A team of scientists from ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun organized a five-day training program on “Holistic management of natural and human resources at farm scale” from 23rd to 27th September 2024 at the Sundaraya village under Khatar gram panchayat, Kalsi Block, Dehradun. The program was organised under SCSP, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun.

Dr M Muruganandam, Principal Scientist and Head (PME & KM Unit), IISWC during a session spoke on the linkages between farm production, livelihoods, food and nutritional security and health of the farm family. He advised to diversify farm production at village level and food items in daily diets at family level to balance nutrition and maintain health.

Earlier, Dr Trisha Roy, Soil Scientist shared soil sampling techniques and management of soil organic carbon to improve soil health with the farmers. Hands-on training on field measurement of soil pH, soil organic C, and proper method of soil sampling from agricultural fields was given to the farmers. This culminated in the collection of 27 soil samples by the farmers themselves and submission to the team for further analysis.

Dr Devideen Yadav, Scientist, Agronomy discussed with the farmers the different methodologies for scientific weed management. He also shared knowledge on the package of practices and seed treatment of ginger on demand of the farmers, which is a major cash crop in the area.

Dr Sadikul Islam, Scientist, Ag. Statistics enlightened the participants about nutritional security and the Hunger Index and encouraged the farmers to diversify their diets to fulfil the nutritional requirements of the children, women, and individuals. To support the diverse nutritional requirements of the farming community the team also distributed winter vegetable seed kits to all members to expand their palette.

Dr Anupam Barh, Scientist, Plant Breeding demonstrated a hand-held brush cutter for easier weed management in the fields during Kharif season. He shared his knowledge on mushroom cultivation to improve the livelihood options of the farmers.

The training program was coordinated by Dr Trisha Roy, Dr Anupam Barh, Dr Sadikul Islam and Dr Devideen Yadav under the guidance and leadership of the SCSP Team Coordinator Dr Muruganandam and Team Leader Dr Indu Rawat.

Dr Deepak Singh, Mrs Sarita Gupta, Dr Bidya Chanu, Mr Sanjeev Kumar and Mr Khaweiz Ali facilitated the successful completion of this 5 days training program. Keeping in view the ongoing Swacchta Pakhwada and to encourage the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle, biodegradable jute training kits and biodegradable food packaging material were used during the training program.

The training program aimed to provide and equip the farmers with practical knowledge and tools on different aspects of farming. A total of 52 people participated in the program, of which 33 were farm women. The training program was greatly appreciated by the farmers, who were motivated and encouraged through the interaction of various farming components.