Amazing success by women in maize

BARIPADA:From selecting the right seasonal crops to cultivation to sourcing inputs to managing the harvesting, their hands-on approach has worked wonders as they produce high quality yields of indigenous grains like maize on barren and arid lands at the foothills of Similipal biosphere in Mayurbhanj district.
The womenfolk of Badbil village in Jashipur block are chiefly responsible for keeping the agrarian economy going, since the menfolk work as daily labourers or migrate to nearby towns. In 2013, the ST  and SC women of the village formed a Self-Help Group (SHG), Jahar Jaher Aayo, to take up commercial maize cultivation on one acre of land. Now, more than 80 acres of land are being cultivated by 60 women farmers by forming eight SHGs. In 2016, they had earned `three lakh from only 15 acres of fallow land.

Basanti Nayak (35) said in 2014, she came in contact with the members of Jahar SHG during a meeting for maize cropping and later she convinced her SHG Gayatri to start cultivation. The SHG started maize cultivation on one acre of land in 2015 and increased it to three acres in 2016, she added.
They were also part of the Collective Maize Programme where 125 members of 10 SHGs of the block were involved in 30 acres of cultivation using advanced technology. In 2016, they earned `56,800 from three acres that helped them return the loan amount taken from the panchayat. Basanti also convinced her husband to grow maize individually on their own land and they earned `45,000 from 1.5 acres of cultivation. Now, Basanti plans to cover more land under maize cultivation next year.

Similarly, Malati Nayak (47) of the village not only cultivates maize but also provides training to women farmers under Swampruna SHG Federation. She earns `4,500 per month for the work.She said, “My husband is a daily labourer and he is unable to meet the demands of the family. Since 2014, an additional income from maize supported me to maintain the family in a better way. I have two children, one is reading in Class X and another in Class V. I have taken all responsibility of their education and health.”
After success in maize cultivation, Urmila Nayak, a 54-year-old woman farmer and a member of Subhapatni SHG, is now able to provide education to her her son, while Janaki Nayak, a member of Jagat Janani SHG, is maintaining her five-member family.

Odisha Gramya Bank of Jashipur has provided loan amount of `50,000 to each farmer for cultivation. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and the Agriculture department also extended their supporting hands to them.Scientist Wasim Iftikar, a Research Associate in International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre of CSISA for Odisha, said the agency is promoting maize cultivation involving women farmers in Mayurbhanj district. “Our aim is to convert fallow upland into a cultivable and improve productive maize areas,” he added.