4/4/4/1 27.04.2016

All District Secretaries

All Provincial Secretaries of Agriculture

Director General of Agriculture

Commissioner General of Agrarian Services

Home Gardening Promoting Parogramme – 2016

Monitoring Instruction Services – 01

  1. Introduction

Home gardening promoting programmeaimed at developing 0.5 Mn home gardens under Food Production National Programme has been implementing since 2016. This programme will be helpful not only to fulfill food and nutrition requirement of the family but also to augment the overall food production of the country. Productivity of the land may be increased through the utilization of vertical and horizontal space available in the home garden. It is also expected to expand the home gardening through introduction of edible landscaping. Furthermore daily expenseson food requirement of the family could also be minimized through promotion of homegardening.While promoting environment friendly agriculture devoid of the application of agro- chemical.

  1. AwarenessProgramme
  2. Awareness of officers
  • Provincial Directors of Agriculture, District Director of Agriculture, Deputy District Directors of Agriculture and Deputy/Asst.Agrarian Development Commissioner have already been made aware on this programme and it is their responsibility to educateall field officers of the respective institutions.
  • Taking action by Agrarian Development Assistant Commissioners to educate all Agrarian Development Divisional Offices, Agriculture Research and Production Assistants and Development Officers within his district.
  • Deputy District Directors of Agriculture are responsible for all Directors of Agriculture in change of the respective zone.
  • District Directors of Agriculture are responsible for educating all Development Officers attached to the Divisional Secretariats.

2.2Awareness of members of the District and Divisional Agriculture Committees

  • Educating all members of District and Divisional Agricultural Committees at the next committee meeting jointly by the District Director of Agriculture, Deputy District Director of Agriculture and Deputy/Asst. Agrarian Development Commissioner.
  • Educating all committee members at the Divisional Agriculture Committee by the Agriculture Instructor and the Agrarian Development Divisional Officers.

2.3Awareness of Farmer Organizations and the Community

  • Agriculture Research and Production Assistants are responsible for educating community, farmer organizations and community organizations in the Division on this home gardening promotion programme.
  1. Selection of beneficiaries
  2. This being programme, pioneering role of which has to be played by women.Accordingly selection has to be made on village basis to be 20 from one village (20 household)

Example - If two villages are covered by one ARPD, the number of beneficiaries shall be 40.

3.2The selection of beneficiaries should be done by a committee consisting of Agriculture Instructor, ARPA, Divineguma Officer and representatives from Farmer Organizations. Terms of Reference of which are as followers;

  • Having Ownership of suitable land sufficient enough to establish a home garden
  • Availability of Permanant sources of water
  • Having interest and aspiration to maintain and develop a home garden.
  • Possibility of attending trainingprogrammes.
  • Ability to maintain it as a model home garden. So as to generate interest of neighbors.
  • Willingness to be a member of the ‘GoviKanthaSamiti

3.3A list of name of beneficiary women should be exhibited at his office

  1. Distributing of planting materials for encouragement.

Five fruit plants, one home gardening seed pouch and seedlings of two varieties each are provided to one house hold through Farmer Women Societies for encouraging selected beneficiary women in home gardening.

4.1Fruit Plants

Five fruit Plants including a lime plant to the value of Rs.550.00 are
provided to each household. If it is considered lime plants not suitable
for any agri-ecological zone, other kind of fruit plant may be
obtained.

  • The above value has been completed based on the rates of planting material
    available in nuseries of the Department of Agriculture.
  • Value of budded fruit plants is Rs.180.00 per one (fruits such as mango, orange, rambutan)
  • Two fruit plants one at Rs.135.00 (avacado, beli, woodapples )
  • Two seeds plants one at Rs.50/= (lime, lovi, ugurassa and nelli)

4.2Home gardening seeds pouches

Every beneficiary house holder will be provided with a home gardening seed

pouch which consists of seeds of 06 kinds of vegetable depending on the suitability oflow country – dry zone, low country dry zone (Northern & Eastern province), low country wet – zone, inter intermediate zone and up – country wet zone.

4.3Nursery Vegetable Plants

Two kinds of nursery vegetable plants will be provided to one beneficiary house holder consisting of 20 chillie plants and 10 brinjol plants or 10 tomato plants or 10 capsicum plants produced in a nursery of a beneficiary home garden by ARPA under the technical guidance of Agriculture Instructor.

  1. TrainingProgrammes

5.1Trainers of Training(TOT)

The Department of Agriculture is responsible for conducting trainersof training(TOT)programme for Agriculture Instructors on the training of ARPAS on landscaping and planting of home gardens with food crop planting.

5.2Training of Agriculture Research & Production Assistants

Agrarian Development Divisional Officers should organize a trainingprogramme for all ARPAS in the Division on planning and landscaping of home gardens with food crop planting by engaging Agriculture Instructor a Resources Person.

5.3Training of beneficiaries

Agriculture Production and Research Assistant is responsible for organizing a practicaltrainingprogramme on the home garden planning and landscaping through food crop planting for beneficiaries in the respective division with the participation of Agriculture Instructor as a resources person under the following subjects.

  • Seedling of vegetable seeds in nurseries, planting at fields and maintenance.
  • Planning of the home garden utilizing the space and resources available.
  • Edible landscaping in home gardening.
  • Establishment of fruit plants & maintenance.
  • Organicfertilizer production and utilization.
  • Environment friendly pest controlling methods.

This training could be given to beneficiaries practically utilizing a home garden to

produce seedlings to meet the requirement in the village.

  1. Establishment of framer women society

Arrangements should be made by the Agriculture Research and Production Assistant to establish a farmer women society by mobilizing the beneficiary women. By appointing office bearers including the chairman the secretary and the treasures and implementation of future activities of the projectthrough this society.

  1. Implementation of the programme

7.1Fruits suitable for the district should be decided by a committee consisting of District Agricultural Officers including District Director of Agriculture, Deputy District Director of Agriculture (Provincial and Inter Provincial) and District Agrarian Development Assistant Commissioner. Subsequently, it is necessary to assess ARPA level Divisional level and District level requirement of fruit plants and seed pouches before submitting the same by the District Agrarian Development Assistant Commissioner to the Provincial Director of Agriculture and the Director (Extension and Training) Department of Agriculture, a copy of which should submitted to the Deputy Director (Agri Services)of the Ministry of Agriculture.

7.2The committee of the District Agriculture Heads should decide
period during which the vegetable crops should be established in home gardens
within the district and submission of the same to Director (Extension
and Training) of theDOA with a copy to Deputy Director (Agri Services), Ministry of Agriculture.

7.3Accordingly the Director (seeds and planting material) Department of
Agriculture will make arrangement to pack seed requirement for a village to produce seedlings and supply the same to the Department of Agrarian
Development to enable for ARPASofficers to obtain requirement.

7.4Production of seedlings to be distributed among beneficiaries
should be entrusted ARPA to a member who has gained experience in the
establishment and maintenance of nurseries under the instruction of
the Agriculture Instructor. Supervision of the under taking will be
the responsibility of Agrarian Development Divisional Officer.

7.5When the vegetable seedlings are grown sufficient enough to
establish in the field (become 3-4 weeks old) eligibility. of planting
in the field should be got confirmed by Agriculture Instructor and
suitable arrangements should be made by ARPA to deliver seedlings at
the selected home gardens of beneficiaries.

7.6Taking action to make available the relevant seed pouches to the Department of Agrarian Development to enable for the Director (Seeds and Planting Material), DOA to distribute them among beneficiaries during the period of establishment of home gardens at field level.

7.7The stock of seed pouch will be made available to the Departmentof
Agrarian Development by the seed and planting material centre of the
Department of Agriculture and the farmer should make arrangements to
distribute the same among all Agrarian Services centers island-wide.

7.8Agrarian development Divisional Officers should make arrangement to make them available to the ARPAS who are responsible for formal distribution of the same among beneficiaries.

7.9The Director (Seed Certification & Plant Protection) should make arrangement for the establishment of quality of those seed beforedistributing the same among beneficiaries.

7.10Deputy District Director of Agriculture (Provincial/ Interprovincial) should take action to procure the district requirement of fruit plants in keeping with theprocurement guideline and distribute the same among beneficiaries through ARPAS.

7.11A committee consisting of Agriculture Instruction, Agrarian Development Divisional Officer(DO) and ARPA should establish that fruit plant to be distributed are in due standard and the distribution process should be supervised by Agrarian Development Divisional Officer.

7.12Establishment of fruit plants in the field immediately after distribution, management and harvesting should be done under the supervision of the ARPA.

7.13To achieve targets of the programme proper coordination should be maintained by officers in district/ Head office.

7.14Progress of the programme relating to awareness / training of beneficiaries/ officers, supply of seed for nursery establishment, supply of fruit plants and seed pouches, production and distribution of seedling should be reported once in 02 weeks on every Wednesday to the AgriService Division of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Accordingly, Your are kindly requested to educate all officers of your Department

ontheresponsibility, role and targets of thisundertaking by giving priority to

implementation of the programme successfully.

B.Wijayarathne

Secretary

Ministry of Agriculture

Copies to:-

1. Director (Extension & Training)

2. Director (Seed and Planting Material)

3. Director (Seed Certification)

4. Provincial Directors of Agriculture

5. District Directors of Agriculture

6. Deputy Directors of Agriculture(Provincial /Interprovincial)

7. Deputy / Assistant District Commissioner of Agrarian Development

8. Crop leader(Home Garden)