TIRUCHY: For over one-and-a-half years, women farmers of Anthanallur block in Periyakaruppur panchayat have been at the forefront of major farming decisions and empowering themselves financially, courtesy of the Vaazhnthu Kaatuvom Project (VKP), a special program under the Rural Development Department with support from the World Bank.
Over 60 farmers were selected from the Periyakaruppur panchayat, said a department official, and given special training on various aspects of farming from soil handling to marketing products. "Our work is to help them form a farmer-producer organisation and become shareholders in a farmer-producer company, and we connect the farmers with various expert groups to enable them," the official added.
Two farmers - K Bakiyalakshmi and S Kannamma - identified as Sparks, were chosen to lead 30 farmers each under the programme. "Our family has been into agriculture traditionally, but the farming was mostly led by men. Through the scheme, we're getting exposed to new methods, and our husbands do help us with valuable inputs," said K Bakiyalakshmi.
Commenting on how the scheme has changed the lives of farmers in the panchayat, fellow Spark and shareholder in Srirangam banana producers company S Kannamma added, "Not just the big farmers; even smaller farmers with less land are with us.
As an aspiring farmer, I used to attend several workshops and training sessions, which is how the Vaazhndhu Kaatuvom Project officials reached me and gave me focused training, which I've been using in turn to train farmers around me." C Jayaprakash, district executive officer of the Vaazhndhu Kaatuvom Project in Tiruchy said, "The aim of our scheme is to provide special focus on rural women. 65 per cent of all participants in our projects are women, apart from aspiring entrepreneurs and members of vulnerable communities." He added,
"In Anthanallur we have connected the farmers with various expert groups including KVK Sirugamani, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU), Tamil Nadu Veterinary And Animal Sciences University (TNUVAS), agriculture department officials and many others by which we enable farmers to utilise their resources as well. We also provide monetary support from Rs 64,000 to Rs 1.10 lakh for training and other accessories. Our long-term aim is to make them self sustainable."