Activities within the grant and expected impact:
The present project to RVC is towards improving cultivation practices of rice and maize, whilst also focusing on management practices of orange, covering 500 farmers of East and West Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Rice and maize are the staple food of the people of Arunachal Pradesh. Farmers of the state have been cultivating rice and maize since time immemorial by using their own traditional cultivation practices, resulting in sub-optimal production and low productivity. Orange plantation is one of the important horticultural activities in the state. The incidence of insect-diseases associated with low yield has been increasing over the years due to poor management practices prevalent in the region, coupled with poor agricultural extension services.

Through the project, NEICORD aims at improving cultivation practices of rice and maize, covering 100 farmers of Parang Taw village, in the Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh. Rice and maize are the staple food of the people of Arunachal Pradesh. Farmers of the state have been cultivating rice and maize since time immemorial by using their own traditional cultivation practices, resulting in sub-optimal production and low productivity. This is mainly due to hilly geographic conditions and poor agricultural extension services.

The key objectives in these one year pilot projects are to:

	Improve farmers’ knowledge and skills towards improved cultivation practices on rice, maize and orange
	Adopt improved cultivation practices for rice and maize for better productivity and increasing production
	Provide information and support services to farmers on improved cultivation practices at their doorstep.

The proposed key activities are:

	Developing capacity of farmers
	Cultivation of rice and maize with improved practices
	Improving management practices of orange gardens (for RVC only)
	Setting up vermicompost units
	Promoting water-harvesting systems
	Developing a suitable agricultural extension service model at the village level
	Formation of farmer’s club (for RVC only)
	Developing market linkages (for RVC only)
	Setting up of demonstration plots of wetland and upland cultivations (for NEICORD only).

Linkages with Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Basar and Shillong; Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Papumpare; Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Lakhimpur and the Department of Agriculture, Arunachal Pradesh, will be developed to provide technical inputs and other services to the farmers and also to develop capacity of local service providers.