1. Revolving Fund : a support to small and marginal farmers

Chodungari village of Dantivada taluka is 5 km. away from Dantivada. Since last twelve years, the water level of bore wells was 450ft to 500 ft deep and the farmers were practicing rain fed agriculture which provide them with only half a bigha of green fodder. Fortunately, a good monsoon spell since last two years has increased the water table to 250ft. But now aware farmers want to maintain this level by saving the ground water. They have decided to achieve this by adopting MI systems. 26 farmers have applied for overhead sprinklers (that can move from one place to another) through SRTT revolving fund under NGI project.

Farmers are able to cultivate their unirrigated land with the help of overhead sprinklers and save the time, water and power as well. The practice of flood irrigation, irrigates 4 bigha lands with 8 hrs. of power supply which increases to 10-bigha with sprinklers. Rameshbhai Chaudhri has significantly increased his dairy income by growing the green fodder for his cattle on his own farm, which he used to purchase earlier for Rs.10000. Ishwarbhai’s reduced expenditure on labor due to less weeding and bunding and is hopeful of achieving a high quality millet production  with the overhead sprinklers. High valued crops like groundnut and potato are like a dream come true for them. Mustard and castor yield have increased by 20 % to 25%.  Attack of Molo-machhi (pests) has significantly decreased this year.

Narsinghbhai Harijan worked as agricultural labor. His small piece of land remained barren in all seasons. After installing sprinklers, he is able to earn Rs.200000 approx. from his produce in one season.

Maniben,a widow was able to earn a meager Rs.50000 a year through her two buffaloes. Her most of the 20 bigha land lay barren and she could cultivate only half a bigha because of water scarcity. She than dared to install sprinklers in spite of being in debt. This year her net agricultural income has increased to Rs. 70000. She has purchased a cow and a buffalo and her dairy income has increased up to Rs.80000. She has repaid 60% of her debt.

Gitaben Govindbhai’s condition was almost the same as other farmers. There were four partners in her bore well but now sprinklers have increased their income. She has purchased grain storage container and a scooter for her husband. Still another women farmer, Jamnaben’s half of the land used to remain barren but now she can irrigate her entire land and has created an additional means of earning through the sale of extra water and has purchased gold worth Rs.50000 for her three daughters through her savings.

Navi- ataal is a village in Dantivada taluka. A group of 9 farmers of Mali community have been benefited there by revolving fund. They have cultivated potato. Traditionally Mali communities are supposed to cultivate potatoes by any means. However the five Mali farmers, with whom we had dialogues, were unable to do so due to severe ground water scarcity and were thus sowing wheat, mustard and castor. But now with his venture into the MI Systems, Pareshbhai Mali is busy harvesting potatoes. Sprinklers have significantly doubled his produce from a mere 350 kg. to 700kg. The earnings from one acre have increased from Rs. 10000.approx. to Rs.50000.Now he wishes to invest this additional income in the installations of drip system for his pomegranate farm.

Sprinklers and organic fertilizers have significantly reduced water utilization, application of fertilizers and the attacks of termites in the farm of Nagjibhai Mali who is merely harvesting potatoes. He used to lose 25% of seeds due to flood irrigation. Ishwarbhai Mali provided the comparative data which accounted for handsome four fold increase in his harvest .He harvested 130 bags last year with flood irrigation and this year with sprinkler irrigation his produce is handsome 500 bags.

Lilaben Mali is a second prize winner of Banas Laxmi Scheme (being awarded to the supplier of maximum quantity of milk in a year among all dairy members). She enthusiastically remarked, “We are become kings after sprinkler irrigation”. She now being the master in sprinkler irrigation taking only ten minutes to irrigate her farm with the help of her daughter in law and having ample knowledge to install and maintain sprinklers. Thus they got time to rest and engage in other productive activities. This may be taken as an example of women empowerment.

Farmers of both the villages were provided interest free loans through the revolving fund; they have repaid their monthly installments in time and their success has encouraged other small and marginal farmers around them to avail the benefits of this scheme.

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2. A Joint Venture : The Story of Seven Farmers in Tribal Area of North Gujarat

This is a story of seven farmers of Tribal area of Amirgadh taluka in Banaskantha district of Gujarat. These farmers can be entitled as middle farmers by their land holdings. But any body who is aware of the geographical condition and soil quality of that area would categorize them in small or marginal farmer by their earning from their land holding. The yields they get from the crops, do not give much income, even though some of them have land like a medium farmer.

Forty-four villages of Amirgadh taluka are in rocky area. Amirgadh is called the first backward taluka among 10 backward talukas of Gujarat. Farmers can take only rainy season crop. There is no good resource of irrigation in this area. They have kaccha well for irrigation, which remain empty after monsoon, in summer they have to depend upon other farmer’s well for drinking water for themselves and for quenching livestock’s thirst. Sometimes they need to move towards a distance village. People do not have school education and do not know much accounting. They have to borrow money from money lenders for their basic need, and so they become victims of money lenders. Their debt never become end, even though they deposit all agriculture products every year to their Mahajan – the money lender. They have to do all sorts of labour work in the Mahajan’s farm and family too. The poor tribal could find their livelihood as forest wood cutter. However this work is risky, because it is illegal. If a tribal person gets trapped in forest officer’s eye the fellow has to pay Rs. 500 as fine and officer will seize his axe and the tribal helplessly has to offer chicken and local country liquor as bribe to the forest officer. So if they like to complete the wood cutting operation then tribal people use to go in the forest early at 3 am and sell one bundle before the sun light. He gets about 10-15 rupees for a bundle after such risky labor-job and miles of run.

They live in kaccha mud house having thatched roof. Even at times they do have enough fuel to light their home in the night. Even their social customs are very rigid. The rules of law in their society were made by a few elders and one has to follow the rules very strictly. So for them it is very difficult to come out of this vicious circle.

M G Patel Sarvodata Kendra had done this invention work in their society. Their living condition has changed the intervention of M.G.Patel Sarvodaya Kendra. This Kendra is working in this area since the last 20 years for the awareness of tribal people. The Kendra has introduced different programmes for their livelihood activities, health, education and other developmental areas. The Kedra also took up agricultural programme in the partnership of NGI (North Gujarat Initiative) of IWMI-Tata Programme.

After implementation of NGI (North Gujarat Initiative) project in this taluka agriculture scenario has changed, particularly the cropping pattern and its marketing. This time organization has created a group of seven farmers and explained them to do vegetable cultivation and promised them to assist in marketing. Farmers agreed to grow chilly and bottle gourd of some new species. Among all, four farmers are from Virampur village and others are from near by villages. They have hired one small tempo from Virampur to Palanpur for their goods. They fixed a daily contract which is fixed with that tempo at Rs.300 only. This amount would be equally shared by the each farmer of the seven farmers group. It came to hardly Rs.43 per farmer. If a person goes personally to Palanpur he spends of Rs. 50 as minimum travel cost. They have fixed time to load vegetable and also the turn of a farmer to go to the Palanpur market. The farmer, who goes along with tempo, carefully checks the weight and gets separate chalan of every farmer. By arranging this they have saved time for going to market. Now their confidence has increased, they are getting experience of the right market, which would not be possible for an individual farmer. Now they will not hesitate for a new venture. They got more confidence in marketing their own product.

All details of farmers are given below in the table. By land holding they can be listed in the category of middle farmers group, but they can cultivate in only single season, rainy season. They could earn maximum Rs10000 hardly in a year from 5 acres of land. After changing of cropping pattern and group marketing arrangements they earned thousands to lakhs.

Table showing changed scenario after group cultivation and marketing arrangements in Tribal area :

Gradually their living condition has changed after entrance of M.G.Patel Sarvodaya Kendra and through NGI project. These group farmers have reached to the far off markets, some of them have left the risky wood cutting labour work. These farmers have adopted vegetable, high valued fennel crops in addition and alteration to their traditional crops. Landless and small land holders who have benefited by drum kit (low cost MIS ) have added green vegetables in their daily meal. This is really a big achievement by the endeavor of the group of these seven farmers!

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3. BharatSingh Merubha Vaghela, Village- Daliyathara, District- Patan, Gujarat

Bharatsinh Merubha Vaghela is the progressive farmer of Daliyathara village of Patan taluka. He has planted 1800 Pomegranate plants before 2.5 years and 400 plants last year. He had sown sesame and cotton as inter crop this year. He earned net Rs. 65,000 from sesame and cotton could earn Rs. 2 lakh. Last year he planted watermelon and bottle gourd as intercrop. He had net profit of Rs 90,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively from these two crops. This year he gained income from pomegranate too. He had set up fruits on 1800 plants. He earned Rs 2 lakh from 6.5 tones. He sold out pomegranate through North Gujarat Agro Producer Company. Packing cartons were also ordered by Producer Company. As a result he is planning to plant pomegranate in another 10 vigha of land. He said, “Pomegranate is far better than cotton seed plant in respect to income, labour, and water application.”  He has set up four beds of vermi compost in 30x35 ft. area especially for Pomegranate.

The success of his pomegranate farm spread in entire taluka, every day lots of people come to visit his farm. Recently his farm was highlighted in local news channel B.K.News.

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4. Ishwarbhai Ganeshbhai Patel, Village – Changvada

Ishwarbhai Ganeshbhai Patel of Changvada village put 7 tones pomegranate in the market and earned Rs 2 lakhs. Last year he sold pomegranate of worth Rs. 65,000. This income led him to plant another 1000 plants, thus he now has 2000 plants in his field. First year child plants of pomegranate could not earn but inter crop of bottle gourd has made a profit of Rs 70,000 in a very short time span. This year he could sell tobacco of Rs 45,000 by intercropping. Intercropping of alfalfa is satisfying hunger of his milking animals since three years. He has purchased Utility van from this income. His pomegranate is lime lighted by visits, press notes and lovely photographs.

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Success Story of Paranben

The above photo is of a lady Smt. Parenben. She is 35 years old from Rampura village.  An inline drip set was give to their SHG group under ADB-JFPR Project of Commissioner of Rural Development, Government of Gujarat. This is called Alfalfa kit for the following support to the SHG member of Rampura village of Vadgam Taluka.

1. The financial support was given by ADB-JFPR project fund.
   
   
2. Field station International Water Management Institute – ITP has made them aware about the micro irrigation technology, which requires lesser amount of water application in the crop against their traditional flood irrigation method.
   
   
3. Alfalfa kit covers one vigha land area. Kit carries 12 mm lateral pipes, PVC pipes, water filter, and other fitting materials.

Alfalfa is the main green fodder crop which could generate better milk fat yield. So it is the most prioritized fodder crop in North Gujarat, but on the other hand it is called the water guzzler crop. Considering this situation fodder plot kits (Alfalfa kit) were introduced with in the Self Help Groups of women by NGI team of Field Station, IWMI.

• Selected 5 members from their own SHG group who had small land holdings, having water scarcity and interested to join this group venture.
  
  
• Convinced one member of the group to provide land and irrigation facility for three years to grow Alfalfa. In tern they offered him one part of alfalfa cultivation.
  
  
• From rest of the area group members shared same amount of fodder every day.
  
  
• They made legal contract on 50/- rupees stamp paper for three years with farmer and among group beneficiaries.

Usually, men are involved in purchasing and marketing of agricultural items. They have an exposure of changing scenario. They can easily aware of changing new technologies. But due to such small micro irrigation devices, not only saved Women’s Burdon but also built their confidence in easy operating such newer technologies.


5. Bhikhabhai Bhutadiya, Village -Changa, Taluka- Vadgam District -Banaskantha, Gujarat

Bhikabhai belongs to a poor family, and could not get education beyond SSC. He had no prior experience of agriculture, but he took it as a challenge and decided to make agriculture his livelihood. He could not get good return earlier, due to lack of experience and mainly because of scarcity of water in his tube well. Meanwhile, Bhikhabhai developed contacts with SDA University, Dantiwada and ITP field office, Palanpu.

He adopted horticultural crops, which were new to this region such as pomegranate and grapes, and started cultivation of brinjal and brought the whole farm under drip irrigation in 2002. He saved the water and other recurring costs of cultivation. He adopted the organic farming practices including preparation of vermi-compost under shade net and started producing good quality vermi-compost at his own farm. His enthusiasm and hard work gave him remarkable results. This resulted in rising of water level in his bore well.

He is selling his grapes and pomegranate under his own brand name i.e. “KASHYAP Foods”. Beside all these, he is a big motivator for new farmers and helping government departments and private agencies in the promotion of sustainable farming. He has now become a “satellite farmer” for the Banaskantha district at an age of 38.

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