MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Location: file:///C:/58889913/GTZexperiences.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Uttarakhand RED Program

U= ttarakhand = RED Program

Analysis of Value Chains for Selected Districts of Garhwal Region

Report on Experiences

 

 

Uttarakhand, the 27th state of India came into existence in the year of 2000. Agriculture and agriculture based livelihood promotion is one of the main thrust areas of development. = The state is strategically located and forms part of the northern India, border= ing China and Nepal. Its elevation extends from approximately 300m to 7000m abo= ve main sea level. The state of Uttarakhand is spread over 53,483 sq. km. of l= and that is about 1.67% of the total area of the country.

 

As per 2001 census there are ab= out 9.18 lakhs of families residing in 13 districts of Uttarakhand out of which 7.97 lakhs (81%) are dependent on agriculture. Subsistence agriculture is t= he prime source of livelihood and employment of more than 70% of the populatio= n of Uttarakhand. It account for 37% of the net state domestic product. Most of = the area is under forests and wasteland leaving only 12% of land suitable for cultivation. Major crops are paddy, wheat, maize, oilseeds, pulses etc. At present Uttarakhand produces nearly .58 million tones of fruits, temperate = as well as tropical and about .38 million tones of vegetables. Most of these c= an qualify as organic however the post harvest technological inputs and market= ing infrastructure is insufficient at the moment and consequently the wastages = are quite high.

 

GTZ Delhi organized a Value Cha= in survey for the development of agriculture, farming and dairy in Uttarakhand. The main aim of this survey was to improve and understand the various chann= els of the supply and value chain, its structure and the changes in prices. The survey was   conducted at= two levels. At one level, information was collected from   the   farmers at the village level= and the actors involved in the different stages of reaching the goods from producers to the market. At second level, important information was collect= ed from the various departments, organizations, Self-help groups and processing units linked with agriculture, farming and dairy Himalayan Action Research Centre (HARC). Conducted survey in five districts of Garhwal, Uttarakhand. = The survey was conducted systematically in the following manner-

 

Planning Workshop

A workshop was organized in Nainital to orient the organization to be involved in the survey. Detailed discussions were held on the aims and objectives of the survey, its importa= nce and the various problems that may arise in conducting the survey. This work= shop helped in developing the course of action and a definite programme was chal= ked out that   helped to cond= uct the survey systematically and efficiently.

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Formu= lation of Project proposal

After this planning workshop, Himalayan Action Research Centre formulated a program of action for conduct= ing the survey in five districts of Garhwal.&n= bsp; Cultivated areas of different crops were marked, based on their production and their samples were arranged in such a way so as to understand the reality that would make the survey more authentic and realistic. The project was formulated for Dehradun, Pauri, Haridwar, Uttarkashi and Tehri = on the following basis –

For conducting the above-mentio= ned survey, it was divided into two phases. In the first phase a workshop was planned to ‘share individual experiences’. It was decided that discussions would be held on the problems that were expected to crop up dur= ing the survey.

 

Orientation of the Survey Group

An orientation programme was he= ld at HARC, Dehradun before the beginning of the first phase for the survey gr= oup. Orientation was given to create awareness amongst the survey group members = as to the real purpose or motto behind the survey. The representative of GTZ, Delhi, also participated in this orientation programme. The survey team was oriented in detail about the objective of the survey and about the methodol= ogy to be used for conducting the survey.   A step-by-step plan was devi= sed with the help of survey team members, responsible for conducting survey in = five districts of Garhwal. A data entry chart was also formulated in the workshop that   helped to organize= the data collection during the survey.

 

First Phase (Pilot Phase) Survey

 

The first phase of survey was conducted in Uttarkashi and Dehradun district according to the devised plan. Almost 500 samples were surveyed during this phase. This took almost 15 days and another 10 days were required for data entry.

 

Presentation of the First phase of the Survey

A presentation was given to the representatives of GTZ, Delhi on the findings of the first phase of the sur= vey in the Dehradun office of HARC. Discussions were held on the practical prob= lems that had arisen during the survey. Discussions were also held on the various ways the information was acquired during survey.  The following difficulties were fa= ced during data collection of first phase -

§      =    Income information differed from time to time.

§      =    The farmers were not able to accurately tell the amount of land they actually held.

§      =     The producers were not able to give the accurate information on agricultural in= puts cost.

§      =    The total amount of production also differed when asked repeatedly.

§      =    Many a times production quantity data was not found accurate.

§      =    The producers were also not able to give the detai= ls of the help and support that were being rendered by the support agencies.

§      =    The representatives of the support agencies also h= ad less or negligible knowledge of the grass root level.

§      =    Practical problems were also faced in collecting t= he data on division of labour.

§      =    The producers were also not much aware of the end products made out from their produce.

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6. Second Phase (Extensi= ve) Survey Programme

After the successful completion= of the first phase the second phase was completed in almost two months. The su= rvey was conducted as planned but due to less representations of the medicinal p= lant growers and other practical problems the samples collected were not adequat= e. The data entry work was also being done side by side and in the month of November all data entry work was completed successfully and sent to the concerned organization on the 20th November 2007. The survey data was made = in the following way-

 

S. No

Survey Level

Total Number

01

Agriculture and farming forma= t at the village level

131

 <= /p>

02

Format at the family level 

1949

03

Format of the concerned organizations supporting agriculture and farming

32

04

 Format of the Businessmen involve= d at the first and second level of agriculture and farming

49

05

Format of Processing units

05

06

Format of businessmen involve= d in the first and second level of dairy =          

 <= /p>

 <= /p>

20

07

Format of village level dairy=

16

08

Format of the family level involved in Dairy

223

 

Challenges Faced during = the Survey

§      =    A lot of difficulties came across due to rains dur= ing the survey months.

§      =    Difficulties were faced due to farmers being busy during these months.

§      =    A lot of time was spent on imparting details and importance of the survey to the families during the survey at the village level.

§      =    Samples could not be adequately collected and completed due to limited numbers of businessmen.

§      =    Samples could not be collected of some of the medicinal plants, as there were no growers of those plants. There were other practical problems like two or three members of the same family were regist= ered as growers of medicinal plants whereas the data showed that they were indiv= idual growers.