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Inspiring Agricultural Extension initiatives in NE States EXTENSION EDUCATION INSTITUTE (NE-REGION)Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat

Inspiring Agricultural Extension initiatives in NE StatesPublished by:Extension Education Institute (NE Region)Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of IndiaAssam Agricultural University, Jorhat-13Telefax: 0376-2341227Telephone: 0376 – 2340133(O)E-mail: [email protected]:www.eei-ner.org2017© Copyright, Extension Education Institute (NE Region)Compiled & Edited by:Dr. Pradip.Kr. NeogDr. A.K. BhattacharyyaDr. S. BoruaDr. B. Lalrosiami KhuhlyMr. Hridayananda DasMs. Patrika SharmaMs. Kashmiri Hazarika

Dr. K.M. BujarbaruahVice ChancellorAssam Agricultural UniversityJorhat -785013 It is a pleasure for me to know that during 2016-17, EEI(NE Region), AAU has documentedand compiled 40 success stories of inspiring agricultural extension initiatives covering 9 states ofNE region. Publishing of successful cases has four-fold utilities in agricultural extension: Gettingpublished a success story, an achiever farmer as well as Farmers’ organization not only gains agreat deal of recognition in the society and forums, but also motivation and encouragement tocontinue and upscale efforts towards higher success - ‘success breeds successes’. On the otherhand, success stories serve as an effective tool for extension functionaries to replicate and spreadthe successes through potential entrepreneurs and progressive farmers. Further, publication ofinspiring cases of extension initiatives would obviously enhance motivation of extensionfunctionaries to gear up extension efforts towards socio-economic uplift of the farmingcommunity. Such a compilation also serves as an evidential report of effective implementation ofagricultural development programmes. The success stories in this compilation are spreadingover 7 different sectors of agricultural development viz. Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy, Piggery,Poultry, Fishery and Sericulture. I sincerely hope that it will serve its purpose, and contribute to agricultural development inthe NE Region, and would like to urge upon the extension personnel, extension systems and otherstakeholders to reap the intended benefits from this publication. I also would like compliment thefaculties and staff of EEI (NE Region) for their endeavour to bring out this publication as an integralpart of the Institute’s mandate for capacity building of extension functionaries.Date: (K.M. Bujarbaruah)

Preface Success stories has been an effective extension tool to motivate fellow farmers and extensionfunctionaries across the country. An achiever farmer gains higher degree of motivation, recognition aswell as encouragement to upscale, improve and develop his/her enterprise when achievements getpublished. On the other hand, success story of a single farmer can serve as a great source ofinspiration for many other farmers to take up similar enterprise. Further, success stories of farmersencourage all the stakeholders of agricultural development right from national level to grass-root levelfor continuing extension support with greater enthusiasm and commitment. Training institutions andfield functionaries have been using success stories in motivating farming community for taking upagriculture as profitable enterprise. Keeping all the above utilities of success stories, EEI(NE Region) has taken up this project as anintegral part of its mandate of capacity building of Extension functionaries in NE-states on extensionand behavioral approaches, methods, tools, techniques, attitudes, skills and qualities for agriculturaldevelopment. This compilation presents success stories relating to outstanding achievements in various sectorsof agricultural development in 9 states of NE Region, India and spread over seven sectors including,Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy, Poultry, Piggery, Fishery and Sericulture, and covering both farmersand farm women. The information relating to the stories has been collected jointly by the faculties of EEI(NERegion) and extension functionaries of ATMA Scheme, KVKs and departments of the Agriculture andallied sector of the Nine states. Documentation of success stories has been an integral part of Off-campus training programmes of EEI (NE Region) conducted in the states during the year 2016-17. We express our appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to the farmers and farm women for sharingtheir stories and useful information regarding their road to success. We are grateful to the extensionfunctionaries of the Agriculture and allied departments, KVKs and ATMA staffs of all the nine states fortheir active involvement, cooperation and supports in the project. (Pradip Kr. Neog) Director, EEI (NE Region) AAU, Jorhat

CONTENTSN Items Page no.1 Hybrid paddy cultivation in Ellengmora, Jorhat, Assam 12 Enhancing income generation through Fish farming in 2-3 Lawngtlai District, Mizoram3 Innovative Pea Cultivation: A success story of from 3-4 Thoubal District, Manipur4 Sericulture: An alternative form of livelihood in 4-5 Tuensang District, Nagaland5 Backyard Poultry Creates Excellent Impact on 5-6 Livelihood in East Sikkim6 Prosperity through maize cultivation in Mandhai, 6-7 Tripura7 Success of a dairy cattle farmer in Lawngtlai district, 8 Mizoram8 Reaping the benefits of organic farming : A success 9-10 story from Dimapur, Nagaland9 Fish farming brings economic prosperity in 10-12 Lawngtlai district, Mizoram10 Transformation of a Conventional Farmer to 12-13 Progressive Farmer: A success story from Mon District, Nagaland11 Harvested rainwater based IFS brings success to Niran 13-14 Debbarma of North Pulinpur, Tripura12 Sericulture- An emerging venture at Bungtlang, 15-16 Lawngtlai District, Mizoram13 Bitter gourd cultivation with paddy straw mulching: An 16-17 experiment by a farmer from North Pulinpur, Tripura

14 Fish farming as an alternative to Jhuming: A Success 17-18 story from Mokokchung, Nagaland 18-19 19-20 15 Teacher turns Farmer: A success story of Cardamom grower in Phek District, Nagaland 21 22-23 16 Piggery as a profitable venture: Success story from 23-24 Jorhat, Assam 24-26 26-27 17 SRI in fish farm: Success story of Shri Salam Shyamkumar Singh in Thoubal District, Manipur 28 29-30 18 Reaping benefits through Vermicomposting: A story 30-31 from Nalbari, Assam 32-33 33-34 19 From nothing to everything: Successful Cardamom 34-35 cultivation in Mokokchung district, Nagaland 36 20 Agri-horti-based cropping system ensure livelihood security in Lawngtlai district, Mizoram 21 TPS Potato production harnessing profits for farmer in North pulinpur, Tripura 22 Crop diversification in Pundibari, Bongaigaon, Assam 23 Eri silkworm cultivation: The Success story of Mrs. Kilenienla from Mokokchung, Nagaland 24 Assam tea-man brews organic success in Lakhimpur 25 Successful biological management in pea: Laitjem village, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya 26 Vermicomposting: A profitable venture for a vegetable grower in Nalbari district, Assam 27 Integrated Organic Farming System Improves Income and Livelihood Security in Sikkim 28 A self-sustained progressive farmer from Bokakhat, Assam

29 Self-Employment through Poultry Farming in Nagaland 37 38-3930 Empowerment of Tribal Farmers through Vanaraja 40-41 Backyard Farming in Sikkim 41-4231 Zero Tillage Pea Enhanced Income of Farmers in 43 Meghalaya 44-4532 Strawberry Cultivation Improved livelihood of Jhumias 46 in Mizoram 4733 Hybrid tomato cultivation in Podumoni village in 48-49 Jorhat district, Assam 49 5034 Maize and French Bean Intercropping in East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya 51-5235 Silkworm rearing boosting economic status in Serchhip District, Mizoram36 Cultivation of Water melon under water stress condition: Success of a farmer in North Pulinpur, Tripura37 Strawberry turns fruitful in Nalbari, Assam38 Cultivation of early radish brings success to Bijoylal Majumderin Tripura39 SRI method boosting rice production in Serchhip district, Mizoram40 Production of off-season exotic vegetables in East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-20171. Hybrid paddy cultivation in Ellengmora, Jorhat, AssamSituation: The village Ellengmora in Jorhat district of Assam is well known for itsvegetable growers. It is a hotspot for different vegetable crops. In the middle of thevillage a Farm lady named Mrs. Lakhimi Gogoi used to cultivate paddy in a traditionalway. She was growing paddy from a long time back. In a village where vegetablecultivation was more popular the productivity status of her rice crop was not as sheexpected.Response: Representatives of “Indo- American hybrid seeds” company while visitingthe village heard about her and visited her and gave her seed lot of hybrid paddy(INDAM 200-017) andalso told her about thetechnique of crop cuttingin rice. Mrs. Gogoifollowed their advice andsowed the seeds in herfield. She followed a 2m x2m crop cutting with 3.2kgs of the hybrid paddyseeds.Result: By following crop cutting Mrs. Gogoi was able to harvest 30 maunds of paddyper bigha (1 maund=40 kg) during last year. She was very much satisfied with theyield. So she has decided to extend her land area during this year.Evidence: Her success is evident from the fact that she has motivated other paddygrowers in the area to go for crop cutting technique. Many other fellow farmers haveventured into the new technique of paddy cultivation.Source: Dhrubajyoti Saikia, Asst. Marketing Manager, Indo American Hybrid Seeds (India) Pvt. Ltd.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 1

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 2. Enhancing income generation through Fish farming in Lawngtlai District, MizoramSituation : Mrs. Laldingliani,Chawngte ‘P’, Chawngte Block,Lawngtlai District, Mizoram wasengaged in a small business to meether day to day needs but the incomegenerated from this business was notsufficient to support their 5 memberfamily. Therefore, she decided to construct a fish pond of 0.1ha during 2010. Theinitial production from this pond was about 100kgs and earning around Rs. 25,000/-only in the year 2011 and she almost thought of giving up fish farming.Response: She received government assistance under New Land Use Policy (NLUP)she extended her pond up to an area of 0.75ha with a required depth of 1.5-2m andparticipated in ATMA activities like training and demonstration which inspired her andshe was able to take up fishery in larger scale.Result: The yearly production of fish from her pond of 0.75ha is approximately 350-450kgs which is amounting to around Rs.1, 50,000/- in year 2014 which contributedtowards family income and improved the economic condition of the family. Byinvesting Rupees 3, 50,000.00 during 2014she generate net income of Rupees 1,15,000.00 which was a big amount fortheir family. She started her farmingbusiness to motivate people around her bydoing small scale farming practices. Thesuccess story of Mrs. Laldingliani is an eye-opener to many of the farmers forExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 2

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017adopting fish farming as a means of livelihood. \"Hunger to become a successful fishfarmer, inspiration and diligence are the hallmarks of my success,\" she added.Evidence: She won ‘Best Farmer Award’ in Fishery sector in District Level Exhibitionorganized by ATMA, Lawngtlai District, and Mizoram during 2014.Source: ATMA, Lawngtlai District, Mizoram 3. Innovative Pea Cultivation: A success story from Thoubal District, ManipurSituation: Pea cultivation, whether field or garden has not been a very successfulventure in Manipur even though farmers in the state take it up on small scales withoutmuch profit. Whether the pea grown in field or garden, in Manipur they are almost allharvested as green pods for culinary /vegetable purpose.Response: Shri Sapam Lukhoi Singh of Wabagai Thingel Leikai, Thoubal district used adifferent technique of pea cultivation rather than using the traiditional method. Themain features of this technology are wide spacing (2 x 2) ft, sparse staking, GI wire xNylon thread netting,intercropping to use spacebetween two plots of pea etc.The method was assessed byKVK Thoubal and a fewmodifications were made in plotorientation, fertilizer dose andmethod of application,Result: As a result of the modifications made by KVK, Thoubal Mr. Singh was able toget a very high yield and benefit cost ratio reaching upto 4.8:1. The method wasExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 3

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017demonstrated successfully at ten different locations and was popularised throughoutthe district. With an intercrop of cabbage, the benefit cost ratio increased to 11:1.Evidence: Seeing the success of the method demonstrated, even though a littledifficult to practise the method on large scale, farmers have been able to cultivateupto 0.5 ha individually. This is a great achievement. Shri Sapam Lukhoi Singh hasguided other farmers to produce truthfully labelled seed of this pea to meet theincreasing demand.Source: KVK, Thoubal, Govt of Manipur, Manipur 4. Sericulture: An alternative form of livelihood in Tuensang District, NagalandSituation: Sericulture although an old practicehas not yet gained the popularity that it shouldhave received. Inspite of that Shri. T. Sangtam aprogressive farmer from Yangpi village ofTuensang, Nagaland has taken up sericulture.Response: In the year 1995 he got motivatedby the Department of Sericulture, Govt. ofNagaland for taking up castor cultivation forrearing silkworm. He collected few kilos of castorseed and started cultivating in an area of about0.50 acre. During the initial stage, lack of proper technical knowledge and market forthe produce was a major setback.Result: He harvested the crop four times in a year. The production of cocoon comesto around 20 kg which fetch him a price of Rs.6000-000 (@ Rs.350/kg) while incomefrom pupae, is around Rs.12, 000- 20, 000 (Rs.250/kg) He started rearing Disease FreeExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 4

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Laying in his own farm where 50 DFLs are reared at a time. Mulberry cuttings fromWest Bengal have also beenplanted and in the nearfuture he plans to take upMoriculture.Evidence: His success isevident from the fact thatATMA Tuensang visited hisfarm and put up a farmschool and designated him as Farm School Teacher. Also he has been a source ofinspiration for his fellow farmers in taking up sericulture. 5. Backyard Poultry Creates Excellent Impact on Livelihood in East SikkimSituation: Nandok is on adopted village of East Sikkim district under National Initiativeon Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project. It was found that the poultryproduction systems in Nandok and other nearby villages are traditional and poorlyremunerative.Response: Krishi VigyanKendra (KVK), East Sikkimmade intervention with dualpurpose improved birds,which can thrive well underpoor feeding andmanagement practicesfollowed in village, can growfaster than indigenous birds and lay more eggs. Mrs. Pabitra Sharma, mainly working Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 5

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017as farm labour, on her own initiative and in consultation with VCRMC took up theirstock of 40 birds and started rearing 60 nos. of Gramapriya birds single handedly withthe assistance of KVK, East Sikkim. She brood her chicks up to 45 days of age in aspecially designed a brooder house made up of low cost locally available materials.Result: With a stock of 60 birds, Mrs. Sharma earned a net profit of approximately,Rs. 11,300/- with a benefit:cost ratio of 1.78. She purchased 100 more chicks fromICAR Sikkim Centre. She has also started hatching 10-12 eggs at a time by using localbroody hens and sells chicks to other fellow farmers thus making a horizontaldissemination of the technology.Evidence: Now, Nandok village under 26 Naitam Nandok GPU in East Sikkim districthas become a hub for backyard poultry production with improved birds. Mrs. Sharmahas become a role model for the rural youths and farm women for taking improvedbackyard poultry as a potential practice for agro-preneurship development leading tosustainable livelihood security 6. Prosperity through maize cultivation in Mandhai, TripuraSituation: Mandhai Block is apart of Hilly Region of WestTripura district. It is havingundulating topography with veryminimum irrigation facilities.People of this area are mostlySchedule tribe and mainly dependon agriculture. Mr. KaluDebbarma (42), a farmer, ofSaraldaspara village under theExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 6

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017block has 5 ha of land, in which he do not have any irrigation facilities and all areunder rain-fed condition. Earlier, he was growing Maize by using traditional system ofcultivation like local varieties, no spacing, no seed treatment, flood irrigation etc.Response: During FLD ofMaize under ISOPOMprogramme in the village byKVK Team, Mr. Kalu Debbarmacame in contact with KVKscientists and posed hisagricultural problems. KVKteam studied the profile of hisfield and advised to participatein the training programme of FLD on Maize under ISOPOM. Through DMR, ICAR, NewDelhi. On completion of the training courses, Mr. Debbarma’s field was selected forFront Line Demonstration programmes for harnessing Maize productivity. Improvedvariety (VQPM-9) seeds of Maize were provided by KVK. Regular field visits were alsomade by the Subject Matter Specialists under the leadership of KVK ProgrammeCoordinator.Result: On success of the crop production Mr. Kalu Debbarma got a yield of 5 t/ha.He earned Rs. 93250.00/- from cultivation of improved variety of from demonstrationfield adopted under FLD programmes.Evidence: Recently, he purchased a Power tiller from income of Maize. Now, he alsomotivates several farmers to adopt the scientific cultivation method provided by KVK.Source: Mr. D. Nath, SMS (Agricultural Extension) and Programme Coordinator (I/C), KVK, WestTripuraExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 7

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 7. Success of a dairy cattle farmer in Lawngtlai district, MizoramSituation: Mr. B. Lalthanga, H/o Renchiaii a in Council Veng, Lawngtlai with hisfamily. After retirement from Assam rifle service, he earned the living of his family byrearing dairy cattle. He started his farm with 2 cattle along with 2 calves investingapproximately of Rs. 1, 50,000/- lakhs.Response: Motivated by Departmental worker (AH & Vety) and Extension workersfrom ATMA, Lawngtlai District by letting him knew the scarcity and marketing gap inthe dairy milk production within Lawngtlai district. He initiated his dairy farm in 2012,investing Rs. 1, 30,000/- forpurchasing 2 milch cows alongwith 2 calves and Rs. 20,000/- forconstruction of dairy house andinitial inputs for purchasing feedsand necessity equipment.Result: Within 3 years of histireless effort and hard-workinghe could expand his farm to 8 Nos of cattle. As reported, he could manage 4 milchcows, yielding approximately of 15 Liters per day throughout the whole year, which issold at Rs. 80/- per liter. Besides nursing his dairy cattle, he managed to producevegetable food crops for side income.Evidence: His dedication and hard-working reckoned the departmental workers andextension workers from ATMA, Lawngtlai District, in 2016, ATMA, Lawngtlai Blockselected & bestowed him a certification in his skills under the scheme of FarmerCapacity Assessment and Certification (FCAC - ASCI).Source: ATMA, Lawngtlai District, MizoramExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 8

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 8. Reaping the benefits of organic farming : A success story from Dimapur, NagalandSituation: Organic farming is very much prevalent in Nagaland. It has a majorimportance in the farming system of Nagaland. Mrs. Neivizonuo aged 38 years ofBade village from Dhansiripar Block ofDimapur, Nagaland is a progressive farmlady.Response: After getting married Mrs.Neivizonuo found interest in farming andparticipated in trainings, demonstrationsand workshops organized by ATMAequipping her with farming knowledgeand innovative ideas.Result: She now manages 20 hectaresof farmland growing varieties of crops such as Paddy, Maize, Ginger, Turmeric,Banana, citrus, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brocolli, Tomato, Chilli, Brinjal, Potato, Knol-Khol, carrot, Onion and Tapioca. Shesells her agricultural produce insurrounding weekly market and theremaining surplus is sold to otherneighbouring states. Her annualturnover from paddy grains andvegetable crop is around Rs. 6 lakhs.Besides crop cultivation, Mrs.Neivizonuo rears 3000 birds and 40 pigsas secondary activity. She is alsoundertaking nursery for flowers andExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 9

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017fruits by cutting, budding and grafting to earn additional income as a subsidiaryactivity. She runs farm machineries on hire basis to help poor and needy farmers alongwith her husband, she is ambitiously working harder to produce organic vegetablesduring off- season. The annual turnover from her entire farming activity isapproximately Rs. 10.80 lakhs.Evidence: In recognition of her dedication and hard work towards integrated organicfarming, ATMA-Dimapur of Dhansiripar block opened a ‘Horticultural Farm School’ inher farmland in 2012. Since then Mrs. Nevizonuo and her husband has been workingclosely working under ATMA- Dimapur as a resourceful farmer-teacher duo sharingtheir practical experiences and motivating other fellow farmers.Source: Compendium of ATMA success stories, Nagaland Episode 9. Fish farming brings economic prosperity in Lawngtlai district, MizoramSituation: Fish farming is a profitable venture but the farmers of the districtLawngtlai, Mizoram is still struggling for area expansion, better productivity andsustainability in aquaculture. The bottle neck in increasing the aquaculture activity islack of fish seed, balanced fish feed and pond management. In spite of these majorproblems Mr. Hmarlutthangaof 54-aged hardworking andenthusiastic farmer ofVengpui locality, Lawngtlaitown from Lawngtlai Block,Lawngtlai district of Mizoramhas start achieving aprogressive success in fishfarming. He was strugglingfor living with his 7 numbers of family members. Initially he dug a pond of approx.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 10

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-20170.05 ha area for fish cum paddy farming with a hope of additional earning. However,due to lack of proper knowledge and skill he could not earn money as per hisexpected. And somehow he managed his family livelihood through daily wage earningand from whatever he sells out of the fish he had in the market. He was almostdisappointed to take up pisciculture as their main source of income generation forlivelihood of his family. In spite of this, he continued his efforts for getting suitableremedies to his failures.Response: During the baseline survey held during 2012-13, field functionaries fromATMA, Lawngtlai Block came in contact with Mr. Hmarlutthanga and came to knowabout his problems. He asked ATMA field staff to conduct Demonstration onComposite Fish Farming in his pond and immediate action was taken and was foundvery successfull. He participated in district level training under ATMA programe onComposite Fish Farming System at Ngengpuikai village during 2013. Mr. Thanga alongwith few progressive farmers of the district was also taken by ATMA, Lawngtlai districton exposure visit to different places within the state. In the exposure visit program hevisited many fishery based farming system and gaining much more knowledge aboutfish farming. He got financial assistance from district fishery department as well as LaiAutonomous District Council (LADC) for expansion and renovation of his pond.Result: In the last financialyear 2014-15, He producedabout 170 quintal of fish from0.5 ha of land. Followed bysuccess and inspiration fromthe ATMA, Lawngtlai anddepartment of fisheries, hehas constructed a pond of 0.2ha of arable land with his own money. Today, he is one of the progressive and wellExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 11

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017known fish farmer being a proud owner of well-maintained fish ponds spread in anarea of 1.5 hectares in his farm from Lawngtlai district. He rears Rohu, Catla, Grasscarp etc. in his fishery and sells it in the local market thereby earning about Rs. 1, 55,000 annually at present. With the success in his fishery, now he has started a piggeryunit, a poultry unit and fruit orchard in his farm in order to earn subsidiary incomethereby giving him an additional Rs. 85,000 making his net income Rs. 2, 80,000.Evidence: Having a comparatively better harvest of fish after adopting goodmanagement practices Mr. Hmarlutthang had further planned to improve hisaquaculture business by availing bank loan. He is also planning to establish a model forsustainable integrated fish farming system in his farm. He is not only an idol but also agreat source of inspiration for local peoples in the village as a result of which a greatnumber of unemployed educated youth have been motivated to take up pisciculture.According to him, there is no substitute of pisciculture, here in fish production, theprofit is double than the expenditure if we adopt the scientific management of fishrearing. He is an active adviser in Lawngtlai Fishery Association.Source: ATMA, Lawngtlai District, Mizoram 10.Transformation of a Conventional Farmer to Progressive Farmer: A success story from Mon District, NagalandSituation: Shri Mihjat Knoyak, of Tizit village,Mon district is one of the progressive tea farmerin Tizit. With no other means of income, growingtea was the only option for him.Response: During 1993 he managed tp plantmore than 15, 000 tea plants. After planting, heregistered his tea garden with the Tea Board ofIndia under the name Lirak Tea Estate. HeExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 12

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017received some subsidy for maintenance of tea garden from the Tea Board of India.Result: Gradually, he started supplying tea leaves to the nearest tea factory situatedat Sonari, Assam. Supplying fresh tea leaves to Assam was a tough job due totransportation problem. He eared around Rs.5000 to Rs.10, 000 per month with whichhe had to maintain his tea garden. Nevertheless he continued with his passion for teacultivation. At present, his tea garden is home to more than 2 lakhs tea plants, and isamongst the largest in Tizit. He employs a labour force of around 50-60 on a dailybasis.Evidence: His success is evident from the fact that he was identified as a progressivefarmer by ATMA-Mon. Since 2011, he has been a resource person in various FarmSchool trainings. He was awarded the best male farmer of Mon district during theIndependence Day celebration 2013. 11.Harvested rainwater based IFS brings success to Niran Debbarma of North Pulinpur, TripuraSituation: Sri Niran Debbarma (42) of village North Pulinpur under block Teliamurawas a poor farmer with limitedresources and was unable to meet thedemand of his family. He used tocultivate rain fed Kharif paddy. He hadno scope to take second crop due toscarcity of water. He also had a pondwhich was not sufficient to fetchenough water for irrigation purpose.Response: KVK scientists of thedistrict came in touch with him in 2011 and they visited his land which used to remainExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 13

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017fallow after rainfed kharif paddy. After close and more interaction, the scientists alsocame to know that he has a silted pond near to his cultivated land. The capacity ofthat pond to harvest rainwater was only about 4500 cubic feet. It almost became dryduring winter season without any utility for fishery and life saving irrigation for hiscrops during kharif dry spell as well as during winter-summer as second crop. Afterstudying the entire situation, scientists of KVK prepared a plan and took the challengeto increase his farm profit through harvested rainwater based IFS.Result: Mr. Debbarma’s existingsilted pond was immediatelyrejuvenated resulting waterharvesting capacity upto 13500cubic feet. Under the Directsupervision of KVK, he has startedto grow kharif paddy withcomparatively shorter durationfollowed by potato, pea, mustard, lentil, bitter gourd, maize in the main field anddolicosh bean, drumstick, areca nut, banana utilizing pond embankment. He has alsostarted duck cum composite fish culture in his pond and for source of life savingirrigation to crops, pond water was utilized. Annual income during 2013-14 of Mr.Niran Debbarma from his Integrated Farming System was Rs.86590.00 from a totalland area of 3.6 acres.Evidence: His success is evident from the fact that he is leading a comfortable lifealong with his family. His story has motivated a few other farmers to take up IFS intheir farms as well.Source: Mr. D. Nath, SMS (Agricultural Extension) and Programme Coordinator (I/C), KVK, WestTripuraExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 14

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-201712.Sericulture- An emerging venture at Bungtlang, Lawngtlai District, MizoramSituation: C. Zathuama has been taking up sericulture for more than seven years inBungtlang 'W' village, situated at the Southern west part of Mizoram. He is now 67years old, having 9 family members and 4 members engaged in sericulture. C.Zathuama owns a land with an area of 2.5 acres. Before practicing Sericulture, hepracticed jhum cultivation where he used to harvest rice and some Rabi crops whichwere insufficient to support his house-hold. Since he did to have any other option hehad to practice this jhum cultivation for his income. He had practiced this process ofcultivation for the last 3 decades.Response: In 2008, having heard about the prospect and sustainability of Mulberrysericulture, he started plantation of 8000 Nos. mulberry cuttings in his 2.5 acres ofland and conducted silkworm rearing from the succeeding year i.e. 2009 having 4crops with a great success earning Rs. 25,560 from 130 Kg of mulberry cocoon.Result: During 2010 due to hisperformance and progress, the authority ofthe Sericulture department came to knowhis existence and contribution inSericulture and was assisted with theconstruction of rearing house. Now heowns a rearing house and has extended hisplantation and is continuing rearingmulberry silkworm till date.Evidence: From his earnings Mr. Zathuama had purchased and possessed manymaterials of household living to ease his and his family’s livelihood. Due to hismotivation, more than ten (10) farmers of his village followed his vision and dream ofExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 15

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017sericulture who are now one of the most progressive and promising sericulturefarmers in the area.Source: ATMA, Lawngtlai District, Mizoram 13.Bitter gourd cultivation with paddy straw mulching: An eperiment by a farmer from North Pulinpur, TripuraSituation: Mr. Kali charan Debbarma is a farmer of village North Pulinpur. His familyincome was only around Rs. 15000 by growing monocropped paddy only in his 0.8 haland. It was difficult for him to run his household and also maintain the farm activitieswith the shortage of money.Response: He then decided to address the issue and came in touch with KVK and hewas provided with sufficient training followed by a small demonstration in his kh arifpaddy fallow land on cultivation of bitter gourd with paddy straw mulching during2012-13.Result: As a result of the training Mr.Debbarma decided to go for bitter gourdcultivation. He followed the techniquesand practices that were being taught bythe KVK scientists. After around oneyear he was able to get some profit outof his cultivation and purchased someland and so his total land ownedincreased to 1 acre. Using straw mulching and balanced doses of fertilizer. Mr.Debbarma was able to reap good benefits. He was able to earn a net profit of Rs.85800/- from his 1 acre of land which earlier used to remain totally fallow after kharifpaddy.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 16

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Evidence: Seeing his success in farming now most of the farmers of the village haveaccepted this technology under water stress condition. He served as a motivator forthe fellow farmers of his village.Source: Mr. D. Nath, SMS (Agricultural Extension) and Programme Coordinator (I/C), KVK, WestTripura 14. Fish farming as an alternative to Jhuming: A Success story from Mokokchung, NagalandSituation: Mr. Panjunglemba, a father ofthree children much challenged with thesole responsibility to look after his childrenafter the sudden demise of his wife in2004. Despite all the hurdles, determinedand hopeful for better times to come forhim and his family, he devoted his timeand efforts to toil his Jhum field. Howeverhe could barely earn enough to give his children a decent living.Response: Therefore to address the issue he decided to give up Jhum cultivation andtook up fish farming in the year 2010 to support his family. There were times when hisfellow friends remained skeptical about his idea of taking up fish farming as asustainable means of livelihood. Not disheartened by all the skepticism, he went todevelop two ponds and started into this venture.Result: At present he has 5 numbers of fishery ponds with pond dimension of 160 ft.x 80 ft. to 140 ft. x 0 ft. under semi-intensive culture with fish like common carp, silvercarp, grass carp, catla and rohu. His fishery unit yields him about 2000 kgs of fish fromExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 17

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017the five ponds which is sold at nearbylocal markets at a rate of Rs.140-150/kgyielding him a total annual income ofRs.3 lakhs.Evidence: He became a self-sufficientfarmer and a responsible fatherproviding well for his children. Hebecame an eye opener to many of his fellow farmers and soon many started taking upfish farming. Considering the growth of fish farmers around the locality, ATMA,Mokokchung has set a model Fishery Farm School with Mr. Pangjunglemba as theFarm School Teacher. 15.Teacher turns Farmer: A success story of Cardamom grower in Phek District, NagalandSituation: While the debate on who ismore important: the teacher or thefarmer continue to rage on without awinner emerging, Kewechilo Mero, aresident Lekromi village of Phek district,Nagaland decided to be both. Serving asa teacher at a government primaryschool Kewechelo’s love for farmingprompted him to venture into the entrepreneurial sector.Response: In 2008 Kewechelo hit on the idea of starting a Cardamom farm since itwas regarded as a high value crop. Instead of waiting for government subsidies orloans to translate his idea into action, he promptly started a modest cardamomExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 18

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017project on a small plot of land at Tsudilu area which is located some distance awayfrom his village.Result: After two years of hardwork and dedication, Kewechelo received his firstharvest of 200 kilogram of fresh Cardamom which when dried was sold at a rate ofRs.500 per kilogram. The first harvest gave him a yield of 40 kilos of dried capsules. Inthe fourth he had harvested 500 kilograms of fresh Cardamom and 120 kilogramsdried. At present the teacher cum farmer has a cultivation area of 3.5 ha with acapacity of producing more than 1000 kilos. The dried capsules are sold at a rate ofRs.650 per kilogram.Evidence: Hard work and conviction has its perks and seldom goes unrewarded.ATMA, Phek along with ATMA Management Committee after recognizing Mr.Kewechel’s tireless efforts selected him as the “Best Male Farmer” for the year 2012from Phek district. 16. Piggery as a profitable venture: Success story from Jorhat, AssamSituation: Pig rearing occupies an important role in upliftment of the socio economicstatus of the weaker section of the rural society especially among the tribal massesbecause of its customary dependency, profitable and viable occupation. Mr. AtulMissong from Ellengmora, Jorhat was doing piggery in traditional way with local pigswhich were not much productive in terms of meat and piglets but just to meet up hisfamily demands and rituals. There was always a constraint to buy and grow a newstock of piglets of genetic vigour.Response: To address this issue, Krishi Vigyan Kendra Jorhat, Assam AgriculturalUniversity, Kaliapani, Teok, Jorhat, Assam during the year 2013 under TSP programmeprovided Mr. Atul Missong with a pig breeding unit comprising 10 female and 2 maleexotic breed (Hampshire) piglets along with the assistance to build the pig sty, feed forExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 19

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017one year and veterinary service as andwhen needed. The KVK also arrangemany rounds of training programs tomake aware about the technicalknowhow of pig farming itsmanagement, diseases, preventivemeasures, record keeping, budgetingetc.Result: After rearing these upgraded pigs in a scientific manner Mr. Atul Missongcould harvest a good profit in these three years. At present, he is having 22 breedingpigs and sold out 180 piglets @Rs.2500.00 average. He fattened around eight pigs forone to one and half year of age and could achieved 90-120kg which he [email protected] average. Moreover the male pigs are catering the need ofcrossbreeding programme to upgrade the existing local stock in and around his villageand with this he could make additional earning by taking Rs.500.00/service. Mostimportantly he is fulfilling the main aim of the breeding unit is to supply of goodquality, upgraded breed piglet to pig grower.Evidence: Regular follow up survey along with scientific advice and veterinary aidsfrom KVK, Jorhat is still going on. By seeing Mr. Atul Missiong success manyunemployed youth are attracted toward this occupation and undertaking piggery in aprofessional way. He is becoming role model for many. Six ARS trainees from differentparts of India were assigned to work by NAARM, Hyderabad, under the guidance ofMr. Atul Missong for 20 days (from 9th Feb 2016 to 28th Feb 2016) at his village. He isnow esteemed SAC member of KVK, Jorhat.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 20

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 17.SRI in fish farm: Success story of Shri Salam Shyamkumar Singh in Thoubal District, ManipurSituation: Rice production has not been a profitable business for a long time inManipur. But with the use of hybrid rice in combination with SRI methodology that tooin fish farms has become much profitable a business and a boon for the fish farmers ofManipur.Response: Shri Salam Shyamkumar Singh of Uchiwa Wangma after attending someOFT conducted by KVK, Thoubal in 2009 and demonstrations in the year 2010 haveadopted the “SRI in fish farm” technology earning much better income from one cropof rice in pre-kharif (February-July) and one crop of fish during kharif (July-December).Result: After a good harvest of fish in February 2010 he kept his farm pond of 2 hawith one complete hectare of cultivable area submersed with 2-3 inches of water tocheck weed growth. At this time he raised nursery of rice hybrid using 5 kg seeds fortransplanting under SRI methodology. Within a few days, rice plants achieved aluxuriant crop stand and gave an unexpected good yield of 9.8MT/ha within about 125days. Shri Shyamkumar now earns an annual income of about Rs.170000/- both fromfishes and paddy maintaining his family well.Evidence: The success comes from his sincere hard work and the use of thetechnology that has been tested, modified and demonstrated which can be called aModified SRI. This practice has helped other farmers too who were motivated byseeing the efforts of Mr. Singh.Source: Website of KVK, Thoubal, ManipurExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 21

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 18. Reaping benefits through Vermicomposting: A story from Nalbari, AssamSituation: Mr. Ashok Medhi of Tihu, Nalbari while studying in class IX use to listen toradio programmes. One very fine day he was listening to a program on the radionamed ‘Krishi Jagat’ where a radio talk on vermicomposting was going on. Afterlistening to the radio talk he wasquite overwhelmed by the factthat earthworms could be used toincrease the fertility of soil. So bythe time he was studying inHigher Secondary he decided totry vermicomposting on his own.He borrowed a sum of Rs. 6500from his father and constructed 3 tanks and started doing vermicomposting. Hecontinued this for around one and half years but did not receive any profit from theventure. So then he decided to leave it.Response: Officials from KVK, Nalbari came to know of it and they asked him to visitthe District Agricultural Office. The District Agricultural Officer led him to theDevelopment Officer of Kamrup district named Bongshi Kalita. Mr. Ashok Medhi tookthe advice and met Mr. BongshiKalita and gathered lot ofinformation about how to properlygo for vermicomposting. Helearned all the techniques andthen started a newvermicomposting unit.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 22

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Result: After setting up a totally new vermicomposting unit comprising of 7 tanks Mr.Medhi started to get good results. At first he sold his product at Rs 5/kg in 5kg packetsin nearby shops and also sold his produce in Guwahati. He started earning good profitfrom his vermicompost unit. At present apart from having the 7 tanks he is now having70 nos. of plastic beds containing vermicompost which is spread around a total land of3 and half bighas. He gets a total of 300 tons of vermicompost per year which earnshim a profit of around Rs. 7 lakhs per year. He is leading a comfortable life and issupporting his family very well which all became possible because of his enthusiasmthat he showed in a very early age of his life.Evidence: His success is evident from the fact that he has now developed a newproduct of his own named Tub soil which mainly uses the residue that is obtainedfrom a vermicomposting unit. Tub soil comprises of vermisoil (30%) which is a wasteproduct of vermicomposting, vermicompost (20%), neem cake (20%), vermiwash(20%) and Trichoderma (10%). He sells the Tub soil at Rs 150 per bag which comprisesof 10 kg Tub soil. Also he is a registered Government supplier of vermicompost. 19.From nothing to everything: Successful Cardamom cultivation in Mokokchung district, NagalandSituation: Mr. Tekasungba, 71 years of age hails from Khar village underMangkolemba town underMokokchung district. He was facinglot of difficulty to provide well forhis family and also for his children’seducation.Response: Mr. Tekasungba startedcardamom cultivation in the yearExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 23

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-20171996 which was indeed a transition for him and his family “from nothing toeverything”. Though he started small with only 1.5 hectares which gave him only ascarce production and income during early phase, but this never stopped him fromreaching the limit.Result: So to address the issue he started to expand his farm to an area of about 4hectares of land which yielded him about 200 kgs of cardamom. Gradually his incomesoared helping him recover his earlier farm expenses. He started generating anincome of about 3.5 lakhs per annum from his farm which he sold at a rate of Rs.500-600 per kg. At present he has expanded his farm by acquiring an area of 10 hectares ofwhich 8 hectares of land is under production that fetch him around 400-500 kgs ofcardamom and 2 hectares of land is under non-productive phase. He now sells hisharvest to neighbouring districts of Dimapur, Kohima, Mokokchung and Jorhat inAssam.Evidence: His hardwork was a boom, improving his family’s socio-economic status.Believing in the saying “hardwork pays it all” he continued to work hard and it broughtsuccess top him and now indeed he is one cultivator who is looked up as a motivator. 20. Agri-horti-based cropping system ensure livelihood security in Lawngtlai district, MizoramSituation: Lawngtlai district is theremote and backward district ofMizoram as identified by PlanningCommission and is bordering Myanmaron the eastern and southern side. Theage-old practice of Jhum is apredominant farming system in thedistrict. During Rabi seasons, cultivationof crop is considered major constraints in the villages. Jhumias are not having anyExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 24

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017irrigation facilities and mostly cultivated under rainfed condition. Mr. J. Lalthapuia(age 50) is a middle aged farmer of the village Saikah L of Lawngtlai Block, Lawngtlaidistrict. He had very less resources to get a decent earning to run his family of eightmembers. He married with Lallungawii and having six children’s. Their major sourcesof income for managing the family is mainly rely on agriculture and allied activities.Both of them were under matriculation standards. They belong to BPL family so theyhave to work hard in order to feed their 6 children. They are still practicing traditionalagricultural system (i.e., jhuming) every year in a small area of land. The farmer couldtake up Kharif season crops and the seed materials are mostly of locally available oneand they regenerated the same for the next season every year. Their annual income isnot sufficient for proper management of the family and for children schooling. He isnot taking other activities other than agriculture to generate additional income and noalternative option for him.Response: In order to raise the farm income and improve the livelihood of farmersin the district, mixed cropping system and intercropping with fruit crops withtechnological interventions weredemonstrated in his farm byATMA and KVK under the ATMAsheme during 2014. The success ofthe farmer is firstly throughindividual efforts and secondly byconsulting expert/ in the field ofagriculture and allied subject fromATMA, KVK, Agriculture, Horticulture department, etc. The farmer not yet receivedany financial assistance through government for performing their agriculturalactivities. The interventions have decreased the dependence of farmers on Jhumingand also improved the standard of living, livelihood and socioeconomic status of theExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 25

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017villagers. He was participated training programme on management og pig and poutryorganized by ATMA.Result: He is now one of the well-known progressive farmer in the area. On anaverage 3.0 ha area was under crop coverage for the farmer. As per impartingimproved packages of practices of mixed cropping he started cultivating mustard,cowpea, hisbiscus sp. (locally called Anthur), pumkin, brinjal, Ocimum sp. (Locallycalled Runhmui and Lengser), upland rice ( var. Idaw and Fazai), maize (locally calledmimban and mimpui), chilli and ginger and papaya in a proper spacing. After gettingall the technical inputs, J. Lalthapuia is getting a bumper crop. He is selling the producewith premium rate to the middleman and also sold to consumer from his farm. He isalso selling directly in Lawngtlai market at different rate. On an average he is earningRupees 30000 – 35000/- per month and 4 - 5.5 lakhs per annum from 2.5 hectare ofarea during 2014-15.Evidence: After realizing the success of J. Lalthapuia and other farmers in the areagot motivated and have diverted from Jhuming to settle cultivation in small scale. Nowhe could admit his children in English medium and boarding at Hostel in districtcapital, Lawngtlai. 21.TPS Potato production harnessing profits for farmer in North pulinpur, TripuraSituation: Sri Chran Debbarma (46) of village North Pulinpur is also a poor farmerwith limited resources and was unable to meet the demand of his family. After Amanpaddy his land left remained fallow due to water scarcity. As this village was underNICRA project, main emphasis had given on construction of rain water harvestingstructures to minimize water scarcity and to increase the cropping intensity under thesupervision of KVK.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 26

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Response: With the initiation ofKVK, TPS was introduced to thisvillage for the first time in the year2012, which was totally a new cropto this village. With the fulltechnical guidance and seedsupport from KVK, TPS cultivationwas started in the field of CharanDebbarma in an area of 0.32 ha.He adopted all improved crop management practices with special attention toirrigation and spraying schedule at critical stages of crop growth.Result: In the first year, he has produced tuber let and store in cold storage forplanting in the next year. After keeping some quantity tuberlet as his own plantingmaterial he sold rest quantity to the other farmers. Under irrigated condition, he couldharvest 31.4 q of tuberlet from one 0.32 ha land area and managed to earn a netprofit of Rs. 74900/ha. And next year from TPS tuberlet, he got around 120 q of sizablepotato tuber and earned a netprofit of 80200.Evidence: Mr. CharanDebbarma is now a successfulgrower of TPS and is leading ahealthy life along with his family.He is now providing well forhimself and his family.Source: Mr. D. Nath, SMS (Agricultural Extension) and Programme Coordinator (I/C), KVK, WestTripuraExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 27

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 22.Crop diversification in Pundibari, Bongaigaon, AssamSituation: Mr. Gajiur Rahman of Pundibari, Bongaigaon inherited a big farm from hisfather. Although the farm was big there was not much profit that could be gainedfrom the farm as the farm was mainly used for one or two crop per year. Mr. Rahmanhas been in farming since 1990. Inspite of being in farming for such a long period hewas unable to gain the maximum out of his farming practices.Response: So few years back he decided to visit the KVK, Bongaigaon for discussingabout what best could be done so as to improve the productivity of his farm. Aftervisiting KVK, Bongaigaon he also attended a training on ‘Multiple cropping systemsand crop diversification’ held at ICAR, New Delhi, from March 19-21, 2013.Result: After attending the training and gathering all the information and knowledgehe finally decided to go for multiple cropping system and also diversify his crops. Henow traditionally cultivates a variety of crops in his farm such as Ber, Potato, Jute,Tomato, Sesame, Chilli. By following crop diversification he is now able to get goodresults out of his farming and is providing well for his family. He now owns a total of35 bighas of land and earns a net profit of around 10 lakhs/ annum from his farmingactivities. He sells his produce mainly in the local markets.Evidence: Inspite of the fact that he has not sold his produce in the city markets heis earning a very good profit out of his farming activities. Seeing his success few otherfarmers have decided to go for crop diversification. He has become a role model formany fellow farmers.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 28

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 23.Eri silkworm cultivation: The Success story of Mrs. Kilenienla from Mokokchung, NagalandSituation: Mrs. Kilenienla, a widow of 42 years hailingfrom Mopungchuket village under Mokokchung districtwith the burden of her family resting up on hershoulders with 3 children started rearing silkworm inthe year 1996 with a little indigenous knowledge thatshe had acquired from her fellow farmers. Lack oftechnical knowledge and limited resources preventedher from gaining expected returns. Yet she remaineddevoted and dedicated in her work.Response: Seeing her enthusiasm and zeal to go on an extra mile, putting all herefforts, Dept. of Sericulture, Mokokchung assisted her by providing rearing trays andhousing materials for the extension of her Eri rearing unit and also with regulartechnical monitoring, which immensely helped her in increasing her production. Inaddition to that she has also attendedvarious trainings and demonstrationsorganized by ATMA as well as the Dept. ofSericulture, Mokokchung both in theblock and district level.Result: Mrs. Kilenienla now has an Erirearing unit (rearing house)measuring dimension of 20 ft. x 12 ft. She currently rearsaround 100-150 DFLs of Eri silkworm in one rearing cycle alone and maintains 5-6rearing cycles all-round the year. She has managed to convert her 2 acres of land togrow Eri fodder plants like castor, tapioca etc. Annually she earns around an amountof Rs.1, 20, 000 by selling of Eri pupae and Rs.25, 000 by selling cocoons. She sellsaround 50-60 kg of cocoons in a year @ Rs.500/kg for cocoons plucked by hand (i.eExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 29

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Grade A) and Rs.400/kg for scissors cut cocoons (Grade B). She also earns aroundRs.10, 000 through sale of silkworm eggs. This enterprise earns her a net income ofRs.1, 55, 000. Evidence: She is now able to meet the needs of her family and also support her 3 college going children. Noticing her success and looking at the way how remarkably profits are generated by her throughout the year she has now become an inspiration for many to take up Eri silkworm cultivation.24. Assam tea-man brews organic success in LakhimpurSituation: Organic tea has taken over the global teamarket in a major way. Big companies and organizationsare now growing tea in an organic way and producinggood quality organic tea. But this organic tea is high inprice which is very much difficult for the lower class ofpeople to purchase. Mr. Gobin Hazarika of Madhupur,Lakhimpur has been growing tea in and organic mannersince 1995. His is probably the only tea garden that isorganic from its very incepton.Response: In 1997 he started to sell his produce which he himself produced in hishome in a traditional way. He used Assamese traditional equipments named ‘Dheki’and ‘Kadhai’ for producing his tea. He first sold his product at a very low price of Rs.5/kg in the nearby villages and also named his product ‘Bio tea’. But people were notExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 30

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 much attracted towards his tea as it had a raw smell to it. Slowly he was able to sell his produce as his product became better and better. In 2001 he finally was able to remove the raw smell from his tea and it was the beginning of a new era for Mr. Hazarika as his Organic Black tea wasready. In 2002 while sitting in a hotel in Guwahati and having tea he heard twopersons talking about green tea that is grown in Darjeeling. Listening to theirconversation he went back home and decided to try producing Organic green tea aswell. Following the same traditional manner of using Dheki and Kadhai he startedproducing green tea as well apart from black tea.Result: Today Mr. Hazarika’s annual black tea production is 1,000 kg of which 80% isexported. It is sold at Rs.1, 600 (US$25) per kg abroad, while in the domestic market itsells at Rs.1,000 per kilo. His green teawhich touches 80-90 kg is sold atdouble the price.Evidence: His success is evident fromthe fact that he has been awarded theAssam Udyog Ratna Award and theAssam Udyog Prerona Award in 2009by the North Eastern Small ScaleIndustries Association (NESSIA). Also he has been bestowed with many other lettersand honorary certificates for his excellent work that he has been doing in the field ofOrganic Green and Black tea cultivation. Also after seeing his success few otheryounger farmers started to produce organic black tea.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 31

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 25. Successful biological management in pea: Laitjem village, East Khasi Hills, MeghalayaSituation: East Khasi Hills is one of the 11(eleven) districts of the State of Meghalaya.Garden pea is one of the vegetable cropscultivated in large areas of the district byfarmers but due to the high incidence ofpests and diseases the yield and the returnof the crop is very poor since large areas areaffected. Among the diseases, Rhizoctonia rot of pea was found to be the majordisease faced by the farmers. It was observed that the farmers in the selected villageswere not following any management practices for controlling the diseases in their field which resulted in high mortality percentage and disease occurrence. Response: Therefore, the Centre felt the need to introduce the use of Trichoderma viridae for management of Rhizoctonia rot of pea for the benefit of farmers in the district and also to helpthem to maximize their yield. Thus in this regard, the KVK East Khasi Hills selectedSmti. Mary Pathaw, a progressive farmer in Laitjem village for the intervention of thistechnology on the use of Trichoderma viridaefor management Rhizoctonia rot of pea.Result: The use of Trichoderma viridae wasfound to be effective against Rhizoctonia rotof pea as the incidence of the disease hasconsiderably reduced. It was also found thatthe use of this bio agent is much easy andExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 32

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017more economical as compare to the use of chemical pesticides. The result shows thatonly 3-4% of the disease incidence has been reported whereas 30% of the diseaseincidence has been identified in the local check. The result also shows that there hasbeen an increase in yield of about 41.5% in the demonstrated field over the localcheck.Evidence: After seeing the results andperformance, others farmers also expressedtheir keen interest in adopting thistechnology and are willing to replace the useof chemical pesticides with the use ofTrichoderma since it is safe, eco-friendly andcompatible to use with other bio fertilizers,compost and FYM.Source: KVK, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya 26.Vermicomposting: A profitable venture for a vegetable grower in Nalbari district, AssamSituation: Mr. Krishna Rajbongshi of Boroma, Nalbari district is a cultivator of riceand winter vegetables. Over the years he has seen the fertility of his land decline andas a result he is not able to get good results out of is farming. Application of chemicalfertilizer is very much popular in his locality.Response: In 2008 Mr. Rajbongshi came in came to know from a friend aboutvermicompost. His friend had attended a training on vermicomposting technique.After knowing about the technique of vermicomposting he decided to attend sometrainings and demonstration organized by KVK, Nalbari.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 33

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Result: Gaining knowledge from the trainings and demonstrations Mr. Rajbongshistarted a small vermicomposting unit with 3 wooden tanks. After getting the producthe first decided to apply it in his own field. He started getting good results. Hisproductivity started to increase gradually. So he decided to sell his product in the localmarket. He got good profits out of the product. So in 2012 he decided to extend hisvermicomposting unit. At present he has a total of 1 and half kotha of land under thevermicomposting unit. He earns a total of around Rs.4-5 lakhs per year. He is able toproduce around 150 qtls of vermicompost out of which he sells 80 qtls of product toKVK, Nalbari and the rest to some organic farms in the area.Evidence: He has uplifted his status as an organic grower of vegetables and rice. Heis now able to provide well for his family and is leading a good life. 27. Integrated Organic Farming System Improves Income and Livelihood Security in SikkimSituation: Shri Nim Tshering Lepcha, resident of Lower Nandok under 26 Naitam-Nandok GPU, East Sikkim had been practicing traditional agriculture in his 2 ha land asthe only means of livelihood. Despite hard labour, the farm productivity was low andincome was not satisfactory.Response: With theinterventions during last threeyears (2013-16) by Krishi VigyanKendra, ICAR Sikkim Centre,Ranipool, East Sikkim havetransformed his socio-economicstatus. Organic farmingtechnological backup by ICARResearch Complex for NEH Region, Sikkim Centre made developmental interventions Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 34

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017by providing training, on field demonstrations and input support. Variousinputs/interventions were provided under National Innovations on Climate ResilientAgriculture (NICRA) with the purpose of reorienting his traditional farming intointegrated organic farming system (IOFS) to increase the farm income.Result: Capacity building of the farmer coupled with his own competence,enthusiasm and institutional intervention raised his stature as progressive farmer inIntegrated Organic Farming System within short span of time. Presently, Mr. Lepchaearns gross income of Rs. 4, 15, 050 as compared to Rs.1, 65, 000 under traditionalfarming system. An expenditure of Rs. 89,750/- was incurred (excluding farming familyenergy input i.e., labour cost) for maintaining the integrated organic farming system,resulting in benefit : cost ratio of 4:6.Evidence: In recognition of his achievements Mr. Nim Tshering Lepcha wasfelicitated by Sh. Khorlo Bhutia, Secretary, Food Security and Agriculture DevelopmentDepartment, Government of Sikkim as progressive farmer on the 40th Foundation Dayof ICAR Research Complex forNEH Region, Sikkim Centre,Tadong in 2015. He is now a rolemodel not only in his village butalso for the entire farmingcommunity of East Sikkim.Farmers from other villages aremotivated by the success of thisfarmer and headmen ofneighbouring villages are encouraging farmers to implement similar model in theirvillages.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 35

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 28. A self-sustained progressive farmer from Bokakhat, AssamSituation: Mr Karunakanta Hazarika, locally known as Taj is a progressive farmerfrom Bordihingia village of Mahuramukh, Bokakhat is earning his living with his familythrough farming sets a good example for other farmers of the area.Response: Mr Karunakanta Hazarika started his farming of agricultural crops in hisown land. Later he started farming on leased in land and now successfully helpingsome other families for earning a good living through his farming. He has 6 bighas ofland of his own and other 76 bighas where he is doing Sali paddy. His expenses was 1,79,000 on Sali paddy where as he was able to earn more than 3 lakhs. During Rabiseason also he cultivated rapeseed and mustard in 70 bighas of land and earned 1,60,000. He also cultivated citrus lemon and earned 10000, and 13000 from colocassia.Result: Mr Hazarika hasinvolved many other farmersalong with him for farmingactivities like ploughing,harvesting, threshing and hasused modern cultivationmachines for all purposes. Hehas employed many families andthus became a great source of inspiration for many. The Agriculture department hashelped Mr Hazarika by providing 5 Qt of mustard seed this year.Evidence: The intervention motivated other farmers in the village to start up such aventure to increase the economic status of the farmer.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 36

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 29. Self-Employment through Poultry Farming in NagalandSituation: Low input backyard farming with deshi birds is the mainstream of poultryproduction prevailing in North Eastern states in India particularly Nagaland. Theorganized poultry sector in Nagaland consists of only 1.64% broiler and 0.80% layer tomeet the demand of egg andmeat required for almost 100percent non-vegetarianpopulation. Further, thepreference of eggs and meatfrom coloured birds resemblingto deshi is always very high andfetches almost double price thanthe commercial eggs and broiler meat.Response: With the intervention of ICAR Research Complex, Nagaland Centre as adriving force in the region by extending technical guidance for establishment ofpoultry unit, supplying improved germplasm and assisting in financial and marketlinkages besides constant supervision and health care consultancy they motivated Mr.Libemo, an educated unemployed youth to take up poultry farming as a livelihoodopportunity. He attended training at Nagaland Centre during March 2013.Result: As a result of the trainings Mr. Libemo initiated small scale intensive poultryunit with 400 Vanaraja and Gramapriya chicken. He maintained the male birds for fourmonths before selling for meat purpose at average live weight 2.50 kg. The femalebirds were exclusively maintained for eggs production on homemade feed with locallyavailable ingredients. He was able to earn a net profit of Rs. 9400 per month from firstbatch. Experiencing from his own farm and realizing the profit, he has extended thelayer birds’ strength up to 700 birds in another unit of 2000 sq. ft area with thefinancial assistance of North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi), Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 37

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Dimapur. Mr. Libemo is now producing on average 580-600 eggs daily and selling atRs. 7 per eggs in wholesale market. His net profit is now reached up to Rs. 57,800 permonth from hislayer unit.Evidence: Hisachievement hasmotivated thefellow villagers andunemployedyouths to initiatepoultry farming asbusiness venture. 30.Empowerment of Tribal Farmers through Vanaraja Backyard Farming in SikkimSituation: Backyard poultry inSikkim is very popular and mostlyunder taken by the farm womenas an avenue for incomegeneration and livelihoodsecurity. ‘Vanaraja’ thrives wellunder restricted feeding andlimited management practicesfollowed by the farmers of Sikkim.Response: ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Sikkim Centre, Tadongintervened with the ‘Vanaraja’ dual purpose improved backyard poultry birds throughPoultry Seed Project of Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad under Tribal SubExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 38

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Plan (TSP). The best poultry producers within SHGs of the adopted villages of thestate were identified as the first line beneficiaries. The institute has also developeda Model Village on Backyard Poultry at Timpyem, East Sikkim District. Around 1600birds have been distributed amongthe 35 individual farmers andTimpyem Kisan Samridhi Group(SHG).Result: The parameter wiseobservations showed significantlybetter performance of the improvedpoultry bird over the local ones; inrespect of average body weight ofmale at three months (2.4 kg),average body weight of female at three months (1.7 kg), average age at first laying(150-155 days), average egg production (150-170 per annum) and the benefit: costratio (1.93).Evidence: Now, Timpyem has become a hub for backyard poultry production withimproved birds and village has become a role model for the rural youths and farmwomen of neighbouring villages and state as a whole for adoption of improvedbackyard poultry as a potential practice for agro-preneurship development leading tosustainable livelihood security.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 39

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 31.Zero Tillage Pea Enhanced Income of Farmers in MeghalayaSituation: The Nongthymmai village in Ribhoi district of Meghalaya under thesubtropical hill agro-climatic zone is a climatically vulnerable area mostly affected byacute scarcity of water during rabi season. The main occupation of the populationrests on agriculture and alliedactivities. Majority of the farmersgrow rice, maize, soybean, tomato,brinjal, ginger and turmeric etc. butwith a low cropping intensity ofabout 110-120%. Generally, mono-cropping system of rice cultivation ispractised. Instead of taking upsecond crop after kharif rice, farmersleave rice field fallow during rabi season mainly owing to lack of irrigation facilities.Response: Therefore, in order to enhance the cropping intensity, ICAR ResearchComplex for NEH Region, Meghalaya introduced the zero tillage technology inNongthymmai village under NICRA (Technology Demonstration Component) Project.Initially some capacity building programmes were organised on zero tillage technologyin which skill based knowledge on the technology was imparted to the farmers. Thetechnology was first adopted by the progressive farmer Mr. Stephan Shadap during2011-12. Along with him four other farmers also took up the zero tillage method ofcultivation on garden pea covering around 1.5 ha. ICAR provided the critical inputs likeseeds, fertilizer, FYM etc. for successful demonstration on the technology.Result: The demonstration was conducted in the village continuously for threeconsecutive years from 2011-12 to 2013-14. In the year an average yield of 71.55qtls/ha was obtained with a net income of Rs.67, 450 from an area of 7.5 ha.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 40

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017Evidence: The successful demonstration of this climate resilient was realised byfollowing the principles of “learning by doing” and “seeing is believing”. After thesuccessful intervention of this technology, farmers started growing rabi pulses like peasuccessfully after kharif paddy instead of keeping the rice field fallow during rabiseason. The impressive performance of the technology awakened the farmers, farmwomen, and rural youths of the village as well as neighbouring villages namely Klew,Nongpyrdet, Mawnohsynrum and Mawkyrdep to adopt this resilient technology forsecond crop after paddy as it helps to increase the cropping intensity and elevate netincome. 32.Strawberry Cultivation Improved livelihood of Jhumias in MizoramSituation: Mr. Jonathan (28), a youngfarmer of village Km Sawm (VC-III),district Saiha of Mizoram was not ableto earn enough for his family of fourmembers due to lack of resources.Saiha, about 400 km from Aizawl is theremotest and backward district ofMizoram as identified by PlanningCommission and is bordering Myanmaron the eastern and southern side. Most of the farmers were practicing Jhum farmingsystem in the district.Response: ICAR Research Complex for NEH region, Mizoram centre adopted threevillages viz., Km Sawm (VC-III) and Niawhtlang (VC-I and II) under NAIP, Component-IIIin 2011-12 to raise farm income and improve the livelihood of farmers. Centreintroduced strawberry cultivation with improved technological interventions underthe project. Mr. Jonathan was selected as one of the strawberry beneficiaries of NAIPExtension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 41

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 in the area. Land was selected on the basis of various factors like slope, availability and vicinity of water source, length of jhum cycle, sun orientation etc. Result: After getting all thetechnical inputs, now Jonathan is reaping bumper crop. He packs fruits in 250gstrawberry punnets and sells them at Rs. 50/punnet to middle man. He also sellsdirectly in Saiha market at Rs. 500-600/kg. The middlemen marketed the producemostly to Aizawl and Champhai districts. At present Mr. Jonathan is earning Rs. 3.5 to4 lakhs per annum from one hectare of land for upkeep of his family. The initiative ofNational AgriculturalInnovation Project (NAIP)has changed his lifeforever.Evidence: Inspired by thesuccess of Mr. Jonathanand other beneficiaries,30 Jhum farmers in thearea have diverted from Jhuming to strawberry cultivation in small scale. Theinterventions have decreased the dependence of farmers on Jhuming. It improved theliving standard, livelihood and socio-economic status of the villagers. Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 42

Inspiring Agricultural Extension Initiatives In NE States 2016-2017 33.Hybrid tomato cultivation in Podumoni village in Jorhat district, AssamSituation: The village Podumoni in Jorhat district of Assam is a follower of traditionalagricultural practices. Mr. Produmna Borah is a resident of Podumoni village who ashis other fellow farmers have been practicing traditional methods of farming. He wasgrowing vegetables like tomato, potato and chilli from a long time back. Theproductivity status of his crop was not as he expected.Response: Representatives of “Indo- American hybrid seeds” company while visitingthe village heard about him andvisited him and gave him seed lot ofhybrid tomato (INDAM 200-017) andalso educated him about thetechnique of crop cutting in tomato.Mr. Borah followed their advice andsowed the seeds in his field. Hefollowed a 2m x 2m crop cuttingwith 2.8 kgs of the hybrid tomatoseeds.Result: By following crop cutting Mr. Borah was able to harvest 28 maunds of tomatoper bigha (1 maund=40 kg) during last year. The size of the tomato was bigger thanthe traditional tomato varieties. 10 pieces of tomato weighed nearly 1 kg which hesold at a rate of 15 per kg in wholesale market. He was very much satisfied with theyield. So he has decided to extend his land area during this year.Evidence: His success is evident from the fact that he has motivated other vegetablegrowers in the area to go for crop cutting technique. Many other fellow farmers haveventured into the new technique of vegetable cultivation.Extension Education Institute(NE Region), AAU, Jorhat 43