Gariaband : Maize Cultivation empowering rural farming families
Gariaband |
04-Oct-2022
1026
'More than 18 quintals of maize produced in two and a half acres of land acquired from forest rights lease'
Gariaband TNIS
The ambitious farmer- friendly schemes of Chhattisgarh government are proving to be a boon for the farmers who are earning substantial income by engaging in the cultivation of alternative cash crops. Even farmers of the state involved in small scale farming are also earning a better income from farming. With the initiative of the government and their hard work, farmers are writing new success stories . Continuous efforts are being made by the government and administration to make the farmers of the state financially empowered and to bring positive changes in their lives. To encourage farmers to take on the cultivation of new crops, the Agriculture Department is taking the initiative of connecting them with high quality seeds of different kinds of cash crops and educating them about modern farming.
One such story is of Salik Ram Dhruv hailing from Jaitpuri village, settled in the Vananchal area under Gariaband development block. Salik began to engage in maize cultivation by making better use of the forest patta given by the government after heeding advice and efforts of the Agriculture Department. Like most of the farmers of the state,salik was involved in paddy cultivation before.But with the guidance from the Agricultural Department, he planted free maize seeds (KMH-3426) provided by the Agriculture Department in two and a half acres of his field and he accomplished a great yield by producing about 18 quintals of maize from this cultivation. With maize cultivation, he has made substantial profit by selling more than 8 quintals in the open market. Salik Ram says that seeing the quality of maize, businessmen from nearby and other districts also used to come and buy maize. This improved his financial condition to a great extent.
Instead of the commonly adopted paddy farming, his family is becoming financially empowered with the income from maize. Salik Ram informs that out of the total production, about 10 quintals of maize will now be sold under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. With this they will also get the dividend of this scheme. Salik Ram is also educating his son Atmaram and others about the the tricks of farming alternative cash crops. Now both father and son are involved in farming in their land. His son Atmaram said that the yield of maize has come out really well, which has encouraged him to pursue this even further. He also said that the internet of youth is rising towards farming due to alternative and modern approaches towards farming. Atmaram said that he would encourage nearby farmers to take up other crops as well. So that they can also get empowered financially. Salik Ram,along with maize farming is also involved in fish farming and mushroom production and is earning additional profit with these alternative farming. Salik Ram and his son Atmaram thanked the State Government, District Administration and Agriculture Department for making them financially viable, to pursue maize cultivation.
