Sustainable Agro-farming Intensification in Peri-urban Wetlands : Bondajaan and Silsako Beel, ,

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Project implemented by South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT : FSPF 2017-18 Funded by DC NABARD, Guwahati, Assam FINAL REPORT Duration : March 2017 to February 2018

Introduction :

ajuli district in Assam is the only island district in the country. It is truly a water world. The entire island is a giant wetland Mbroken only by embankments which houses the primary human settlements and is in many ways the communication lifeline of the island. The two key issues faced by the inhabitants are the ever present threat of floods in the monsoon and the erosive capacity of the mighty Brahmaputra and the other rivers which are steadily eroding the island. In a changing world where climate related events are increasingly becoming common place the need of the hour is to increase the adaptive capacity of the inhabitants of such fragile landscapes in a manner which would contribute to their livelihood and preserves the social fabric of these communities. This is the main aim of this project is to carry out activities that would fulfill the above stated need. The objectives and Page : 16 activities envisaged are outlined below.

Project objectives  To standardize a stable & farmer friendly hydroponic tray cultivation method for sustainable primary productivity during periods of ecological hazards.  To identify a set of local cash crops for sustained fail-safe growth in the hydroponic system that can fulfill their food, feed and fodder needs.  To promote PEN & CAGE culture based integrated aquafarming which will contribute to the wise utilization of the natural resources and wetland-scape of the island.  To accentuate process of technology transfer with reference to production and maintenance of hydroponic cultivation as well as aquafarming.

1 Sustainable Agro-farming Intensification in Peri-urban Wetlands : Bondajaan and Silsako Beel, Guwahati, Assam

FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in District of Assam SAFE

 To assess the viability of probable large scale endevours based on a community based Please include farmers and DC quote: implementation framework.

Project implemented by Being a flood prone area the project innovation is South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) 'Agriculture in floating raft' and 'Aquaculture in cage'. Funded by DC NABARD, Guwahati, Assam

FINAL REPORT Agriculture in floating raft Duration : March 2017 to February 2018 a. Indigenous materials used to set up the frame. Seasoned bamboo sticks painted with coal tar, strings made with coconut fiber, water hyacinth (Eichomia cressipes), jute geotextiles and hydro foam. b. The floating bed of 12ft long and 3-3.5ft in width, 1-1.5ft in depth constructed. Bamboo poles used as the outer frame. c. Thin bamboo sticks are used to prepare the mesh underneath the bed which is holding one layer of hydro foam for water retention topped with alayer of water hyacinth leaf-cut. d. Strings made of coconut fiber are used to make the mesh holding the above structure and then covered with jute geotextile matt. e. Vermicompost was used for the agriculture. The composition of the fertilizer is 30% of vermi+ 40% of sawdust+20-30% of light soil. f. A capacity building training was conducted in Nabani Majuli & Ujani Majuli with the farmers club of that society. Key Action area  Capacity building and training and construction of organic compost peats for plant nutrients and fertigation to meet the fertility requirements in rift farming. Campaign on household and agriculture solid waste management in dry days.  Selection of crop was determined by the market assessment and community feedback, as well as the adaptive nature of the particular crop, productivity etc. Sugarcane, Mustered, Boa Paddy is their routine crops, but in Page : 16 flood season these are not suitable for farming.

Aquaculture in cage  The local name of the Cage is Hapa.  The cage is made up of a wooden framework with chain. Chain is used for keeping the fishes in the cage.  Size of the framework is 10”/4” & 5 no. of cages are made for the aquaculture. Key Action area  Capacity building and community training in

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

technology transfer for cage culture, using local knowledge economy for fish cultivation.  Opting for piloting with all endemic fish, Rahu, katla, and the fish cage culture is under observation and final Please include farmers and DC quote: outcome study report will be done after the end of monsoon season.

Project implemented by Project implementation & results South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE)  High quality treated seeds would be used for the cultivation, which may either be placed directly on the Funded by DC compost layer or seeding may be grown on coco-peat inlets and then planted on the organic compost layer. NABARD, Guwahati, Assam  This is a low maintenance low water consuming free float garden in which monitoring was required for which FINAL REPORT proper capacity building was done. Duration : March 2017 to February 2018

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

Result assessment The project is undertaken with Please include farmers and DC quote: the intention of assessing the state of the interventions at all the project sites in the backdrop Project implemented by of severe floods that affected South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) Majuli island in July and August Funded by DC 2017. The interventions carried out till date involved the NABARD, Guwahati, Assam FINAL REPORT installation of total of 26 floating rafts at six sites covering both Duration : March 2017 to February 2018 upper and lower Majuli. A total of six cages were also installed to pro mote aquaculture. The site wise outcome of the interventions as follows. 1. Pohordiya Site: The total number of floating rafts installed here were 10, and nine of them exhibited plant growth and there were four cages initially installed but now only two were operational. This was due to the high mortality rates of the fish fingerlings that had been released in these cages, mortality rate was over 50% as only around 150 of the fingerlings were alive out of the 300 released into the cages in June. The overall impression was that the interventions were more the reasonably successful and given the very heavy floods faced by this site this achievement was even more commendable. 2. Jingriamukh Site. This site had 5 rafts installed and all five showed copious growth and there is every reason to believe that the site will continue to flourish. There is a plan to introduce Cage culture here and according to community it would be an ideal site to do so. 3. Lohanigaon site. This site had 5 rafts installed and all of them had their protective coverings blown off and the seeds did not germinate due to the heavy rain, they have been re seeded with red spinach and hopefully it will grow successfully in future. This site needs to be more carefully managed in order to ensure it's success. 4. Saben' house site. There were 3 rafts installed here and only two have shown growth and one of them has no soil and vermicompost layer. These rafts need careful nurturing and could be used as seed beds. 5. Bohorgulla site. There were two rafts installed here and both have been damaged and they need to be taken to another site and refurbished. 6. Site. There was one raft installed here and has been damaged and they need to be taken to another site and refurbished. 7. Fisheries wetland site. This site near the block office offered us the opportunity to introduce Cage culture as Page : 16 an piscicultural technique. Two cages were installed and the initiative has been very successful with less than 10% mortality. 8. All the operational rafts have shown good growth and it is estimated that they will lead around 25-30 kgs of vegetables per raft at the time of harvesting which will be in October.

Recommendations 1. There should be different personnel monitoring the interventions in upper and lower Majuli. This will enable the management of sites in a manner which ensures their success. 2. There needs to interventions like heat management in the context of the Cage culture. 3. We can extend the interventions to other sites and such replication will focus on development of floating rafts as seed beds with a special focus on organic red which is being promoted by the government.

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

Production Economics and Sustainability

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Project implemented by South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE)

Funded by DC NABARD, Guwahati, Assam FINAL REPORT Duration : March 2017 to February 2018

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

Please include farmers and DC quote: Meeting minutes of 2nd PMRC

Climate Adaptive Integrated Farming in Majuli River Island towards Flood Project implemented by Resilient Livelihood South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE)

Funded by DC Meeting Minutes : NABARD Sponsored FSPF project in Majuli: Project Management and Review Committee (PMRC) meeting: No:2. NABARD, Guwahati, Assam

FINAL REPORT Venue : Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Garmur, District Head Quarters Majuli district, Duration : March 2017 to February 2018 Assam . Date : 15th February, 2018.

Members present : 1. Mr. Pallav Gopal Jha: Deputy Commissioner Majuli District and Chairperson (PMRC ). 2. Mr. K. Vyaipai: District Development Manager, & Majuli, NABARD. 3. Dr. Dipayan Dey: Chairperson South Asian forum for Environment. 4. Mr. Ananda Ghosh: Chief Co-ordinator North-east office, SAFE. 5. Mr. Joy Dasgupta: Chief Consultant SAFE. 6. Mr. Wasim Ahmed Co-ordinator: North-east office, SAFE. 7. Mr. Jugal Hazarika. District Fisheries Officer, Majuli 8. Mr. Arun Kumar Pathak. District Agriculture Officer, Majuli 9. Mr Bolin Payen, Mr Sohan & Miss Sushmita: JLG group leader and other community representatives

The meeting was presided over by Mr. Pallav Gopal Jha, and the proceedings began with Mr. Jha providing the back ground to the project and highlighting the fact that the promotion of carbon neutral growth and climate resilient organic agriculture would be the major fulcrum around which the future development paradigm of Majuli would be based. He stressed the importance of the project in this context and stated that Hydroponic agriculture and associated aquaculture to be very important components of the above stated developmental rubric.

This was followed by an overview of the Project and it's current status by Dr Dipayan Dey. He stated that the total cultivated area created under the hydrophonic agriculture was 0.08 acres. The total number of beneficiaries was to the Page : 16 tune of approximately 450 individuals. There have been the development of 43 Joint liability Groups each having a membership of 6 individuals, thus a total membership of 258 individuals. In terms of revenue generation the cage based aquaculture systems at the two sites of Pohordiya and Kamalabari reported a total revenue of Rs 25-30,000 per site. The total revenue from agricultural produce was estimated to be around Rs 5,000 at each of the sites Pohordiya and Jomodchuck respectively. The total number of crop cycles that have been undertaken by the project has been more than four. He also stated that the project has started addressing food security concerns by cultivating Boro Paddy seedlings in 10 trays at the Pohordiya site. The total growing period of these seedlings would be around 23- 25 days and the seedlings would be transplanted to the fields where cultivation was not possible due to flood damage. He further stated that the project in the next phase would scale up the current interventions and the number of trays would be increased to 300 from the existing number of 30 trays and the total number of sites covering the different geographies of the district would be at least 10. The next phase would see the development of an integrated model focusing on fisheries, horticulture and livestock development as a part of this climate resilient agricultural developmental framework. Two noteworthy changes that will be proposed with regard the issue of energy consumption for

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

production of agricultural commodities would be the usage of bio-gas and Solar power. He further stated that the key Please include farmers and DC quote: achievements of the project in this reporting cycle included participation of project personnel in the International Trade fair at , Assam on the 12th-14th of January, this fair was organized by the Regional office of Project implemented by NABARD. He also informed the Committee that the Global development network had rated this project as the most South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) innovative project in the Asia- Pacific region and the NABARD head quarters had stated that this project was worth up scaling and introduced to the flood prone regions of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. He also proposed the adoption of Funded by DC bio manure for the promotion of organic agriculture and that could in the long run help in Majuli become a major hub NABARD, Guwahati, Assam FINAL REPORT of organic agriculture. He also stressed that the adoption of bio manure and fertilization techniques would reduce the practice of burning agricultural waste in the fields before planting the next crop. He also stated that given the Duration : March 2017 to February 2018 cultivation of substantial amount of Sugarcane and the existence of a local Jaggery making industry there is enough opportunity to add value to this endevour and also develop Solar powered processing units which would process the Bagasse and develop products which could be sold in other urban markets too and help local farmers increase their incomes from sugarcane cultivation.

The District Development Manager of NABARD Mr. K. Vyapie stated that this was a very innovative project and there was every possibility and need to upscale the project. He stated that there was a need to extend the project for another year and in the extension period conduct a robust cost benefit analysis before up scaling the project. He fully agreed about the in-principle extension of the project for another year and suggested that there could an independent evaluation of the project during that period which would ensure that there is a cost benefit analysis done and if there are any loopholes or problematic issues then adequate remedial measures could be put in place before the project is upscaled. He further stated that the project was the first intervention that NABARD had undertaken in Majuli district and that they were looking forward to a long term association with both government and non-government actors in the district , thus the robust validation of this project is necessary as this will be the flagship initiative of NABARD in Majuli district and the fulcrum around which other initiatives would revolve around and that these initiatives would contribute towards the goal of a carbon neutral Majuli district within a comparatively short time. He further assured the Committee that the process for extension of the project for another year would be completed within a month in order to ensure continuity of the project based activities and ensure that there is no disruption to the project based activities in the next few months.

In this context the Deputy Commissioner Mr. Jha strongly urged the NABARD officials to ensure that the project is extended within the requisite time frame in order to ensure that there is no disruption of project related activities. He further stated that this project has attracted a lot of global attention and there is a lot of interest among the beneficiaries also with related activities based on Hydrophonic Agriculture. He also gave an assurance that the seedlings grown on the floating beds would be requisitioned by the D.C's office during the flood season as there is a huge dearth of rice Page : 16 seedlings then and this was welcomed by the Committee as a major development for the project. He also stated that the State Government has allocated a budget for the development of an organic agriculture hub in Majuli District. He stressed the need for involving organizations who are already working in Majuli to develop pathways regarding the establishment of this hub. He also stressed the need to develop proper bank linkages for the project based Joint Liability Groups and also highlighted the importance of developing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework for the project.

Mr. Avijit Pathak the District Agriculture Officer supplemented his narrative by stating that there are other companies, who are working on organic agriculture in Majuli and he also highlighted the importance of hydroponic agriculture and its immense importance in nursery and floriculture. He stressed the need for the development of an integrated agricultural framework for Majuli district. He also stressed the importance of developing enough number of farmers who would grow vermicompost on their farms as it was an essential component in the promotion of organic agriculture and that there should be a clear strategy to encourage the production of vermicompost.

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

Mr. Jugal Hazarika the District fisheries Officer highlighted the importance of the Carp based Cage culture and how it Please include farmers and DC quote: can be replicated throughout the wetlands of Majuli. He also stated that Water Hyacinth has become a major problem as it has invaded a large number of wetlands in Majuli and highlighted how water hyacinth based furniture and other Project implemented by items are being built and the need to utilize the pathways of the National Rural Livelihood Mission to demonstrate the South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) possibility of water hyacinth based products being of use in everyday life. This project could also use Water hyacinth based products for building the rafts in his opinion. Funded by DC NABARD, Guwahati, Assam The house strongly recommended the release of the rest amount of the grant as a final release, as the expected FINAL REPORT deliverables are satisfactory for the pilot phase and also recommended and immediate extension of the project for Duration : March 2017 to February 2018 the second year.

Dr Dey also briefly reported that recent meetings with JLG groups have expressed intentions for allied farming activities with hydroponics like piggery, gottary, poultry and dairy farming etc. He mentioned that these can be proposed for credit linkages with the banks, wherein the JLG groups have their accounts. This was strongly supported by Mr K. Vaipei for immediate action.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr Dipayan Dey who thanked all the participants and requested the house that the second phase of the project may be made operational within a month's time to be adequately prepared for this year's flood. He shared the fact that the project has been nominated for the Global Development Network for an award, which would be declared on 24th March in Delhi and he would officially appraise all stakeholders on the outcome of the award. He appreciated the support provided to the project by the district administration and the village communities in the district and said that a detailed project implementation plan shall be shared with all stakeholders and NABARD Regional office Guwahati for the second year of extension within first week of March 2018.

FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam

Implemented by : South Asian Forum for Environment, SAFE and Supported by : NABARD, RO, Guwahati, Assam Page : 16

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FLOATING TECHNOLOGY GROWS HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE Climate Resilient Agriculture in Majuli District of Assam SAFE

Please include farmers and DC quote:

Project implemented by South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE)

Funded by DC NABARD, Guwahati, Assam FINAL REPORT Duration : March 2017 to February 2018

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N E Office : House No. 20, Naharani Path, Hatigaon Road, Guwahati-38, Assam Ph. : 0361 2225337, mail : [email protected] Admin Office : 176A Vivekananda Park, Mukundapur, Kolkata- 700 099. Ph. : (033) 24266060 & +91 9836063759 mail : [email protected] web : www.safeinch.org Reg. Office : B 43 Survey Park, Kolkata 700075 A Pictorial Report

Dr. Dipayan Dey SOUTH ASIAN FORUM FOR ENVIRONMENT Resource mapping in Shyamnagar, Bangladesh Resource Mapping in Majuli, Schematic Diagram of Float

Training and Demonstration Capacity Building Fish-Pen Fisheries Women empowerment Majuli: India

Munshiganj: Bangladesh Integrated farming