SEVAI promotes vegetable garden as intercrop in Banana plantation fields.

Vegetables cultivated by Women SHGs as inter-crop with Banana field

SEVAI promotes vegetable garden as inter-crop in Banana plantation fields for the benefit of the women self Help Group members of marginal landholders. Vegetables constitute a major portion in our diet.  They play a vital role in human nutrition.  They are very essential to provide all essential nutrients for good health.  Vitalizing and improving the soil by suitable organic and Bio-dynamic agricultural methods is very vital. Soil preparation for vegetable growing involves many of the usual operations required for other crops. The banana are successfully harvested and towards the end the vegetable seeds are being sown in Sirugamani area where SEVAI,a Trichy based NGO is actively working in the field of integrated development. Towards the entire harvest of banana, the vegetables are also ready for harvest and get good income for the women self help groups those cultivate banana and also vegetables as inter cropping plantation.Mrs.P.Vanitha in her training session to SHG women recently spoke to women group animators and said.” SEVAI’s approach also pays attention to soil fertility, agricultural biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, green knowledge development, a decent living for SHG farmers and gender inclusiveness. Factors such as fertility of land, monsoon behaviour, rainfall, irrigation, application of organic manure, climatic conditions, marketing facilities, prices, availability of agricultural labourers determine the area and productivity of any crop. Inter crops can easily be raised in banana plantation at the early stages of growth. Radish, chili, brinjal, lady's finger, vegetables, are grown as Inter-crops in Banana plantation in SEVAI SHG Project area. Vegetable cultivation requires a perfect product quality to acquire a good financial yield. Mixed cropping with banana is a common practice in SEVAI Target area of Trichirapalli District. The total returns were highest in banana inter cropped with bhendi. To enhance income of the Women SHG farmers of the area, an attempt was made by SEVAI to introduce improved vegetable under Integrated farming system for sustainable rural livelihood as SEVAI aims to stimulate green and rewarding women small landholder farming by supporting and scaling up promising approaches, such as sustainable intensification, green transformation and biodiversity area”. –Govin