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Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur
Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (renamed as Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in June, 2001) was established on 1st November, 1978.The College of Agriculture (established in May, 1966) formed the nucleus of the new farm University. It is ICAR accredited and ISO 9001:2015 certified institution. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has ranked this University at eleventh place among all farm universities of the country.
The University has been given the mandate for making provision for imparting education in agriculture and other allied branches of learning, furthering the advancement of learning and prosecution of research and undertaking extension of such sciences, especially to the rural people of Himachal Pradesh.
Over the years, this University has contributed significantly in transforming the farm scenario of Himachal Pradesh. It has developed human resources, varieties and technologies and transferred these to farming community enabling the State to receive the “Krishikarman award” of Govt. of India four times in row for food grain production among small states of the country. Today, the State has earned its name for hill agricultural diversification and the farming community has imposed its faith in the University.
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ThesisItem Open Access Structure of farm credit in Himachal Pradesh and role in agricultural development(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-03-21) Mehta, Kanika; Thakur, Rajesh KumarCredit plays a vital role in capitalizing the farmers to enhance farm productivity by increasing investment in quality inputs and efficient technologies. With the commercialization and modernization of agricultural practices, the credit needs in Himachal Pradesh are increasing. Therefore, the present study was conducted to comprehend the trends in the allocation of agricultural credit, extent of financial inclusion and its impact on farm investment, productivity and income levels of the farmers in Himachal Pradesh. Two-stage random sampling design was used to select two blocks from each district in the first stage and a total sample of 200 loanee farmers in the second stage of sampling by proportional allocation method. The farmers were then classified into small (n=109) and large (n=91) categories based on the total land holding size. Both primary and secondary data were collected in accordance with the objectives of the study. The state's dependency on Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and co operative banks for agricultural credit disbursement (through bank branch network position and ATMs) was high, particularly in rural areas. However, over the years, growth in these rural financial institutions was substantially lower than in the private sector banks. The amount sanctioned for the agricultural term loan, agricultural infrastructure and agricultural ancillary activities had declined over the years and was considerably lower (21.53%) than the short-term crop loan (78.47%). The overall PCA score of the Financial Inclusion Index was 0.41, reflecting a medium-level of financial inclusion in the study area. The geographical penetration, affordability, usage, financial literacy and quality of financial products and services provided by formal institutions were in the medium range of PCA scores. However, the accessibility and ease components of the Financial Inclusion Index were observed at a lower range of PCA scores in the study area. The cultivated land on overall farms was significantly increased by 1.12 per cent due to the diversion of credit towards the increase in leased-in land holdings (4.49%) in the study area. The financial aid led to a significant shift from cereal and fodder crops to vegetable cultivation. The use of hybrid seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and hired labour increased after the financial aid. Due to this, the total cost of cultivation (Cost C3 ) for all the Kharif and Rabi season crops was substantially increased. The increase in the use of quality inputs led to an increase in the productivity levels of all the major crops in the study area. The gross farm income on overall farms was significantly increased by about 40 per cent after availing the farm credit. The income from vegetable cultivation increased by the highest proportion on both the small and large farms, constituting an overall increase of 73.74 per cent. The scale of the amount sanctioned to the sample farms varied positively with the land holding size, while the repayment of credit was lower on small farms than the large farms. Most sample farmers attained credit from the scheduled banks through KCC, followed by the private moneylenders and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). With the increase in the size of cultivated land holdings and dependency on agriculture as the primary source of income, the probability of credit acquisition from private moneylenders increased on sample farms. The asset status and the gross farm income of the farmers had a significantly negative impact on the odds of being a delinquent or a defaulter. The interest rates charged by the financial institutions reflected a positively significant relationship with the probability of being a defaulter or a delinquent in the study area. The lack of collateral security, insufficient credit limit offered by banks and fear of losing agricultural land were major problems for credit acquisition through institutional sources. Whereas, the increasing input costs and rising household expenditures negatively impacted the repayment and use of credit. Based on the findings, the panchayat-level identification of needy farmers was suggested as a measure to restrict the diversion of credit towards non-agricultural purposes.ThesisItem Open Access A study of economics and price behaviour of vegetables in Himachal Pradesh(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-02-16) Sethi, Diksha; Kumar, VirenderVegetables are integral part of Indian agriculture and nutritional security owing to their higher yield potential, nutritional richness, better economic returns and provisioning more employment opportunities. Agriculture bears great significance for hilly states like Himachal Pradesh where around 90 per cent of the population lives in rural area. Perceptible proportion of the cultivated area in the state is being shifted from cereals to vegetable crops as the state has different agro-climatic conditions which provide a great scope to farmers for profitable vegetables production. Therefore, the present research was carried out to study the economis and price behaviour of vegetables in two agro-climatic zones (Zone II and III) of the state. The study was based on both secondary and primary data. The secondary data on vegetablese for the period 1995-96 to 2021-22 were collected from different publications of Government of HP and Government of India. Further, the data were grouped in three periods viz. period I (TE 1997-98 to 2008.09), period II (TE 2009-10 to 2021-22) and overall period (TE 1997-98 to 2021- 22). Primary data were collected through survey method from 200 farmers selected using proportional allocation technique. The proportion of area under green pea (27.53%) was found maximum in 2021-22 followed by tomato (14.93%). The proportion of cabbage area to the total area has declined from 6.22 per cent in 1997-98 to 0.54 per cent in 2021-22. The share of production was high for tomato (27.80 %) followed by green pea (16.31%). It was observed that the growth rates in area, production and yield under all vegetables was 5.47, 6.64 and 1.12 per cent per annum during the study period. The findings of the study showed that the increase in production was mainly on account of area (expansion) effect and partly due to yield effect though the interaction effect was negative for tomato crop. The instability in area under different vegetable crops was found low, however, medium to high instability was found in production in the vegetables in the state as well as across districts. Total cost (cost C3 ) of cultivation was observed to be maximum Rs. 486382/ha for tomato followed by cauliflower (Rs. 445244/ha) in both Zones. The net returns over total cost were recorded to be Rs. 206368/ha for tomato and Rs. 60793/ha for cabbage. The results of regression analysis revealed that factors like seed, FYM and fertilizers significantly increased the yield of tomato, green pea and cabbage whereas further increase in human labour significantly decreases the yield. The factors like seed, FYM and fertilizers significantly affected the yield of cauliflower and capsicum. The farm income contributed about 75 per cent and non farm income to about 25 per cent, respectively. The trends in market prices showed significant increase over period of 12 years (2010-11 to 2021-22) in case of tomato, cauliflower and cabbage crop in all the markets. The arrivals and prices for all the vegetables showed inverse relationship for all the vegetables. The high degree of seasonal variations for arrivals and prices were found in the study markets. The market prices for vegetable commodities was found to be significantly influenced directly lagged prices and inversely by current arrivals. For cauliflower, the variability in the market arrivals was more pronounced in Bhuntar than the remaining markets. The price variability was, however, more marked in Takoli. The highest average price was observed in the month of October-November when the arrivals were supposed to be the lowest with moderate to low variability in tomato. The variability in the prices of cabbage and green pea was noted low to moderate, while it was moderate to high for market arrivals. The results of the study have confirmed the negative relationship between market arrivals and prices in terms of correlation coefficients over the years and across months in all the markets, though there were several instances of positive relationship.Forecasting of prices was done using time-series monthly wholesale prices from April 2010 to March 2022 for tomato, green pea, cauliflower and cabbage in selected markets. Different set of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average models were used to forecast prices. The models were validated for accuracy with Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) in the range of 16-35 per cent which is acceptable in fresh produce markets. These models can facilitate the farmers and wholesalers in effective decision making. Therefore, the market infrastructure facilities like warehousing, transportation, processing, etc should be promoted more which would help the growers to store their excess produce during production and eliminate the seasonality in market arrivals of vegetables and minimize the price volatility of the vegetables.ThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of marketing and post-harvest losses of cash crops: a comparative analysis(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2022-12-28) Katoch, Shagun; Lal, HarbansHimachal Pradesh offers enormous opportunities to practice cash crops mainly off-season as these have several unique and inherent advantages in terms of agro-climatic conditions and rich biodiversity. These crops offer greater hope for raising farmers out of the poverty due to higher marketable surplus and better prices at markets compared to other crops. Although farmers have succeeded on the production front, they have not achieved appreciably in terms of price realization for their produce. The intermediaries are depriving them of their due share of consumer’s rupee. However, these cash crops are grown in every district of the state without any organized backup of post- harvest management techniques which lead to low productivity and high spoilage of these crops. Therefore, the present study was carried out to work out economic analysis of marketing and post-harvest losses of cash crops in Baijnath (AES-I) and Kangra (AES-II) blocks of district Kangra in the state. The study was based on primary data collected through survey method from 100 vegetable growers selected randomly from 5 randomly selected vegetable growing villages each in AES-I and AES-II. The major findings reveal that cropping pattern of the sample growers was dominated by vegetables as these accounted for 69.69 per cent and 66.04 per cent of the total cropped area in AES-I and AES-II, respectively. The cropping intensity was nearly 202 per cent in AES-I and 209 in AES-II. The total production of vegetables was more in AES-II (74.21 q) than AES-I (43.54 q). The marketable surplus of all the vegetable crops except potato was found to be more than 90 per cent of total production in AES-I while in AES-II, all the vegetables had more than 95 per cent of the marketable surplus. The total marketed surplus of all the vegetables was higher in AES-II (3076.45 q) as compared to AES-I (1388.19 q). Among all vegetables, total marketed surplus per farm was highest for cauliflower (341.50 q) in AES-I while it was highest for bottle gourd (579.33 q) in AES-II. There was post-harvest loss of 2.40 quintal per farm in all the vegetables grown in AES-I. Comparatively, the post-harvest loss in AES-II was 5.20 quintal per farm in all the vegetables. Tomato accounted for the maximum post-harvest loss which alone shared 35.83 per cent and 20.76 per cent of the total loss per farm in AES-I and AES-II, respectively. The independent variables included in the regression model explained about 70.01 to 93.81 per cent variation in the post-harvest losses of all major vegetable crops in both the agro-ecological situations. The growers followed three marketing channels for disposal of vegetables out of which channel I (Producer →Local trader → Retailer→ Consumer) was the most used channel in AES-I by more than 70 per cent of the growers while Channel II (Producer→ Commission agent-cum-wholesaler →Retailer →Consumer) was the most used channel for disposal of vegetables in AES-II by more than 68 per cent of the growers except okra. The producer’s share in consumer rupee was found to be highest in channel-III (Producer-retailer-consumer) ranging from 74 to 81 per cent for all the vegetables in both AES-I and AES-II. High incidence of pest and diseases, lack of scientific storage facilities and unfavourable price received by growers were the important problems faced by the growers. Lack of storage facilities and high loss of produce during transportation were the important problems faced by the traders. The study suggested that small scale post-harvest processing infrastructure should be created in the study area as growers are sustaining huge post-harvest losses affecting returns accruing to them. The efforts should be made to reduce the pre-harvest disease/pest occurrence at growers’ level by educating themThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of potato cultivation in Trans Giri region of Himachal Pradesh(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-01-12) Bhardwaj, Sapna; Bala, BrijPotato is one of the major food crops and is consumed all over the world. It is the third-most significant food crop in the world after wheat and rice. Contribution of potato to the agricultural GDP of India per unit of cultivable land is more than either rice or wheat. It is also a principal cash crop grown in Himachal Pradesh. Potato accounts for 10.85% of the state's total (17.22 lakh MT) vegetable output, which is the highest among all vegetables. In terms of potato area and output, the state's third-ranked district is Sirmaur, and the Trans-Giri region of Sirmaur is notable for its high quality potato production. Therefore, in the light of vital importance of potato in the economy, the present study entitled, “Economic analysis of potato cultivation in Trans-Giri region of Himachal Pradesh” was conducted. The study was based on the information gathered from 60 farmers selected from ten villages in two blocks namely Rajgarh and Sangrah, by proportional cum random sampling. Based on the total land holding, the chosen respondents were classified into small and large farm categories. The sample comprised of 40 small and 20 large farmers. On the overall farms, the total land holding was found to be 3.09 hectare out of which only 0.60 hectare was operational holding with 0.48 hectare on small farms and 0.84 hectare on large farms. Potato stood on 2 nd place in cropping pattern after maize covering about 14 per cent of gross cropped area with the average yield of 225 q/ha on overall farms. The total cropping intensity was found to be 198.22 per cent on overall farms. The income generated from potato accounted for around 11 per cent of the total household income and 19 per cent of the total agricultural income on overall farms. The total variable cost, total cost and net farm income on overall farm came to be Rs. 17,6368/hectare, Rs. 21,4929/hectare and Rs. 17,1618/hectare, respectively. Hired labour and potato seed made up the majority of the expenses which was around 52 per cent of total variable costs. Potato production seemed profitable with an output-input ratio of 1.80. According to the production function analysis, the key variables influencing potato production were seed, FYM, labour, and area under potato cultivation. MVP of practically every element was greater than unity, suggesting more room for their investment to generate more revenue. The problems and constraints like high cost of seed, low price of produce, high cost of labour, lack of irrigation infrastructure, lack of availability of quality potato seeds and high cost of transportation were the most ranked problems. To increase the production and profitability of potato crop, farmers must be educated to apply inputs in accordance with package of practices. High quality seeds at affordable prices should also be provided at Kedhadhar potato agricultural farm. To improve the negotiating position and marketing effectiveness, the potato producers must be encouraged to create their own cooperatives or self-help organisation.ThesisItem Open Access An economic analysis of dairy farming in Himachal Pradesh(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-01-20) Pratyush; Thakur, Rajesh KumarThe dairy farming has immense importance in developing economies like India, for providing nutritional support, reducing rural poverty, ensuring food security for millions of rural households and enhancing economic growth. India is the world's largest producer and consumer of dairy products, with the milk production of 209.96 million tonnes and per capita availability of 427 gm/day. Himachal Pradesh registered the milk production of about 15.76 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 with the 630 gm/day per capita availability of milk. Therefore, the present study was undertaken in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The district was purposively selected because it has the highest cattle population and second largest milk production among the different districts of the state. In order to meet the objectives of study, both primary as well as secondary data were collected. Primary data were collected from 72 dairy farmers selected through multi-stage sampling method. The secondary data were collected from different reports, journals, departmental websites, etc. The variable cost was found to be maximum in Holstein Friesian i.e. Rs. 398.10 and minimum in case of local cow i.e. Rs. 226.13 per animal per day. Among the different items of cost, the share of fodder and feed in total cost was highest followed by labour cost. The cost of production per litre of milk varied between Rs. 24.79 in Holstein Friesian to Rs. 49.26 in local cow. The gross returns were found to be maximum in Holstein Friesian cow (Rs. 546.90 /animal/ day) and minimum in local cow (Rs. 212.35 /animal/ day). The overall net returns over total cost were found to be Rs. 53.23 per animal per day on sample farms whereas the net returns over variable cost and total cost were negative in local cows by 13.78 and 45.87 rupees per day. Regression analyses indicated that for jersey cross, green fodder, dry fodder, expenditure on health care and for Holstein Friesian, the green fodder, dry fodder, mineral mixture and lactation number were the main factors affecting the milk yield. The main problems faced by dairy farmers were high cost of inputs and scarcity of green fodder round the year, high wage rate of labour, non-remunerative prices of milk and milk products, high purchasing cost of exotic breeds, high cost of medicines and susceptibility of improved breeds to the diseases. The net returns over buffalo and cross/exotic breeds of cows was found to be highest so it is suggested that farmers can earn more profit by replacing local cows with the breed of cows like Jersey cross and Holstein Friesian and buffaloes. Farmers should be educated about the comparative profitability of improved breeds over the local breeds. Government should make policies reducing the input costs such as of feed and fodder, concentrates and mineral mixture so that total cost can be reduced and returns can be increased. Efficient extension services should be provided to farmers so that they can improve the value addition to their milk products to make it more efficient and profitable venture.ThesisItem Open Access Economics of production and marketing of tomato in Himachal Pradesh(palampur, 2022-11-30) Jyoti; Gupta, ManojTomato is one of the principal cash crops grown in Himachal Pradesh and accounts for about 15.32 per cent of the total vegetables produced in the state. District Solan is known as “City of Red Gold” owning to its dominance in the state tomato production. Off-season tomato farming has emerged as the primary source of income of some farmers in this district. The small and large farmers engaged in tomato cultivation are facing new challenges on the production and marketing front. The cost of various inputs has increased many folds affecting the profitability matrix of different crops in general and tomato crop in particular. The present study was carried out to study the economics of production and marketing of tomato in Himachal Pradesh to suggest various options for improving the prevalent tomato production and marketing system in the state. The present study was based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data were gathered through interview method from farmers of Solan district, Himachal Pradesh while secondary data were collected from various publications and websites of state government. The primary data collected from 90 farmers selected through multi stage random selection from selected villages of two blocks namely Kandaghat and Solan. The results revealed that the compound growth rate of area, production and productivity of tomato in Himachal Pradesh were 4.78, 6.39 and 1.53, respectively whereas, in Solan district the respective figures were 4.48, 6.28 and 1.72. The results indicated that the area under tomato was 32.87 per cent of total cropped area with average yield of 343.22 q/ha on an average farm. Out of total farmer’s income about 70.70 per cent was contributed by agriculture crops including tomato. The total cost of cultivation was estimated to be Rs. 368317 per hectare with variable cost accounting for about 84.14 per cent of the total cost. The output-input ratio was higher on large farms (2.46) than on small farms (2.09). Production function analysis indicated that seedlings, FYM and area under tomato were the most important factors affecting the tomato production. The marketed surplus of tomato accounted for nearly 88.98 per cent of its total production across the small and large farm category of farmers. The total production, losses and home consumption turned out to be most important factors affecting the marketed surplus of tomato. The channel- III involving producer primary wholesaler- secondary wholesaler- retailer- consumer was the most important channel followed by about 86.23 per cent of farmers. The producer’s share in the consumer’s rupee was highest in channel- I (83.55%) where the farmers sold tomato to retailers and then to consumers. This was followed by channel- II (70.55%) and channel- III (60.01%). The channel- I (involving producers- retailers- consumers) was found to be most efficient in the study area from the view point of higher net price received by farmers and higher marketing efficiency index. The non-availability of quality seeds on the production front and disposal of produce and transportation charges on the marketing front were the major problems faced by the farmers. This study suggests that farmers must be educated and trained to use complete package of practices to enhance the profitability of tomato crop. The tomato growers must also be encouraged and strengthened to adopt small scale value addition technologies to further enhance profitability of the cropThesisItem Open Access Impact of Panchayati Raj Institutions on Socio-Economic Development of Rural Households in Himachal Pradesh(palampur, 2022-07-18) Ghabru, Mahima Gopal; Lal, HarbansPanchayati Raj Institutions inter-alia have initiated the process of socio-economic development of rural areas by ensuring participatory management of masses and implementation of various social upliftment and poverty alleviation schemes. They are expected to bring radical transformation in rural areas through holistic agricultural and institutional development. In a state like Himachal Pradesh where majority of the population lives in rural areas this study becomes more relevant as PRIs embrace every aspect of rural life and are considered as harbingers of democracy and guardians of the village community. Therefore, present study was conducted to examine and analyze the role and impact of Panchayati Raj Institutions on the rural households in the four districts viz., Solan and Una (developed districts), Chamba and Sirmaur (under-developed districts) of Himachal Pradesh using both primary and secondary data. Multistage random sampling technique was employed and a total sample of 8 blocks, 40 panchayats/villages and 200 sample respondents was selected. The findings of the study put forth that in all the selected panchayats meetings of Gram Sabha were scheduled four times annually but the quorum was not met more than two times in most of the selected panchayats. The study employed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to devise the development index for various selected panchayats. Fifteen per cent (6 no.) of panchayats primarily of Una and Solan districts were very highly developed and 22.50 per cent (9 no.) panchayats were highly developed while all the less developed panchayats were from Chamba and Sirmaur district showing that these panchayats still lag behind in developmental indicators. It was observed that around 29.50 per cent respondents from developed districts and 26.50per cent respondents from under-developed districts respectively were ready to pay for conservation of natural resources while 20.50 and 23.50 per cent respondents from developed and under-developed districts were unwilling to pay for resource conservation as they felt it would not be utilized effectively. In under-developed districts as the bid value increased the willingness to pay decreased. The study also put forth the different source of income for panchayats in which maximum share was of external sources i.e. Funds under Centre Sponsored Schemes like MGNREGA, PMAY, NRLM, etc. and funds from Finance Commission, across majority panchayats. Panchayats generated lot of income from various internal sources in which maximum share was contributed by liquor cess followed by house/land tax across all sample panchayats. Panchayats were effectively utilizing funds available with them by community asset creation, land development, sanitation, water supply, electrification, and welfare etc. Respondents in the study area felt that various activities were adequately being done by panchayats but there was scope for improvement by ensuring more transparency in their working, by timely execution of works and ensuring that works to be done in the panchayat area are taken up with the consent of all people. Therefore it is felt that by ensuring capacity building of panchayat representatives, recruitment of technical and support staff and by creating awareness among masses about the importance of gram sabhas and their participation in them could lead to holistic and effective socio-economic development in rural areas.ThesisItem Open Access Assessment of livelihood status of farmers of Himachal Pradesh trained by CSK HPKV, Palampur(palampur, 2020-11-18) Dhadwal, Neha; Thakur, Rajesh KumarAgriculture is the major source of livelihood for majority of the rural population in the developing countries like India. The livelihood security is a complex concept that is location specific, subjective and dynamic. It comprises of food, financial, health, cultural and educational securities and among these, food security is undoubtedly the major contributor of livelihood security. The farmers often face the problem of low level of productivity and farm income due to lack of proper knowledge regarding the usage of modern farming techniques. In Himachal Pradesh, imparting trainings to the farmers is one of the mandates of CSK HPKV, Palampur. During the period of 2016 to 2018, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. Shimla has sponsored 52 training programmes to CSKHPKV in which 1300 farmers were trained in different streams. In the present study an attempt has been made to assess the livelihood status of trained farmers with respect to their farm resources, level of awareness & adoption of farm technologies and the different domains of livelihood security. Among the different districts of the state, the highest number of trained farmers were from the district Kangra and hence the district was selected purposively. In order to meet out the requirements of the objectives of the study, primary data were collected from 60 trained farmers through a two-stage sampling design. The secondary data pertaining to various trainings programmes conducted by CSKHPKV, Palampur were collected from records of Directorate of Extension Education, CSKHPKV, Palampur. The results were presented by working out averages, percentages and various indices for livelihood security. The average size of land holding was found to be quite low i.e. 0.3595 ha out of which 0.3055 ha was cultivated on overall farm situation. As far as employment of active workers was concerned, the majority (60.11 %) were associated with farming; while private jobs and government services was the major source of occupation for about 13 and 6 per cent of sample population, respectively, on overall farm situation. As far as the livestock inventory of the sample households was concerned, the average size of herd was found to be 1.62, having the value of Rs. 25,870/farm. The inventory of farm tools, implements and machinery on per farm basis was to the tune of Rs. 39,897 on overall basis. The analysis of the cropping pattern indicated that paddy and wheat were the major crops accounting for about 24 and 19 per cent of the total cropped area. The cropping intensity on the sample households was estimated at 204.75 per cent on overall basis. The analysis of awareness and knowledge about the different crop production practices indicated that the awareness level of sample households was quite good except for that of the weed management through the chemical application. As far as the use of FYM was concerned, it was on the lower side and the gap ranged between 3 to 17 per cent in different crops while in case of N, P and K, the percent gap ranged between 20 to 65 per cent for K among different crops. The per capita household income from different sources was estimated at Rs 4,96,086 in which the share of farm income was highest (60.69 per cent). The values of major domains of livelihood security index indicated that the sample households were relatively more secured with respect to education (0.46) followed by economic (0.30), food (0.27) and social (0.20) security aspect. The value of composite livelihood security index and weighted composite livelihood security index was found to be 0.31 and 0.39, respectivelyThesisItem Open Access Economics of Organic Farming and Role of CSK HPKV in Transfer of Organic Farming Technology in Himachal Pradesh(palampur, 2020-11-18) Kaur, Jasmeet; Lal, HarbansGreen Revolution technologies, supported by policies and fuelled by agrochemicals, machinery, and irrigation are known to have enhanced agricultural production and productivity. While these technologies greatly helped to address the food security of India, farmers using these technologies have to depend upon the purchased inputs. The cost of cultivation under this system is consistently increasing over the years. Due to the rampant use of inorganic chemicals for production in agriculture, the quality of food products, environment and eco-system has deteriorated. Organic agriculture is one of the broad spectrums of production methods that are supportive of the environment. Organic farming is certainly an answer to make safe food, eco-system and environment and to bring stability and sustainability to agriculture. The farmers in hilly regions have the opportunity to patronize organic farming ‘by default’. Realizing the importance, Model Organic Research Farm was established at CSK HPKV, Palampur on 15th April 2006. To examine the impact of institutional trainings on adoption of natural/organic farming technology in the state, a sample of 60 farmers was selected randomly through proportional allocation method from selected villages of Kangra and Hamirpur districts. The average size of land holding was 0.83 ha and about 68 per cent of area was put under cultivation. The cropping pattern revealed that among the different crops, the major proportion of total cropped area was occupied by paddy (18.24 %), maize+blackgram (11.56%) and maize (7.86 %) during the kharif season. Whereas, during the rabi season major area accounted for wheat (14.54%), wheat +gram intercrop (12.32%) and potato (8.59%). The net returns with family labour were found to be significantly high in maize + blackgram intercrop (Rs. 30648/ha) than the sole maize crop (Rs. 5608/ha). Similarly, in case of rabi season, wheat+ gram intercrop yielded higher returns (Rs. 26258/ha) than sole wheat crop (Rs. 5673/ha) on overall farm situation. The logit model was used to analyse the factors affecting the adoption of natural/organic farming and the estimates showed that education, family size and number of livestock per household significantly affected the adoption of natural/organic farming in the study area. The principal component analysis was used to calculate the overall adoption index of organic practices which resulted in 72.24 per cent of adoption level by the farmers. To further enhance the adoption levels, it is suggested that liberal funding may be provided to the university to promote organic/natural farming throughout the state. There is need to follow cluster approach and provide certification subsidy to farmers. Moreover, marketing system for organic commodities need to be developed as there is huge potential for organically grown products, worldwide.
