This program is initiated to address the problems of farmers practicing farming daily. In this program we have conducted a number of activities from distributing more than 500 noni plants to developing villages. In the first year of our commencement (2019-2020) SIF has trained more than one thousand farmers in integrated farming techniques to make farming stress-free for them and agricultural laborers who earn a low income. Our foundation aims to train more than 2% of Indian farmers by 2025.Agriculture employs about 58% of India’s workforce, but contributes only about 16% to the GDP. The percentage of women who depend on agriculture for their livelihood is as high as 84%. Women make up about 33% of cultivators and about 47% percent of agricultural laborers. Despite the high ratio of workforce in this field it is still under developed.
Farmer Development
We all know that plants grow in soil but, what is soil? Well, it is certainly our most abundant growing medium, but it also contains the typical macro and micro-nutrients needed for plant growth. In soilless agriculture, such as hydroponics, we simply deliver these same nutrients that have been pre-mixed into a water reservoir, along with high levels of oxygen, efficiently to the plant roots. This technique uses only water and mineral-solution dissolved in water to grow plants in minimum space. It is suitable for; home gardening, terrace farming and large farms. The hydroponics nutrients used in this technique can come from specially formulated chemical fertilizers, the by-product from fish waste or duck manure among others. Plants like lettuce,radish, spinach, and other leafy vegetables can be grown under hydroponic system as they have shallow roots and take less time to mature. Hydroponics does not allow vegetables to grow larger than their genetics lets them, however, they can grow to their full potential and in a much smaller space than they can in soil. Being able to control the nutrients and pH levels in the water also ensures only optimal growth for the vegetables leaving little room for failure.
Advantages of soil-less farming are as follows:
- Lowered environmental impact as controlled agriculture is less resource-intensive
- Extreme decrease in water and nutrient use
- Faster growth
- Elimination of soil-borne diseases
- Reduction of labor requirement
- Lowered concern of chemical, pesticides, and GMO produce
- And more crops per year.
The economy of a country is to be improved through agriculture by better utilization of natural resources and other inputs. Thus, production per unit area of land, time, and inputs should be increased. The demand for agricultural commodities is growing the world over and to meet the ever-increasing targets as per the demand, productivity needs to be raised further. This can be realized in two ways-by increasing areas of cultivation and/or through increased efficiency of inputs (both natural and manmade). Modern agriculture has undergone transformations that can affect productivity. 3Tier farming responds to the needs of today’s farmers with agricultural products that meet environmental demands while maintaining high yields, crop quality, and a positive bottom line. And also enhances productivity through increased efficiency of natural as well as manual inputs. The multi-cropping system enhances the efficient use of resources such as sunlight, water, and nutrients, resulting in higher yield per unit of area and thereby increasing agricultural production.
Vegetables like cluster beans, radish, okra, bottle gourd, pumpkin, ash gourd, ridge gourd, bitter gourd are sown in small pits filled with well-rotted organic manure and grown under multi-tier cropping system. The multi-tier cropping system not only enhances productivity but also safeguards the interests of farming communities with several benefits. Short duration cropping pattern gives the farmer a quick and reasonable income. Diversity in crops reduces climate and market risks.
Advantages of multi-tier systems:
- High productivity and potentiality
- High profitability
- Enhanced input use efficiency
- Stability and sustainability achieved
- Employment opportunity to the farm family