Water conservation, harvesting and budgeting techniques learnt by grassroots women allows them to grow crops even in the summer months
SSP has been working in the rural Marathwada for over 20 years. Due to erratic and low rainfall, the region often experiences droughts. Proper water management is an essential skill that farmers need to learn to carry out agriculture sustainably.
Anjana Kolekar, from Ambejawalga village in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra is a widow, who used to depend entirely on agriculture as a source of income. She used to grow the cash crop soya bean in her fields, and had to purchase seeds and fertilizer from the market at high rates. After joining SSP as a village leader, she learnt about organic farming and started practicing it on her own farm. Now she grows 15 different crops at one time, uses natural seeds and inputs like vermi-compost, and has increased her income by 50% in one season.
Because of erratic rainfall and droughts, Anjana tai used to face difficulties in agriculture, as many of her fruit trees and crops died. From SSP she learnt about water conservation, water harvesting and water budgeting techniques. She was able to avail of a scheme from the Department of Agriculture, and constructed a farm pond on her land. She also started using sprinklers to irrigate her crops. Due to trainings on water management, she now knows how much water each crop requires and has reduced wastage of this precious resource.
As a leader, Anjana tai works with women farmers in 6 villages, spreading awareness, creating farmer’s groups and linking them to ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Agency) schemes. In her own village, now 70% of the farmers have adopted water-saving practices and use sprinklers to irrigate their land. 15 women farmers have also constructed farm ponds, which provides them with water and allows them to grow crops even in the summer months.Swayam Shikshan Prayog
05th March, 2022