Teaching farming to over 1,000 families in India

Our latest report comes directly from Joe Rao, Shivia India’s General Manager, who is responsible for implementing our livelihood development programmes on the ground in West Bengal.

Joe visits our farmers on a weekly basis to gather feedback from them about the progress they are making. Here he talks about one particular aspect of the AMS programme and the dramatic impact it is having on the fortunes of our farmers.

“During my trip to the villages this week, I visited one of our many Farmer Interest Groups (FIGS). The group has 15 members and they have been growing rice using the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method we taught them when they joined our Agri-management Services Programme. For those who are not familiar with this method, SRI increases the yield of rice produced in farming through a particular system of planting and weeding the young seedlings. The method involves planting the seedlings singly and at an optimum distance apart to promote root growth. Seedlings are then transplanted at less than 15 days old with just two leaves. This has to be done quickly and in shallow soil to avoid root trauma. In addition, the soil is kept moist rather that continually saturated, which improves plant growth and supports the production of aerobic organisms that increase soil fertility. The net result is a higher yield for our farmers and lower production costs.

The farmers in the group I met this week are particularly enthusiastic about the SRI method and were eager to show me the results. They collectively farm an area of one Bigha, the equivalent of about 1,500 Sq m. Prior to using the SRI method they needed 7/8Kgs of seeds to cover this area. Now they only need 1kg of seeds and they are witnessing higher, healthier yields, as you can see from the photos I took. SRI also means they do not need to pump so much water into the soil. This drop in input costs has made a huge impact on the profitability of their small business enterprise, which in the end translates to a better standard of living for them and their families.  

But that’s not the only good news for this group of AMS farmers. One of the additional benefits for them when we help them to form a Farmer Interest Group is that they become eligible for certain government schemes. In this case, they received a free supply of rice seeds and training from the local Agriculture Development Officer on various diseases associated with paddy cultivation and their treatment.

There are now 930 farmers registered on Shivia’s AMS programme and by the end of this month we aim to have a total of 1,000. I’m looking forward to reporting back to you on more success stories like this one over the coming months.

On behalf of the Shivia team and all our AMS farmers in West Bengal I would like to thank you most sincerely for your continued support.”

Joe Rao, General Manager, Shivia India