Böcker av Suhrita Chakrabarty

Indian agriculture hosts around 4 million farm families in jute cultivation. It also provides sustenance to about 0 .25 million industrial workers and another 0.2 million people in other aspects of the trade. The export of finished goods like hessian, sacking and carpet bagging earns sizeable amount of foreign exchange for the country. In India, Jute is grown in as many as 83 districts covering 7 states but the principal jute growing districts are 12 which lie in 4 states of the eastern region of the country sharing about eighty per cent (80) of total raw jute production. Predominantly jute is a small and marginal farmers¿ crop. About 56.4 per cent of area under jute is covered by holdings below 2 hectare. Production of jute is becoming more and more subject to typical constraints of small scale farming being conducted in traditional technology. Government of India had been implementing Special Jute Development Programs (SJDP) in different jute growing zones to ensure the quality jute production. The quality jute value-adds to the finished industrial product. The present study made an intensive analysis of adoption of improved technology in jute cultivation triggered through SJDP

Liberalization of EXIM policy in India has paved the way for increased export of floricultural products where contribution of dried flowers is enormous. Being natural, eco-friendly, long lasting and inexpensive decorative items, Dry Flowers have good demand both in Indian and international markets. The industry exports 500 varieties of flowers to 20 countries and are much sought after in USA and UK. India stands as one of the major manufacturers and exporters with around 5% of world trade in dry flowers. The process of drying flowers involves drying, bleaching and colouring after their collection in raw form. The suitable packaging techniques add values to catch niche market. The main methods used for drying are: Air Drying, Glycerine, Desiccants, and Pressing. In India, West Bengal is the major player in Dry Flower trade. The book deals with a case study that reveals entire scenario of Dry Flower trade in West Bengal, India. The book will be useful for prospective entrepreneurs in Dry Flower.

The traditional agriculture research plan is top down oriented. The agriculture research plans are normally loaded with high dose of command approach and subsidy orientation to the passive farming community who are considered to having homogenous micro farming realities. The assumptions are wrong is known to everybody for quite long time. Counter evidence to that paradigm of command approach is the participatory tool driven planning which accommodates micro climate variations while developing research plan for agriculture interventions. The Agriculture in Darjeeling hills of West Bengal, India, had witnessed many top-down oriented research plans and its suboptimal implementation for quite a long time. The situations are now being reversed with the grassroots based application of participatory tools in preparing micro plan for farming community who are otherwise constrained on many counts. This book deals with participatory tool based research plan basing on micro climatic requirement which will benefit the research practitioners and grassroots agriculture extension workers as practical handbook.

In India plethora of grassroots experiences abound which dovetail livelihood and micro credit related activities around Self Help Group (SHG) paradigm. The SHG is the organisational means for channelling credit and imparting training for micro enterprise for women living in disadvantaged livelihood environment. The costal district in West Bengal, India is constrained in many of the livelihood opportunities. The first study deals with the parameters in SHG functioning and how SHG community was accommodated in Micro Finance and livelihood development. The other study deals with the livelihood impact of a well established Micro Finance Programs in otherwise well endowed farm sector. Here the women community in developed farm sector is found to have used the micro finance support to its livelihood advantage. This book will help the grassroots livelihood practitioners in devising micro finance based livelihood programs.

Indian Agriculture has more than 50% of its cultivable area under Disadvantaged Agriculture. Farming Community of Disadvantaged Agriculture needs reality driven livelihood interventions to enhance their income. Livelihood interventions need to be premised on effective Resource Appraisal. Resource Appraisal through using participatory tools to identify livelihood options for the farming community is prerequisite for implementation of effective livelihood based interventions. The combination of qualitative and quantitative parameters has the potentials to grasp the reality demand of Farm Livelihood sector. The present book deals with the Resource Appraisal which dovetails secondary and primary information with ease without compromising the grassroots realities. The Indian agriculture is desperately looking for grassroots based livelihood interventions developed on genuine base line survey. The present book will help the grassroots practitioners in internalizing basic tenets of Resource Appraisal in Farm Livelihood Sector.

The sizeable public sector resources in India have began to flow in livelihood sector in Disadvantaged Agriculture. Improvement in Agriculture Livelihood in Disadvantaged Agriculture has potentials to counter poverty & destitution of farming community. The technology based interventions are being disseminated to enhance livelihood of farming community in Disadvantaged Agriculture through different livelihood programs being undertaken. The public sector is collaborating with civil society organisations and private sector to refine and transfer agriculture technology for livelihood enhancement of farming community living in Disadvantaged Agriculture. The technology transfer paradigm of Green Revolution era has given way to institution based transfer of technology through consortium mode of working in implementation of livelihood programs. The consortium mode of working has become a dominant technology transfer paradigm in Disadvantaged Agriculture in Indian context. The present book depicts the implementation plan of Livelihood Programs in Disadvantaged Agriculture with reference to World Bank funded National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP).