India: A push for protected cropping in extreme climate in Arunachal Pradesh

The College of Horticulture and Forestry (CHF) in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, organized a day-long training on organic production of high-value vegetables in the state. The training focused on setting up low-cost structures for protected cultivation, such as plastic low tunnels, walk-in tunnels, shade net houses, insect-proof net houses, etc. Crop losses in monsoon Farmers in Arunachal Pradesh face major losses in the monsoon season. A general trend of excessive rainfall during May to August leads to crop losses. This results in local farmers not being able to meet local demand. Instead, food has to be imported from other states, and customers lose out, too, since the prices are much higher. The training by CHF focused on switching to production of high-value vegetables, which will be much more remunerative for farmers in the state. In order to protect crops from rainfall, they emphasized on 'protected ...