A Farmer to withstand the lockdown: Resilience amidst adversity

When the lockdown was announced Sukuram Debbarma from Uruabari village in West Tripura was among the few who faced the situation better than the rest.

During the initial phases of lockdown, Tripura was counted among the least COVID 19 affected states. Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST), the Caritas India partner reported that some farmers in their FARM Northeast project villages were practising cultivation by following the safety measures.

“Going for cultivation was the necessity to ensure food security of my family”, says Sukuram. “Though I have taken all the necessary precautionary measures.”

Sukuram is one of the lead farmers in his area and toils hard in his fields to produce food for his family. Unlike the majority of the small farmers, he counted himself among the rarest ones who did not have to face the crisis of food as he had enough food stocks to support his family. Sukuram’s food stocks included paddy, bottle gourd, a variety of beans, bitter gourd, chillies, maize, pumpkin etc.

He is dependent on agriculture for his sustenance and cultivate vegetables, paddy and has a small rubber garden which is a valuable cash crop. The variety of production gives him an edge to withstand the adversity of any time. Sukuram is an active member of the FARM Northeast farmers group and has received various technical trainings on farming.

“FARM team has supported me and many other farmers with seeds outsourced from the ICAR. During the third phase of lockdown, I devoted my time in sowing the seeds”, says Sukuram. Earlier he could harvest enough to support his family’s requirement during the lean period. However, the pandemic had an impact on his earnings. Sukuram could not sell his products during the peak of lockdown months.

Sukuram did not have to depend on relief support and this was possible only because he had food stocks that could last for almost 5-6 months. “I never imagined that such situations could also arise, thankfully I grew enough food that could support my family and now I am experienced enough ensure my food security no matter what the situation is”, shares Sukuram.

Sukuram is among those rare lead farmers who set examples by building resilience during such an unwarranted situation.