“I would tell women farmers to start organic farming at a small-scale at least. It might take some time, but they will see that farming can also be made affordable using bio-farming methods,” says woman leader Meenakshi Mote, from Yewati village in Osmanabad District, Maharashtra.
Meenakshi’s family used to complain about how unaffordable farming on their 2-acre farm was, and her husband used to work as a driver to make ends meet. Though Meenakshi was keen to work outside the house, she had little knowledge of the opportunities available for homemakers like her. In 2017, when she first learnt about SSP, she attended trainings on the Women-led Climate Resilient Farming Model, and was keen to implement that in her own farm. Though hesitant, her family members allowed her to practice organic farming of vegetables on 10 guntas of land initially. Over time, with successful output from the farm using these methods, Meenakshi and her husband slowly started expanding the area of organically cultivated crops, until in 2022 they were cultivating the full 2 acre farm using bio-farming methods. With increased productivity and income from farming, her husband also started working full-time as a farmer.
Following her first training, Meenakshi also attended SSP’s Entrepreneurship Development Program and began to diversify into other agri-allied businesses. Starting with the purchase of a buffalo using a loan she received from SSP, over time she diversified into the dairy and poultry business as well. She also practices vermicomposting on her farm, and has set up a biogas unit which she uses from household cooking. Her family earns around Rs. 80,000 per season from agriculture. Further, her earnings from the dairy and poultry business that amount to around Rs.8,500 per month belong to her independently, and are saved in her personal bank account.
Meenakshi tai has emerged as a strong rural woman leader in her village, and is well-respected and recognised for her work. She has been promoting the WCRF agriculture model amongst other women, and has successfully linked 30 farmers (mainly women) with the government’s ATMA department for organic farming.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
March 20, 2023