Baby Patar, Jagabandhu Sanda and Rohan Mukerjee
On 9th December 2023 a program was organized in Patkita village, East Singhbhum District, Jharkhand involving 46 participants from Patkita and adjoining villages. The program highlighted the benefits and importance of traditional agricultural practices like the Kocha Badge – homestead plots with a variety of crops as well as wild and uncultivated food trees and plants. It covered the need for adopting and practicing organic agriculture practices, its benefits as well as the challenges posed by modern agriculture, threats to crop diversity by hybrid seeds and threats to soil diversity and sustainability posed by chemical intensive modern agriculture practices. Farmers like Pushpa Bhumij shared their experience with organic agriculture. Pushpa from Patkita pointed out that she had established a kitchen / nutrition garden in a 2 decimal plot adjoining the road and she is keen that people get motivated to establish their own kitchen gardens by witnessing the success she has achieved. She also teaches the youth about cultivation and how to establish and manage a kitchen garden. She cultivates green leafy vegetables, tomato, brinjal, lauki / Bottle Gourd, pumpkin, beans and other crops. The farmers also shared how their Kocha Badge are a source of a variety of uncultivated foods that include greens, tubers and fruits.
Jagabandhu Sanda had a training session which dealt with the benefits of natural and organic practices in terms of ensuring soil health, sustainability of the ecosystem and our health and nutrition as well. He also emphasized the need for improved coordination between farmers and concerned government agencies and departments for the strengthening and promotion of organic and natural farming in the region.
The meeting was also attended by Kisan Mitra, Dinesh Donda and Bank Mitra Bagun Soy. Dinesh Donda highlighted the benefits of traditional and organic farming practices and the need for government and farmers to work together to promote these practices. He described different schemes like Dadi Badi – a Jharkhand Government initiative to make organic kitchen gardens a reality for all; and linking farmers to LAMS (Large Area Multipurpose Scheme) to address a variety of issues like availability of local seeds and selling organic outputs. The bank manager talked about the need to create an overall environment to support farmers for organic agriculture and discussed the different support systems being made available through banks for organic farmers and promised to immediately follow up on any enquiries made by farmers at his bank.
There was also a discussion on how a successful local economy based around organic and natural farming practices can help counter the problem of migration of youth from the area by providing a viable source of income in the area itself. Farmers like Kamaljeet Hembram shared how they would now look to work closely with Kisan Mitra and also take advantage of available schemes to further strengthen their organic practices.
The meeting ended with a pledge that farmers, youth, government representatives and NGOs of the area would continue to collaborate and work together to safeguard, strengthen and promote the diverse natural farming practices and food systems of the area working towards creating a vibrant local economy built around sustainable organic agriculture.
