Activities On
Sustainable Agriculture
Building Resilient Farming Communities
CIRTD promotes sustainable agriculture through farmer capacity building, organic farming, indigenous seed conservation, women farmers' collectives and climate-resilient agricultural practices.
Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives
- Orientation camps, motivational programmes, workshops and exposure visits for farmers.
- Village-level demonstrations and individual counselling.
- Revival of indigenous paddy, millet, pulse, oilseed and vegetable seeds.
- Promotion of organic farming and mixed cropping systems.
- Promotion of System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
- Collaboration with NABARD, Agro Industries Corporation and District Administration.
- Strengthening Farmers' Clubs.
- Formation of Women Farmers Federations.
- Establishment of Seed Banks.
- Development of Farmers Development Fund.
- Agriculture policy workshops.
- Women Collective for Organic Farming.
- Training on seed treatment, mulching, mixed cropping and organic inputs.
- Village-level training, Farmers' Fair and Seed Exchange Programmes.
Community Institutions & Impact
94
Women's SHGs25
Farmer Clubs55
Organic Clusters2600+
Organic FarmersCIRTD has promoted 94 Women's Self Help Groups across Hemgir and Balisankara Blocks through NABARD support.
It successfully implemented a four-year Sustainable Agriculture Project (2012–2015) involving 1,009 small and marginal farmers through support from ActionAid India and NABARD.
Under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), CIRTD currently supports 55 Organic Farming Clusters covering more than 2,600 small and marginal farmers with financial and technical assistance.
Organic Agriculture in Sundargarh
Nearly 90% of farmers practice rain-fed mixed cropping involving millets, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables on upland tribal farms. These farms naturally follow organic cultivation methods. However, limited value addition and weak market linkages continue to restrict better income opportunities for farmers.