RURAL UPLIFT CENTRE - STUDY REPORT

RURAL UPLIFT CENTRE - STUDY REPORT

Poor & Marginal farmers have food security and preparedness for
Disaster Response due to Organic Farming in
Tirunelveli & Kanyakumari Districts of Tamil Nadu

INTRODUCTION:

Rural Uplift Centre (RUC), supported by Manos Unidas, Spain has relieved the poor from poverty and prepared them for responding climate change induced disasters. RUC did a door to door survey of the 400 poor farmers, who have cultivated paddy, banana, cotton, groundnut, Cereals, Vegetables, Rubber, Coconut and raised goats, cow, hen, etc. in Tirunelveli & Kanyakumari Districts and come out with the following observations. 

Paddy Cultivation by 139 Farmers:

Area cultivated in acres

200.06

Input Cost in thousands

2779.30

Yield rupees in thousands

6542.50

Profit rupees in thousands

3763.20



 Each farmer got an average profit of Rs. 27,073.38 per month through paddy cultivation.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for four months is not included. The harvest is only once in two years, if there is sufficient water.



Banana Cultivation by 269 Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

261.56

Input Cost in thousands

10719.65

Yield rupees in thousands

28294.40

Profit rupees in thousands

17574.75

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.65,533.64 per month through banana cultivation.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 12 months is not included.

Cotton Cultivation by 29 Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

27.00

Input Cost in thousands

247.50

Yield rupees in thousands

675.00

Profit rupees in thousands

427.50

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.14,741.38 in 6 months. This is an additional crop raised in the paddy field during the year.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 6 months is not included. 

Groundnut Cultivation by 25 Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

28.60

Input Cost in thousands

173.50

Yield rupees in thousands

516.80

Profit rupees in thousands

343.30

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.13,732/- in 3 months. This is an additional crop raised during the year.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 3 months is not included. 

Cereals Cultivation by 47 Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

21.32

Input Cost in thousands

216.19

Yield rupees in thousands

548.00

Profit rupees in thousands

331.82

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.7,059.89 in 3 months. Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 3 months is not included. 

 Vegetables Cultivation by 208 Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

49.92

Input Cost in thousands

1284.60

Yield rupees in thousands

2943.70

Profit rupees in thousands

1659.10


Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.7,976.44 in 3 months. This is an additional crop raised in the paddy fields.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 3 months is not included. 

Rubber Cultivation Farmers - 94:

Area cultivated in acres

74.88

Input Cost in thousands

2541.70

Yield rupees in thousands

5911.20

Profit rupees in thousands

3369.50

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.35,845.74 in 3 months. 

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 3 months is not included. 

Coconut Cultivation by 124Farmers:

 

Area cultivated in acres

62.40

Input Cost in thousands

1282.40

Yield rupees in thousands

3784.50

Profit rupees in thousands

2502.10

Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.20,178.23 per month through coconut cultivation.

Limitations: 1.The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 12 months is not included.

  1. There is a pest attack called “aceria guerreronis”, which reduces the yield in theentire District.

Animal Husbandry

No. of farmers

No. of Animals

Input Cost

Yield rupees

Profit rupees

Cow rearing farmers - 209

560.00

1636.10

4590.25

2954.15

Hen rearing farmers - 197

5082.00

703.83

1917.10

1213.27

Goat rearing farmers - 173

1307.00

693.50

3371.20

2677.70

Bee keeping farmers - 45

2417.00

218.00

1141.00

923.00

Total

9366.00

3251.43

11019.55

7768.12

209 cow rearing farmers got an average profit of Rs.14,134.69 in 12 months. 

197 poultry rearing farmers got an average profit of Rs.6,158.73 in 12 months. 

173 goat rearing farmers got an average profit of Rs.15,478.03 in 12 months.

45 goat rearing farmers got an average profit of Rs.20,511.11 in 12 months.

The above are the additional income earned through cattle rearing.

Limitations: The labour cost of the beneficiaries for 12 months is not included. 



Preparedness Programme:

Schemes

No. of Farmers

Crop Insurance / Risk transfer

128

Life Insurance / Risk transfer

238

Animal Insurance / Risk transfer

156

Benefit from Govt. Schemes

205

Disaster Management Task force / Groups

20

Disaster Management Information centre

20

Mitigation Activities:

Mitigation Activities

No. of Farmers

Water bodies deepened / maintained

312

Converting conventional electric bulb in to CFL / LED

353

Rain water collection tanks constructed

311

Other benefits: 

In addition to the increase in income the following benefits are obtained by the intervention of RUC.

  1. Ensured food security at the household and community level.
  1. Relieved from poverty and hunger.
  1. Able to get organic food for the family and to the community.
  1. Dependency on external input and cost of input is reduced (cost of manure and pest repeller).
  1. Dependency on external technology is reduced (production of manure, pest repeller and seeds). 
  1. Soil fertility and water holding capacity of the soil increased.
  1. The farmers are capable of articulating and disseminating the organic farming strategy to their fellow farmers.
  1. The readiness for disaster response enhanced among the beneficiaries. 

Challenges:

  1. The percentage of the presence of Humus is not studied scientifically. The minimum one percentage of the presence of humus has to be ensured for sustainable yield. In order to enhance the percentage of humus additional organic manure has to be applied.
  1. There is severe challenge for controlling the disease and pests as many of the farmers are still practicing in organic strategy and doing monoculture.
  1. The organic certification process is lengthy and costly. 
  1. Lack of scientific experimental farms for seed production, compost production, plant growth tonics, pests repellers, experimenting the usage of various types of pest traps and usage of various bio fertilizers.