A Case Study on Homestead Vegetables Cultivation in Prem Nagar Village, Bhiwani, Haryana

In present conditions, when economy is declining and people are not sure, what is being exactly used to grow the vegetables and fruits they are consuming, there is increased interest in organic and sustainable living, leading people towards homestead gardening in their homes to supplement their family's diet. Recent COVID-19 outbreak has once again showed the necessity and urgency of being self-sufficient for food is the need of the hour. Such type of food grown in backyards don’t need any fuel for maintenance or shipping and is organic. To find the status of such “vegetable gardens” in rural Haryana, a field survey was conducted at Prem Nagar village under Bhiwani district during December, 2018. Vegetable production and its impact on family nutrition, income generation and involvement of family members to this activitywas studied from a sample of 200 random households through questionnaire and focus group discussion. The results that age group of 41-55 years took maximum interest in this activity. 73.5% of the total respondents were educated, 38.5% of the respondents were dependent on the occupation of agriculture.  37.5% householdshave small sized of kitchen gardens in their homes. Women (33.5%)contributed maximum towards this activity. Maximum households were having only one tier of vegetation. 36 percent responders were having fruits once a week while 56 percent responders were having vegetables once a week, when approximately 80 percent were able to grow vegetables easily.