Many tribal farmers in Odisha were living below the poverty line due to lack of irrigation facilities. New bore wells and farm training are helping them earn more now, according to a Harsha Trust social worker.
Without water farmers can do nothing. But that was the reality in Koraput district. Until recently. Lack of irrigation facilities is one of the most important barriers that make agriculture non-remunerative. It was the same scenario in Kenduguda village in Odisha’s Koraput district.
Kenduguda is a predominantly tribal village. Of the 195 households in the village, 125 are tribal. The other 70 families are Dalits. Over 80% of the households depend on agriculture for livelihood.
Their average land holding size is 2 acres. With no irrigation facilities, around 50% of the families were living below poverty-line.
But with new bore wells, the lives of Kenduguda farmers have changed.
To improve the livelihood of the marginal farmers, Harsha Trust, a Bhubaneswar-based organisation working to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in Odisha, met the people of Kenduguda in December 2021.
Most of the villagers pointed out the lack of adequate irrigation facilities. Based on the request of the villagers, it was decided to take steps to provide irrigation facilities.
The trust arranged a meeting between the farmers and the block agriculture officer. The officer approved three solar cluster bore wells under the Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) scheme.
The scheme requires the formation of a water user group (WUG). With some effort to build trust among everyone, 21 marginalised farmers formed the Radhakrushna Water Users Group.
After getting a formal approval from the tehsil office, the WUG opened a bank account. To ensure smooth functioning of the bore wells and timely repairs in case of breakdowns, it was decided to collect a user fee from the farmers. The user fee was then deposited in the bank.
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Though it was difficult for the marginal farmers, each farmer contributed Rs 2,000. An orientation meeting was organised to familiarise the farmers on how the user group should function.
The total budget for the three solar bore well installations was Rs 15,42,000, of which the community’s contribution was Rs 42,000. The agriculture department provided the rest of the funds.
Three bore wells were installed in the farm lands of Kenduguda village in May 2022. An area of 21 acres can be irrigated with these three bore wells.
Though the farmers face climate-induced erratic rainfalls, the bore wells help farmers grow many horticultural crops such as brinjal and bitter gourd.
In addition to drilling bore wells, the project team from Harsha Trust trained the farmers in crop selection, cultivation of cash crops like vegetables that would bring in money in short duration, use of new technologies, and pest and disease management.
By providing market linkage facilities, the team helps farmers sell their produce easily and get better income. The lives of the families of 21 farmers of Kenduguda village have changed.
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In 17 acres of land that belong to the 21 farmers, brinjal and bitter gourd were produced in kharif season with an investment of Rs 52,000. The total production was 33.7 tonnes. They were able to sell the vegetables for Rs 3.37 lakh.
Each farmer family earns Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per season from the sale of the vegetables produced in their piece of land.
The shared responsibilities of some of the functions have reduced the time and efforts of the member farmers. They are able to access multiple markets to sell their produce, rather than depending on a single local market. The family gets fresh and nutritious vegetables from their own farm. It significantly improves the quality of life of the farmers.
The member farmers are now preparing the nursery to grow cauliflower in 10 acres and tomato in 7 acres, after which they plan to grow creepers like pointed gourd.
The lead image at the top shows an irrigation pump in a farm (Photo courtesy PradeepGaurs, Shutterstock)
Ganesh Mohanandia has a master’s degree in social work. He is a project executive in Harsha Trust.
