The farming sector has invariably been plagued by several problems like loss of agricultural land, lack of local seeds and seedlings, irrigation, lack of infrastructure in the agricultural sector, manures, fertilizer, biocides and others. These problems, directly and indirectly, affect the life of farmers. Farming practices and other activities of agriculture consume arduous time as well as the efforts of a farmer. Duplicate seeds and agricultural markets are one of the common problems faced by marginalised farmers. The seeds are the basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seeds is as critical as the production of seeds.  Good quality seeds are out of reach for the majority of the farmers particularly small and marginalised ones mainly because excessive prices of better seeds mean a lesser rate of sapling survival.

Similarly, Mr. Boren Singh and many other marginalised farmers from Baliahati village, Jhargram district of West Bengal were facing these difficulties to buy seeds and saplings for seasonal vegetable cultivation. They never had good memories of getting good seeds and seedlings from the market vendors. Middleman and vendors raise the prices 3-5 times higher than normal, which they are bound to as there was no other way. The untimely supply, degraded seeds and seedling’s health were the reasons for low yield. Realising the root cause of the problem, farmers initiate group dialogue within themselves exploring possible solutions through the platform of U3 which focuses on Community Led action as one of the strategies to tackle village-level issues. Through the U3 programme, communities are made self-sustainable to secure their livelihood and agricultural practices. The programme is supported by Miseroer partnering with Caritas India and the diocese of Kolkata-Seva Kendra Kolkata.

Farmers have come forward with a solution of Community Farming (collective farming practice) i.e., community seed bed – 8.33 decimal. Six identified farmers have agreed to produce their own saplings from local/indigenous varieties and through the U3 programme, they were trained and oriented on seed preservation, seed bed making, organic manure preparation, and pest control. As this is a community-led initiative- the working together approach is employed- i.e., monitoring daily for overseeing and nurturing – weekly three days of two hours by the farmer’s group. Five khatas of land was identified and prepared to make seed bed for Tamara, cabbage, cauliflower, and chilli with an estimate of 9000 saplings. A resolution was made by the farmer’s group that no chemical fertilizer and pesticides will be used for saplings and seed beds.

Farmers take saplings as per their need with cost price, and extra saplings are to be sold at a minimum price to the village farmers, who agreed to maintain organic farming. To date, they have spent a maximum of Rs. 5,000/- only for setting up the sapling. Expected saplings such as Tamara, cabbage, cauliflower, and chilli sale would be Rs. 32,000/- to Rs.40,000/-. They have already received various saplings requisition/orders worth Rs. 16,000/-.

A similar model is now introduced in many parts of the project area in West Bengal.  An estimated 30,000/- saplings are produced under group/community farming. Such a simple initiative has nurtured a community-building spirit by fostering empowerment through self-sustainable strategies.