Mixed farming in farmer’s field - A success story Sri. Jojo, Randuplackal house, aged 30 years is a resident of the Chakkittapara Panchayat, located in the north-east hilly tracts of the Calicut District in Kerala. His parents migrated long ago from the southern parts of Kerala to the Malabar region in hope of better living conditions. They had eleven children and owned 10 acres of land. Mr. Jojo is a school drop out and was working very hard in the fields along with his parents to earn a livelihood. In 1998, he happened to attend a training programme on nursery techniques in horticultural crops at KVK, Peruvannamuzhi. He actively participated in the training. Before attending training programme at KVK, Mr. Jojo was an unemployed youth, without sufficient earnings to support his family. The training and the constant support and guidance from the Kendra have changed his livelihood. The learning experience motivated him to start a plant nursery. With the whole hearted support of KVK, he established his nursery and christened it `Alby Nursery’. Presently it is a popular and trusted name among the farmers of the region and farmers of the nearby State of Karnataka for procuring high quality planting materials. The Scientists of KVK assisted him to procure nucleus planting materials of improved varieties of crops like arecanut, coconut, pepper, nutmeg, garcinia etc. from reliable sources. With an initial investment of Rs.30, 000, he could make a gross income of Rs.70, 000 in 1999. During 2001-2002, from an investment of Rs.50, 000/- his gross income raised to 1.60 lakh. The average annual production of planting materials in his nursery is depicted in Table 1.     Diversification of cropping system Realizing the fact that his main source of income from land is only coconut, KVK advised him to diversify the cropping pattern by including new crops such as arecanut, nutmeg, cashew, banana and vegetables. The new cropping system provides him an annual net income of about Rs.1.25 lakh. The major crops grown are shown in Table 2. Diversified farming Since the entire family is supporting him in his farming activities, KVK advised him to undertake the alternative enterprises like piggery, poultry and apiculture. Over a period of two years, he promptly adopted various enterprises like piggery, apiculture, vermiculture, poultry and sericulture. The details of enterprises initiated are furnished in Table 3. Mr. Jojo is presently self sufficient in the production of organic manures, required for his entire farm. His dependence on chemical fertilizers has drastically come down. He has integrated all his farm activities in such a manner that each enterprise is complimentary to other. His annual net income from the farm activities is about 4.25 lakh. Now he is employed, confident and highly successful in his enterprises in agriculture. His success stimulated other farmers to rise from the slumber, realizing the untapped potential in their fields through better utilization of resources for a better livelihood. Thus Sri Jojo has become a role model to his fellow farmers.   Table 1. Major crops grown by Sri. Jojo (2001-2002)   Crops Area (ha) Yield/ha Coconut 9 acre 100 nuts/palm/year Arecanut 500 Nos. 15 kg arecanut/palm/year Nutmeg 30 Nos. 3500 fruits/tree/year Cashew 20 Nos. 25 kg nuts/tree/year Banana 250 Nos. 10 kg/plant Vegetables 0.5 acre 6 q/season   Table 2. Production of planting materials per year by Sri. Jojo   Sl.No Item Production/year 1 Arecanut seedlings 35,000 Nos. 2 Coconut seedlings (WCT) 5,000 Nos. 3 Piper colubrinum graft 1,000 Nos. 4 P. colubrinum rooted cuttings 5,000 Nos. 5 P. colubrinum cuttings 10,000 Nos. 6 Nutmeg seedlings 2,000 Nos. 7 Garcinia graft 500 Nos. 8 Garcinia seedlings 2,000 Nos. 9 Bush pepper plants 600 Nos. 10 Clove seedlings 250 Nos.   Table 3. Other Enterprises by Sri. Jojo   Piggery Big animals - 50 Nos. Small animals - 200 Nos. Annual net income realised: Rs.90, 000/- Vermiculture unit Worms - 25 kg/year Compost - 5 t/year Annual net income realised: Rs.27, 500/- Apiary unit - 12 hives Annual net income realised: Rs.12, 500/- Poultry unit consisting of flying duck, turkey, swan, improved breeds of layers, duck etc. Annual net income realised: Rs.20, 000/- Pisciculture involving composite fish culture with Cutla, Rohu and Mrigal and culture of African catfish. Annual net income realised: Rs.20, 000/- Sericulture unit : 0.5 acre mulberry cultivation Annual net income realised: Rs.7, 000/- Cattle rearing: One milch cow, one heifer and two calves Annual net income realised: Rs.10, 000/- Annual net income from farm and other enterprises: Rs.4, 23, 500/-