Akole Block

      The Maharashtra state is divided into nine broad agro-climatic zones. Ahmednagar district Comes under the Deccan Plateaus, Hot semi-arid Eco- Region (6.1), Western Plateau and Hills Region (IX), Western Maharashtra Scarcity Zone (MH-6) with an average annual rainfall of 561 mm, The Ahmednagar district has a total geographical area 1702 ha out of which total cultivable area is 1146 ha having shallow Red/ Grey soils, deep black soils and medium-deep black soils. Akole block of Ahmednagar district comes under Transition zone II. The rainfall in transition zone II ranges from 700 to 1200 mm. Principal crops are grown in Kharif and Rabi seasons are paddy, finger millet, groundnut, wheat and gram. The soils of the Akole block are classified as shallow (up to 30 cm), medium (30-60 cm), and deep soils (60-90 cm). However, the cluster of seven villages adopted by CAAST-CSAWM falls under light to medium type of soil. Akole block falls under the rainfed region of Maharashtra and, as a general rule, early sowing of monsoon crops is the best practice that gives higher reliable yields. However, crop yields are affected by delays in monsoon or long breaks during the growing season and also by early withdrawal or continuation of monsoon for longer periods. These aberrant situations often lead to poor crop yields or total crop failures in major crops. Scientists from CAAST-CSAWM, MPKV, Rahuri visited Akole block of Ahmednagar district along with officials from NABARD and BAIF, studied and discussed major problems in agriculture, cultivation practices, livestock management and weather abnormalities. Farmers from Akole Block farmers were following conventional food grain production practices that resulted in less productivity and income. As such, the need for a micro-level crop contingent plan to guide farmers to cope up with variable weather, soils and crop situations has been realized. After several visits and surveys, the MPKV scientists, identified a cluster of seven villages in Akole Block viz., Manhere, Ambevangan, Ladgaon, Titavi, Kodani, Pimparkane and Dongarwadi for study. This cluster is dominated by tribal communities with minimum availability of resources for agricultural enterprises. In view of the need for a village-level crop contingent plan and implementation of climate smart technologies to double farmers' income, CAAST-CSAWM, MPKV, Rahuri decided to develop a contingency crop plan for seven villages in the Akole block. Figure 1 shows the location map of selected villages from Akole block of Ahmednagar District (Maharashtra) and the other village details, including the soil, agro-climatic parameter and baseline information, are provided in the plan.