Agriculture
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
GOAL
To build self reliant coastal communities, resilient to shocks and able to manage their livelihoods in a sustainable manner.
OBJECTIVE
Developing viable enterprises and resource management systems, owned operated by poor families affected by Tsunami guided by local communities and institutions.
KEY ORGANIZATION
- Rural Development Department
- Women’s Development Corporation
- Revenue Department
- of Fisheries
- of Agriculture
- of Animal Husbandry
- NGOs and other service providers
TARGET GROUPS
Post Tsunami Sustainable Livelihood Programme id focused on the medium and long term sustainable development needs of the coastal communities, rather than the needs of relief and rehabilitation from the Tsunami and to support the poorest of the poor families to build long term and sustainable livelihood. The main target groups of this project is
- Coastal fishers using beach launched craft
- Wage Labor employed In the fisheries and Agricultural Sector
- Small scale women fish vendors and processors
- Small and Marginal Farmers and
- Other marginalized occupation group
HERB AND VEGETABLE GARDENS
We promote healthy living among self help groups. We have four herbal nurseries
These nurseries propagate saplings and distribute them to families. They also educate groups in herbal medicines, herbal treatment and herbal marketing.
BEE KEEPING AND HONEY PROCESSING
Kanyakumari district is rich in its flora and fauna and it gives abundance of scope for bio divolsition. Bee keeping and Honey processing is one important element in bio-diversity. Congregation started bee keeping and honey processing unit. This unit also demonstrated the best way of rearing bees and extraction of honey to other schools, Villagers, and Communities. Congregation also encouraged all farmers to rear honey bees, extract honey and sell them to generate regular income to the family. The Social work centre operated in all six provinces benefits more than 60,000 families through the concept of service sectors around the world. Program closely knit with adequate field work trainings to work closely with the poorest of the poor, children, aged, youth, women and sick people in the downtrodden communities.
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR MORINGA
SMIDS realized the high potential and value of Moringa products also understood the gap in the area of cultivation, processing and trading. By understanding the need, SMIDS has set up the Centre of Excellence for Moringa at SMIDS campus, Kanyakumari. Centre of Excellence for Moringa is the first such centre in South India, which closely works with the farmers and integrates traders, financial institutions, researchers and equipment suppliers. It incorporates many different methods of protected cultivation and improved modern methods of processing. It will provide Moringa farmers a wide spectrum of new technologies and possibilities to learn and later adopt and use in their own fields to raise their produce and resource efficiency. Also it aims at increasing farmers’ yield and productivity using innovative method and technology to add value for their produce material.
Centre of Excellence for Moringa is intent to set up a high tech lab facility to execute world class research activities in the area of Moringa production. Also this centre will facilitate the farmers to set up a Moringa producers’ company in South Tamilnadu.
PROMOTION OF FARMER PRODUCER COMPANY
In Tirunelveli District SMIDS covering 6 blocks namely Radhapuram, Nanguneri, Valliyoor, totally covering 86 village Panchayat. Out of the above blocks SMIDS covering 7,000 farmers most of the farmers are women farmers SMIDS focusing on enhancing women farmers’ livelihood through collective farming practices converting small farmers in to producer group. So that the efficiency of the farmers increasing in a remarkable way. For this SMIDS engaging with some of the originations like department of agriculture, Horticulture, NABARD, TNRTP etc., during this COVID – 19 lockdown the farmers are suffered a lot. By seeing this difficult situation in the proposed area of SMIDS intervened with several measures. SMIDS in association with VAIGAH Farmer Producer Company helped the poor Farmers and farmer Producers Groups.
SMIDS in Assistance of NABARD is promoting VAIGAH FARMER PRODUCER COMPANY in Tirunelveli District and OCEAN STAR FARMER PRODUCER COMPANY in Kanyakumari District for Collective production and processing of vegetables during the time of Covid-19 Pandemic in rural panchayaths of Radhapuram & Valliyoor Blocks in Thirunelveli District and rural punchayath of Kanniyakumari district poor farmers faced undue hardship in selling their agricultural products like Vegetables, Banana & Moringa etc. Without fishing fisherman faced lot of struggle. SMIDS under NABARD organized the farmers, arranged vehicles for marketing it different places. Arrangements were made to prepare value added products from Vegetables, Banana and Moringa which the farmers were not able sell during the Covid-19 situation. VAIGAH farmers Producers Company and Ocean Star Farmer producer Company has given hands on support in producing value added product and proper storage of it. They also assisted the farmers in marketing their value added products. This initiative has helped the rural farmers to get a fair price for their agricultural products during Covid-19 season.
This support is a great help for the rural poor farmers to market their agricultural products and obtain a reasonable price for their products. Thus the livelihood of poor women and their family living is enhanced. . This also supports farmers for developing their Agri-Horti products in a commercial way. Thus this will help the farmers for increasing the production capacity and marketing their products in an innovative way. So the income of the farmer and livelihood of the farmers will increase automatically.
MOBILE AGRO SERVICE
A mobile Agro service van was inaugurated and flagged off by Smt. Silpa Prabhakar, the respectful collector of Tirunelveli. This mobile agro service van helped us a lot to carry out method demonstration and related training. This mobile van is also used for supplying the farm inputs to the farmers at their door step.
ORGANIC CULTIVATION
Bio organic production unit. Bio organic/bio control agent’s production unit
Since the entire farm is running in organic mode, Bio organic preparations like panchagavya, desagavya beejamrutham, further this unit can be expanded to a commercial land in due course. Products from the dairy unit of indigenous cattle will be used in the preparations.
Sales outlet for selling organic products various products from farm as well as from other organic farmers will be sold through the outlet in reasonable price, established as part of the farm.
1 Organic Farming works to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. SMIDS cultivates organic and federal policies that bring more farmers and acreage into organic production.
We work toward building capacity by offering trainings and through building gaps and upgrading skills of farmer’s farm and wage workers, self-employed and extension workers engaged in organized /unorganized segments of Agriculture and allied sectors like dairy poultry and fishery.
TRAINING ON ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
The Moringa farmers coming under the IFAD assisted Moringa project wire given training on Moringa farming and Moringa farming related topics as detailed below in six different modules. JLGs organized under this project are found very effective in promoting resourcefulness among the rural poor people and to promote micro-enterprises among them. JLGs formed by SMIDS were in the pre-school stage on matters of development. We have organized 16 Cultivation Training On Organic Certification .Given below are the details of the trainings organized under this project.
Potential and Export Potential, Economics of Moringa Cultivation in high density plantation.
Spacing of Moringa, Normal Planting, High density planting and ultra high density planting. Moringa planting for
- Drumstick only
- Leaf only
- Leaf and Fruit.