Success in Agro-Forestry

Introduction

• Smt Gurmeet Kaur W/o S. Gurmeet Singh lives in village. She is very determined, wise, innovative and hardworking lady. She used to help her father in agriculture during childhood. After getting married, she does farming with well planned manner.
• She owns 8 acres land with a tubewell. She is ex member of village Co-operative Society, village Gram Panchayat and Ex President of village Mahila Mandal.
• She always applies inputs in the consultation with experts from Department of Agriculture and Horticulture and adopted latest Package of Practices of crops cultivation. Due to her adoption of improved practices in agriculture and allied sectors on her farm, natural resources and farm friendly organisms and birds are saved considerably. She never burns the crop residue and prefers to decompose the crop waste into the soil. It helps in improvement of organic matter of soil.
• Due to proper utilization of Farm Yard Manure and recommended dose of chemicals and fertilizers in her field, product quality of output improved considerably.
• Smt GurmeetKaur showing her training certificate and with Poplar Plantation

Training & Motivation

• She always participates in Exposure Visits and Farm Training camps organized under ATMA scheme. Demonstrations on latest techniques of crop cultivation are conducted on her farm under ATMA scheme.
• She has obtained training on dairy from Department of Animal Husbandry; Institute of Dairy Improvement; Phagwara and Bee Keeping training from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Adoption of Innovative Technology, Practices and Achievements

• She is doing diversification in Agriculture with vegetables, maize and agro-forestry. She is availing facility of subsidy on seed, pesticides, spray pumps and farm implements provided from Department of Agriculture and Horticulture.
• She owns 8.0 acre, out of which 4 acre is under Poplar and mixed cropping. She is growing vegetables on 2.0 acre, 1.5 acre maize and fodder on 0.5 acre. During the year 2005-06 she has earned 9.0 lakh from 4.0 acre by growing poplar.
• During Rabi season, she always intercrops wheat and cauliflower, mustard in poplar field. During Kharif season, she is doing intercropping of Cucurbits (Gourd) with poplar from which, she is earning good income. This year she earned Rs 30,000 by growing lady finger on 4 kanal. For cultivation of Lady finger crop she adopts innovative and advanced agricultural practices, which helps in improvement of yield of crop by branching .
• Her farm is well connected to the nearby local market. She has well aerated godowns for storage of grains. She sells her produce very intelligently. During glut period she stores her produce and sells it in lean period. She believes in self marketing. Due to good quality of her produce, she fetches good price in the market.
• She is an innovative farmer and always interested in adoption of new techniques of crop cultivation. She is early riser and monitors her fields regularly. She is very hard worker. All family members work together in field operations and hire labours in peak season of crop. She applies the fertilizer in the fields on the basis of soil testing. She adds green manure in her fields and never burns the crop residue in the field, which helps in maintain the organic matter of soil. She has also adopted subsidiary occupations like vegetables cultivation, small dairy farming and back yard poultry. She has six milch animals and eight small calves. She sells approx. 15-16 lt. milk through self marketing in her village and earns Rs. 700 per day.

Importance to Farmers

• She motivated her well qualified son to start backyard poultry with 300 Desi birds. Family get good income by selling of desi eggs through self marketing. She is torch bearer for all the farmers of her village.

Source : Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare