Kerala Agricultural Technology Project

To Raise Productivity, Quality & Farmer Income on Cash and Field Crops by Improved Land Preparation, Soil Nutrition & Water Management
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Objectives

To commercially demonstrate higher crop yields, quality and farm incomes on field, cash and orchard crops by application of advanced methods of land preparation, soil nutrition, mechanisation and water management. To train lead farmers in Palakad District on these advanced methods. To strengthen the extension advisory system by establishing village based farm schools supported by a field force of ag consultants to demonstrate & widely disseminate these methods throughout the district.
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Low Indian Crop Productivity (kg/ha)

Crop Rice USA 6622 India 2928 USA/India 2.3

Maize
Wheat

8397
4400

1666
2583

5.0
1.7

Groundnut
Soy beans Potato Lint Cotton

3038
2452 40,238 928

912
1007 17,307 333

3.3
2.4 2.3 2.8

Tomato

59,295

15,138

3.9
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Low Productivity of Indian Agriculture

India ranks in the bottom quartile countries on productivity of most major crops, despite having the largest area under irrigation and a huge reservior of scientific manpower. Huge waste of water resources damaging crop productivity, increasing soil salinity and aggravating water shortages. 95% of Indias water use is for irrigation. Kerala ranks low among Indian states on productivity of most major crops.
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Factors Determining Crop Productivity

Soil preparation Planting methods & tools Plant nutrition Water management Pest management Time & schedule management

AT is the Answer

Advanced agricultural technology (AT) adapted appropriately to local conditions can raise Keralas productivity on most major crops by 100 to 200% or more and double or triple water use efficiency. California Agricultural Consulting Services (CACS) has already commercially demonstrated this potential on a wide range of crops in India.
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Brinjal in TN

CACS has achieved 17 tons/acre of brinjal in TN compared with TN average of 8 tons. Potential is for 30 tons generating more 7 than Rs 1 lakh/acre profi

Red Cabbage in TN

CACS has achieved 20 tons/acre of cabbage in TN compared with TN average of 12 tons. Potential is for 30 tons generating more than Rs 1 lakh/acre profi

Badji Pepper in TN

CACS has achieved 14 tons/acre in Tamil Nadu compared with local average of 6 tons. Potential is 20 tons generating more than 1.5 lakhs profit/acre.

Okra in TN

CACS technology has produced 6 tons/acre of Okra in TN compared with state average of 2 tons. Potential is for 10 tons yielding income of Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh/acre.

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Sugarbeet gives 50% more sugar than cane in the time with only 2/3rd the water

CACS farmers in CA achieve the highest yields of sugarbeet. Sugarbeet can produce 35-40 tons/acre in TN in 6 months with 15% sugar recover compared to TN average of about 40 tons cane in 12 months with only 10% recovery. Also sugar beet consumes 30 to 40% 11 less water than sugarcane.

CACS Crop Yields in India vs Local Average

Crop (tons/acre) Local Average CACS achieved in India Growth Achieved CACS Potential in India

Baji Pepper
Beans (Lima) Beans (Black eye) Brinjal Cabbage (Red) Capsicum Cotton Lint (lb./A) Maize

6
7-8 12 8 310 1.2

14
1.75 1 15-17 20 16 890 2.8

133%

20
3.5 2

114% 67% 100% 187% 133%

25-30 30 35 2200 7.8

Okra
Rice Sugarcane Tomatoes Black Pepper (kg//vine)

2
1.2 40 12 .5

6
4 59 38 1.23

200%
233% 50% 217% 140%

10
6 80 55
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1.5-2.0

Normal Land Preparation in India

Ploughing soil only 6 to 8 deep and flat beds results in

Dense packing of earth Prevent rainwater storage in the soil Flooding of roots during irrigation & heavy rains which stops plant growth Loss of fertile top soil through surface run-off of rainwater Prevent crop roots from penetrating into soil profile for water and nutrient uptake Leads to stunted plant growth Lower yields
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Soil Penetration 6-8 in India

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Normal Indian Soil

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Crop Roots cannot penetrate so plant growth is stunted. Plants are small, weak, needs frequent irrigation & gives low yield. Rainwater cannot penetrate deeper or drain, so it floods roots & evaporates rapidly. The flooding prevents plant roots from breathing, which is essential for absorption of nutrients.

Hard Pan

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CACS Method of Land Preparation

Deep Soil Chiseling & Furrow Beds

Enable soil to capture & store more rainwater Retain rainwater to recharge groundwater Prevent loss of fertile topsoil through excess run-off Enable root systems to grow deep for nutrient & water uptake Reduce need for irrigation to as low as 20%. Increase crop productivity
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30-36 Soil Penetration in California

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Deep Soil Chiseling

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Crop
Roots penetrate deep to reach perennial water supply & nutrients. Plant grows large, strong & highly productive.

Soft Pan
Rainwater stored deep down where it will not easily evaporate & is available to plants for weeks
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Deep Chiseling in USA

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Deep Chiseling Adapted in India

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Normal Flat-bed Land Preparation in India

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Tomato with furrows in TN

Tomato raised in Tamil Nadu with CACS methods consumes only one-third the water & has achieved 217% higher yield (38 tons vs. 12 tons/acre). Potential with CACS technology is 55 tons.

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Flood Irrigation in India

Flood irrigation methods practiced in India waste large amounts of water and drown crops resulting in low water use efficiency & low yields.

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Furrow Irrigation in California

Furrow irrigation on chiseled fields reduces water consumption by upto 70% while increasing crop yields.
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CACS Furrow Irrigation in TN

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Balanced Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition

Plants require more than 12 essential nutrients to generate healthy and productive growth.
Without these 12 nutrients, genetic potential of hybrid seeds cannot be tapped. (The same hybrid rice seed generates 2.8 tons per hectare in India, 5.4 tons in China & 8 tons in USA.) In India, soil is being tested for only three nutrients. Even when tests are done for other nutrients, customised recommendations are not available for each crop.

Methods employed in India for application of fertilizers lead to low absorption, low fertilizer use efficiency, high wastage and high cost.
Advanced methods can triple productivity of the same hybrid seed.
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100%

20%
Optimum Level Required by Plants

40%

60%

80%

0%

S Co oil O ndu pH rg an ctiv ity ic M at t Ph Ni er os tro p Ph ho gen os rus ph (P or 1) us Po (P ta 2) M ssiu ag m ne si u Su m lp h Ca ur lci u So m di um M an Zin ga c ne se Iro Co n pp er Bo ro n
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Soil Fertility (USA) before treatment

100%

20%

40%

60%

80%

0%

Optimum Level Required by Plants

Soil Fertility (USA) balanced after treatment

S C oil o O nd pH rg uc an tiv ic it M y a Ph N tter os itr p o Ph ho gen os rus ph (P or 1) us Po (P ta 2) M ssiu ag m ne si u Su m lp h C ur al ci u So m di um M an Zin ga c ne se Iro C n op pe r Bo ro n

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100%

20%
Optimum Level Required by Plants

40%

60%

80%

0%

S Co oil O ndu pH rg an ctiv ity ic M at t Ph Ni er os tro p Ph ho gen os rus ph (P or 1) us Po (P ta 2) M ssiu ag m ne si u Su m lp h Ca ur lci u So m di um M an Zin ga c ne se Iro Co n pp er Bo ro n
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Soil Fertility (India) before treatment

100%

20%

40%

60%

80%

0%

Optimum Level Required by Plants

S Co oil p O ndu H rg an ctiv ity ic M at t Ph Ni er os tro p g Ph ho en os rus ph (P or 1) us Po (P2 ta ) ss M ag ium ne si u Su m lp h Ca ur lci u So m di um M an Zin ga c ne se Iro Co n pp er Bo ro n
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Soil Fertility (India) unbalanced after treatment

Critical Needs

Improve crop productivity Improve fertilizer use efficiency Improve water use efficiency Reduce soil salinity Reduce unit cost of agricultural produce
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What CACS Technology can do

Improve land use efficiency

Increasing productivity per unit area can reduce the cost per unit of agricultural produce to enhance farm incomes and promote international competitiveness.

Improve fertilizer use efficiency

Balancing plant nutrients in the soil optimizes plant intake of applied fertilisers, safeguarding the environment and reducing soil degradation.
Enhancing the countrys drinking water security through land preparation techniques that harvest rainwater on millions of acre while reducing waste of irrigated water, improving water use efficiency by over 300%, and reducing the pace of salinization of irrigated lands.
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Improve water use efficiency

Kerala Agriculture Technology Project (KAT)

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Project Goals

Transfer and disseminate advanced AT (Agriculture Technology) to double the yield and profitability of paddy and other major commercial crops, while reducing the unit cost of agriculture produce.
Teach farmers how to double or triple net income per acre by higher productivity and quality of crops.

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Project Strategy

Operate project as an autonomous contractor to the Government. Commercial demonstration of productivity & profitability of all technologies on wide range of crops. Classroom & field training for farm school instructors by CACS. Farm school instructors to apply technology commercially on their own fields & earn fees for training other farmers. Training subsidy of Rs 1000 per farmer trained. Private consulting team backed by expert system & multimedia software to provide support services. Lab & equipment services to be charged to users.
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Project Targets

Train more than 25,000 farmers on CACS methods for high profit commercial crop production.
Establish 500 village-based Farm Schools.

Establish permanent infrastructure for on-going technical support to lead farmers.

Produce training materials and expert system to support widespread adoption of CACS technology.
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Project Components

Model Farm cum Training Centre to demonstrate high yield, high profit production methods with farm equipment hire centres Agricultural Precision Diagnostic Centre (APDC) world class soil lab Agri-equipment centre with latest equipment for improved land preparation. Training of Farmer-Instructors to set up village-based Farm Schools Training and management of a field force of agricultural consultants to support the Farm Schools Cyber extension system -- computer software for crop selection & production

Computerized farmer training programme

Links with agro-industries AT information website
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High Potential Crops

Paddy Banana Pineapple & other fruits Vegetables & vegetable seeds -- tomato Tapioca Black pepper, other herbs & spices Sugarcane & sugar beet Maize Coconut Bamboo and other tree crops Orchard -- mango, papaya, custard apple, pomegranate, sapotta Floriculture jasmine, anthurium, marigold, chrysanthemum 38

Farm Schools (FS)

5 acre model farms in the village on owned or leased lands to demonstrate CACS methods run by self-employed farmer-cumAg-consultants trained by KAT Each FS to train 30 lead farmers per year in CACS methods On-going technical support from KAT to FSs Each FS has access to computer centre for farmer education & technical advice Income from training of lead farmers (Rs. 30,000 to 60,000 per year) for each FS instructor FS instructor is certified by KAT FS instructor is technical representative of KAT in the village
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Agricultural Consultants

Agricultural graduates trained in CACS production technologies will provide field support to the Farm Schools one consultant per 10 FSs. Consultants will work on contract basis and be fully accountable for delivery quality information to the FS and referring problems back to the Project Team.
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Training Curriculum for FS Instructors

Crop economics Crop selection methods Land preparation Planting methods & tools Deep chiseling & rainwater harvesting techniques to optimize water utilisation Soil & tissue analyses & plant nutrition techniques Fertilizer placement, timing & methods to improve efficiency

Pest management practices Irrigation scheduling & methods Crop maintenance practices Harvesting methods Post-harvest handling Agro-industry & agribusiness opportunities Marketing Teaching and communication skills 41

Training Methodology

Classroom lectures Practical demonstration on model farms Practical field work and hands on experience applying all concepts on model farm test plots

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Computerized Farm Advisory Software (FAS)

Recommend best cropping pattern options based on soil analysis, cost of inputs & prevailing market prices, including cost-benefit for each crop Recommend package of practices for specific crops based on field conditions & soil test results Generate detailed crop production instructions for the specific crop and field conditions
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Computerized Educational Software

Malayalam language 25 to 50 hours of CD-Rom based courseware covering all aspects of CACS technology For use at training centres, farm schools, secondary schools and vocational training centres Multimedia: With photographs, video images, text & voice presentations Interactive: User selects topics and proceeds at own pace Feedback: Self-tests provide instant feedback to users
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Farmers Trained
Year
Farm School Instructors Trained Agricultural Consultants Lead Farmers Trained

1
50

2
100

3
150

4
200

Total
500

10

10

15

15

50

1500
60 1610

3000
3165

9000
9215

15000
15000

28500
29000
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Total

Estimated Four Year Budget (lakhs)

Year 1
Capital Investment Operating Costs Training fees & food Total Crop working capital (additional) Total Less net crop income Net funds required

Year 2 45 77 21 143 15 158 18 140

Year 3 45 104 38 187 25 212 40 172

Year 4 45 129 101 275 25 300 45 255

Total 430 380 163 972 75 1047 111 936

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295 70 3 368 10 378 9 369

Capital Investment

World-class soil & tissue analysis laboratory Heavy duty imported tractor and shanks for deep soil chiseling. Smaller tractor and other farm implements. 2 SUVs and 2 motorcycles Computers, printers, scanner, digital cameras, LCD projector, furniture & equipment Expert system software for Farm Advisory Service Multimedia training CD Roms CACS Consulting fees
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Financial Req uirements

1st Year Rs 366 lakhs (includes Rs 233 lakhs assets)

2nd Year Rs 100 lakhs

3rd Year Rs 172 lakhs

4th Year Rs 255 lakhs

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