Future Strategies for Sustainable Livelihood of small and marginal farmers in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir

The aim of the contribution was to determine the Future strategies for sustainable livelihood of small and marginal farmers in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. There are 160 Gram panchayats, 385 villages and 4 towns viz. Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera and Sunderbani. The district constitutes 8.81 percent of the geographical area of the state. There are 7 revenue tehsils viz; Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera, Sunderbani, Budhal and Darhal with a total of 9 revenue blocks. The study based on the primary data in Rajouri district covering equal samples under major farming systems was elicited through survey method for the period 2014–15. It was observed that there is a need to focus on sustaining the productivity gains in the irrigated agriculture, the major emphasis should, however, be on the development of rainfed agriculture, promotion of integrated farming, high value agriculture, transfer of technology, secondary and specialty agriculture need to be accorded high priority. Since the Rajouri district has focused on the organic production in the proposed plan so the high priority is to be given for the action research and extension relating to the organic cultivation. Organic cost/produce certification and marketing of farmers produce at reasonable prices is another crucial issues affecting farm profitability which need immediate attention.

The small and marginal farmers in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir are needed to be linked with agri-business system, agri-research institutions and global market.