While promoting Diversification and Intensification in Agriculture adopting a Farming System Approach (FSA) for livelihood promotion, many innovations have been tried in the project. Some of them are :

Identifying the needs and issues of the farming communities through participatory processes like Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Rapid Institutional Analysis (RIA) for preparation of Strategic Research and Extension Plans and Action Plans.

For implementation of these Action Plans through participation of Farming Communities, NGOs are being involved. The NGOs motivate and mobilize farmers for participation in the project activities. This is achieved through organizing them into Farmers Self Help Groups (FSHGs) and Farmer Interest Groups (FIGS) based on their common interest. These groups are involved in activities related to input supply, marketing arid other backward and forward linkages with the objective of creating self?reliant mechanisms. T he project does not involve any subsidy, most of the activities of production are being carried out through Credit Facilitation from Banks.

Apart from identification of technological gaps, the farming community is also involved in Technology Dissemination. The capacity building of FSHGs has been attempted through training for Technical knowledge, enterprise management and group dynamics; facilitating forward-backward linkages; organizing for self reliance and credit facilitation.

Postcards with the address of the Project Coordination Unit stamped is distributed to trainee farmers at the end of the training programmes. The postcards are used by farmers to give feedback from field on utility of programmes, issues faced by them etc., As a result of this innovative strategy, spraying of chemical pesticide was avoided in sugarcane for Pyrilla attack and in rice for Brown Paddy Hopper. The farmers trained under the project for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) gave the field details of incidence of pest and the number and status of pest predator in the post cards provided to them. Because of availability of this information timely and regularly from farmers, decision to avoid chemical spraying could be taken.

With the objective of providing better services to farmers and wean them away from free lunch culture, an alternate line of private services are being promoted. The farming community is being encouraged to pay for good, quality, timely and doorstep services.

The services for animal health and needs of orchard and vegetable growers are being catered through paravets and parahorts. Similarly for soil testing private entrepreneurs are being promoted. The concept of "Farm Polyclinic" is also proposed to be taken up.

As a part of the project, an action research is being attempted in 1 block. Under this concept all the extension services in the block will be taken up by the designated NGO. The extension staff of the line departments and other agencies would be removed. The experiment is being carried out in Phulpur block of Allahabad district. The NGO involved is BAIF

The linkages have been facilitated for good seeds, fertilizers and marketing of seeds, fruits, vegetables and flowers, Some of our collaborators are Nagarjuna fertilizers, Salora, Floritech, Excel, NDDB etc.

The farmer Self Help Groups and entrepreneurs have been facilitated to take up input supply activities like Seed Production, Private Nursery Raising and marketing linkages etc.

As a part of privatization of services, the private veterinary Doctors are being promoted after suitable awareness creation about project activities in the project area. Credit is also being facilitated for setting up of clinics.

With the objective of promoting sustainable livelihood for farming communities, special care is taken to promote activities based on Farming System approach. For example, in those groups where paddy demonstration, seed production is taken up, Mushroom Cultivation is also promoted apart from Dairy activities. Similarly in pulse production groups, Goatery is promoted. Similarly at village level, enterprise identification especially for resource poor and women groups is always related to local production. For example selling and packing of peas by women groups where men's group take up Pea Production.
The integrated and, farming system approach also facilitates integration of the disadvantaged groups like women into mainstream development.

In every project district one village has been designated as Bio-village except Lucknow where each project block has one Bio-village. In these villages activities like Biodynamic fertilization, compost, vermi-culture, cow pat pit, green manuring, Bio-control agents, IPM, IPNM, ICM etc. are being promoted with the objective of conserving Soil-Plant Environmental health. As of now 22 such Bio-villages have. been promoted.

With a view, to attain self-sufficiency in good quality planting material, seed village concept has been promoted.

For facilitation of convergence of all services related to agriculture and allied sector, better outputs of research and extension, the ATMA is being set up in 2 districts i.e. Saharanpur and Jhansi.

The greatest paradox with the agriculture sector is that despite of its being highly appreciative in terms of returns against investment, it could not attract private investors in the proportion of its potential. One of its reason might be the investors apprehension about agriculture of largely being driven either by uncertain weather conditions or dominated by the government polices. Market based economy has therefore found very little interest in it. Nevertheless, the above scenario is changing and has changed to a considerable extent. A number of commodities have been deregularised, procedures for issuing licenses etc., simplified and economy is continuously showing signs of improvement since over a decade. In UPDASP, a Project Development Facility (PDF) is being established with the sole objective of assisting the entrepreneurs. This PDF would help the industrialists to identify suitable projects in agriculture sector, prepare bankable project profiles and it would facilitate finances for them from lending institutions.