Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
THE TECHNO-ECONOMIC MODEL:
AGRO-FORESTRY MODEL FOR FARMLAND
This section details the techno-economic plan for riverside
farmlands to transition from present cropping patterns to a tree-based
farming approach. There are many plans that look perfect on paper but
do not pan out quite well when implemented. The farmer community
of India comprises of 85% small and marginal farmers who do not have
the ability to bear the consequence of the failure of a proposed model.
The solution we propose here stems from 13 years of experience with the
PGH initiative, which helps farmers plant trees in private farmlands on
their own volition. The agro-forestry generic model envisages providing
sources of income to a farmer on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly
basis. The proposed model tries to address the low net income of farmers
due to poor profit margins from annual crops. The models, when made
specific to agro-climatic zones, will make even more precise predictions
of the probable economic benefit farmers can reap from tree plantation.
The specificities that will change for the model will be: type of trees
to be grown, the inter-cropping specifics, and the crop combinations.
The model’s economics will further improve and become accurate with
knowledge of irrigation facilities and the rainfall pattern in the select
geography. India has seen farming activity before many other parts of
the world woke up to it. The model suggested in this chapter has evolved
by leveraging the traditional farming knowledge that has been passed on
over generations of farmers for over 12,000 years. The model suggested in
this section is strengthened by taking into consideration the following:
••
Traditional knowledge of farmers with respect to tree plantation, also
known as the “Wadi Model” about which we will talk later.
••
Precision high density farming methods honed by Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University (TNAU)
••
Subash Palekar’s Zero Budget Natural Farming Package of Practices
In order to propose this model as an economic alternative to a
farmer’s present cropping patterns, it will be useful to know the market
for horticulture produce.
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