Agriculture is a major livelihoods option of the tribal families’ in form of settled and shifting cultivation. As has been observed, the people have very limited land holding and they mostly do settled agriculture in the community lands. The output from agriculture has a direct impact on the food security of the tribal. It supplements about half a year’s food requirements for them.

They mostly practice traditional varieties of seeds and crop husbandry. The programme activities under this component aim at increasing the productivity through small but critical interventions on those crops. Introducing new crops, technology, cultural practices etc through successful demonstrations will be the types of interventions under this component. At least five trials in a MWS will be taken up in the initial years of the implementation of the activity thus exposing the farmers in the programme villages to the successful trials and thereafter the farmers be facilitated to take up similar cropping practices extensively in order to enhance the productivity. As regards to horticulture backyard fruit tree plantation, vegetable cultivation, kitchen garden etc. should be promoted in the programme villages. Families having no or less agricultural land should be given priority in demonstrating this activity. The total funds allocation under this component for the project cycle is Rs.43000/- per MWS. Out of the above, the villagers are to be facilitated to develop agriculture resource centres by procuring improved farm machineries.

At least three such resource centres should be promoted in each MWS and the total funds for such resources centres per MWS is Rs.18000/-.Balance. Rs.25,000/- MWS is meant for agriculture/ horticulture farm demonstration, along with supply of materials such as seeds, fertilizer kit, planting materials etc to be used for farm demonstrations.

The utilization of this component will start from the first year of the main implementation phase (third year of programme cycle) and should be completed by the end of main implementation phase.