ANNOUNCEMENTS
Uttarkashi, a district in the Himalayan region of India is blessed with a unique biosphere. This region is a home to a number of healthy and organically grown fresh as well as dry products such as fruits, vegetables, special grains, spices and medicinal plants. However, 49.40% and 21.54% of the farmers in the region come under small and marginal land holding category respectively and are not able to get benefit of these precious (often rare) products which are highly in demand both nationally and internationally. As a result, even after having one of the most suitable atmospheres for farming; Uttarakhand’s contribution to India’s Agricultural export is extremely low. Ministry of Jal Shakti, GOI is working on an agro export policy which will work on improving the supply chain of agro product by increasing the reach of farmers to better markets by forming local clusters and creating a national platform to connect them with potential buyers; to ensure a sustainable framework for the policy the following study has been conducted.
Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand was studied by connecting to farmers who sell their produce individually and those who sell in groups with the help of cooperatives, NGOs and FPOs, qualitatively assessing the socio-economic status of the small and marginal farmers through interviews and focussed group discussion, and quantitatively assessing the environmental conditions by testing water and soil quality of the region.
The study reveals that the farmers who are working in collaboration with cooperatives, NGOs and FPOs which help them in forming farmer groups, bring business and introduce latest technologies and plans have better knowledge of crops, are environmentally and socially more aware, have higher incomes with better soil health and more sustainable agricultural practices. Thus, we can say that if we bring a nationwide agro export policy, it can improve both socio economic and environmental conditions of the country along with bringing national prosperity by increasing both interstate and international trade and thus thrive towards sustainable development of the small holder farmers.
Key Words- Uttarkashi, small holder farmers, supply chain, market, sustainable development.
