Sesame Village

A joint initiative by MSSRF & Idhayam for

improving the quality and increasing the yield of
sesame in the farmers field

M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation

Chennai 600 113

November 2007
MSSRF/RR/07/14

Project Team
Ms N. Shanthasheela
Dr Vijay R. Subbiah
Dr Sudha Nair

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

3rd Cross Street, Taramani Institutional Area
Chennai 600113, INDIA
Tel: +91-44-2254 2698/2254 2699
Fax: +91-44-2254 1319
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mssrf.org
Design and printing: Amm Prints

Foreword
Location specific and need based agriculture extension services is a vital component for
the small and marginal farmers, especially with the shifting from a production based to a
market demand based system. It becomes imperative that the farmers are kept informed of
the changing scenario, which is dictated by consumer preference. The complex equations
that necessitate balancing the production cost to meet the competitive market, requires a
multi-stakeholder participatory approach in the knowledge transfer process, to enable the
farmers to take an informed decision.
The Sesame Village Project is one such initiative undertaken by M.S. Swaminathan
Research Foundation. The project approach was jointly developed and implemented by
MSSRF and M/s V.V. Vanniaperumal & Sons (Idhayam). The project was able to achieve its
objective of taking knowledge, i.e., creating awareness among the sesame farming community in following good agricultural practices for improving the quality and increasing
the yield productivity. The approach adopted by the project could be scaled up and are applicable to other crops.
Sudha Nair

Director
JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre

Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by M/s V.V. Vanniaperumal & Sons
(Idhayam), Virudhunagar for undertaking this initiative. We would also like to acknowledge the
individual support, guidance and encouragement provided by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman,
MSSRF, Dr M. Velayutham, former Executive Director, MSSRF, Mr V.R. Muthu, CEO, Idhayam Virudhunagar, Dr V. Muralidharan, Director, Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TNAU), Dr K. Rajeswaran,
Business Consultant, Idhayam, Dr B.S. Nagarajan, Consultant and Dr V.K. Ravichandran, Professor
and Head, Oilseed Research Station (TNAU).
We would also like to thank Prof. S.S. Duhoon, Project Coordinator, All India Coordinated Research
Project (Sesame & Niger), for including this initiative for conducting Front Line Demonstration
as part of the All India Coordinated Research Project for improving oil seed production and also
Dr Shashi Banga, Senior Breeder (Oilseeds), Punjab Agricultural University and Mr B. Murugasen,
Manager (Quality Control), Idhayam in carrying out oil analysis of the seeds.
We thank Mr G. Thangaraj Manager (Procurement), Idhayam and Mr V.S. Balaji Saravanan who
provided valuable support in identifying the project area and for mobilising the farmers for
participating in this project and Mr R. Muralidharan for his support in implementing the same.
We would like to acknowledge the support and technical guidance provided by the scientists from
Cotton Research Station, Srivilliputtur, Oilseed Research Station, Tindivanam, Regional Research
Station, Vriddhachalam, and the officials from the District Agriculture Department. We would also
like to thank the officials at Market Committees who provided insights into the functioning of
Market Committees. M/s T. Stanes & Company Limited and Coated Fabrics Business Division of
M/s SRF Limited for their interest and supply of materials for field demonstration.
We would like to thank the sesame cultivating farmers who wholeheartedly supported and
partnered in this initiative.
We would also like to acknowledge the contributions made at various stages of the project formulation and implementation by the following MSSRF staff, Dr P. Thamizoli, Dr A. Chandrasekaran,
Dr R Rengalakshmi, Dr M. Nageswaran, Dr M. Ganesh, Mr Vishwanath M. Palled and
Ms L. Gnanappazham. We would also like to acknowledge the secretarial support provided
in the preparations of the various project related materials by Ms S Geetha, Ms D. Rojarani and
Ms Santhilatha S. Kumar. We would also like to thank Ms. Shanthi Duraisamy for her inputs during
the preparation of this report.

Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Public Private Partnership: An End to End Approach ............................................................................... 2
Project Objective ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Selection of Project Sites ............................................................................................................................... 3
Constraint Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Interventions ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Way Forward ................................................................................................................................................. 15

Introduction
The Technology Mission on Oilseeds was launched during
1986 for increasing oilseed production with the objective
to create/manage conditions that would harness the
best of production, processing and storage technologies
to attain self-reliance in edible oils. Within a decade the
Mission was able to achieve substantial progress in oil seed
production and this transformation was termed as the
Yellow Revolution. The oilseed production in India is now
estimated to be 25.5 million tones. India is among the top
five countries of the world in oilseed production. Nine edible
oilseeds are cultivated in India and sesame ranks fifth in
production, following groundnut, rape seed, soya bean and
sunflower.
Of this the sesame seed production is estimated at about
0.8 million tones. The growing domestic demand for edible
oil, coupled with the emergence of sesame as a potential
export crop, provides good opportunity for farmers to
take up the cultivation of this crop and be assured of good
market value. However, the gap between the potential
achievable yield and the average yield of sesame is wide.
Therefore it requires a dedicated and an integrated effort to
find appropriate strategies that would be beneficial to all
the stakeholders.
In India, the major sesame producing states are Gujarat,
West Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh
and Orissa (Annexure 1). While in the state of Tamil Nadu,
the districts of Erode, Villupuram, Karur and Thanjavur
are the areas where sesame is cultivated in a large area
(Annexure 2).
The crop is mostly cultivated by small and marginal
farmers under rainfed conditions and therefore it becomes

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

a species of the family
Pedaliaceae, is found distributed
in Africa, India, South-east Asia
and Australia. It is a valued oil
crop and is mainly cultivated in
the tropics. China and India are
the worlds principal producers.
Sesame oil, otherwise also
referred to as gingelly oil, is one
of the major sources of edible
oil in India and is culturally
associated from the Vedic
period. The Sanskrit word for
oil, taila is derived from the
Sanskrit word for sesame tila.
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necessary to develop mechanisms for reaching out and demonstrating the improved technologies
under actual farm conditions. An integrated effort with support services would help the farmers
realise higher yields and returns for their efforts. With this premise the various approaches provided
here were charted out to achieve higher productivity with quality in a farmers field.

Public Private Partnership: An End to End Approach

During the last few years there have been renewed
interests in the agriculture sector, especially
focusing on the welfare of the farmers. Various
approaches have been suggested, all of which focus
on developing strong linkages with all stakeholders
in the agricultural services and with market
linkages. To achieve this backward forward
linkages, Public Private Partnership (PPP or P3)
by way of contract farming, are being deliberated
upon for reaching out to the farmers. Such an
approach provides market linkages, credit and
access to modern agricultural practices and has all
the elements of an end to end to approach.
For the purpose of implementing this project, the
approach adopted was similar to the practices
adopted in contract farming but differs as there
were no financial transactions involved between the
partners nor was there any buy-back arrangement.
The project limits itself to facilitate the transfer
and/or create awareness among the farming
community on the modern agricultural practices,
provide basic extension support services and build
linkages with other stakeholders and promote a
sesame farmers group.
This phase of the project was more in the nature of
explorative and confidence-building exercise among
the key partners/stakeholders. The experience
gained from this exercise would help in developing
future strategies for such similar initiatives in other
areas and crops.

Continuous interaction between

farmers, scientists and industry
helps in bringing about the desired
increase in agricultural production.
Their involvement in the project
implementation process at all levels of
operation brings about a transparency
in operations and is an effective means
of achieving the objectives of the
project in a holistic manner. Such an
approach also helps in ensuring the
continuity of the gains made in the
project, reaches the targeted group and
an element of sustainability is built
into the implementation process.

Sesame Village

Project Objective
The objective of the three-year collaborative project was explorative in nature with the aim of
demonstrating viable models for reaching out to the farmers for enhancing productivity in sesame
cultivation. This was done by
1. Facilitating knowledge transfer and enhancing the skill of the farmers through training
and capacity building on modern agricultural practices.
2. Providing need-based agricultural extension support services by facilitating linkages with
other stakeholders.

Selection of Project Sites

The project was implemented between December 2004 and May 2007. It was envisaged that the
activities would be carried out in areas that have strong functional regulated markets, where the
farmers would be able to get the best returns for their yield through competitive bidding/auction.
Erode District ranks first in the total area under sesame cultivation and productivity in Tamil Nadu.
Therefore it was decided that the project activities would be initiated in Erode and the adjoining
districts of Namakkal and Salem. It was also proposed that the area of operation could spread to
other sesame growing regions in Tamil Nadu (Figure 1). Thirukoviloor in Villupuram District was
identified as one of the potential area for expanding the project activities and for this purpose
preliminary awareness programmes on good agricultural practices in sesame cultivation was
conducted. Tindivanam was selected for conducting Front Line Demonstration (FLD) under the All
India Coordinated Research Project in Sesame and Niger (ICAR) as a special case with technical
support from Oilseeds Research Station (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Tindivanam.
In Erode District, sesame is cultivated in the second season (December to March) as a residual crop in
paddy fields or as a second crop in groundnut/maize/sunflower-based cropping system in the garden
land areas. In Namakkal and Salem Districts it is largely cultivated under rainfed system during
October - November followed by irrigated conditions. In Villupuram District it is being cultivated as
a rainfed crop during the season from October to March.

Constraint Analysis
The project activities were initiated after undertaking two studies on the socio-economic status
of sesame-cultivating farmers and a survey to gauge the awareness levels regarding modern
agronomic practices and the various constraints faced by the farmers.
The first study was conducted through a survey of 69 farmers from Thiruchengode, Namakkal
District and 20 farmers from Avalpundurai, Erode District. The second study was a survey based on
the responses of 143 respondents who had participated in the Farmers Meet held at Mailampady.
The data were analysed and the following points emerged:
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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Figure 1 Areas of project operation

Profile of Sesame Farmers: Nearly 55.2 per cent of the respondents were small farmers with an
average household size of 4 to 5, 53 per cent of respondents were not a member of any association or
groups, 55 per cent of respondents had access to irrigation facilities, 55.2 per cent of the respondents
are regularly cultivating sesame in less then 2 acres. 77.5 per cent of the farmers use their own
seeds. Nearly 56.2 per cent of the farmers are getting the productivity of 240 320 kg/acre and
remaining 38.2 per cent of the farmers average productivity was between 321 to 480 kg/acre.
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Sesame Village

Constraints: The farmers indicated that both inadequate knowledge in the application and practice
of recommended agronomic practices and access to credit were the constraints found by them.
Specific constraints identified were

Availability of quality seed materials for sowing

Low yield

Pest and diseases

Labour availability

Lack of awareness of suitable management practices to ensure good yield

High yield variation within the field

Vagaries of nature

Lack of good returns from sale

The knowledge gaps indicated were in the areas of seed treatment, use of seed drill, thinning,
pest control measures, organic farming practices and application of micronutrients and growth
regulators.

Project Interventions
Having identified the constraints, the project implementation followed a participatory, multistakeholder approach in which location-specific constraints were taken for intervention. The
stakeholders at each location involved the farmers, officials from the agricultural department,
agents from market and agro-services. It was done through understanding the constraints faced by
the sesame cultivating farmers, identifying suitable location-specific techniques and management
practices that would enable the farmers to improve the yield and quality. It was carried out based
on interactive discussion with the concerned farmer combined with field visits and providing needbased agro advisories. Need-based training and capacity-building programmes were organised to
Interaction between farmers,
scientists and stakeholders during
the cultivation season in the
field helps in finding agronomic
solutions to the problems that the
farmers face and also provides
a conducive environment and
an encouragement for taking
appropriate steps for improving
the yield and ensuring goodquality production.
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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

create awareness and impart skill on improved agricultural practices through learning by doing.
The project also facilitated the visits of scientists and agriculture extension workers to the field
during the cultivation season which enabled the farmers to discuss with the experts specific issues
affecting the crop production.
A handbook on sesame cultivation in local language was prepared and shared with all the
participating farmers as a resource material. It focused on field constraints faced by them in the
selected regions and attempted to provide an integrated practice. It describes the detailed improved
cultivation practices for both irrigated and rainfed systems. The next few paragraphs detail the
implementation process and the results obtained. The concluding paragraph highlights the key
learning for the way forward.
Farmer Scientist Interactions

Interactive meetings between farmers and scientists were organised four times during the course
of the last three years of the project for creating awareness on modern agricultural practices
for improving the yield. The first of such meet was organised at Mailampady, Erode District, on
4 November 2004. The second meet was organised at Vriddhachalam, on 26 February 2005 with a
view of expanding the project activities in this region. However, during the course of the project
activities it was felt that the project activities should focus in the existing Namakkal Salem Erode
project areas till the necessary level of saturation is reached since that would help in achieving a
meaningful impact for facilitating autoreplication of scientific sesame cultivation in other areas.
Subsequently the third and the fourth Farmers Meet were organised in Erode on 15 May 2005 and
Avalpundurai on 22 April 2007 respectively. Each of these meetings was attended by stakeholders
and around 300 350 farmers. Exhibits were also organised by Idhayam to create awareness among
the farmers on the need for ensuring proper post-harvest operations, for improving the quality of
sesame seeds, which in turn would improve the value of their products at the market.
Participatory on-farm trials in the farmers fields

Need-based advisories on the improved method of cultivation was carried out in all the selected
villages (Table 1). During the project period nearly 187 farmers participated and followed
recommended practices covering a total area of 719.5 acres. These practices were carried out both
under irrigated (7) as well as rainfed systems (2). The project also facilitated the visits of scientists and
agriculture extension workers to the field during the cultivation season which enabled the farmers
to discuss specific issues affecting the crops with the experts. In addition to providing need-based
advisories and knowledge about the technique, the project had also undertaken programmes for
creating awareness on improved agricultural sesame cultivation technologies at four locations.
The techniques which were part of the package of practices were emphasised. However, it was left to
the farmers to adopt and practice them depending on the individual farmers resource availability
and preference as to inputs (fertilizers and pesticides). Table 2 gives a comparison between the
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Sesame Village
Table 1 Project locations

District

Field trials

Erode

Avalpoonthurai (Shanmuganathapuram & Velliampalayam villages)

Muthur (Moothampalayam)

Namakkal

Manikampalayam
Tiruchengode (Atthikadu, Chithalanthur, Chithampundi, Cholasiramani,
Jameenellampalli, Pulliampatty, Sirupulampalayam, Solasiramani, Thottipalayam &
Uppupalayam villages)

Salem

Poolampetti (Morasapatty, Oonamparai, Pillukurichi, Sullimanur, Vellagoundanurpetty,

Veppamarathupatty & Veppampatty villages)

Villupuram

Tindivanam (Keelamavalangai, Kodium, Kodiumputur & Vitilapuram villages)

Table 2 Comparison between existing and recommended practices

Existing Practice

Benefits

Importance of preparing the land

to get fine tilth. It needs 2 to 3
ploughing

Normally ploughing is restricted

to one or two times, which
does not break the soil into fine
particles

Fine soil particles ease the process

of seedling emergence

Recommending soil testing and

application of basal fertilizers,
farm yard manure (FYM),
Azospirillum, Phosphobacteria
and application of micronutrients
such as Zinc sulphate and
Manganese sulphate based on the
deficiencies observed

Soil testing is not done. Normally

farmers do not apply fertilizer
as it is raised as a residual crop.
If fertilizer is applied than it is
usually DAP at one bag per acre

Basal dose of FYM, fertilizers,

Zinc sulphate, Manganese
sulphate help in getting higher
productivity

Treating the seeds with

Trichoderma and Azospirillum

Seeds as such procured are used

for sowing, mostly the seeds
are not treated. However, seeds
procured from Agriculture
Department are pre-treated with
Carbendazin/Thiram

Mixing 2 kg of seeds with 4 kg of

fine sand for seed broadcasting or
line sowing method with the help
of a seed drill

Farmers use higher quantity of

seeds; sometimes they use double
the recommended quantity
as they are not sure about the
germination percentage

Seed treatment helps in

preventing seed-borne fungal
diseases and helps in providing
essential nutrients. Seeds coated
with Azospirillum along with soil
application also helps in reducing
basal fertilizer cost by 25 %
Ensuring good quality seeds and
checking the germination rate
can help in reducing the seed
quantity used by the farmer. It is
recommended that certified seeds
be used for sowing

Recommendation

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Recommendation
Cultivation of green gram and
black gram along the outer
periphery as a pest control
method

Existing Practice

Benefits

No border crop

The pulse crops helps as a buffer

in controlling pests

Importance of providing irrigation Farmers provide irrigation 3 times Irrigation helps in proper crop
at the right stages of the plant
after sowing, 15 DAS and 40 DAS development
growth such as during the early
stage of vegetative growth,
flowering and pod-setting stage.
Recommended practice is that
irrigation be provided during 25,
35, 55 and 60 days after sowing
(DAS)
Carrying out weeding and
thinning operations to maintain
the desired population.
Recommended practice is that
weeding should be carried out
twice during 15 DAS and 30 DAS

Farmers carry out weeding

operation only once at 20 days
after sowing (DAS). Thinning is
normally not practiced

Weeding helps in control of weeds

and simultaneous thinning
ensures that the plants get all
the required inputs in sufficient
quantity including sunlight

Application of fertilizers as top

This is not practised by farmers
dressing and growth regulators.
Urea is recommended for
application as top dressing during
35 DAS as this provides sufficient
nitrogen which helps in the
vegetative growth of the plant

Fertilizers provide essential

nutrients for proper growth of
the crop. Growth regulators, such
as Green Miracle or Planofix
helps in enhancing productivity
by preventing flower drop and
increasing the pod setting

Proper identification of pests and

diseases and taking the correct
control measure and removing
diseased and affected plants and
identifying the correct stage for
harvest of crops and post-harvest
protection from pests

Disease and pest control at early

stages help in preventing higher
loss

Farmers normally approach local

agro-service agents for help. No
preventive measure is followed

Harvesting at the proper time and The correct stage of harvesting

the crop is normally guessed by
post-harvest practices
the farmer and recommended
post-harvest operations are not
adhered to

The correct stage of harvesting

is very important as it ensures
uniform maturing of all the seeds.
This stage is identified to be at the
time when the stem and leaves
are yellow in colour and when the
pods in the centre of the plants are
brown in colour

Sesame Village

existing practice and those that were recommended. The farmers were free to follow and adopt
the package as per their requirements. It may be noted that most of the farmers did follow the
recommended practices.
Yield increase was observed in 96 per cent of the trials under irrigated conditions and 67 per cent
under rainfed conditions. The average increase observed was about 88 kg/acre under irrigated and
50 kg/acre under rainfed conditions. The highest recorded yield in SVRP-1 variety under irrigated
condition was 750 kg/acre at Thiruchengode and under rainfed condition it was 563 kg/acre at
Poolampetti. The figures are higher than the expected yield potential of the crop and the average
Figure 2 Graph showing the shift in yield increase under rainfed and irrigated conditions

yield recorded for respective districts. Of the 261 farmers who followed improved practices, 209
(80%) farmers were able to get better yields compared to their earlier practices (Figure 2 and
Table 3).
Both the graphs (under irrigated and rainfed conditions) indicate that when compared to the
previous season, the number of farmers who are harvesting higher productivity is more during the
current season.
Front Line Demonstration

Front Line Demonstration (FLD) was conducted as on-farm trials in the farmers field to show
the productive potential and benefit of following recommended agronomic practices in sesame
cultivation. This was conducted as part of the All India Coordinated Research Project (Sesame &
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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Table 3 Consolidated data of field activities season and location wise

Project site &

Cultivation Number of
Area
Average
Best
Number of
period
condition farmers who
covered
yield
yield
farmers

followed
(acres) (kg/acre) observed who got

recommended
(kg/acre) better yield

practice
when

(new + old
compared

trainees)
to last

season
Thiruchengode
Irrigated
17 + 0
71
397
563
16 (94 %)
December 2004 to
(total 17)
February 2005
Avalpoonthurai
Irrigated
April to July 2005

20 + 0
79
375
488
17 (85 %)
(total 20)

Poolampetti
Irrigated
June to August 2005

17 + 0
61
357
525
16 (94 %)
(total 17)

Poolampetti
Rainfed
38 + 0
91
345
488
September to
(total 38)
November 2005

24 (63 %)

Thiruchengode
Irrigated
37 + 17
January to
(total 54)
March 2006

172.5

399

750

41 (76 %)

Poolampetti
Irrigated
April to June 2006

12 + 17
(total 29)

93

370

600

25 (86 %)

Tindivanam
Irrigated
November 2006 to
March 2007

20 + 0
(total 20)

20

408

500

20 (100 %)*

Poolampetti
Irrigated
February to
May 2007

20 + 0
(total 20)

32

548

600

18 (90 %)

Poolampetti
Rainfed
June to
August 2006

8 + 38
(total 46)

100

375

563

32 (70 %)

* Current season comparison as per ICAR guidelines for conduct of FLD

Niger) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in four villages near Tindivanam, with
technical guidance from Oilseeds Research Station (ORS), Tindivanam. Twenty farmers had
participated in this on-farm trial during November 2006 - March 2007 from four villages, viz. Kodium,
Kodiumputhur, Keelmavalangai and Vitilapuram in the Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. Five
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Sesame Village

farmers from each village were selected

based on their interest. All of them are
small and marginal farmers having
facility for irrigation.
The soil at the site was red sandy soil and
sugarcane, groundnut and green gram
are the major crops cultivated.
Whole package of practices was adopted
for the purpose of demonstration, which
was compared with the farmers practice
(Table 4). The trials were conducted using
A farmer centric approach and working within the
TMV3 seeds procured from ORS and
normal resource limits available with the average
cultivated under irrigated conditions.
farmer of the region, helps the project to look for
Inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers, growth
alternative solutions that are sustainable and site
regulators and pesticides were provided
specific.
to farmers for use in FLD plots. The
demonstrations were successful in
creating the desired interest among the farmers for adopting recommended agronomic practices.
Due to the improved practices the productivity of the crops increased from 50-150 kg/acre to 250-500
kg/acre which helped to enhance the Cost-Benifit Ratio from 1: 1.16 to 1: 1.87. Apart from increase in
the productivity which was mainly due to increase in the number of productive capsules per plant,
the quality of the sesame got improved. The quality indicators such as size of the grain, weight of the
grain (test weight), colour of the grain as well as oil content (squeeze method) were commonly used
by the traders for assessment, which was high to very high under improved management practices.
The improved management practices are quality seeds, maintaining optimum spacing, providing
balanced nutrients with growth regulators application and timely pest control measures.
Cost of Production

The project also looked into the production cost under recommended practices and conventional
practices. The general trend observed suggests that (1) farmers do not apply inputs as per the
recommended practice based on their perception of risk in market returns (2) management practices
are minimum with a predisposition towards cost-cutting practices. Figure 3 gives a proportion
and break-up of expenditure as reflected in a case study carried out at Thiruchengode for sesame
cultivated under irrigated condition during January March 2006.
It may be noted that good management practices (optimum plant population and density, and
harvesting) and supply of inputs (balanced nutrient application, pest control ) at correct time does
benefit the farmer in improving the yield output, which compensates for the expenditure incurred
by the farmer while following recommended practices.
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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Table 4 Difference between the normal farmers practice and those adopted under front line
demonstration (average of 20 farmers)
Field operations

Farmers practice

Front line demonstration

Ploughing

1 2 times

3 4 times

Seed rate (kg/acre)

2 2.5

1.5 2

Seed treatment

No

Yes

Sowing method

Broadcasting

Line sowing and broadcasting

Row spacing between plants

Not uniform; varies from 10 30 cm Uniform at 30 cm

Irrigation

Not following recommended

practices

Followed as per recommended

practices

Fertilizers/Micronutrients/
growth regulators

No

Yes

Weeding
Hand weeding done once

Herbicides used and hand

weeding carried out twice

Thinning

Nil to 2 times

2 times

Pest and disease control

measures (application)

Nil to 2 times

3 times

Yield kg/acre

50 150

250 500

Expenditure (average) in Rs/acre

946

4,093

Gross Profit (average) in Rs/acre

2,040

11,727

Net Profit (average) Rs/acre

1,094

7,634

Cost Benefit Ratio (average)

1 : 1.16

1 : 1.87

Seeds sold in the market at Rs/kg 20

29

Figure 3 Generalised break-up of input cost under irrigated condition

as per conventional and recommended practices

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Sesame Village

The point of sale of farm produce observed in this study among the trainee farmers during the
same period showed that 76 per cent of them had sold the produce in the regulated market and the
remaining farmers preferred to sell their produce to local agents. The possible contributing factors
for this decision may be based on the quantity and quality of the produce available with the farmer
for sale.
Ensuring Quality Seeds

The project initially was envisaged as a means of creating awareness among the farming community
on modern agronomic practices, but during the process of implementation it was felt necessary to
take up the role of facilitating linkages for ensuring the availability of quality seeds to the farmers
as part of its overall programme. Using quality seeds is an indispensable input in increasing yield
output.
Studies on the yield performance of the seeds distributed after multiplication and from those
procured from other sources (Figure 4) do support the need for making available good quality seeds
to the farmers.
For the purpose of facilitating the availability of quality sesame seeds locally, the project had
procured SVPR-1 breeder seeds from Cotton Research Station, Srivilliputtur and took up the task
of seed multiplication, involving the farmers (producer), an agro-service agent (for marketing)
and the State Agriculture Department (for certification). This exercise was carried out thrice at
Poolampetti project area and once at Tiruchengode project area. During February May 2007, 15
farmers had participated covering an area of 25 acres and the average seed yield was 467 kg/acre
and the average Cost Benefit Ratio has been 1 : 1.98.
Some of the issues identified as bottleneck in seed production for ensuring continuous availability
of quality sesame seeds to the farmers are:

Procurement of quality seeds for seed multiplication

Certification process

Purchasing, stocking and distribution of seeds

Uncertainty in gauging the demand from the farmers

Risk of litigation

The seed multiplication programme under the project is in the formative stage of implementation.
However, an informal network of production and distribution of quality seeds have been established,
which could be scaled up as per demand.
Farmers Feedback

The cooperation and support of the farmers have been overwhelming and there have been requests
for extending the project activities in other villages.
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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Mr M. Palanivelu from Thottipalayam, Figure 4 Comparison of yield performance as a percentage

who has been cultivating sesame for of variation between actual and yield potential of SVRP-1
seeds procured from various sources
the last 10 years said that the project
has helped him in becoming aware
of the importance of treating the
seeds and using fertilizers, growth
regulators and pesticides in a timely
manner, which he has adopted in
his practice.
Mr
R.
Muralidharan
from
Poolampetti village says that before
the project intervention he had
never carried out seed treatment nor
used plant growth regulators which
he has now adopted. He says that
he benefited immensely through
the interaction of the scientist from
TNAU and from the quality SVPR-1
seeds made available through the
project.
Only groundnut was popularly
cultivated in his area says Mr S.
Dhavaselvam from Kodiyam village
near Tindivanam and when sesame
was cultivated no inputs were
given to the plants. But, he says,
after the demonstration he has
now understood the importance of
providing inputs to the plants for
getting better yields in sesame.
These farmers mentioned earlier have also pointed out the problems still faced by them in sesame
cultivation and have asked for solutions for the same. The common problems cited were nonavailability of labourers during sowing and harvesting, control of root rot, powdery mildew, leaf
spot, capsule and pod borer, high cost of pesticide, lack of irrigation and lack of access to credit
facilities and absence of quality seeds for sowing.

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Sesame Village

Key Learnings

Based on the initial survey on constraints faced by the farmers the project has been able to address
the issues related to

Availability of quality seed materials for sowing

Low yield

Pest and diseases

Lack of awareness of suitable management practices to ensure good yield

High yield variation within the field

The following issues were beyond the scope of the project:

Labour availability

Vagaries of nature

Lack of good returns from sale

Based on the experience gained from the project, the following points have been highlighted as key
learnings:

The adoption of recommended package of agronomic practices helped to achieve the

potential yield of the crop as well as quality. The project was also able to show that the
benefit-cost ratio improves when recommended practices are followed

Quality seeds play an important role in enhancing the productivity

Complete package of practices need to be developed, especially in Integrated Pest

Management (IPM)

The cooperation of the farmers, the support received from the agriculture scientists,
agriculture extension officials and private individuals were the contributing factors that
ensured a smooth approach to problem solving at the field which in turn ensured good
yields due to appropriate and timely interventions. This facilitated in demonstrating
visible yield improvement over the practices followed by the farmers

Extension support for the farmers help in facilitating technology and knowledge transfer

Way Forward
This phase of the project looked solely at the production and related aspects as market linkages at
the project site were not a constraint. The approach adopted by the project was to involve farmers
who would be able to help spread the practices and technique locally among other farmers, i.e.,
horizontal transfer of knowledge. However, it is felt there is a need for continuing this effort for
providing an extension service support to the farmers until a threshold level for autoreplication
could be achieved. It is also envisaged that the nature of the extension needs to be institutionalised
15

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

either as a farmers society, or as a cooperative or as an association or alternatively an institution

could be established with external support, i.e., from a private sector.
Technical support and constant interaction with the farmers help in building
their confidence and clarifying their doubts. However, other external factors,
such as vagaries of nature and availability of labourers, credit, inputs locally
and market fluctuations are the major constraints faced by the farmers. Farm
mechanisation would reduce the burden; however, mobilising the capital
investment for the same would be difficult for the farmers.

16

In is envisaged that a local resource centre would be able to facilitate the farmers in
getting the technical, financial and marketing support.

Reduced yield variability within the farmers fields and across the region needs to be
addressed to get uniform growth and better productivity

Since labour is a major constraint it is essential to devise gender sensitive labour-saving

devices and farm machineries

To achieve backward forward linkages, Public Private Partnership (PPP or P3)

could be strengthened by involving all the stakeholders to ensure and facilitate market
linkages, credit facilities and access to modern agricultural practices to the farmers.

Sesame Village

Annexure 1
Statewise sesame area, production and yield (2005 2006)
States/UTs

Area (000 ha)

Production (000 tonnes)

Yield (kg/ha)

116.0

29.0

250

1.1

0.7

636

Assam

13.9

7.7

554

Bihar

3.6

2.9

806

24.3

7.2

296

364.0

143.0

393

Haryana

4.4

1.5

341

Himachal Pradesh

3.8

1.5

395

Jammu & Kashmir

2.6

1.2

462

Jharkhand

9.1

2.9

319

Karnataka

103.0

87.0

845

0.6

0.2

333

Madhya Pradesh

150.1

58.1

387

Maharashtra

107.0

29.0

271

Manipur

0.1

0.6

600

Meghalaya

1.6

0.9

563

Mizoram

2.2

1.7

773

Nagaland

5.5

3.8

691

54.7

13.0

238

0.2

0.1

500

11.3

3.8

336

Rajasthan

422.1

62.8

149

Tamil Nadu

65.1

30.6

470

1.8

0.8

444

107.1

27.0

252

Uttaranchal

2.0

1.0

500

West Bengal

146.0

123.1

843

1723.2

641.1

372

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh

Chhattisgarh
Gujarat

Kerala

Orissa
Pondicherry
Punjab

Tripura
Uttar Pradesh

India
Source: IndiaStat.com

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M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Annexure 2
Districtwise data on area under sesame cultivation and average yield rate
District

Chennai

Area cultivated (ha)

Irrigated

Average yield rate (kg/ha)

Un-irrigated Total

Irrigated

Un-irrigated Total

Coimbatore

340

1138

1478

665

429

484

Cuddalore

305

2325

2630

277

364

354

26

141

167

665

246

311

Dharmapuri
Dindigul

148

1311

1459

665

307

343

Erode

11301

2049

13350

803

677

784

Kancheepuram

2,078

126

2204

477

461

476

769

5889

6658

569

233

271

Krishnagiri

24

235

259

665

84

138

Madurai

22

1245

1267

665

299

305

132

137

665

465

472

Namakkal

403

135

538

665

371

592

Perambalur

289

2341

2630

665

320

358

Pudukottai

108

541

649

665

371

420

24

1614

1638

665

169

177

Kanyakumari
Karur

Nagapattinam

Ramanathapuram
Salem

620

1553

2173

944

611

706

Sivagangai

112

114

665

371

377

Thanjavur

621

5378

5999

677

425

451

43

556

599

665

496

509

1087

524

1611

353

597

432

The Nilgiris
Theni
Thiruvallur

Thiruvannamalai

771

269

1040

523

371

483

Thiruvarur

197

2117

2314

506

378

389

Thoothukudi

77

3250

3327

665

293

302

Tiruchirapalli

353

72

425

665

371

616

86

2026

2112

665

290

305

352

442

794

319

371

348

1584

5256

6840

318

517

471

43

2663

2706

665

307

313

21678

43440

65118

665

371

469

Tirunelveli
Vellore
Villupuram
Virudhunagar
State

Source: Season and Crops Report of Tamil Nadu, 2004 - 2005

18