Muti-cropping revolutionised life of struggling Telangana farmer

Like millions of farmers across the country, Jagnu Athram relies on a small plot of land for survival.

For years, he was doing monocropping. The wrong agricultural practices robbed the soil of nutrients and reduced its fertility, resulting in lower yields every season.
Jagnu lives in a small tribal village Manikyapur in the Komaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. Agriculture was the only source of income that barely fulfilled his family’s needs. He was always worried about the future and did not know how to cope with the changing situation.

Severe drought, lack of groundwater irrigation sources, digging bore wells for water, extreme indebtedness, and the failure of bank institutions to extend the loans aggravated the situation and jeopardised the lives of people depending on agriculture.

But Jagnu started adapting, taking the lead from the Ujjwala project of the U3 programme that is working towards fostering and securing self-sustaining climate-resilient and adaptive agriculture and livelihoods.

In one of the animation programmes conducted by Ujjwala at Thiryani Mandal, Manikyapur Gram Panchayat, he learned about multi-cropping, which involves growing different crops on the same land in different seasons or at the same time. With the encouragement of the Diocese of Adilabad and constant dialogue with the Ujjwala team, Jangu decided to indulge himself in multi-cropping on his land.

He decided to convert his 1 acre of barren land into an integrated nutrition garden through multi-cropping. To irrigate his land, he borrowed his brother’s agriculture motor and pipeline to pull water from an adjacent stream that flows beside his land.

The animation programme supported farmers, including Jangu, with nine varieties of vegetable seeds to start cultivation. The farmers were trained in climate-adaptive agriculture practises, preparation-integrated nutrient management (INM), and integrated pest management (IPM), which are methods of using organic and natural inputs to improve soil health and control pests and diseases.

Earlier, Jangu used to sell farmyard manure to purchase chemical fertilisers like urea, DAP, and other chemical products. But after the Ujjwala team’s guidance, he started using farmyard manure on his own farm to boost soil fertility.

After 1 year of multi-cropping, Jangu observed positive results, and his efforts turned out to be fruitful. He is happy with the crops, and his efforts played a major role in converting barren land into a fruitful one.

Maize, sorghum, wheat, onions, and different types of vegetables are grown on his farm. From his multi-cropping farming, he sold corn for Rs. 400 per kg and green corn for Rs. 20 per kg in the market and earned Rs 8,000 per year. He kept one quintal of dry corn in his storage, and he may get 50kg of maize for self-consumption.
Jangu sold 200 kg of tomatoes at Rs. 20 per kg and earned Rs. 4,000. Fresh vegetables are not only consumed but also sold to earn around Rs. 2,000. Within the period of 3 months, he has earned Rs. 14,000 with a net profit of Rs. 9,000. He also earns an extra income of Rs. 3,000 every month.

The U3 programme has helped improve not only the dietary diversity of the Jagnu family but also their economic condition. The program since its inception has impacted hundreds of families to live a dignified life and continues to create the change in community.