon the availability of crops and surrounding vegetation. On the basis of the substrate used, traditional foods and beverages of Himalayan region are broadly classified as Cereal and Legume based, Milk based, Fruits and Vegetables, and others. Some of the popular traditional foods of Himalayan region are Aenkadu/Askalu, Bagpinni/ pinni, Chhangpa, Chaulai ka bhat, Kutu ki roti, Lesuwa roti, Tilkuta, Kaddu ke khwaire, Mooli ke khwaire, Sarson ki dhusi, Arbi ke sukhe danthal, Chaulai ki kheer, Ogal ka halwa. Traditional fermented foods and beverages are very popular in the tribal and rural areas of western Himalayas. Besides being source of nutrition, these fermented foods constitute staple food (Bhaturu) in larger part of western Himalayas while others are consumed during local festivals, marriages and special occasions. A variety of indigenous fermented foods and beverages available are; Kinema, Marcha, Phab, Bekanthu, Gundruk, Sinki, Soibun, Sura, Chhang, Daru, Angoori/ Kinnauri etc.Due to lack of proper scientific technology the quality of such foods especially beverages (many- a- times) is uncertain and their consumption leads to a higher incidence of fatal diseases among the consumers. This chapter briefly reviews the preparation, significance and quality of indigenous foods of Western Himalayas which offer tremendous opportunity for sustaining livelihood of the people of Himalayan region and stimulating agro-industrial development even in the developing countries, after upgrading and sustaining their quality.

The relationship between man and plant resources of his surroundings is intimate. Of the 350 tribes inhabiting different parts of India, about 171 dwell in Himalayan region. The inhabitants of the mountain areas use native flora for food, fodder, fiber, fuel, timber and for health care of both human beings and their livestock. These plant resources, particularly medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), not only meet their health care needs but also support their livelihood. Recently the demand of MAPs has transformed from local and traditional needs to global needs. This has adversely affected availability and quality of raw material as also livelihood and health options of the local people. Most of the raw materials are gathered from the forests, and only a few plants are under cultivation. To avoid rampant exploitation of MAPs from nature, there is an urgent need to establish procedures for their cultivation and organized marketing. The present article deals with strategies and actions to protect livelihood options of the indigenous communities inhabiting mountain areas in western Himalaya as well as promote sustainable utilization of MAPs through scientific and technological interventions.

Introduction

India and China are two major Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) producing countries, providing 40% of the global diversity and availability of rare species. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has identified and documented over 9,000 species of medicinal plants that are significant for the pharmaceutical industry (AICRPE 1996). Of these, 2,000 to 2,300 species are used in traditional medicines while at least 150 species are used commercially on a large scale (EXIM Bank 1997).

The Himalayan region is recognized amongst the 34 global biodiversity hotspots. The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) comprises of five biogeographic provinces, covers approximately an area of 591 thousand km² and extends from Jammu and Kashmir in the north-west to the Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The IHR is a source of great diversity of food, fuel, fodder, timber, dye and medicinal plants. It comprises about 18% of India and is more than 2,800 km long and 220 to 300 km wide, with altitudinal range of 200–8,000 m. The IHR alone supports about 8,000 species of angiosperms, 44 species of gymnosperms, 600 species of pteridophytes, 1,737 species of bryophytes, 1,159 species of lichens and 6,900 species of fungi. The state Himachal Pradesh is divided into four conspicuous zones, namely Shivalik/lower montain zone, mid-hills/middle mountain zone, high hills/temperate zone and cold dry zone. Five rivers namely Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Yamuna and Chenab with a large number of their tributaries flow through the state. The flora of the state consists of about 180 families comprising about 1,038 genera and about 3,400 species. The region is facing greater and more difficult challenges than ever before in achieving balanced economic growth, alleviating poverty, and sustainably managing the renewable natural resources. People’s dependence on forest and related natural resources is historic, cultural, and inevitable as other viable alternatives for earning a living have been few. The consequence of this trend has been the commercialization of forest products, mainly non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The NTFPs are the major bioresources among various natural resources available and provide various ecosystems services to the mankind. Like other parts of the IHR, in Himachal Pradesh people earn their livelihood from the forests in many ways i.e., earning cash income; satisfying their needs for fuel, medicine, shelter, and supplementary food; using traditional agricultural inputs such as leaf litter, fodder, small tools, and water; and cultivating land inside the forest boundaries as forest encroachers. Their dependence on forest resources is both historic and cultural to the extant that it is an integral component of the forest ecosystem of the region. Although, large amounts of NTFPs are collected by different communities in the state, no comprehensive study on the amount collected, number of people engaged in collection and trading, and the marketing chain involved has been carried out to date. Therefore, the present study focuses on conservation and sustainable utilization and market potential of different tradable medicinal plants/(NTFPs) in Himachal Pradesh, north western Himalaya.

Northwestern Himalayan region is spread between 28°43^'-37°05^'N latitude and 72° 40^'-81°02^' E longitude covering an approximate area of 33 million ha. The major natural resources of western Himalayas are water, forests, floral, and faunal biodiversity. Although there is wide spectrum of farming systems diversity in the region, yet there are quite a few commonalities viz. crop diversity, including mixed cropping as well as crop rotation of subsistence nature rather than commercial nature of agriculture, maintenance of soil fertility through natural processes. The variability in agroclimatic conditions in the hilly regions of India due to geographical location and climatic conditions require micro planning for assuring sustainable agricultural production. Introduction of horticultural crops is more recent phenomenon and it has penetrated the traditional farming systems of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and central Himalayan region for commercial benefits than the local consumption. Climatic conditions are optimal for growth of many food, medicinal and other commercial crops and live stock occur in these hills and the need is to exploit these opportunities for economic upliftment of the region, without degradation of natural resource base, therefore a long term development approach for sustainable farming system in these hills must have an eye on conservation farming for developing various production systems since this is a highly fragile system. The agriculture including livestock continues to be the dominant sector despite the fact that the area is exposed to adverse and harsh geophysical and agri-silviculture conditions. Strategies by planting fodder trees or grasses in the waste/ degraded lands (representing 7.9, 9.8 and 11.5% of the geographical area in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, respectively), is needed for enhancing the fodder production. In addition, farm spaces on terrace risers and improved crop production technology coupled with integration of agroforestry will help in bridging the gap between demand and supply of the fodder. The indigenous agroforestry systems such as homestead (kyaroo), plantation crop combinations, scattered trees on farm lands/field bunds and bamboo grove are practiced by the farming community. The land management operations are predominated by different indigenous agroforestry practices which have proven potential and hold promise in alleviating the poverty among rural masses of this hilly region. The agroforestry systems provide unique opportunity for integration of different components in the farming systems, which help to optimize the ecosystem functioning and better management of land, water, and biological resources. These systems need to be further improved with suitable technological interventions considering the local population need, so that the socioeconomic status of the farming communities uplifted. Experiences gained in managing natural resources through well-tested agroforestry systems have been shared in this chapter.