Current Advances in Agricultural Sciences(An International Journal)

There is an incessant need to provide sustainable livelihood and gainful employment to the rural masses through developmental research, effective use of regional resources, expansion of suitable technologies and skill development. This is doable through support of community participation through Village Cluster or Group Approach, called ‘VCA’ or ‘VGA’. Typically, a cluster is a contiguous group of 12–15 village Panchayats comprising of 5000 to 6000 poor families. Here, farmers in a cluster of villages are goaded to take part in holistic development for livelihood opportunities through resource conservation based on interventions involving multidisciplines. The cluster approach has the basic elements of mutual trust building with all the stakeholders, solving common felt needs, formulation and execution of action plan through participatory approach involving all the stakeholders. Innovative approaches like contract farming, FFS and other participatory mode help farmers to enhance their income. Although additional costs may occur due to human resources and backward integration operations, yet that could be covered in long run. Therefore, village cluster approach with resource conservation has a key role in enhancing farm income and upliftment of rural masses that will in turn help enhancing overall productivity and resource use efficiency. Applications of cluster approach through resource conservation finds place in seed village, integrated pest (resistance) management, farm mechanization, higher efficiency in share of common resources (land and water) and watershed development, organic farming, precision farming, reduced cost of cultivation, increased margins through higher production efficiency, risk & uncertainty avoidance, agro-services and entrepreneurship, effective integration with other institutions (banks) for mutual benefits, logistic arrangement, capacity building and skill development. Various case studies involving village cluster approach for enhancing farm income through resource conservation such as crop revolution in Punjab, BAIF programme for sustainable development, Tamil Nadu precision farming project, Periyar PURA (Provision of urban amenities in rural areas), summer moongbean farming in Fatehpur, U.P. and Project Siruthuli (revitalizing water bodies) are discussed.