Agribusiness Support Organization under UDWDP Phase-II, in Districts Bageshwar and Pithoragarh

SUDHA is currently functioning as an Agribusiness Support Organization (ABSO) under UDWDP Phase-II in Districts Bageshwar and Pithoragarh, within the Watershed Management Directorate of Uttarakhand (IFAD aided). It is actively engaged in providing Food security/Agribusiness Support to Farmers Interest Groups (FIGs) through a comprehensive range of activities. These include offering technical expertise, business development and marketing support, training, and capacity-building facilitation. The project is currently placing a strong emphasis on disseminating improved agricultural technologies and promoting better practices, all aimed at boosting production and enhancing agribusiness prospects, thereby enabling farmers to improve their livelihood options.

The ABSO is also focusing on the adoption of modern, climate-smart, and financially viable technologies that are suitable for the hilly terrain of Uttarakhand. This includes encouraging farmers to cultivate high-value, high-yielding crops. Furthermore, ABSO is actively promoting modern and commercial practices related to grading, storage, packaging, processing, and establishing market linkages. These initiatives are designed to increase the value of farmers’ produce and ultimately raise their household income levels. Additionally, the project is actively involved in promoting value chains within identified sub-sectors of the farming system to sustainably boost the income levels of farmers in the project areas.

Under this program, SUDHA, in its role as ABSO, is currently mobilizing and motivating FIG members in intervention villages to come together and form clusters. This cluster approach enables the cultivation of similar types of crops in the same area, resulting in marketable surplus production. The ABSO team in Pithoragarh and Bageshwar has conducted numerous meetings with FIG members in Gramya-II intervention villages, where they have been encouraging and motivating farmers to adopt the cluster approach to farming. Farmers have been informed that the production of bulk marketable goods in hilly areas is achievable primarily through the cluster approach, which not only provides negotiating power to producers but also reduces transportation costs. Notably, this approach has yielded remarkable results, particularly in the development of clusters for crops such as potatoes, kiwis, and lilies.