“The future of India lies in its villages.”
Indeed, this statement is very true as about 70% of the massive 1.31 billion Indian population lives in villages and over 70% of rural households depend on agriculture and its allied sectors as their primary means of livelihood.
Today we talk about FDI, Made in India and many other such projects but still the giant Indian economy is 75% dependent on agriculture. From the facts it is clear that if India wants to progress, we need to focus on rural people and those who are related to agriculture and its allied sectors.
We are well versed with the Green and White Revolutions in India, which not only transformed the life of rural people but also boosted Indian economy. But now, the population who for generations has depended on agriculture for livelihood is seeking some other business for their survival as there are a few gaps that need to be curbed at the moment so to stop them from leaving agriculture.
At the grassroots level, people should be given knowledge about new agricultural and animal husbandry practices that suits them so they may carry on with farming in a better and a much more efficient way.
My Introduction
My name is Amandeep Singh (age 22 years), resident of Winter Capital, Jammu and Kashmir State, India. I am a pre-final year student for a Bachelor’s of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.), pursuing my degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-J, R.S. Pura.
I hail from a village named Kotli Shah Doula, which is a small village about 17 kilometers from Jammu city. Being a student of veterinary sciences and moreover a villager has given me a greater perspective of village life and the dependence of villagers on farm practices.
I belong to a family of farmers, so right from my childhood, I have been well versed in agricultural practices, and now, being a student of veterinary sciences, I am learning deeper extents of the field. Related to my field, I have developed an IT-Enabled Module for Dairy Farmers and authored a Field Manual on Broiler Farming. I am working as a Specialist Member in two Non-Governmental Organizations related to the welfare of animals.
Project Proposal
As a young Agripreneur, I am planning to undertake the project of creating a model village that will be self-sufficient related to the knowledge of improved agricultural and animal husbandry practices. In this project, a cluster of villages will be selected based on the number of families with total dependence on agriculture, and then out of those the one with highest number of families will be chosen as the village in which project will be undertaken.
This village will be provided with different tools like computers, internet and a permanent internet kiosk. The village will also be provided with experts related to agriculture, animal husbandry and entrepreneurship. The production status of the village before and after installation of said facilities will be recorded and the appraisal of the project will be done.
After the completion of the project, this village will serve as an Agriculture Technology Dissemination Centre (ATDC) for other villages, thus bringing a considerable change in the net production and subsequently the economy of the rural families on the smaller scale and economy of the country at the larger scale.
Need for the project
Although the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, State Agricultural Universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Farm Science Centers), and respective Departments of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry serve as technology dissemination centers of a kind, they are largely outnumbered by the huge population and most of the time they are not in a reach for poor farmers.
Also, farmers are not aware about the assistance they would be getting in such centers. Instead of making farmers come to ATDC, why don’t we make ATDCs come to farmers’ doorsteps?!
Motivation
The billion hands that sweat day and night for survival of our rural population depending on agriculture and its allied sectors motivates me. Logically, if one can bring all such hands together for a cause, the day is not far away when that particular sector can soar to great heights.
Not only India, but Indian agriculture has the potential to feed the world. The world with famines, hunger and malnutrition can look up to India for nutrition. This particular project on a larger scale will have a positive impact on production systems and thus on world nutrition.
Work Plan
- Development of content and software for agriculture and animal husbandry portals on the internet kiosk.
- Identification of a suitable building or community building in the village for the purpose of technology dissemination center.
- Installation of Internet Kiosk and computers in the building.
- Communicating with the locals for their issues and acquainting them about the benefits they can derive out of the center.
- Invited lectures by entrepreneurship experts for imparting knowledge related to agriculture and animal husbandry entrepreneurship and start-ups.
- Progressively linking interested candidates to Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute for further training.
I have already developed software for dairy farming and written a field manual on broiler farming which will prove to be very beneficial for the project. The success of the project is inevitable by the inclination of the people for more production and reaping of more benefits by adoption of modern agriculture and animal husbandry practices.
Expenditures
- Purchasing Internet Kiosk and developing software for $2800
- Purchasing Computers and Internet Subscription for an year for $800
- Rent of Building for $500
- Allowance to invited lecturers for $500
- Miscellaneous and Contingency Charges for $400
Blogpost and picture submitted by Amandeep Singh (India) – amandeepsinghvet[at]gmail.com
The content, structure and grammar is at the discretion of the author only.
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blog.gfar.net 
Great Amandeep a very well written blog four rural India.