Farmers-Scientists Interface Meeting was organized under the Project ‘Optimizing Technological Interventions with Gender perspective in small mango orchards’ at Betnasia village in Mayurbhanj district on 6th February, 2018. The programme was graced by Dr. Sanghamitra Pattnaik, Senior Scientist & Head of KVK Mayurbhanj, Ms. Ankita Sahu, Scientist from ICAR-CIWA, Sri Manoranjan Prusty, Sr. Technical Assistant, ICAR-CIWA and Sri Pratap Behera, Horticulture Overseer of Morda Block.

The interface was organized to sensitize the farmers and farm women about the role of ICAR-CIWA in empowering farmwomen. The importance of the project in improving the productivity of mango orchards through various gender friendly interventions such as intercropping with high value vegetable and fruit crops, canopy management and strategies to produce quality mangoes were briefly discussed by Ms. Ankita Sahu. The role of farm women in enhancing the productivity was highlighted by addressing gender concerns and gender issues in mango based production system. Dr. Sanghamitra Pattnaik during her technical talk deliberated the importance of Horticulture in livelihood enhancement of farm women. She focused on off season vegetable cultivation and utilization of inter row spaces within mango orchards for better revenue generation from the system. The queries of farm women related to horticulture production were entertained and they were supplemented with technical guidance on improved production technologies of Horticultural crops. Towards the end of the programme, the farm women were distributed with vegetable seeds for planting in their juvenile mango orchards. There was also scientific demonstration of planting pineapple in the inter row spaces of mango orchards. The Programme was started with a welcome address by Sri Manoranjan Prusty and ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Ankita Sahu. The programme was attended by 80 farmers and farm women.