Group marketing: An effective approach for enhancing the income of marginal farmers

Twenty-five farmwomen and rural youths benefitted from a training programme on ‘Group marketing: An effective approach for enhancing the income of marginal farmers’, organized here by the Anjaw KVK on Monday. The KVK’s social sciences specialist, S Peter Singh motivated the farmwomen to “go for group marketing,” and encouraged the farmers to “take up processing and value addition of large cardamom, as it is one of the major crops of the district.” Several marketing strategies were also disseminated to the farmers. Singh highlighted the role and importance of SHGs in improving the socioeconomic life through execution of income-generating activities such as vegetables cultivation, poultry farming, food processing, mushroom cultivation, handloom, etc. Horticulture scientist Rebecca Eko spoke on the “importance of women’s role in generating income through expansion of crops under horticulture,” and urged SHG members to put more emphasis on processing ginger and turmeric. Agronomy scientist Naveen Khoisnam dwelt on the “importance of cereals, pulses and vegetable crops in the district, which went on deficit as per the population requirement. “Therefore, with a view to cope up the hampering production and productivity of crop, farmwomen, rural youths and farmers should go for cultivation in group approach,” he said. Programme assistant Keshab Chandra Gogoi explained the use and advantage of the mobile advisory app ‘Smart NE Kisan’, developed by the Anjaw KVK, through which farmers can get information on cultivation practices, plant diseases, control measures, etc.