Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transformation Project (APART)

Start Date: 1 November 2018
End date: 31st October 2023

Rural poverty is a key problem for the socioeconomic development of Assam. About 87% of the state’s poor live in rural areas with an unemployment rate that is more than twice the national average. The agriculture sector is characterized by rice-dominated farming systems and small farm size. Monsoon-based rice production systems account for about 70% of the net cropped area.

Approximately 83% of farmers have less than two hectares of land and consequently very limited capacity to invest in either capital works or crop inputs.

Climate is another major concern. The Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change recognized the need to adapt and innovate in agriculture in response to a continued rise in ambient temperature, unpredictable rainfall patterns and changing cycles of drought and floods in the state.

By growing vegetables to diversify their farming activities, farmers can realize increased income and build resilience without the need to massively invest in additional farm inputs. Within the Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transformation Project (APART), World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) will provide technical advisory assistance for vegetable value chains. This assistance is organized into two components:

Part A: Improving the quality and availability of planting inputs

• Part A1: Varietal Assessment, Trials and Selection of Optimum Varieties
• Part A2: Enterprise Development through Vegetable Seedling Nurseries

Part B: Promoting the adoption of climate-resilient good agricultural practices

• Part B1: Climate-resilient production demonstrations
• Part B2: Application of integrated pest management (IPM) systems for reduced pesticide usage for all legume and non-legume crops

Based on these components, WorldVeg is providing technical support and training to the Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing (DoH&FP), Assam Agricultural University (AAU) and the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) to help implementation of the production side of the vegetable value chain components of the APART project.

Improving the quality and availability of planting inputs

WorldVeg is collaborating with Assam Agricultural University (AAU) for varietal assessment, trials, and selection of optimum varieties. WorldVeg South Asia has shared five open-pollinated, bacterial wilt-tolerant lines of tomato and four open-pollinated, Yellow mosaic virus-resistant lines of pumpkin with AAU for varietal evaluation:

OP Tomato

• AVTO 1366, AVTO 1314, AVTO 1122, AVTO 1346, AVTO 1424

OP Pumpkin

• AVPU 1391, AVPU 1392, AVPU, 1393 and AVPU 1394

WorldVeg also shared seeds of high beta carotene golden tomato line (AVTO 0102) with AAU for varietal evaluation and off-season production of tomato. 

Thirty black gram lines with Mungbean yellow mosaic resistance developed by WorldVeg South Asia have been shared with AAU for varietal evaluation. 

Production of WorldVeg OP seed of tomato and pumpkin lines

Production of seed of WorldVeg open-pollinated (OP) lines of tomato and pumpkin through seed villages will be carried out through pilots, with the objective that farmers can benefit from open-pollinated vegetable varieties with characteristics similar to hybrid varieties. This can address issues with hybrids, such as:

• Hybrid seed is very expensive compared to open-pollinated seed.
• Farmers must purchase fresh hybrid seeds for every planting season.
• Fake hybrid seeds are on the increase.

A strategy paper has been prepared by WorldVeg and shared with implementing partner, the Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing (DoH&FP).

Selection of OP line for seed production:

• Tomato: AVTO 1424
• Pumpkin: AVPU 1391

Districts selected for production of OP seeds:

Tomato: Pabhoi Greens, Biswanath under DoA Sonitpur and KVK, Khumtai, Golaghat

Pumpkin: DAO, Jorhat and KVK Nalbari