Support Small Farmers in India

Dear Friends,

I am so happy sharing this piece of report that my colleague Niranjan has put together for you. It is a great way to end my day here in India today. One it is so very kind of you to consider making a donation to this project. I thank all of you who have just made their contributions to this project in order for it to win the Top 10 Wins challenge on Global Giving UK. We are right now on the fourth position with 13 donors. We need another 12 people to help us out. I request you to please consider supporting this project and please help double our happiness on the festival of Holi (is on 19th & 20th March this year).

The other reason of ending my day with a great reason is to read the report Niranjan has just shared with me. I am just copying his report below my letter and would encourage you to see what great work these farmers have done to deal with their food security issues in their region. It is really surprizing that most of these farmers hold very small pieces of lands but with some support and trainings from Seva Mandir and freinds like you they have made really amazing progress.

Here I end my letter and let you read the report.

Once again for all your support. Please do consider making another donation and help this project win £500 with this Top 10 Wins challenge. We need another £200 only. Please help these farmers a bit more.

With best regards,

Deepti

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Community seed bank

The seed bank program of Seva Mandir aims at improving the “Seed/food security” of the farmers in villages of South Rajasthan. The main idea is that the farmers don’t have to pay for the seeds provided to them by Seva Mandir under this program however each farmer needs to return 1.5 or 1.25 times more seeds from what each of them had borrowed from the seed bank.

From these Seed Banks the farmers are able to receive improved and climate variation resilient crop seeds for all cropping seasons such as kharif, rabi and zaid.

The farmers can have access to maize, wheat, black gram, sesame, rice, mustard, wheat, bengal gram, green gram and vegetable crop seeds. The seed banks once set up are being managed by the village development committees. These committees are being set up by the villagers only.

Each farmer’s share of returned seeds is stored in the seed bank in large metal drums/boxes. To keep the seeds safe some treatment is also used.

Therefore, the villagers are trained to keep records for loaning out and collecting back the seeds, keeping and storing the seeds safely and distributing them at the time of sowing etc. After sometime each seed bank becomes a grain bank due to each farmer returning back their share (1.5 to 1.25 times more) and therefore it ultimately enhances the ‘food security’ in villages.

At present there are 52 seeds bank in all the 6 blocks of Seva Mandir. For example in Jhadol Block the village Kitavato ka vas has a community seed bank. Seva Mandir has provided the village with good quality seeds of Maize (48 Kg), Black Gram (28 Kg), Wheat (150 Kg) and Bangle grane (60Kg)

After harvesting of the both the seasons’ crop the farmers have returned their share of seeds in their seed bank (1.5 times more). The details of which is as under -

• Wheat (220 Kg)
• Black Gram (38 Kg.)
• Bangle Gram (90 Kg.)
• Maize (70 Kg.)

Links:

• how can you help these farmers a bit more

• the community seed bank report (DOC)