Integrated Farming System - A Gateway of Success for Farm Woman

Introduction

• Ms. Amarjeet is a graduate, aged 32 years with 13 years of farming experience. She is a well-known progressive woman farmer in Adhoyi village and agriculture is the main source of income to fulfil the basic requirement of her family. As a family member, she used to work on her father’s family farm part time but when her father suffered with paralysis in 2007, she took the full charge of managing her family farm.
• She possesses 3.4 ha (8.5 acre) land with irrigation facility. She has small dairy unit with two Buffaloes. She has all the modern machinery on her farm including Submersible Tubewell, Tractor, M.B. Plough, Disc Harrow, Happy Seeder, DSR etc. She is very active on Social Media also and has her own Website (https://www.facebook.com/ amarjitkaur.adhoi), and You tube channel (lady farmer Amarjit Kaur[Adhoi]).

Training and Motivation

• She used to grow traditional crops on her farm with average yields of various crop and animal enterprises before coming in contact with Extension functionaries of Agriculture Department and Subject Matter Specialist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Ambala. Thereafter, she was exposed to latest improved new technical knowledge of agriculture and her attitude changed towards agriculture and she was motivated to take agriculture as agri-business with adoption of all latest technologies for improving production and productivity of her farm. She attended various training programmes at KVK Ambala and availed advisory services from KVK team and experts from Agriculture department.

Achievements

• She practices various crop enterprises mainly with three cropping patterns on her farm i) Rice-Wheat-Moong, ii) Sugarcane+Onion-Ratoon, and iii) Potato-Onion-Fodder. With the technical guidance, she is practicing Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs), Soil Testing and uses improved variety of seeds all the crops viz; Wheat, Chickpea, Mungbean, Mustard.
• Along with using improved varieties she also practices seed treatment followed by treatment with bio fertilizers and resource conservation technologies for getting high returns and reduce cost of cultivation.
• Success in integrated farming system with milk from dairy unit, use of vermi compost, vermi wash in Crop production, Bamboo stalking in cucurbit crops and growing of high yielding fodder varieties.
• Keeping in view of water scarcity she switched over to kharif Maize cultivation in replace of rice crop in some area
• In view of changing climatic scenario and excess use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in crops, she shifted to organic farming two years back and received technical guidance from KVK team under Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojna of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• By all these crop and livestock enterprises she is earning a handsome net income of Rs. 6.7 lakhs per annum.

Contributing Factors

• Basically, her activeness, sincerity and hard-working nature has contributed in her success in addition to technical guidance from experts from KVK and State agriculture department officials. With those of her qualities and timely technical advice and proper timely implementation has transformed her life which she never thought.

Awards/Recognition

• She has received many Awards at district level by Hon’ble Ministers, Hon’ble MLA (Ambala City), Sh. Aseem Goel, Agriculture Department, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ambala, Rotary Club and Prayas Sewa Sanasthan, Barara etc.

Importance for other Farmers

• She is recognized as a progressive Farm woman & Master Trainer for farmers in the district & women are following her steps.

Source : Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare