Cultivation of flood tolerant varieties of rice and wheat

Climatic Venerability

Gonda district is a part of Central Ganga Plain of the state covering an area of 4425 km². The district receives a normal rainfall of 1151 mm with about 49 rainy days. The village Sonauli Mohammadpur is located on the banks of river Ghaghara and often bears the brunt of floods and water stagnation. Only sugarcane crop can sustain under these conditions and gives some returns to farmers.

Interventions

Cultivation of flood tolerant varieties of rice and wheat:

Cultivation of flood tolerant varieties like ‘Swarna sub 1’ of paddy and ‘Naina’ of wheat were demonstrated and now these varieties are being cultivated in the entire village. Cultivation of ‘Naina’ gave a grain yield of 42.5 q/ha compared to 29 q/ha under farmers’ practice. About Rs 8000-12000/ha more income was obtained with cultivation of ‘Naina’ variety. Further, the average productivity of different crops has increased by 15-20% due to proper drainage management and bunding. The farmers have formed a group for storing seed of introduced varieties for succeeding years and also to sell seed to other farmers (Seed bank). In addition, crop diversification is being promoted through introduction of crops like maize, vegetables, pigeonpea and mustard either as sole crops or intercropping for ensuring sustainable yields and income.

Livestock interventions:

These include promotion of balanced feeding in milch animals for higher productivity and backyard poultry as a subsidiary enterprise for additional income (Rs 15-20/day) and risk minimization during floods.

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