A farmer in Chhattisgarh has benefitted from modern agricultural technology which has helped him to increase productivity.

Paras Beck, a tribal farmer from a small village Keria in Dharmjaigarh block of Chhattisgarh was cultivating vegetable and paddy in his 3.5 acres of land but even after investing a lot of money, he was unable to get half of the profit. 

The low productivity in agriculture can be attributed due to bad soil fertility, less rainfall, low input, or unscrumptious use of technology and practices.

Caritas India is working with the tribal population of Chhattisgarh through her Gram Nirman program to increase their income in on-farm and off-farm livelihood initiatives. The program is implemented by Vikas Social Service Society to improve access of various entitlements from the existing schemes and programmes and making efforts towards availing recognition and empowerment of most marginalised sections, especially widows, widowers, PLWDs, etc. in the society.

Paras met the Gram Nirman team and was influenced by the guidance and training given to the farmers in his village. He says, ‘when I saw some of my fellow farmers were performing better in terms of crops yielding and profit, I out of my curiosity asked them how they can do so well in farming, then I discovered that they are a member of some farmer club formed under Gram Nirman program wherein they get a lot of information and support, so what immediately I joint the farmer club and started participating in it.’ 

Surprisingly, as Paras joint the farmer club, he along with some selected farmers were taken for an exposure visit to one of the model agriculture farms in Surguja district by GN team where they witnessed modern technology used for cultivation of vegetables. Paras says, ‘It was an amazing day of my life, despite investing lot of money and labour my crops never looked like the crops I witnessed today, this visit has been indeed an enriching one, in fact, a turning point of my life as a farmer.’

Farmer club members also discussed with the farmer of the farm and learnt about various techniques of improving crop yielding. After the return, Paras expressed a desire to Gram Nirman team to adopt drip irrigation method which he witnessed during the exposure visit. On his request, Gram Nirman team linked him to the horticulture department. And he was supported with a drip irrigation system along with training and seeds and plants. Moreover, he was also provided mulching for weed control on subsidy price. 

He installed a drip irrigation system under the supervision of the horticulture department and Gram Nirman team. Integration of his hard work and technology started paying off the price.

He had very good crop production this time which increased his income 35% more compared to other time. Moreover, his expenses have gone down. Paras states, ‘ Earlier my crops needed more water but after installation of the drip irrigation system, now I not only contribute to the environment by saving water but also get better crops and income, moreover, adoption of mulching has reduced my expenses, previously I had to pay a lot of money to labour for removing weeds.’ 

Further, Paras Beck has inspired even two other farmers in the village who have also adopted the drip irrigation system. People from the neighbouring village are visiting his vegetable farm and curious to know the magical techniques he uses for farming. He is considered as a modern farmer in the club and consulted by other farmers on regular basis. He also promotes for the better cropping to use organic manure and avoid using chemical fertilizer to other farmers of the village.