HD KOTE: Sounds of the chirping of birds and patter of rain pierce the silence of an otherwise calm settlement in HD Kote taluk, 250 km from Bengaluru. On a recent morning following rain, Daasi woke up to find her tiny 3-acre farm drenched. She was happy. For she had struggled several years to grow crops on her dry land.
Daasi is not your average farmer. A mother of 10, she is from a tribal community and is illiterate. Yet, in the last four years or so, she has shown that will, determination and untiring efforts can bring cheering results. She has not only gained necessary agricultural skills, but is discovering herself as a decision maker. Today, she is enjoying the fruits of her labour.
Drought and lack of farming knowledge did not deter Daasi or other tribal woman farmers from pursuing their goal. They did not quit their lands or migrate to cities in times of adversity. Facing hardships and challenges with equanimity, Daasi is today recognised as a super farmer at the district level. In the last six months, she has posted earnings of Rs 4.5 lakh; a remarkable achievement in the face of erratic monsoons and rising debts. Although her son helps her now, even today at the age of 60, she is out to monitor her crops or rear her sheep.
“I wake up at the crack of dawn and go to my small farm. I work till dusk and then return home. This has been my routine for several years,” she says smilingly. Daasi grew tomatoes on half acre, chilli in two acres, long beans in half acre and green brinjal in another half acre. Now she is busy preparing for millets on two acres and vegetables on one acre. She has been recognised as a progressive farmer by the agriculture department and felicitated by many.
Daasi’s journey was not smooth. She is part of a group of 60 Jenu Kurubas. She and her fellow tribals were living in Nagarahole forest and sustaining themselves by selling minor forest produce. She decided to move out when the state government offered a voluntary relocation package. Along with 60 other families, she left the national park in 2007.
The forest department provided Daasi and others with a resettlement package of Rs 1 lakh per family that comprised Rs 1,000 in cash, a house and three acres of land. However, when she stepped out of the forest that had been her home all her life to a new area, life turned topsy turvy. She had lost her husband and had 10 young children to look after. Daasi’s knowledge about farming was a big zero.
For about seven years, she and the others could do little on their farm as it was dry land. With no irrigation facilities, they started growing ragi but unfortunately elephants destroyed all the crops. Then they sowed cotton, which is dependent on rain. That was a gamble they had to take. The crop did not yield much but they managed to survive on free rations and working as farm labourers. Opportunity knocked in the form of contractors from Kerala when they hired lands of a few farmers for 10 months for ginger farming in exchange for providing power, borewell, motor and pipes. So, today, 10 out of 60 farmers have borewells.
Although Daasi was not in favour of such a scheme, she says she benefited by getting water and has been growing a mix of millets and fruits-vegetables.
All this did not come easy as they had no farm skills. In stepped Wildlife Conservation Society, India, to support these new farmers and teach them about farming and its practices, taking them to krishi and organic melas, helping them at every step to know how to grow different crops, adopt a mixed method and use less chemicals, help them to hire tractors and locate markets for their produce, etc. Arun Balamatti of JSS Krishi Vignana Kendra has played a big role in motivating and bringing awareness about mixed cropping and other farm practices. Availability of small carrier vans to transport their produce to nearby markets of Gundlupet, Mysuru and Kerala has helped.
Sollepura Field assistant Govindappa has been actively involved in the resettlement project for the last 5 years. He is at the Samudaya office from 9am to 3 pm to provide all help.
He says, “Be it farm awareness programmes, sheep rearing, organic farming, getting tractors on hire or usage of manure, getting benefits under tribal welfare schemes, taking them for krishi melas, training at GKVK, Suttur, etc, it has been our endeavour to make the programme a success. We help them to get the best price for their produce in different markets. It is after the re-settlement that they need help as they have to start from scratch having never done any kind of farming earlier. Apart from this, tailoring, beauty classes, soap making, food preparation, and other training is imparted to them.”
It has been more than a decade and Daasi has seen many ups and downs but she has fought to achieve success and so advises farmers not to become disheartened due to failure of monsoon. She says, “Just as we took help and learned the best methods to practise farming despite being forest dwellers, one should not quit one’s land in times of adversity.”
The gutsy, diminutive lady says, “We should learn to earn and eat, then sell the remaining. When we have got so much from the government in the form of schemes and help from NGOs, why shouldn’t one strive and work hard?”
RELOCATION
In 2007, 60 tribal families were relocated from Nagarhole National Park to Sollepura degraded reserve forests. Each family was allotted 3 acres of land, house and `1,000 cash. Out of 60 families, only 10 have borewells. Presently, 15 families have applied for borewell facilities.
WCS SUPPORT
Wildlife Conservation Society, India, has been involved in motivating and supporting tribal families in various ways after the state forest department relocated them from Nagarhole. For the past 5 years, WCS field assistant Govindappa has been their mentor, adviser and facilitator in getting benefits from government schemes, growing and selling their farm produce, providing seeds, taking them to farm educational workshops and awareness programmes and imparting a host of other training activities.
CHIA QUEEN
Prema, tribal farmer, has been experimenting with chia, a super food millet from South America. Receiving encouragement from JSS Krishi Vignana Kendra and Organic Krishi Kendra, she has grown 5 quintals of chia seeds in one acre and got Rs 16,000 per quintal.
She says, “It is so popular that organic retail outlets from Bengaluru have been coming to our doorsteps to buy the crop. It is direct marketing for me with no transportation charges.” Out of 30 farmers who had adopted chia farming, only 6 tribals, including 52-year-old Prema succeeded. She used the transplantation technique to grow chia successfully.
The super food is usually sown during September-October and does not need much water. Just like ragi, it needs the benefit of retreating monsoons. It takes 40 days for flowering and needs some 2-3 rounds of watering.