Ms. Namrata Bhansali will present her APS as per the detail below:
Date: 20th September 2023
Time: 1200 - 1300 hrs.
Venue: CTARA Conference Room No.1
Title: Developing Bamboo Polyhouse Construction Technology for Marginal Farmers
Guide: Prof. Chaaruchandra Korde
RPC Members: Prof. Siddhartha Ghosh and Prof. Amit Arora
ABSTRACT In India, as per Agriculture census report 2015-16, 86% of the farmers belongs to small and marginal category who are possessing landholdings lesser than 2 hectares. Despite being the second-largest food-producing nation, India faces a staggering challenge of widespread undernourishment affecting approximately 195.9 million people. Poverty is one of the major causes for this. Climate change exacerbates this challenge, as its adverse effects on agricultural productivity are projected to result in significant yield reductions. The escalating concentration of carbon dioxide further compounds these issues, necessitating urgent adaptation measures. According to the State of Rural and Agrarian India Report 2020, between 1951 and 2011, percentage of India's population that relied on agriculture for livelihood fell from 70% to 48%. The number of farmers decreased by 85 lakhs, whereas the number of farm labourers surged by 3.75 crores between 2001 and 2011. The NABARD Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) indicates that an Agricultural Household's average monthly earning was Rs. 8931 in 2016-17. Only 35% of this came from cultivation, with the rest coming from other sources like wages (34%). Small land holdings, lower income, and climate change effects are the major issues faced by the marginal farmers for having the agricultural productivity. Protected cultivation system ensuring the year-round production of crops can be an aid. Bamboo Polyhouse Construction Technology can be an aid for the above problems by providing year-round yield of crops, excess production for extra income generation. Bamboo polyhouse concept is deployed with the principles of protected cultivation; with bamboo being locally available, bamboo as a construction material contributes fewer disturbances to the environment and keeps the capital cost for construction minimum as compared to GI material. Polyhouse being subjected to the adverse climatic conditions; structural integrity is one of the challenges. Unavailability of the design standards of polyhouse is another issue. This research aims to develop Bamboo Polyhouse Construction Technology, by performing the material investigation of the locally available bamboo, structural investigations as well field demonstration of the polyhouse. Thus, developing the working standards to provide standardized design guidelines and material specifications, accounting for the inherent variability in bamboo properties. Thus, by enhancing agricultural resilience and productivity, this technology holds the potential to uplift the livelihoods of marginal farmers.