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Activities: ICM / IPM

Integrated Crop Management

Organizations involved: Agrocel, VRTI, ECCL, SFT.

Aim:

●	Balance the use of Chemical and Organic inputs in crops.
●	Help attain sustainability in crop production.
●	Reduce cost of cultivation and improve quantitative as well as qualitative yield of the crop and bring greater benefits to farmers.

Brief Description: The project involves developing ideal crop production packages and comparing these with local packages followed by farmers in their own fields. Training, advise, monitoring, evaluation etc. are being done by implementing agencies - VRTI (NGO) as the concept developing and master training agency. And Agrocel, EIL and SFT as the program executing agencies.

Key Result Areas identified for the project:

●	Principally in Cotton and Rice, also in other cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruit crops.
●	ICM’s thrust is on four management systems namely, Land and Water Management, Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management and General problem Management.
●	Impact on yield, environment and society are monitored in areas of working.

Geographical Area of Implementation:

●	In almost all Indian states with more emphasis in the northern region under EIL.
●	In Kutch and Surendranagar of Gujarat for Cotton, in Kaithal of Harayana for Basmati under M/s. Agrocel.
●	Around Vadodara under SFT (NGO).

Period of Implementation:
 

Year of Commencement:	1998 in Agrocel and Excel; and 1999 in SFT
Year of Completion:	Major work on Cotton and Rice almost concluded by 2002, but extended to other areas and other crops in subsequent years.

Current Status: ICM program has been internalized by the project implementing agencies in their continuing efforts to help farmers. For us from ICM has emerged the Organic farming. This pathway, “Chemical Farming to ICM to Organic Farming” is the most appropriate for transforming the agriculture to sustainable and regenerative mode. The organic program is run by Agrocel in Cotton, Basmati Rice, Sesamme and several other crops.

Key Persons:
● Dr C.S. Pawar, Advisor VRTI/ECCL/Agrocel/SFT
● Anil Kakkar/Dr MV Podtar/Dr MC Pande, ECCL
● Mr. Hasmukh Patel, Agrocel
● Mrs. Shruti Shroff/Mr. Girish Pathak, SFT

Major mile stones:

●	10-20% reduction in cost of cultivation and 10-20% increase in yield in general have been recorded in almost all crops.
●	Environmental pollution in crop ecosystems was reduced substantially while improving on natural control mechanisms.

Major Achievements:
 

●	Demonstrated an ideal extension approach for improving crop productivity while caring for farmers’ problems.
●	Proved that Private and Public extension systems can work together to bring about ideal and desired change in agricultural crop production.
●	ICM is now being increasing talked about in national and international research and development programs as the best possible way to address issues of quantitative and qualitative crop yields and bringing greater benefit to farmers.
●	ICM is also the pathway to sustainable organic crop production.

Learning:
 

●	Extension of technologies is effective through private intervention. The public and private sectors together can do far better things than either of the partner.
●	A cohesive development group is essential to plan, implement, monitor, record, and compile the data/information for the benefit of all and for strengthening and planning he work for future. This helps reduces the cost and have common understanding and synergy among all the players.
●	Training and exposure to various centers of learning (e.g., research institutions) is also required for development staff from time to time to help them work out better strategies for extension and doing good work inagricultural and rural development.

Future Plan of Action:
 

●	ICM has been internalized by the implementing agencies. We need to extend this idea to other developing agencies providing them with information and necessary training. This is being contemplated.
●	All the information and data collected by all implementing agencies need to be compiled.
●	A development group needs to be constituted across all the agencies.
●	Components of ICM are being looked into separately for their suitability and benefit under difficult situations. For example the raised bed system of land preparation is looked into for its advantage in help reducing soil salinity.

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