Support Small Farmers in India

Dear Friend,

New Year Greetings from Seva Mandir!

First of all, a very big Thank You to all of you for supporting our projects.

I am Deepti and I look after the reporting and communication program in Seva Mandir. I will be in touch with you regularly on reporting the projects by Seva Mandir that you have been supporting on Global Giving.

In order to ensure the food security for tribal people we have a range of programs like soil and water conservation to installing lift irrigation pumps in farms, from agricultural trainings to Seed Bank Programs. I will do my best to explain some exciting progress that we have been able to make in these programs.

The Background: Due to lack of water and inadequate facilities of irrigation farmers in our region have poor agriculture production. In areas where irrigation is possible farmers do not have access to good quality seeds and enough knowledge of improved agriculture practices. This results into small harvest. The farmers keep using the seeds from their harvest hence the yield never improves in terms of quality and quantity.

The progress: Under our Seed Bank program for the poor farmers, we had distributed seeds for Maize/corn, Pulse, Sesame and some other regional crop seeds (of improved quality) to around 900 farmers in 30 villages before monsoon in 2008. The farmers were also provided with a training of improved agricultural practices. The results have been enormously encouraging for the Maize Crop in particular. Maize is also the main crop for farmers in our region. Currently farmers are replenishing the Seed Bank with their share of Maize Seeds.

Similarly the farmers were distributed the good quality seeds for Wheat (the winter crop) the year before last year. Again the results have been very positive. As a consequence the farmers in 5 villages had been able to replenish a total of 1900 kilograms of Wheat Seeds into the Seed Bank, which has been distributed to a number of farmers for this season. Since the harvest of Wheat takes place in March, therefore, we will be able to know the result of the yield and the quantity of the seeds that will be replenished by these farmers.

The replenishment: Each farmer has to give back 1.5% of the total seeds he/she has received from the Seed Bank after the harvest. The replenishment of the Seek Bank has two folds benefit. First, all the farmers have access to good quality seeds for all kinds of crops and secondly, it builds the sense of giving and brotherhood among them.

There are some pictures that we have uploaded recently for your reference.

I very much hope that you find this feedback useful. I would be happy to entertain queries from you if any. I am reachable at deepti@sevamandir.org

Thank you once again for having your faith in us and for your encouragement.

With warm regards,

Deepti Ameta, In Charge – Reporting and Communication

Plantation: With rains approaching our area, it is time to plant new trees and grass on the lands in which afforestation is being undertaken. Last year (April 07 to March 08), various physical works such as site survey, land demarcation, boundary wall construction, soil- water conservation and pit digging were completed on 258 ha common and private lands. After first rains, around 1.29 lacs new plants will be planted in June and July months on these lands. Hoping to receive good rainfall this year, in 4 months, these areas will have a nice green cover.

Agriculture After experiencing the scorching heat on summer months, people have moving towards their fields and started preparing for monsoon crops. This year, we received a number of proposals from the farmers to obtain improved quality seeds. In response, we have provided 4,021 kg seeds of maize, 1,002 kg seeds of pulses (tuvar and udad dal) and 59 kg oilseeds to these farmers. Receiving sufficient rainfall and proper care, we expect the farmers to get higher yields of good quality grains in comparison to the local seeds used by the farmers since long time.

Fruit Plantation Along with, we have also received proposals from farmers to plant fruit plants during this monsoon. A total 64 farmers from 24 villages will be given around 3,800 plants of mango, 1,500 plants of amla, 1,400 plants of lemon and 1,400 plants of guava. These plants will be planted around and within the farms, as well some farmers intend to develop mini orchards on their lands which is not being used for agriculture.