Support Small Farmers in India

Dear Friend,

Omkar is a small-scale farmer in Girwa block, southern Rajasthan. Agriculture is the only way he can earn a living as he has no skills which can be transferred to any other occupation. He grows wheat and maize in his field for his family’s consumption and sells the surplus. Omkar used to buy seeds from the city shops, but this was expensive because of the transportation costs. This made it hard for him to achieve a surplus. He was also heavily dependent on monsoons as there was no other water available for irrigation. Insufficient rainfall would result in crop failure. This was the reality for most farmers in the region. Because of the hilly terrain, low rainfall and lack of fertile land the farmers would struggle to even grow for their subsistence.

So Seva Mandir set up a seed bank in that area. A seed bank is a place where seeds are preserved and stored. They are situated in villages. The main objective of a seed bank is to maintain the local biodiversity of the area and provide good quality seeds to the farmers. These seed banks are funded and maintained by Seva Mandir. Farmers take good quality seeds on credit. When they harvest their crop, they repay the seed bank with 25% more than the amount of the seed taken. No cash is required and farmers are now less dependent on the market for seeds.

In addition, with the help of the farmers, Seva Mandir has set up lift irrigation in a 80:20 partnership, where 80% was contributed by Seva Mandir and 20% by 20 farmers of that area. Now Omkar‘s farm produce has doubled and he is able to sell his surplus in the market and earn a living.

Omkar is happy now and is enjoying his work. He said “After Seva Mandir set up its seed bank and helped me and others to set up a lift irrigation system, things changed. Now the yield is double what it was earlier.”

Thank you so much for joining hands with us! Your support is making a huge difference in the lives of these poor farmers.

Warm Regards,

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir 

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page

Dear Friend,

We are thrilled to announce that GlobalGiving has awarded Seva Mandir with 5 achievements (Effective Organization, Staff Favorite Organization, Top Ranked Organization, Vetted Organization, Site Visit Verified Organization) making us a top-ranked organization for 2019!

All thanks goes to our dedicated supporters that we are able to keep accomplishing more every year and changing people's lives for the better. We can't thank you enough for your support and we look forward to another successful year!

Narayan a farmer, 47 years of age and a resident of Cheekhla village. Not only, is he known for his hard work, but also, for his keen interest in agriculture and horticulture development and an environmental champion in his community. Equally important, in a remote tribal village like Cheekhla, where the state of agriculture is still subsistence, innovative practices to make agriculture more lucrative remains farfetched for small and marginal farmer which constitute the farming population in the region. In this context, Narayan is an exception, all the more, he has become an example for others in the village to follow his lead. Since the year 2000 he has been in close association with Seva Mandir through its Natural Resource Development program. To point out, he has been a pioneer in developing 1000 nursery plants in his village, owing to which these sapling were later used for restoring common lands at other villages.

Furthermore, with the introduction of Package of Best Practices in Vegetable Farming by Seva Mandir to help farmers gain nutrition, food security and livelihood opportunity. He is exemplar by adopting to new methods received through regular training and field demonstration. Likewise, in 2016 he also attended the training on cultivation of Bottle Gourd by improved seed sowing technique. As a result, his total production of bottle gourd from ½ bigha of farmland and 250 gram of seeds came up to 8 Quintal.

Additionally, he also manages the community seed bank at his house. Another key point, which sets Narayan as a herald of change in his community, is his initiative towards the campaign on 100% open defecation. Likewise, setting an example by constructing a toilet cum bathroom at his house. He remains relentless in advocating the cause of community hygiene and sanitation.  

Narayan is today happy and thank Seva Mandir for all the knowledge and support.

We thank you for showing interest and for your support to our “Provide Enough Food for Poor Farmers in India” project.

Regards

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

Follow us on www.facebook.com/sevamandir 

Links:

• Seva Mandir's Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page