Pushpa Harela Festival was celebrated at Shyampur, by Laldhang MPACS under CCF model.
Also Collection Centre for flowers & other agro produce was inauguration.
Active participation of women in CCF activities like turmeric, mint, marigold cultivation through MPACS.
UKCDP-Uttarakhand State Integrated Cooperative Development Project is envisaged with the far-reaching objective of making multipurpose cooperative societies strong and self-sufficient business units in the agriculture sector. This scheme is under the Central Sector Integrated Agricultural Cooperation Project (CSISAC) of the Government of India.
Under Component-1, it is being operated in the state of Uttarakhand. The Department of Cooperation is the nodal department of the project. National Cooperative Development Corporation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India has sanctioned loan/grant amounting to Rs.3,340 crore for project operation. The financial nature of the project is in the form of loan, grant and M.PAX contribution in the ratio of 70:20:10 respectively to the total amount. The objective of the project is to increase the income of farmers through cooperative societies.
Under the Collective Cooperative Farming (CCF) value chain in the project by UKCDP, the group cultivation of aromatic plants in Gandikhata cluster was started with the cultivation of lemongrass in June 2020 by Laldhang Cooperative Society of Haridwar district. Excited by the results of lemongrass
Farmers also started cultivating mint and marigold flowers in Laldhang cluster, in order to double the income of the farmers, the cooperative department has developed a value chain of treaty plants under joint cooperative farming in Laldhang cluster. Under this, the following opportunities of profit were made available to the farmers.
After the assurance of buying marigold flowers by MPACS Laldhang, the farmers started planting the short duration cash crop marigold. Technical assistance was provided to the members of MPACS Laldhang in coordination with technical organization CAP, Horticulture Department, AATMA, and Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Convergence opportunities were made available with linear departments and CAPs for planting material, fertilizers, agricultural machinery. Processing and marketing facilities were provided through MPACS. This helped MPACS with, increased chances of farmers getting more profit from the crop. Interest-free loan scheme for farmers by the department was linked to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s cooperative farmer welfare.
Achievements of MPACS:
+ Amidst its challenges of Laldhang region, MPACS plans to start mass cultivation of marigold flowers in Laldhang cluster in March 2022. The varieties ‘Calcutta Variety African Marigold and Jaffrey Marigold’ of marigold were selected. In the first phase, in April 2022, technical assistance by the Horticulture Department and 2 lakh plants of marigold were made available. Marigold floriculture was started by MPACS in an area of 20 acres. The first crop of marigold was harvested on July 16 at Pushpa Harela festival. In the month of July 2022, production of one and a half quintals of marigold flowers in 2.5 acres of land is estimated.
Marigold flowers will be sown on additional land in the month of July. There are plans to expand marigold crop to additional 100 acres in future. Marigold flowers will be marketed at Kankhal and Jwalapur market, Haridwar. Economic benefit to the farmers will be like, annual investment per acre for production of Calcutta variety of marigold flowers is estimated to be Rs. 46,150.00. Annual production per bigha of marigold flowers is likely to be 1500 kg. After marketing Marigold the annual income per bigha is likely to be Rs.90,000. Annual net profit per bigha from marketing of marigold flowers is expected to be Rs. 43,850.00.
