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PROJECTS » Agri - Farming Project: ......

Training Of Children In Agri – Farming: Its Rationale

Most of the people who migrate into the city of Delhi from the rural areas have children who are illiterate. When they come to the city, their main concern is to get jobs for sustenance. They are hardly concerned about the education of their children. Many of these children are above the age prescribed for any formal education. So these children are forced to enter the exploitative labor market and become working children or vagabonds

As an intervention measure, these children can be provided with non-formal education, which includes some sort of vocational training that will help them find jobs when they finish their non-formal education. Unfortunately, the vocational training available in the city are of industrial training, which, although good, has some inherent limitations. These children who undertake these industrial training, are later forced to work for 12 hours under very exploitative working condition and that too for a meager sum of Rs. 800.00-1000.00 per month.

The other alternative intervention is to provide some agricultural based training to these children, which are relevant for the situation they have come from. These training would be on animal husbandry and modern farming. They would be trained in processing bi-products such as ghee, flavored milk, creams, pickles etc., which would be commercially marketed. The children would also be trained in marketing the products and setting up co-operatives in the rural areas. The ultimate aim would thus be to initiate and extend the co-operative movement even amongst the children who are otherwise ruthlessly exploited in the free market.

IRDP : Health Awareness Programme at in the villages

A Brief History Of The City Farm Project:

Considering the second alternative as noted above, in 2001, ADF had started its City –Farm project in a 10-acre plot in Farookh Nagar, 12 Kms. away from Shahid Nagar in UP near Hindon River. With already a buffalo shed (with eight buffaloes), a poultry (with a capacity of 100 broilers per set at a time), a goatery (with 50 goats), the City farm is well under operation.

The vegetables grown in the farm will be made into soups, pickles, ketchup, squashes, jams, jellies, etc. The milk from the buffaloes unit will be processed into flavored drinks and ice creams. These products will be packaged attractively and marketed through a unique strategy. Contacts will be made with various fast -food centres and hotels in Delhi to procure our chickens and goats on a regular basis. Thus the children would be trained not only in various modern agri-farming and animal husbandry vocations but will also be trained in packaging and marketing skills. (ADF marketing team has already established a linkage with outlets in Delhi and UP). The whole programme would focus on imparting the children with skills to form and run their own co-operatives.

Aim Of The Project

The aim of the city farm project is to train the children in agri-based industries and to help them absorbed in gainful rural employment. The project also aims to initiate and spread children’s co-operative in the rural areas.

Objectives Of The Project:
• • • •	Provide training to the children on modern farming and animal husbandry; Provide them training on management, marketing and running co-operative centres; Train the children in village related activities and rural development and Help the surrounding villages solve their myriad farming problems by setting up a state of the art laboratory.

Activities Of The Project
Animal Husbandry
• • • • •	Dairy Farm Poultry Farm Fisheries Bee Keeping Cattle Farm
Agricultural Farming – Only Bio Fertilizers are used in the farms. The local people are also trained in using the bio fertilizers so that they do not need to use chemical fertilizers.
• • • •	Manufacturing of Compost Gobar Gas Plants Vegetable Farming Medicinal Herbs