Leh, Sep 21 (IANS): For Tsetan Punchok, a 50-something farmer from the distant village of Partapur in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, life was difficult in the 3,000-metre highlands where summer lasts barely four months and for long, he could only grow potatoes and turnips.

His life, however, changed in the last few years when he came in touch with scientists of the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR).

DIHAR, a laboratory of premier Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) based in Leh has been researching on techniques of growing fruits and vegetables in the cold desert of Ladakh, and is helping hundreds of farmers here to earn better living and higher production.

While greenhouses for maintaining temperature are expensive and not affordable for all farmers, the Leh-based laboratory has developed simple techniques like trench farming and use of polythene sheets that help farmers grow a variety of vegetables like cabbages, onions, spinach, gourd and even watermelons in a highland which did not know any of these vegetables a decade back.

"Earlier we could grow only potatoes and other root crops in the summer months and the winters were very difficult. However, now I grow many vegetables like cucumbers, capsicums, cabbages and others," Punchok told this visiting IANS correspondent.

"My income is higher than it was ever before," said the farmer.

According to DIHAR Director R.B. Srivastava, there are at least 28 types of vegetables that are now commonly grown locally, compared to less than 10 varieties of root vegetables grown earlier.

The scientists have also established a record by growing nearly 101 varieties of vegetables in a greenhouse, at an altitude of above 3,500 metres.

Punchok is not the only one to gain.

Palmotsring, a young woman in her early 30s, has taken up to poultry farming with DIHAR's help.

She now earns Rs. 2,000 ($32) to Rs.3,000 every day.

Also a farmer, she earns another Rs.1,000 per day selling vegetables from her farm.

"We got training from DIHAR scientists on how to breed chickens. They also provide us one-day old chicks and the feed," Palmotsring told IANS.

Ladakh's rarified atmosphere makes it difficult for eggs to hatch here. Hence one-day old chickens are flown from Chandigarh, and then bred here.

The higher income, said Palmotsring, has given her a better life and she can now send her two children to school.

Similar is the story of Sonam Dorjee, a 35-year-old farmer who got cows from DIHAR that produce more milk.

"I got my cows cross-bred with the superior cattle developed by DIHAR. My cows are now more resilient to diseases and weather, and give 35-40 litres of milk daily," Dorjee told IANS.

"My income has doubled and I can also send my children to school. I an now looking for help to increase my livestock," he said.

These are just few of nearly 20,000 farmers in Ladakh whose lives are now better with the help of DIHAR's innovative techniques.

While on one hand it helps augmenting supplies for thef Indian Army units in the Ladakh region as well as Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield where the guns have now been silent for more than a decade. it has also helped in establishing a good relationship between the military and the locals.

Ladakh, which shares its border with China, is a strategically important area for India and has a huge army presence.

For many years, supplies from Chandigarh were flown-in by the Indian Air Force - an only option available due to uncertain weather affecting daily deliveries.

However, now local farmers now provide 50 percent of the fresh food requirements of the soldiers deployed here.

"The army procures most of the production, the rest is for local use," said the DIHAR director.

High velocity winds in several parts of Ladakh prove a menace for the crops. Simple techniques like tench farming, in which a trench is used to grow crops, help maintain the temperature and also stop winds from damaging the crop.

"Simple techniques like trench farming have helped the farmers a lot as it is not expensive. Using polythene sheets is also a simple and cheap technique, where these sheets help maintain moisture and temperature in the soil. We also provide sheets to the farmers," Srivastava told IANS.

The DIHAR scientists are now looking ahead to help locals in the adjacent Kargil area.

"We have trained some 35-40 farmers from Kargil area for poultry farming. They will be supplied one-day-old chicks, and the army would be procuring the supplies," Srivastava added.