JHARKHAND : Life of Sushana Kandir, 40, of Siyankel village in Khunti, 40 km from State Capital Ranchi, was not the same two years back and she used to live in a ‘kuccha’ house, but now, she has a ‘pucca’ house and has started sending her two children to English medium school. Thanks to Mahila Kisan Shaskatikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) and JOHAR Project of Jharkhand government, under which, she was given training in lac cultivation through scientific methods which increased her profit to manifold than what she was getting earlier through traditional method of lac cultivation.
Lacquer cultivation, which used to be a traditional farming in Jharkhand and was on the verge of extinction, has been revived with the initiatives taken by the State Government by providing scientific training to the local villagers under MKSP and ‘JOHAR’ Project. More than 73 lakh households living in the interiors of Jharkhand are attached to the project and they are earning a profit of up to Rs 3 lakh per annum.
The farmers, under this project are not only provided scientific training for lac cultivation, but they are also being provided a market to ensure that they get the right price for their produce.
Sushana said that she was given five days and then three days of training on scientific cultivation of lac by Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS). “Earlier, I used to live in a ‘kuccha’ house, but with the profits obtained from scientific methods of lac cultivation, I have constructed a ‘pucca’ house and sent our two children to English medium schools. Moreover, before adopting scientific methods of lac cultivation, we did not have any back account, but now, we have a bank account and also saving money in it for the future of our children,” said Sushana. Although their forefathers were engaged in lac cultivation with traditional methods since ages, she started doing it through scientific methods in 2021 which gives her 2-3 times more profit than earlier, she added.
“I planted 15 kg of seeds on 30 trees investing Rs 6000 and harvested 120 kg of lac after six months, getting a profit of Rs 72,000 in merely 6 months. Earlier, with the same investment, we used to get only 10-15 kg of produce,” said Sushana. In addition to that, she also sells seeds prepared at home, she added.Sushana said that earlier she has be dependent on her husband for everything but she has become independent.
Ranjeeta Devi of Rumkut village in West Singhbhum has also increased her income manifold by adopting the scientific technique of lac cultivation after being trained by the JSLPS.
“Since we live in a remote area, our livelihood primarily depends on forest and forest produce. Lac cultivation was also done earlier in our family, but after joining the Self Help Group, we were trained to cultivate lac in a scientific way through a 25-day CRP drive. Now, the yield has increased several times further increasing my income multiple times,” said Rajeeta Devi. Last year, she planted 300 kg of lac seeds which gave her a yield of 15 quintals bringing her an income of ` 3 lakh, she added.Ranjeeta further added, “ Today other women of my village are also providing financial assistance to their families.”
Another beneficiary, Ashrita Gudiya of Durungikala village in Latehar, said that she has earned an income of `1.43 lakh this year only from lacquer cultivation.
JSLPS officials said that besides providing technical knowledge and training for lac cultivation, rural women are also provided a market for their produce under MKSP and JOHAR Project. Since, the three host trees —Palash, Kusum and Ber— are found in abundance all over the state, lac cultivation is suitable for Jharkhand, he said.