9^th Brain-storming session on: “Alternative Farming Systems Involving Horticulture to Increase Crop Productivity and Doubling Farmers’ Income”, held at Dr. YSP University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh from 3rd May to 4th May, 2018

Recommendations:

1. Mechanization of cultural operations, especially for small and marginal farmers of hilly regions.
2. Set up 'State of Art Tissue Culture Laboratories' for production of quality planting material.
3. Effective pollination management for increasing fruit set and crop yields.
4. Develop systems for high density planting of fruit crops.
5. Use of biotechnological tools for production of new cultivars with disease and pest resistance and quality traits in horticultural crops, with emphasis on dwarf rootstocks.
6. Need to educate people about biosafety of GMOs, and place emphasis on developing cultivars with drought and cold tolerance, and nutritional enrichment.
7. Developing vegetable varieties suited for poly-house cultivation in collaboration with seed industry.
8. Validation of poly-house structures for different agro-climatic regions.
9. Standardization of hydroponic systems for production of vegetables/flowers.
10. Validation and popularization of region specific Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) models for enhancing the farmers' income.
11. Scaling-up 'Cluster Based Integrated Farming' through resource sharing.
12. Utilization of horticultural waste of feeding livestock and improving soil health.
13. Need to increase farmers’ share in consumer rupee through better market regulation.
14. Strengthening of infrastructure for supply chain, marketing, and to reduce post harvest losses.
15. Capacity building for mass production of bio-control agents for pest management.
16. Organic farming for high value crops in niche areas.
17. Use of consortia of beneficial organisms as bio-enhancer for Jhum cultivation.
18. Simplification of procedure for certification of organic produce.
19. Knowledge and resource sharing between SAUs and ICAR.