Impact of KVK

Impact of capacity building programmes on sugarcane cultivation

Training and capacity-building programmes significantly enhanced farmers’ awareness of scientific sugarcane cultivation practices, including variety selection, sett preparation, spacing, deep ploughing, and detrashing. Adoption of seed treatment with fungicides and bioagents such as Trichoderma increased to 25–35% among trained farmers. Germination percentage improved by 10–20% due to effective seed treatment. Farmers also improved their use of integrated nutrient management and timely weed control leading to better crop management practices.

Cluster Front Line Demonstrations (CFLDs)

Cluster Frontline Demonstrations (CFLDs) on mustard significantly improved both yield and profitability over farmers’ traditional practices. Demonstration plots recorded yields of 13.5–15.2 q/ha compared to 10.5–12.5 q/ha under farmers’ practices. The benefit–cost ratio was consistently higher under CFLD interventions ensuring better economic returns. These efforts contributed to a 7.71% increase in district mustard productivity rising from 1271 kg/ha in 2020–21 to 1369 kg/ha in 2024–25.

Village-Level Impact of Climate-Resilient Agriculture

-Barraipati village has emerged as a model for climate-resilient agriculture with 60% of its cultivated area (111.16 ha out of 185.26 ha) adopting climate-friendly farming practices. The widespread adoption of sustainable technologies has improved resource-use efficiency and enhanced resilience to climatic variability. These interventions have promoted environmentally sustainable agriculture while supporting improved farm productivity and livelihoods.

-The adoption of zero-tillage technology for wheat, lentil and moong cultivation helped farmers reduce land preparation costs, save time and ensure timely sowing.

-System productivity increased consistently across all cropping systems from 2021–22 to 2023–24. The Rice–Potato–Moong system recorded the highest productivity, increasing from 297.96 q/ha to 308.66 q/ha while Rice–Maize–Moong increased from 162.53 q/ha to 175.89 q/ha. Similarly, Rice–Wheat–Moong improved from 102.10 q/ha to 117.36 q/ha demonstrating the positive impact of crop diversification.

Skill development training programmes

During 2024-25, the enterprise development trainings led to the adoption of several income-generating activities by rural beneficiaries. Among 75 trainees in farm machinery operation and maintenance, 45 adopted the enterprise including 10 for custom hiring and 35 for advanced machinery use. Mushroom cultivation showed high success with 77 (large+small scale) out of 118 trainees establishing mushroom production units. Beekeeping is being adopted by the trained beneficiaries. Herbal gulal production (4 adopters), banana chips making (12 SHG members), and vermicompost production (3 adopters) also generated livelihood opportunities. Overall, these interventions strengthened entrepreneurship enhanced income generation and improved the economic resilience of rural households.