Women empowerment is one of the main pillars for the development of the rural economy. A successful rural economy is impossible without the share of women empowerment as women seems to be the main driving force for the economy to develop and prosper. The women’s participation in the rural economy is invincible. The best example of taking the women entrepreneurship to a new height is the Women’s Self Help Groups from Murshidabad District of West Bengal who have been deemed as the major bread-earners for their own and the family too to a larger extent. In a recent event, the women groups of Murshidabad District of West Bengal have done a remarkable job by involving themselves in rearing of poultry and duck. As it is known that the importance of backyard poultry production is deemed to have overcome the never-ending problems of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in the country! In Murshidabad, the poultry production output corresponds to the backyard poultry production because...

According to NFHS-4 (National Family and Health Survey-2015-16), 38.4% of children under five years age are stunted (too short for their age) which indicates that, half of the country’s children are chronically malnourished. Nutritional deficiency is a major cause for concern in Madhya Pradesh as well.  About 28.5% of women have chronic energy (nutritional) deficiency indicated by body mass index (BMI). According to the recent news, Hoshangabad district is one of the malnourished districts of M. P. with about 47% neonatal mortality rate followed by 17% post natal mortality rate (report of ICDS, Hoshangabad, 2016). About 15% children are suffering from severe malnutrition in the district.   To reduce the nutritional deficiency rate, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is providing nutritious food through scheduled feeding programmes. In spite of these efforts, some children are in the stage of 3rd degree malnutrition. Such children are provided...

Artificial insemination (AI) is a simple technique which is well adapted in dairy cattle and buffalo breeding. Its contribution in helping India achieve, the highest milk production of the world, cannot be ignored. The Bengal goat breed is known for its meat quality, adaptability and prolificacy. For the farmers in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and adjoining states, it is the breed of choice. There is a scarcity in the availability of quality breeding bucks due to early castration and slaughter of male goats for meat purpose. As goats are mostly reared by small, marginal and landless farmers, with flock size of 3- 5 goats, it is economically unviable to keep a breeding buck for a small flock. Thus the females are bred by nondescript males’ resulting in loss of precious germplasm of the region. To prevent the dilution of valuable germplasm by indiscriminate mating and to preserve its purity and propagate this unique germplasm, Eastern Regional station of ICAR-National...

Mushroom, a wonderful human diet for all age group people because of its nutritional and medicinal properties. Nagaland has great scope of commercial mushroom cultivation by recycling paddy waste for higher income generation.     Shri Rajib Mondal of Dimapur started mushroom cultivation by understanding the scope and opportunities. He became a spawn and mushroom producing entrepreneur in Nagaland with the help of ICAR Nagaland Centre. He also established a low cost mushroom cultivation unit and started producing mushroom spawn to mitigate the problem of spawn availability in Nagaland.    He used bajra and wheat as a substrate instead of paddy straw to reduce time period for spawn preparation as well as mushroom production for higher profit. During the season, around 650-700 spawn packets (200 g/packet) per month were produced. Out of which, around 300-400 packets of spawn/ month were sold to farmers of Nagaland fetching Rs 8, 750.00.  He...

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research launched Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav programme to promote direct interface of scientists with the farmers to accelerate the transfer of information from lab to land. The objective is to provide farmers with required information, knowledge and advisories on regular basis on region-specific farming.  A team of scientists from ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, reached out to an upstart agrarian couple Smt Hema Vijayakumar and Shri Vijayakumar of Pazhoor, Piravom, Kerala.   In an area of around 2347.26 sq. m with laterite soil they started integrated organic farming of vegetables along with ornamental plants, variety of trees, medicinal plants, cash crops, poultry, cattle rearing and aquaculture. The challenge was to convert the hilly area with laterite soil, which is more apt for rubber plantation, to a fertile productive land suitable for integrated farming with horticultural plants. It became more...