STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY INTERVENTIONS ON VEGETABLE CULTURE IN WELL-ENDOWED AND SMALL PRODUCTION SYSTEM IN RANCHI DISTRICT OF JHARKHAND, INDIA

In Jharkhand, vegetable production is becoming popular and a very remunerative enterprise among the farmers who have even small scale irrigation facilities. However, in kharif season, a number of vegetables are grown in completely rainfed situations like tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, etc. The State of Jharkhand needs 16.25 lakh tones of vegetable per annum to meet the minimum requirement of entire population of Jharkhand. The State presently is producing 23.31 lakh tones of vegetables in 1.44 lakh hectare area, with a surplus of 7.06 lakh tones.

Generally three distinct types of agricultural production systems are prevailing in the state, viz, commercial, green revolution (GR) and complex, diverse & risk-prone (CDR) i.e. small production systems. Commercial production systems are characterized by fully controlled environment, fertile and irrigated land, mechanized farming with predominance of cash crops, use of high input technology and use of fully hired labour and production strategy for higher returns. These farm production systems are managed by highly resource-rich farmers. The green revolution or well-endowed production systems are characterized by irrigated/protective irrigation facilities, combination of good fertile or less fertile land, use of family labour in combination with hired labour and combination of cash earnings and food crops.

The CDR or small production systems are characterized by interdependency of on and off farm activities, complete dependency on family labour, multipurpose use of the product and by-product of each farm enterprise, production strategy confining to household food security system, wide variation in soil fertility due to slope and shed and no control on productivity and contrary stability and sustainability are of great concerns.

In Jharkhand the CDR production systems exist in about 90 per cent of cultivated area followed by about 8 per cent under well-endowed production systems and about 2 per cent under commercial production systems. A sizeable percentage of farmers have started cultivation of vegetables with increased use of modern inputs under relatively well-endowed production systems.