An inspiring story of food security on World Food Day
Sixty-seven year-old Vanita More, from Telki village in Nanded district, Maharashtra shows us that one is never too old to bring about change! Having been associated with SSP since 2010 of its climate resilient farming initiative, Vanita Tai is a pioneer who has inspired many women farmers to experiment with diverse agriculture practices & marketing strategies.
With a husband who worked out of town, & children grown up & employed, Vanita More was solely responsible for her 5 acre family farm. After associating with SSP & participating in various trainings, she convinced her husband to transfer some of the land in her name. Here she started experimenting with organic farming, mixed cropping & vermicomposting. As her land is irrigated, Vanita was able to harvest two crops in a year. She currently grows turmeric (haldi), soyabean, pulses, grains & vegetables organically, in her farm.
Realizing that selling her produce, raw, in nearby markets was not cost-effective, Vanita Tai took a loan from a bank to buy a pulse processing machine in 2013. She also availed of the government’s ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) scheme to get a subsidy on her purchase. Being a part of an agricultural producer’s group, she had the support of other women, who sold their produce to her. She also employed them in her processing activities. Over time as her business grew, local farmers saw the benefits of her food processing business & began selling their produce to her directly. Today she buys produce from approximately 15 farmers.
Vanita Tai also developed partnerships with various institutions & consumers, to market her products. She currently sells processed turmeric & pulses to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (Nanded), Ramanand Tirth University (Nanded), District Office (Nanded) & the Zilla Parishad Office (Nanded). Further, she is invited to exhibit her products in the government’s Dhanya Mahotsav or food festival every year. She has traveled across Osmanabad, Latur, Sagaroli, Malegaon & Nanded in Maharashtra, as well as Hyderabad & Delhi, to promote her organic products. He also parcels her products to consumers from Delhi, Mumbai & Hyderabad, who order from her directly & make payments online.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
16th October, 2021