Farmers First!! With this concept, OSVSWA is operating its most of the projects and programs in Odisha State of India, which is farmer-centric, where agriculture is the main source of livelihood options of the majority of its population. this entails ‘Lab to Land’ by the promotion of new technologies among farmers. The focus is to help the small holder farmers reduce yield gap and expand their activities through exploring the potential of making use of fallow lands and innovative and affordable interventions through Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology. OSVSWA’s programs aims at enriching Farmers-Scientists interface, technology assemblage, application and feedback, partnership and institution building at village / cluster level and content mobilization. OSVSWA seeks to provide a platform to farmers and agri-scientists for creating linkages, capacity development, technology adaptation and application, on-site input management and institution building which will address the general wellbeing of farmers, to improve rural health, nutrition and livelihood. Providing improved technologies, farmer empowerment through knowledge sharing, value addition of raw products of pulses, vegetables, millets, quality seed production, etc. are major components of OSVSWA’s projects in the Farmers First operations.
OSVSWA is on mark to achieve great result with various innovative agricultural programs and aims to set AGRI-ENTREPRENEURES for making pace as true facilitator and enabler. In order to encourage the farmers to maximize the area and products and achieve the goals by empowering poor farmers’ sustainability as well as enhancing agri-production through suitable varieties in order to increase farm family income, nutrition, and food security in Odisha and neighboring states. This would in turn increase their income and improve their socio-economic conditions.
OSVSWA implements its agriculture based programs in selected districts of Odisha, which have high poverty levels, yet potential for agriculture development. Its projects and programs provide benefits to the economically backward groups such as : (i) rural small and marginal farmers living in extreme poverty, who are either landless or are producing a bare subsistence; (ii) subsistence and semi-subsistence farmers, in particular those willing to move to more commercial farming by adopting new technology and variety crop.
Besides, in collaboration with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas(ICARDA) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), OSVSWA carryout various agricultural research activities across the State of Odisha.
Districts:
Angul, Gajapati, Sundargarh, Khordha, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Ganjam, Balalsore, Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Nabarangpur, Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh
Partners:
GNDR-UK, Practical Action – UK, European Commission, Consumers for Dental Choice, USA,
ICARDA, ICRISAT, AFC, KVSS, Govt of Odisha, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation