Yamuna Kumari: A pioneer in modern farming
Breaking barriers as a successful farmer, Yamuna Kumari from Jharkhand’s Bero village has inspired a community of women to take up high-value agriculture.
Yamuna Kumari, a 23-year-old “student-farmer,” from Bero, Jharkhand has emerged as an inspiration for others in the region after adopting modern techniques and round-the-year farming, with a diverse range of crops.
She says, “Adopting modern techniques and learning about the right seeds and fertilisers helps in improving our earnings.”
Adopting modern techniques and learning about the right seeds and fertilisers helps in improving our earnings.
Yamuna lives in the village with her husband, two young children, and four other family members. Even when pursuing a postgraduate degree in Geography from KCB College, Bero, she was passionate about farming. However, limited resources and market access came in the way of improving her farming techniques and income.
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The beginning of something new
Yamuna’s family owns five acres of land, and for several years, they relied on traditional farming methods to grow paddy, wheat, and vegetables. However, the intervention of the Transform Rural India Foundation (TRI) introduced her to innovative agricultural practices.
After learning about its initiatives and attending multiple meetings, she decided to adopt these new farming techniques. Recognising her enthusiasm and capability, TRI helped set up a Farmer Field School (FFS), a training centre equipped with the latest technologies, where local farmers receive hands-on training and exposure to modern agricultural practices.
These included polyhouse farming, nursery management, mulching, drip irrigation, root zone irrigation, and trellis systems, for her demonstration plot. Since then, she has emerged as one of the most progressive farmers in Bero. She is not only implementing these practices on her farm but also helping others by sharing her knowledge and expertise.
Before receiving this support, Yamuna faced significant challenges, including dependency on the local markets for selling produce, difficulty in procuring high-quality seeds and fertilisers, and a lack of technical knowledge to optimise yields.
Through TRI’s guidance, she received training on area selection, annual crop calendar making, crop selection, and best practices for fertiliser and manure application. The organisation also provided her with access to a solar pump set, a training hall, and a nursery structure to experiment with new crops and motivate others.
Yamuna’s decision to practice round-the-year farming – including a diverse range of crops such as mango orchard (1 acre), wheat (1 acre), French beans (1.1 acres), potato (1 acre), grafted brinjal (0.15 acre), marigold (0.25 acre), cauliflower (0.4 acre), green pea (1.5 acres), ginger (0.25 acre), green chili (0.1 acre), and strawberry (0.1 acre), with additional crops during the Kharif season – has been transformational.
Along with continuous handholding from Community Resource Persons (CRPs), Yamuna developed expertise in modern farming techniques. Her farming operations have expanded significantly, with an annual expenditure of around Rs. 4-5 lakh and an annual income of approximately Rs. 10-11 lakh.
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A beacon of hope for the community
Yamuna’s success story has had a profound impact on her family and community. She has become a well-known figure in her village, proving that farming is not just a male-dominated profession. Her achievements have inspired many other women farmers to take up high-value agriculture. With TRI’s support, she has been training female farmers and working toward building a strong community of empowered women in agriculture.
Beyond financial gains, Yamuna’s journey has also enhanced her independence and mobility. She recently purchased a scooty, allowing her to extend her outreach and facilitate her farming activities more efficiently. The increased income has enabled her to provide better education and healthcare for her family, further improving their quality of life.
She is a testament to the power of determination, hard work, and leadership. Her transformation from a traditional farmer to a progressive “Mahila Kissan” (female farmer) has been inspiring. Through her dedication, she continues to break barriers and pave the way for more women to enter and succeed in the field of agriculture.
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Bapi Gorai is Senior Practitioner, Farm Prosperity at Transform Rural India-TRI.
The lead photo at the top shows Yamuna Kumari with her strawberry harvest. (Photo by Bapi Gorai)
