Agriculture is the primary source of income for Jharkhand’s rural communities. The State’s agriculture economy is characterised by reliance on nature, low investment, low productivity, monocropping, insufficient irrigation facilities, and small and marginal land holdings. Rain is essential for agriculture in Jharkhand. Unirrigated land accounts for 92% of total cultivated land. The state’s cultivable land resources have a high potential for increased production.

Soil fertility, on the other hand, has been depleted as a result of soil erosion and a failure to recycle biomass. The rainfall data show that the state receives adequate rainfall, but surface water availability is insufficient due to inadequate water storage facilities. Groundwater, on the other hand, is not recharged due to a lack of appropriate artificial measures.  Day by day the farmers have been shifting from healthy to unhealthy agriculture practices. There has been little change in agricultural practices in rural communities, resulting in low production. Even traditional methods are being abandoned by younger generations. Gradually, a scenario emerges in which community members are forced to relocate to nearby cities and other states due to crop failure.

Caritas India, with support from Caritas Australia, is implementing Gram Nirman Programme in 11 districts across Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in response to a perceived need in the agricultural sector.

One of the programme objectives is to strengthen local rural economies through small-scale integrated farming systems, agri-markets, and income generation. On September 29, 2022, the Gram Nirman core team facilitated training for selected 25 farmers from Latehar, Hazaribag, Ranchi, Saraikela, and East Singhbhum. Mr. Pradipta Kishor Chand, Lead CAA&FS took a session for farmers on the aforementioned subject.

The participants were acquainted with the identification of a farmer’s agriculture components, management of farm resources and increasing farm components, identification and analysis of agricultural problems, crop rotation for better management and crop productivity, revival of traditional agriculture practices to manage cost-effectiveness in agriculture inputs, indigenous knowledge and wisdom, identification of local innovations, and best practices for agriculture.

The key discussions revolved around improving crop production through the integration of farm components and creating resilient farm livelihoods. Farmers were advised to improve the health of farmland by using organic inputs and once the farm health is restored farmers can produce a better crop using only their own resources. Adoption of better and healthier agricultural practices, as well as improving agricultural components at the household level, was heavily emphasised during the training. The topics covered helped to increase farmers’ knowledge and motivated them to adopt healthy agriculture practices, ensuring their farm livelihood and food security.

The participant farmers were excited to learn new agricultural practices and better management of farm components such as recycling farm waste, using livestock waste to improve the health of the land, and using two methods when cultivating crops on the land.

At the end of the training session, the farmers decided to incorporate more farm components into their farming practices and to encourage other farmers to do the same.