|
Ray of Hope " The WADI programme came as a ray of hope for me and my family when I became associated with it in 2010" says Atma Ram Sahariya, a farmer of Koti village under Babina block situated about 40 kilometres from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. At that time his field was producing only a scanty and poor quality crop as he had no irrigation facilities. He was forced to take up labourer’s jobs and every year after harvest he would move with his family for a couple of months to cities like Bhopal or Bangalore in search of work. His children could not attend school regularly and eventually dropped out of school.
A one acre pond was dug up in his remaining wasteland to retain rain water for irrigating six nearby wadis. He also started fish farming in the same pond and expects to obtain fish worth at least Rs 20,000 every year. Apart from this, he has also done intercropping with gram for which he expects another 10-12,000 rupees. His motivation is truly remarkable and is constantly trying to enhance his farm income by applying various techniques. A lot of positive changes has been seen in Atma’s life ever since he got associated with the WADI programme. He has become more optimistic and admits that his life has changed for the better. This change should not be calculated only in terms of an increase in his income, but the other positive thing is that he did not have to migrate in search of work for the last three years and his children now go to school regularly in the village. He proudly says that his son will never have to migrate for work as the WADI is ready and yielding fruits. The family will never again have to face misery. Today he is a very active member of Sahariya Vikas Manch (a federation of local farmers) promoting wadi development in the region and he actively participates in several other initiatives for the social development in the region. q Prince Vishal Swadeshi
|
Development
Alternatives (DA) with support from the National Bank for Rural and
Agriculture Development came forward to support poor families of this
village in 2010 under the WADI programme. This project involves setting
up WADIs (orchards) on the lands of small and marginal
sahariya farmers. It includes land use planning, introduction of
soil and water harvesting measures and improved farming based on
agro-forestry practices. The project aspires to strengthen local
agrarian livelihoods and increase household food and nutritional
security. Atma Ram Sahariya was one among 500 tribal farmers who joined
this program hoping for a change in his life. It took the project people
a while to convince him to opt for WADI rather than for wage labour as
he knew that he would get returns from the orchard only after some time
and meanwhile he would find it difficult to meet the immediate needs of
his family. When he finally agreed to take the risk he planted 55 guavas
and amla plants in his one acre of waste land. In the year 2011 he made
a profit of Rs. 12,000 from the same land by intercropping the trees
with groundnuts. The next year he made a profit of Rs.7000 and Rs. 5000
by growing pumpkins, lady fingers and chillies for two seasons.