Resumo de A Silent Revolution In Uttaranchal Hills

There is good news for poor farmers having small unirrigated land holdings in the hills of Uttaranchal. Pilot efforts by the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), the State Department of Science and Technology and the local womenfolk have led to profitable cultivation of pulses and traditional coarse grains in several villages of Garhwal region that were having a dismal agricultural production till two years ago.
Showcasing the produce at a workshop held here on Saturday, the woman farmers proudly narrated how their domestic economies had witnessed an upward surge through cultivation of pulses, sometimes for the first time in the area and they were able to fetch double the normal price by selling them in the bigger towns including Dehra Dun.
Munni Devi of village Gwad in district Rudraprayag said that she was able to meet most of the family expenses and save something after taking up cultivation of finger millet, foxtail millet, rice bean and horse gram over the past two years. Laxmi Devi of Paini of Chamoli district is all smiles after reaping a rewarding crop of `chaulai' that was just double the earlier yields after using the HESCO technology and improved seeds. Roshan Lal from Dunda village in Uttarkashi is the proud grower of black gram for the first time in that region.
Vineeta Sharma, Director of the Science and Society Division expressed happiness over the progress made in the field and hoped the womenfolk of Uttaranchal would make good money by supplying the highly nutritious pulses and coarse grains which were being recommended by doctors for good health.
Madal Lal Sharma, Additional Director of the Central Bureau of Investigations, a keen farmer himself said that the hill folks had to work harder to increase production as a very big market for their produce existed. "The dream of a separate Uttaranchal did not mean merely creation of the State but economic empowerment of the women and the men so that all could be prosperous," he said.
Anil Joshi, patron of HESCO and other scientists interacted with the delegates and tried to answer their queries. A few representatives from Leh and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir were also present to learn the tricks of replicating similar ideas in their villages. P.K. Mohanti, Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, presided over the workshop.

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