Apple Project India
In India, Apple farming is practiced only in the high hilly areas. Villages there are very scattered. Again apple orchards are located in the remote hill-slopes in dense forests, where there are no modern ways to reach. In some cases the orchards are 12 km inside the forest. Till few years back, it was common for the farmers to grow apples in the age old conventional methods. Though apple production generates good revenues they hardly took care of right time of harvesting, transportation and selling in the market at a reasonable price. This was due to small and marginal farming, harsh and unpredictable weather condition, lack of communication and last but not the least “know-how” of the quality and economy.
Fortunately, a new approach of socio-economic development approached to the Nagaon area of Uttrakhand and Jubbal area of Himachal Pradesh through Apple Service project India which is initiated by a consortium of partner organizations named Fresh food technology (FFT)], Agriculture & Organic Farming Group(AOFG) and Shri Jagdamba Samiti (SJS). The advent of ICT with this consortium has changed the scenario of cultivation and the livelihood of these unreachable villages. The farmers are convinced that ICT is the right step for supporting agriculture, and it is a new dimension in the field of agriculture and how it plays an important role in giving solution to the challenges faced by the farmers as well as the organization and also to accelerate earnings.
FFT is consortium leader for the project, AOFG is overseeing the organization of farmer groups and coordinating the implementation in the field and Shri Jagdamba Samiti (SJS) support’s the farmer groups’ directly on location. This consortium is under the financial assistance of SHGW (A Private Dutch Foundation).