Vegetable cultivation changed life – Premi Garasia

Smt. Premi Garasia w/o Shri Rama Ram a tribal lady farmer of village – Jhamar (Abu Road) owns 1.0 ha irrigated cultivable land and grew maize and wheat for dietary requirement and sold surplus in the market. From existing cropping system, she hardly earned Rs. 21000-25000/- per annum. This income was not sufficient to satisfy her family’s requirement.  Her husband was suffering from serious disease and she spent all the income on treatment of her husband and also borrows money from money lender. She was debtor but now she is role model of village- Jhamar. After NAIP intervention, in zaid 2008 she took okra in 0.2 ha and bottlegourd in 0.05 ha area.  She sold vegetables in Abu Road Vegetable Market and earned Rs. 60000/- in that year. By this earning in lean season she became more enthusiastic and decided to cultivate vegetables round the year for more economic return and prosperity. She took 0.5 ha land on lease in the village. She cultivates vegetables in 1.0 ha area and put 0.5 ha area for cereal crops, fennel and castor.  In these crops she also adopted hybrids and HYV’s. In her words “I earn net income of more than Rs. 3.0 lakh per annum.  Today I am prosperous and have prestige in Garasia Community. I spent Rs.3.0 lakh on treatment of my husband and married daughters. I received ATMA award also. NAIP sub-project changed my life.” She also motivated neighboring farmers for vegetable cultivation and promised them that she will market their vegetables at higher price. By her efforts all the 112 farm families of Jhamar village are growing vegetables round the year. Smt. Premi   procures vegetables from farmers and sells in Abu Road Vegetable Market. She developed a market channel.  She purchased 2 mobile phones in the year 2009, one for her and another for her daughter. As per demand in the market she call her daughter for particular vegetable and her husband and daughter carries vegetables from the Jhamar village and fetch good price of vegetables.  By this way farmers of Jhamar are also getting higher price of their produce.

Prosperity due to cotton cultivation – Bheru Singh

For Bheru Singh, a small farmer of a village, Jharna (Mavli-I), NAIP provided good opportunity to became rich farmer. He has 1.5 ha agricultural land and hardly fulfilled needs of family by growing maize and wheat with traditional practices. According to him he never produced surplus more than 3-4 q wheat and 2-3 q maize in his life prior to NAIP.  By the use of HYV’s and scientific cultivation practices, he is produced 50 q surplus wheat and maize. He had never seen such bumper production and never dream of it. Looking to the bumper yield of maize and wheat he desired for cash crops. Under NAIP, support was provided to him for Bt. cotton cultivation. He cultivated cotton crop in 0.12 ha area and harvested cotton worth Rs. 20000/-. Thereafter, he adopted cotton cultivation in more area. Now he raises cotton seedlings in polyhouse prior to monsoon and transplant in the field after onset of monsoon. Looking to the success of cotton crop more than 250 farmers adopted cotton cultivation, whereas earlier no farmer was cultivating this crop. Due to adoption of cash crop and quality seed along with improved cultural practices he became prosperous and his annual income from agriculture is more than Rs. 1.8 lakh.

Quality seeds and crop diversification brought prosperity to Dharm Lal Gadari

A small farmer of village Bhimal (Mavli-I) Sh. Dharm Lal Gadari S/o Sh. Nathu Ji Gadari has 3.2 ha fragmented land with one open well. Due to fragmented and undulating land holding he cultivated only 3.0 ha land in kharif season and 1.5 ha in rabi season. Before NAIP intervention he grew maize and wheat. After fulfilling his family requirement he hardly sold cereals worth Rs. 20-25 thousand in a year. To fulfill his family’s need he purchased 5 buffaloes by taking loan from money lender and bank. But NAIP brought prosperity to him through seed replacement and crop diversification. After NAIP intervention he first time replaced seed of wheat with HYV Raj-3077 and harvested 11 q wheat from 0.2 ha (1 bigha) land whereas earlier he could harvest only 4-5 q wheat from same piece of land. Looking to the potential of improved varieties, he introduced hybrid maize in 0.2 ha and harvested 8.5 q maize whereas earlier productivity from same piece of land was only 3.0 – 3.5 q. He decided to adopt only HYV’s and hybrids of crops in his all fields. 

        Further under water management intervention, he was provided 20 HDPE pipes from the project. This helped him in achieving productivity of wheat 65 q/ha and maize 54 q/ha. He increased irrigated area during rabi by purchasing more pipes from market. He started Bt. cotton cultivation and is harvesting cotton of value Rs. 25000/- from 0.2 ha. With increased income he purchased more buffaloes and now he is having 15 buffaloes. He also purchased all necessary farm implements, bike, dug tube well and constructed new house. His wards are studying at Udaipur.  In his own words “Earlier I had debt, but now I have bank deposit of Rs. 1.0 lakh and my yearly net saving is Rs. 1.5 lakh. Thanks to NAIP for this change.”

Jhambukhand Kisan Agro Producer Company Limited – Enhancing the Prosperity and Sustainability

The Jhambukhand Kisan Agro Producer Company Limited (JKAPCL) came to life under a National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) program entitled Livelihood and Nutritional Security of Tribal Dominated Areas through Integrated Farming System and Technology Models. With the guidance and support of organizations including Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), and ACCESS development Services, JKAPCL has taken great strides towards becoming a self-sustaining organization capable of empowering small and marginal farmers. The use of self-help principles to create Farmer Business Groups (FBGs) has helped facilitate savings, enhance the aggregation of farmer surpluses to generate more marketing power, and allowed for training and capacity building sessions to directly benefit well over 1,000 farmers throughout 11 villages of the Banswara District.
Institutionalization
The institutional structure of the JKAPCL is highly decentralized, thus promoting heightened autonomy and leadership at all levels while allowing for the demands at the individual level to be reflected in company actions. Currently, the JKAPCL is comprised of 724 members spanning 11 villages. These members are organized into FBGs ranging in size from 10-20 farmers. A total of 54 FBGs split between two clusters, Garhi and Talwara, hold monthly meetings to collect savings, discuss any concerns and determine agricultural input demands for the upcoming month. Each FBG has three leadership positions – president, secretary and cashier. The president represents their FBG at a monthly cluster meeting where member fees are collected and business issues pertaining to agricultural input demand and commodity prices are discussed. Groups have
demonstrated a robust 90% attendance rate, as absent groups are held accountable through a financial penalty. Through their savings efforts to date the FBGs have generated cumulative savings of Rs 4,00,000.
Governance
JKAPCL is self-governed by a fourteen person Board of Directors comprised of eleven members each representing a village, two expert directors from MPUAT and ADS, as well as the company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as an ex-officio member. The Board appointed CEO manages JKAPCL’s staff and business operations. The staff currently consists of two production managers, a village institution expert and an account/administrative manager. The production managers aggregate the demand from various villages through the eleven service providers, one situated in each village. The service providers are the key representatives in each village for demand inquiry, output aggregation, as well as product, service, and information dissemination. The village institution expert extensively monitors the FBGs and serves as a communication platform for all the actors in JKAPCL. The account/administrative manager keeps the financial accounts of the company. The Producer Company has been federated into a legal entity, thus creating significant opportunities for further expansion, raising additional capital, establishing marketing linkages, and bolstering overall member empowerment.
Business Activities
JKAPCL is currently engaged in several business activities, with its main focus on providing agricultural inputs in a more affordable and timely manner. Though JKACPL has a long-term preference for output marketing, the large scale demand for input supplies has led the company to intervene in order to more aptly supply these goods. In 2009-10 JKAPCL achieved INR 12.5 lakh turnover while attaining 481 members. Thus far in 2010-11 (through 31st December 2010) JKAPCL has achieved INR 24 lakh turnover and impacted more than 1,000 households. Currently input supply is predominantly seed and fertilizers while a majority of output marketing comes through the sale of wheat and maize.
JKAPCL is currntly utilizing four avenues to generate ample working capital to facilitate their operations; share capital, credit extension from input providers, loans from FBGs and additional farmer savings. JKAPCL has an authorized share capital of Rs 10,00,000 with a paid up capital of approximately Rs 1,10,000. The credit extended by several companies in certain input varieties has supported JKAPCL in more efficiently providing input supply regardless of the level of working capital. Members are now making substantial monthly savings, thus allowing JKAPCL to take out short term loans from 17 of the FBG’s to help in carrying out its business. Lastly, JKAPCL has benefited from supplementary working capital of approximately Rs 1,40,000 provided by 74 farmers as additional savings.
Impacts
The JKAPCL has catalyzed a diverse set of direct and indirect benefits for farmers choosing to engage in the services provided. Direct economic impacts are quantifiable by analyzing the savings generated through several of the subsidized inputs provided to farmers. The table below reveals that Rs 2.8 lakh have been saved through the first three quarters of the current fiscal year with at least 576 farmers sharing the savings. When looking more broadly at the complete array of inputs provided by the JKAPCL the cash realization is even more impressive. During the previous fiscal year of 2009-10, 463 farmers realized a combined Rs 5.08 lakh.
Farmers engaging in JKAPCL activities benefited additionally through the windfall of social empowerments. Several such positive impacts include: bolstered leadership capacity, increased market sensibilities, and a widened knowledge base ideal for forward thinking. The JKAPCL currently has 54 well functioning FBGs making regular savings. Eight training sessions have been conducted to enhance the leadership within these FBGs. Furthermore, the FBGs have even begun meeting regularly outside of the JKAPCL required times, thus revealing a heightened understanding of the importance of a strong group. Each FBG representative attends a monthly cluster level meeting with approximately 30 other leaders in attendance. At these meetings the representatives must depict leadership in order to make known any group issues or demands. Similar leadership is being bred at the Board of Directors level. Here village representatives must understand how to manage accounting, conduct performance reviews, understand legal compliance and be active in the decision making process.
Very limited market information was available to prior to JKAPCL intervention, and most farmers underestimated their ability to benefit from better prices for their inputs and outputs. Increased market knowledge is the product of ongoing trainings, regular meetings and overall exposure to the Producer Company’s operations. Now members more fully understand the market power they have when pooling their output surpluses. Many members even inquire daily as to the prices being given for certain crops. Consequently, local traders are far less able to capture unjust margins from these farmers.
Lastly, increased incomes, savings, leadership, market knowledge and overall social capital have combined to give the farmers the opportunity think in the long-run. Members use their newfound advantages to plan more properly in terms of purchasing, selling, and making investments for their households.
Current Challenges
JKAPCL is faced by two challenges at this stage of development with the primary issue being limited working capital. The strained working capital held by the Producer Company is tied up in transactions most pertinent for members; consequently the undertaking of large-scale investment to begin proper output marketing is not feasible. A substantial portion of the working capital is channeled to purchasing the agri-inputs demanded by members. Several of the input providers are extending credit to JKAPCL thus mitigating the working capital constraint; however, credit in itself is not enough to generate sufficient working capital for expansion in output marketing. Furthermore, the supply of fertilizer is insufficient during peak demand seasons, thus it is in the interest of JKAPCL to generate a stock during low demand seasons. This too is not currently possible because any funds are channeled towards meeting present demands. New avenues for working capital generation are essential for JKAPCL to expand business and reach self-sustainability in more timely fashion.
The other primary challenge faced by the JKAPCL is the impending lack of grant capital. The NAIP funding for capacity building of staff and Board members terminates in March of 2013. It is necessary for JKAPCL to work in anticipation of losing this funding in order to ensure the funds needed for capacity building until the Producer Company reaches self-sustainability.
Future Business
JKAPCL has several key business endeavors in preparations for the upcoming years. The primary focus for business expansion will focus on output marketing of surplus member produce and production of agricultural seed for sale. The Producer Company’s goal is to shift focus to expand output marketing of wheat, maize, and other vegetables, as the resources become available. This will include proper certification, branding and marketing so as to achieve high levels of sales. JKAPCL also intends to engage in the marketing and sales of maize and wheat seed.

First Annual General Meeting of JKAPCL

First Annual General Meeting of the "Jhambukhand Kisan Agro Producer Company Limited, Banswara(Raj.) a company formed under NAIP sub-project sanctioned to MPUAT, Udaipur (component-3) will be held on 23rd of September, 2010 at village - Vajakhara (Sagawaria), Banswara. Over 800 shareholder farmers are likely to participate.
The main attractions of the event:-
1 Issue of JKAPCL Share
2. Announcement of Board of Directors
3. Jhambukhand Kisan Sammelan- "Corporate Farmer Interaction"
4. Prize distribution
5. Cultural event

Dr. Mehta and Dr. Singh visited NAIP operational area

RPC Chairman Dr.S.L.Mehta and Director, World Agro-forestry Centre (ICRAF) Dr. V.P.Singh visited villages of NAIP cluster Mavli-I for implementation of NAIP component-1 project (Enabling Small Holders to Improve their Livelihood and Benefit from Carbon Finance). They discussed the project with the villagers and advised them to take advantage of carbon finance by bringing more area under plantation and other interventions. On this occasion CPI Dr. I.J.Mathur, Co-PI's Dr. B.L.Baser, Dr.R.P.S.Yadav and Dr. S.K.Intodia were also present. In the morning Dr. Singh interacted with Director Extension and Co-PI's of the NAIP sanctioned project to MPUAT, Udaipur under component-3. He appraised partners for taking advantage of carbon finance for improving livelihoods of tribal households.

The Consortium Implementation Committee Meeting

The Consortium Implementation Committee Meeting of the NAIP sanctioned sub-project to MPUAT, Udaipur under component-3 was held on 18th August, 2010 in the chairmanship of Hon'ble Vice-chancellor & Consortioum Leader Dr. S.S. Chahal to review the progress and action plan of consortium. In the meeting training programme of all the partners reviewed and re-designed with major emphasis on skill development of youth and farm households. The committe also reviewed the status of fund utilization. It was decided that high impact interventions should be given emphasis for horizontal expansion in the operational area. Vegetable cultivation and Seed replacement made dent across the clusters. All the partners were requested to complete "Krishak Darpan" (Entitlement Card), so that models for each cluster can be worked out. Further, each partner should develop integrated package for households and villages in their operational area. Sustainability Fund accounts must be audited before VI CAC meeting. Synergy with line departments should be strenghthened for horizontal expansion of successful interventions. IARI was requested to organize a training on protected cultivation at New Delhi. HVC & CL Dr.S.L. Chahal said that there will be separate pages for NAIP in the university magazine "Rajasthan Kheti- Pratap" from next month. He emphasized on the documentation of successful models with good photographs. He congratulated all the partners for their selfless efforts for livelihood security of tribal farmers.