What Are Support Services For Cultivation?

Support services for cultivation are any non-agricultural uses directly tied to agriculture and rely on agriculture for survival. These support services are available within districts and are designed to help in agricultural goods’ production, marketing, and distribution. Such services include agricultural equipment maintenance, transportation operations, equipment leasing, and agricultural research centers.

This article discusses the 4 primary support services for cultivation.

Agricultural Research

Agricultural research is essential to agricultural progress. The results have been excellent regarding increased output per hectare while reducing input utilization without sacrificing output. This will result in the substitution of imports and, at the very least, self-sufficiency in food crops.

Farmers now have access to the necessary technologies to increase their net income and amass additional capital assets for their fields and residences. This leads to better nutrition for the family by shifting consumption behaviors away from carbohydrate consumption and towards a more balanced diet. It would also improve education for youngsters.

The primary goal is to enhance the nutritional status and overall economic well-being of low-income group people by boosting the sustainability of food production in developing nations like India.

Agricultural Extension Services

The primary goals of agricultural extension are to close the existing yield gap between actual and prospective output on farmers’ fields and the knowledge gap in technology by supplying farmers with the required information. In addition, a robust agricultural extension program has helped boost output performance by optimal resource usage, particularly of small farm holders.

Until recently, extension officers were responsible for propagating new technology, but they were also involved in coordinating credit, marketing, input supplies, and, on occasion, crop insurance programs.

Since the 1970s, extension workers have been visiting specially identified ‘contract’ farmers on predetermined days to disseminate knowledge dealing with a specific technology. It is now known as the “Training and Visits” system and is being implemented in many countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other Asian countries.

Agricultural Finance

The provision of institutional financing to small farmers is critical in increasing agricultural productivity. Various initiatives have been launched to improve access to institutional loans. Small farmers’ financing needs arise due to the purchase of seasonal inputs. Small farmers seek finance since they lack self-financing capacity.

The typical method of obtaining institutional credit is to ask leading banks, both public and private, to lend a large sum of money in exchange for government guarantees to write off losses.

Although they don’t go via banks directly, there are other options:

• Connecting financing via agricultural cooperatives and informal groupings.
• Encourage small moneylenders or intermediaries to get low-interest loans.

Intermediaries increase their capital catering stake in marketing margins, causing farmers to cut their commodity pricing.

Small merchants are granted soft loans to help them operate their businesses more effectively, lowering the cost of loan operation. An alternative to the above is that if merchants provide documentation of farmer deposits of produce to him, the bank can directly pay farmers, ensuring that farmers receive fair prices while also monitoring the quantity of produce handled by traders.

The issue is whether the credit should be related to a specific crop or the entire farm. Generally, the farmer integrates crop and livestock production and works as a whole. As a result, the various enterprises address the risk factors associated with the failure of a single crop, and revenue is guaranteed throughout the year.

Agricultural Marketing

Small farmers have several disadvantages due to being socially, economically, and culturally marginalized. Clients that lack access to productive resources such as financing, technology, and bargaining power in the market are not appealing to the trading community. Decision-making is limited to the farmer’s home, and pricing information is limited to the local market, with a very tiny marketable excess.

Prices may fall due to greater supply due to technological use harming farmers. However, the markets would absorb the extra supply within the current marketing environment if food is scarce.

Wherever there is food self-sufficiency owing to locally produced food, the focus is shifted to crop diversification or agro-based industries, which, if successful, will provide farmers with increased revenue.

EndNote

We can see how essential support services for agriculture is, especially in the highly competitive market. There are several support services for cultivation available. However, STAGE by Hydenmet stands out. STAGE is an end-to-end farm intelligence system that addresses environmental and agricultural concerns, providing farmers with effective solutions via sensor and instrument implementations.