This story is a perfect example of how inspiration can work to bring a dramatic change in one’s life. Archana Raut from Mungashi Village in Solapur district was content with cultivating her 4 acre farm with cash crops in the traditional manner using chemical fertilizers. Her family had a supportive income by selling milk from the 20 cattle they also owned to feed her family of five members.
Archana received training organized by Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) on organic farming and vermi-composting in January 2022. With the guidance of SSP, she planted 20 vermi-composting beds with 20 tonne capacity on her land at one go. She got a good yield and was able to sell 6 tonnes of vermi compost directly to farmers at Rs.10 per kg and earned Rs 60,000 and by selling 1,000 litres of vermi-wash she earned Rs. 25,000/. Apart from this, Bharari Producer Company, Solapur sold 420 kg of Vermi compost on her behalf at Rs 8 / kg. She earned Rs 3,360/-. Her total earnings therefore were Rs. 88,360 this season. Now she has 14 tonnes Vermi compost in hand and 1,000 kg vermi wash ready for sale. She is expecting an overall profit of Rs 1,65,000/- from both.
Further, she persuaded five more women to experiment with vermi-wash in 1 acre each of their Grape and Ladies finger farms instead of chemicals. A very good yield has now become the talk of the village, with visitors pouring in to see the farms, including many women and youngsters.
Archana shifted to organic farming completely, also using bio-fertilizers with the cow-dung readily available from her cattle. She is cultivating fodder for her animals in 2 acres of land now without using urea to get organic dairy products as well. Her success inspired 15 other women to plant 53 beds for vermi-composting in the village.
Now Archana plans to create 10 more vermi-compost beds to increase her business. She has ambitious plans to convert the entire village to organic farming by encouraging more women to go the vermi-composting and bio-fertilizer way. Bharari Farmer Producer Company, Solapur, promoted by SSP, is helping to brand and package her products to promote them to the bigger market.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
11th July, 2022