Empowering Rural Livelihoods and Enhancing Nutritional Security through Kitchen Gardens in Patiala District (Punjab)
Published by: Admin
Authors: Gurpreet Kaur and Gurpreet Singh
Abstract
To meet the daily requirements of fruits and vegetables kitchen garden can be a great option for rural people. Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC), Patiala had demonstrated kitchen gardening amongst 300 families of three villages of the district to assess the yield and economic impact of the kitchen garden technology in addition to constraints experienced by the selected farmers. The objective was to increase the availability of vegetables and nutrient intake at the household level and to increase farmers’ understanding of different technological aspects of kitchen gardening. An interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents. The results of the present study revealed that after the nutritional intervention, on an average per family received 29-31 percent more vegetables per season. The average total income per family was Rs. 3306 from winter season vegetables and Rs. 3427 from the summer season. Major constraints cited by the chosen farmers were the limited use of high-quality vegetable seeds and improper site selection for establishing a kitchen garden.