Chhattisgarh, situated in the heart of the India, is one of the most beautiful states of the country. It is endowed with a rich cultural heritage and attractive natural diversity. Popularly known as the Rice bowl of India, there are favorable soil and climatic conditions, sufficient rainfall, water canals and irrigation channels, which have helped the state to be a leading producer of paddy, jawar, groundnut, gram, oilseeds and wheat in the country.
Chhattisgarh agriculture, with each passing day is gaining a new momentum, which will help it to forward its step towards an economically viable phase. With the presence of such abundances of resources, Chhattisgarh is considered to be an important player towards the mission #aatmnirbharbharat and making India a trillion dollar economy.
Kabirdham district, one of the smallest districts of the Chhattisgarh state, is endowed with a beautiful landscape, rivers and springs and ample forest cover. It is a tribal district of simple and hardworking people.
Majority of the population in the Kabirdham district is engaged in agriculture for their livelihood. Presence of adequate agricultural land and abundance of water bodies, agriculture has been the most convenient option for subsistence by the people.
While the availability of the agricultural resources are aplenty in the region, challenges like inadequate training or lack of information about better and advance agriculture practices within farmers, poor awareness regarding effective control of various pests (insects, diseases and weeds), unavailability of quality manure, seeds or tools, insufficient & mismanaged irrigation resources, lack of agro-processing units & lack of extension services etc. are overpowering the hard struggle the farmers were putting in, resulting into insufficient yield and income.
AROH Foundation, in partnership with the HDFC Bank, has been implementing Holistic Rural Development Projects (HRDP) in 56 remotest villages in Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh. In Chhattisgarh, 24 villages have earlier been covered under the project in the Bilaspur and Raigarh districts for over 5 years.
Encouraged by the success and impact of the project in transforming rural lives, the resource pool has been allocated in 15 more villages of Chhattisgarh, in Bodla block of the Kabirdham district to introduce a Focused Development Project (FDP) for the farmers.
Besides bringing a positive transformation in people’s lives, the project also serves as an additional step towards achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitating Indian Government in the national agenda of doubling farmer’s income.
With a panel of experts pre- assessing the challenges, opportunities and mitigation strategy, main focus of the program is on food security and doubling the farmers income through capacity building for resource optimization, diversification in crops, agricultural practices, local solution based models promotion for better income opportunities for villagers, incubating and scaling of agriculture and allied micro enterprises with backward and forward linkages support.
The project will promote Farmers Producer Groups and link them with potential enterprises, SHGs & JLGs, etc. for better support system and convergence with government schemes. The project is expected to benefit a population of 10650 people engaged in farming in 5750 acres of agricultural land.
Speaking more on the aspiring project, Dr Neelam Gupta, Founder President of AROH Foundation told, “Low income levels and large, deteriorating disparity between the farmers and non-agricultural workers constitute an important reason for the emergence of agrarian distress in the country, which has taken a serious turn due to inadequate redressal measures. The country has also witnessed a sharp increase in the number of farmers’ suicides. The low and fluctuating farm income is causing detrimental effect on farming and farm investments, and is also forcing more and more cultivators, particularly younger age group, to leave farming. This can cause serious adverse effect on the future of agriculture in the country. The desire to achieve a noble destination of self-sufficiency (AatmNirbharBharat) and higher welfare for farmers is most welcome, but one needs to look at the scaffolding to be made ready for such purposes.
“Our government has already launched some rewarding schemes to support and secure the farmers of the country like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Gramin Bhandaran Yojna, Livestock insurance Scheme, Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF), Farmer credit bill etc. We, as an NGO, need to bridge the gap between farmer and the welfare schemes and ensure maximum benefit to the needy farmers. We are grateful to our farmers for being the backbone of our country, showing resilience even during the horrifying pandemic times. Now we need to think beyond just the food security for the farmers. Farming as a business and profession should be rewarding to our farmers. We need to take the middlemen out from the system and projects like FDP shall serve the purpose directly at the grassroots. Doubling of farmers’ income would be “a miracle of miracles”, as it would imply a compound and multifold growth rate for an agro-based economy like India. With a well thought amalgamation of development initiatives, technology and policy reforms, this indeed is attainable. We have already started with the baby steps.”, she said.
