Introduction:

Have you ever heard that the bitter gourd can be sweet? Well, they are bringing sweetness to the lives of small and medium farmers of Kotamdar village in Dangs. These farmers used to grow traditional crops like paddy and finger millet on their farms. With these crops, they could hardly earn rs. 2500/- in five Guntha . AKRSP-India introduced bitter gourd, a creeper vegetable as high valued crop in this region to diversify the agriculture practices and improve the livelihoods of small and medium farmers in Dangs. This brought a significant rise in the income of farmers. Today, farmers earn rs. 50,000/- from 5 guntha of land by growing bitter gourd in Kotamdar village. Initially, four farmers were supported with a creeper kit containing materials for making trellies and seeds of bitter gourd in this village in 2017. Today after five years 72 farmers are cultivating bitter gourd as a creeper vegetable in this village. The cultivation of creeper vegetables not only increases the income of these farmers but also provides them with fresh vegetables to consume.

Village and Community:

The Dangs is one of the poorest tribal districts in India. 96% population of the Dangs are tribals and are involved in agricultural activities. About 85% farmers hold less than a hectare of land and not more than 10% have any means of irrigation. Kotamdar is situated in the Waghai block of Dangs. Most of the farmers in this village are dependent on rainfed agriculture. They used to grow traditional crops like paddy and finger millet as their kharif crop. Through traditional crops, they were able to earn around 15000-20000 in their land. In the remaining seasons, these farmers used to migrate with their families for labor work in other districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Interventions:

AKRSP-India promoted creeper vegetables in Kotamdar village from 2017. Bitter Gourd being high valued crop was the chosen creeper. Each participating farmer was provided input support of Rs 8000 /- for 5 Gunthas of his land. Since the total cost of input was Rs. 28000, each farmer also contributed the remaining amount of Rs. 20000.

Along with the input support, AKRSP-India also organised training and exposure visits for farmers. This has helped them to improve their knowledge and understanding of growing bitter gourd as a creeper vegetable.

While promoting creeper vegetables to increase income, AKRSP-India also worked to reduce the input cost of these farmers. Farmers were provided training on preparing bio inputs like Amrit Pani, panch patti kadha etc. The cost of preparing these inputs is low. This has also helped farmers to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Hence the cost of cultivation was reduced, and the quality of bitter gourd improved.

Outcome

Mariyabhai Bhagol from Kotamdar village has quoted, “we didn’t have any income activity in our village, we were unemployed and were forced to go to Maharashtra to do labor work. Since AKRSP-India supported us with vegetable cultivation, we are getting good returns. Those farmers growing creepers in 10 Gunthas can easily earn Rs. 1,00,000/-.”

Increased income has contributed to farmers welfare in various ways. Some of them have used the income to develop their farms and bought tools and mechanisms for better Irrigation. Some of them built good houses for themselves while others have purchased bikes/pick-ups to support themselves with improved marketing facilities. Few of them also have used this income towards the education of their children.

As the income of the farmers has increased, the migration reduced. Farmers have started earning enough income to survive the whole year. This has improved their quality of life.

Impact

There has been a significant rise in the number of farmers and the land size under creeper farming in Kotamdar village in the last five years. Many of the farmers have started creeper farming on them without the support of AKRSP-India

Looking at the Income/Returns received under creeper farming in Kotamdar village, many farmers in the Dangs district joined this movement on their own. At present more than 1100 farmers practicing creepers in Dangs. More than 500 farmers practicing creeper farming without the support of AKRSP-India.

Conclusion

A movement that started in 2017 with few farmers has led to ripple effects. Today more than 1100 farmers from the district of Dangs have joined this movement. These farmers have managed to increase their income, improve their quality of life, reduce migration and improve nutrition by consuming these vegetables. The livelihoods of farmers have improved, they are increasing their land and getting better returns. We hope that such an initiative ignites the lives of many more small and marginal farmers and enables them to improve their livelihoods.