A Presentation on Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE)

A powerpoint Presentation on Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) on village of Punjab.

1. A Presentation on Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) Arkadeb Chattopadhyay B.Sc. Ag. (Hons.) Batch – 2016-20

2. Preface Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) program is a key component of B.Sc. Agriculture degree program. The students are given rigorous orientation and familiarization on various issues and problems they can expect in the farmer’s field. This program runs for 60 working days (July 15, 2K19 – September 14, 2K19) in the VII th semester where in all the professors in different disciplines are involved for improving the learning capacity of the students in a typical village situation.

3. Introduction… Agriculture in India is a major economic sector and it is the backbone of Indian economy. It creates plenty of employment opportunities as well. About 65% of the Indian population depend directly on agriculture and its account around 15% of the crop The Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) is conducted in the 7 th semester of 4 th year. The main aim of the program is to acquaint the students with the villagers and the farming situation so that they can have practical knowledge about agriculture.

4. History of RAWE!!! In India, Randhawa Committee (1992) recommended the RAWE program for imparting quality, practical and productive oriented education for the agriculture degree program. In fact, experimental learning from work experience. Effective work experience training strategies incorporating rural agricultural experimental learning approaches provide opportunities for a student of the last year to engage in field work activity, to review analyze critically this work experience activity and to draw some useful conclusions, decisions, from this analysis and apply the result in actual practical life and field situation.

5. Importance of RAWE Prepare agricultural graduates for better career in agriculture. Prepare agricultural graduates oriented education to face the challenges by acquiring knowledge & skill through hands on experience.

6. Objectives of RAWE Understanding the rural life by students. To get familiarize with the socio-economic conditions of the farmers & their problems with reference to agricultural development. To provide an opportunity to the students for practical training in crop production through work experience. To develop communication skills among students using extension teaching methods in transfer of technology. To develop the understanding regarding agricultural technologies being followed by farmers and to prepare alternate farm plans to suit to the local situation in consultation with farmers. To develop confidence and competence in students for solving problems related to agriculture. To make the students acquainted with the ongoing thrust on rural development related to transfer of technology To explore and develop understanding regarding hi-tech agricultural technology & factors affecting the adoption of modern method of agriculture by the farmers.

7. Involving in Farm Activities Involvement in day to day agricultural operation with host farmer. Calendar of operation for semester will be prepared in consultation with host farmer for a year, at least 2 crops, field and horticultural may be chosen. Comparison of farmers activities with the recommended practices. Choosing suitable recommended practice benefitting to farmer’s situation & resources. Maintaining daily dairy by students with abstract of work done. Review of daily dairy by chairman and programme coordinator.

8. Survey and Farm Collection Collection of data on socio-economic condition, population cropping pattern, irrigation facilities resources available, labour, employment. Preparation of action plan for the village in consultation with subject matter specialities and extension scientist of our institute for recognition of the farm business for high income and suitable production Identify the constraints in marketing of agricultural produce, institutional credit facilities, input supply agencies and cooperative enterprises. Students shall record family budgets and information on farm holding of respondent farmers in prepared interview schedule.

9. Role of Extension Education in RAWE Identification agriculture related problems. Conducting method and result demonstration. Organisation of farmer’s training and participation in programmes conducted by governmental agricultural and allied departments. Visit to the local area and study their role in developmental programmes and research works. Study the role of mass media. Participation in village social work, conduct survey for youth problems, initiation of youth and youth specific projects. Sensitization towards field agriculture. Hands on experience of village conditions with respect to agriculture. Development of favourable and required skill and attitude among agricultural graduates. Development of human resources in agricultural education.

10. Orientation Program on RAWE RAWE programme was arranged in a synchronized manner under the guidance of highly experienced teachers. We were firstly made acquainted with the village & its condition in classroom teaching before use were exposed to village directly. There was an orientation of 1 day i.e., 16 th July, 2019. The main aim of the orientation was to aware the students about that work which is to be done in the village during village attachment programme. The orientation programme started from morning 17 th July, 2019 with the presence of our dear sir all faculty members of extension education & many programme supervisors were present in that programme. We were given training about different techniques in Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). In this one week we came to know about RRA techniques & how to implicate at village level. During this programme all the students were grouped in to 5 members. & allotted with a irrigated village.

11. RRA → PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) grew out of a general feeling of the users of the PRA that the farmers on the rural people are being entreated for information. Farmers do not truly know to participate. Evaluating field data at the same time could benefit people to learn about their problem. Analyse it and to make awareness. Here certain elements were required to make PRA more participatory. “Robert Chambers” is the father of PRA PRA is a methodology for interacting with the villagers and seeking their participation in putting forward their point of views about problem analysing and equalizing the information to acquire learning. It takes into account the people indigenous knowledge. It can be defined as, “A growing family of approaches and methods that enable local people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and condition to plan and act.” RRA is done in very short period. Later RRA is rethought as PRA. Due to its advantage it is expand to corporate sector, administrative, educational institutional systems. Participatory learning action and management. Here feedback is included.

12. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Philosophy Knowing the people’s life in agro -economic ecosystem. Greater ability to represent accurately. Principles Optimal ignorance. Seeking diversity. Offsetting biasness. Learning from people. Triangulation.

13. Purposes of PRA For betterment and greater involvement of villagers by learning, perception, experiences and capabilities To generate information and collection of data for immediate and future use For validation and cross-checking of collected data from other sources For learning about the imparts of earlier on outgrowing policies and programmes and to frame new ones. For studies on research on the use of PRA and to suggest improvement by its methodology. To use criteria, choices and understand the local environment clear and priorities To learn farmer’s indigenous technology To achieve triangulation using different methods and involving various people for check and feedback To develop self-critical analysis and direct contact with local need and communities

14. Guidelines to adhere during interaction in PRA Before Meet the villagers with an open frank mind Build personal rapport Identify the villagers who are interested to share their experience Always begin the interview by relaxing the tension of interview by asking general question Climate setting Select a suitable place for interview Sit down with the villagers on the same floor After Listen carefully, show empathy and compassion, hold patience Intense and careful observation is most important Do not interrupt, suggest or prescribe Be polite, accommodative and gentle Head nodding during interview is approval Participate whole-heartedly Accept villagers’ offering of hospitality There is no point of becoming too much when the villagers discuss among themselves Use what, which, where, why and how to rephrase the question At the end of the interview all the interviewers must be thanked individually by the members of the interviewing group for giving time and sharing their experience

15. Village Rora ( ਰੋੜਾ ਪਿੰਡ ) Tehsil Name :- Kharar District :- Shahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar State :- Punjab Language :-  Punjabi Elevation/Altitude :-  303 meters. Above M.S.L. Telephone Code/STD Code :-  0160  Assembly constituency :-   Chamkaur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency :-  Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Sarpanch Name :-   Manjinder PIN Code :-  140413 Post Office :- Gharuan

16. Village Batta ( ਬੱਤਾ ਪਿੰਡ ) Tehsil Name :- Kharar District :- Shahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar  State :- Punjab  Language :-  Punjabi  Elevation/Altitude :-  303 meters. Above M.S.L.  Telephone Code/Std Code :-  0160  Assembly Constituency :-   Chamkaur Sahib Lok Sabha Constituency :-  Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Sarpanch Name :-  Balbir singh Pin Code :-  140413 Post Office Name :- Gharuan

17. Village Sill ( ਸਿਲ ਪਿੰਡ ) Tehsil Name :- Kharar District :- Shahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar  State :- Punjab  Language :-  Punjabi  Elevation/Altitude :-  303 meters. Above M.S.L.  Telephone Code/Std Code :-  0160  Assembly Constituency :-  Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Lok Sabha Constituency :-  Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Sarpanch Name :-  Parminder Singh Pin Code :-  140413 Post Office Name :- Gharuan

18. Village Bibipur ( ਬੀਬੀਪੁਰ ਪਿੰਡ ) Tehsil Name :- Kharar District :- Shahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar  State :- Punjab  Language :-  Punjabi  Elevation/Altitude :-  303 meters. Above M.S.L.  Telephone Code/Std Code :-  0160  Assembly Constituency :-   Chamkaur Sahib Lok Sabha Constituency :-  Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Sarpanch Name :-   Amarjeet Kaur Pin Code :- 140413 Post Office Name :- Gharuan

19. Village Sil Kapra ( ਸਿਲ ਕੱਪੜਾ ਪਿੰਡ ) Tehsil Name :- Kharar District :- Shahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar  State :- Punjab  Language :-  Punjabi  Elevation/Altitude :-  303 meters. Above M.S.L.  Telephone Code/Std Code :-  0160  Assembly Constituency :-   Chamkaur Sahib Lok Sabha Constituency :-  Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Sarpanch Name :-   Harinder Singh Mander Pin Code :- 140413 Post Office Name :- Gharuan

20. Action Plan For throughout the year water logged area Weed control by application of weedicide Commercial pisciculture by land consolidation Drainage facility development and improvement Composting of aquatic weeds Fresh water pearl culture For unemployed youth Formation of marketing co-operative society for better marketing Appointment as Krishak Sathi . Establishment of KSKs Imparting training on mushroom production and spawn production Imparting training on various skills in non-agricultural sector For partly water-logged area Growing of alternative crops like jute, bacha, mukhana , waterchestnut , brahmi , colocasia Azolla , BGA culture For homestead land Mushroom cultivation in the backyard. Growing of multipurpose trees in the courtyard Goatery , Poultry. Bio-Gas Plant Vermicompost Pit Artificial insemination of indigenous breed of cows Use of enriched cattle feed Planting of greens, seasonal vegetables with water drained out from the house Use of storage bin with 50% subsidy from APICOL Enrichment of FYM with SSP also enrichment with Bioderma / Sanjeevani

21. …to be continued For cropping area Soil testing for judicious fertilizer management Use of 50% RDF + 50% N inform of green managing of Dhanicha in Kharif Replacement of Swarna with Pratiksha and introduction of hybrid rice variety like KHR-2 and Sahyadri Replacement of local rice varieties with high yielding short duration paddy like Heera , Pathara and Annada etc Integrated approach for disease-pest management. Use of herbicide and mechanical weeder for weed control Use of certified seeds of high yielding varieties of vegetables Introduction of PSM and potash culture. Crop rotation in Rice-Rice cropping system with black gram by grazing control through village committee Use of Neem based integrated approach in brinjal fruit and shoot borer Use of resistant variety and further linkage with seed chain Installment of honey bee box Farm mechanization with the help of APICOL In-situ moisture conservation and rain water harvesting Introduction of HYV of groundnut like TS-24 Community based use of pheromone and light traps For Wasteland Social forestry with Gliricidia , Acacia mangium , Subabul etc. Plantation of fodder plants like Simarouba . For Landless People Piggery, Goatery , Poultry Mushroom production. Coir based, stone based cottage industry. Fruit processing and preservation For women Capacity building programme for women and SHG run by women under NRCWA Formation of marketing co-operative society for better marketing Imparting training to farm women on food processing and preservation Imparting training to farm women on various cottage industry skills

22. Substantial paddy production Installation of solar panel to generate electricity Application of green manure Fisheries have been practised Mushroom cultivation from the straw harvested from crop field Availability of vocational training Water, electricity, fuel, BPL card facilities available Set up of cottage industry Communication facilities like roads are well built to sell the harvested goods in cities Flood in river Poor drainage Only one part of the entire village is properly irrigated Ponds are filled with cyanobacteria (BGA) and weeds like water hyacinth Monocropping is highly favoured hence affecting soil fertility status Govt. incentives are not are provided timely They were reluctant to adopt new scientific approach of farming Availability of loamy soil which is highly fertile. Horticultural practices is highly recommended High paddy production hence they can go for processing of paddy and generation of new commodities Availability of plenty number of pond so fisheries can be highly commercialized They have plenty of cattle hence can establish Gobar Gas plant in community Fertile soil favours vegetable production Monkey menace Flooding in low-land areas Cattle grazing in cultivated field Youths are unemployed Labour availability is difficult Heavy weed infestation Hospitals are at far away distant places from village

23. …feedback RAWE is an exposure programme for the agricultural students conducted by extension education department to know about the possibility of the previously gained theoretical knowledge on practical basis. It helped us to know the real issue of farmer and small trials of suggestion to them which only we heard about. The query and feedbacks of farmers were interesting. Most of the section of the questionnaire section helped us a lot because of the expertise of farmers.

24. Conclusion This village attachment programme to the Rora , Batta , Sill, Bibipur & Sil Kapra village provides a practical oriented opportunity and hands on experience in acquiring knowledge and skill. The real socio-economic situation of village and problems at field level is known to us. The farmers of villages are well known to the various ITKS new technologies and some are developed as they are very much eager to know about the latest techniques and come in contact with government officials frequently and their production particularly vegetables is more due to more knowledge and availability of irrigation water.

25. P.S. : - Due to given limited time frame of presentation, I have to summarize the whole content without compromising the subject matter & quality. In connection with it, a documental report of RAWE and short-term internship (industrial training) is given. Kindly find the enclosure for details. 🙏