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Stories from the Ground

MOBILE SOLAR IRRIGATION PUMP

Mukesh Kunwar is a proactive farmer of village Bariarpur Urf Bajidpur, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Since 2017, he has been associated with the project Gram Utthan of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation. Mukesh knew that irrigation plays a major role in agriculture profitability and has a direct impact on the cost of production as well as in final yield. In 2019, he availed partial financial assistance from the project and installed a solar pump at his farm. He used the pump to irrigate fields of other farmers nearby as well at a minimum cost of INR 30 per 0.05 acre. Mukesh can irrigate up to 15–20 acres of crop per month with his pump, as needed. Compared to diesel pumps, the cost of irrigation comes down by more than 50 percent (1 acre crop irrigation for one-time use costs about INR 660 with a solar pump; and for the same area, the diesel pump costs about INR 1,500).

Diesel pumps also require recurring maintenance after every 30–35 hrs of working, which costs about INR 600, while solar pumps require hardly any maintenance and cause no environmental damage.

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

FARM MECHANIZATION: ZERO TILLAGE

(AS USER)

Subodh Singh is a dynamic farmer of Ratanpura village, Motipur block, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He feels that traditional farming requires lot of effort to get satisfactory yield. To overcome this, he adopted a zero-tillage farming technique in his field, with the assistance of project Gram Utthan of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation. Prior to using a zero tillage machine, he was skeptical about this method as seed is sown directly without ploughing. He consulted many fellow farmers who already had used this machine and decided to take a chance. In a zero tillage practice, seed quantity and depth of sowing is apt, the seed is sown in line with proper distance, fertilizer placement is optimum, and water requirement for irrigation is low as compared to traditional practices. Subodh has been using this technology for the past three years, through which he saves INR 2,500–3,000 per acre in sowing, as labor and land preparation is not required in the field, and there is also a simultaneous increase of about 440 kg/acre in wheat production.

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

FARM MECHANIZATION: ZERO TILLAGE

(AS ENTERPRISE)

Chalitar Bhagat is a progressive farmer of Nariar village of Motipur block, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He has been associated with project Gram Utthan of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, since 2017. Chalitar says, “Getting timely agricultural labor is a major problem in agriculture. It increases the cost of production and so decreases the profit to farmers. Hence, mechanization in agriculture is beneficial for farmers.”
In 2018, the project team, provided a subsidized zero tillage machine to Chalitar and trained him on its operation. Now he uses the machine in his field and as is an entrepreneur through renting his service to neighboring villages like Pakhnaha Shivram, Akuraha, Prasad, Puraina, Bhilaipur, Birpur, and others. After using the machine for more than three years, Chalitar says that it has revolutionized his farming and life.

Year	Income from machine Through enterprise
2017	₹40–50 thousand
2018	₹60–70 thousand
2019	₹50–60 thousand
2020	₹1–1.1 lakh

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

FARM MECHANIZATION: POTATO PLANTER

Raju Kumar Chaudhry is a zealous farmer of village Kodarkatta Puran Tola, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and he owns several farm machines. He became associated with project Gram Utthan of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, through a Kishan Gosthi organized in 2017. He always wanted to see reforms in agriculture particularly in the context of farm machinery. A subsidized potato planter was given to him in 2017 by the project team, and he benefits by saving labor cost (about INR 3,500 per acre), reduction of human drudgery, smooth irrigation, easier intercultural operations, and increases in yield by about 1.5–3 quintals per 0.5 acre (the absolute quantity of yield when using potato planter is about 55–66 quintal/acre). Raju now apprises other farmers of the utility of this machine.

Year	Increase in production using potato planter
2017	1.5–2.0 quintal/0.5 acre
2018	2–2.5 quintal/0.5 acre
2019	2–2.75 quintal/0.5 acre
2020	2.5–3 quintal/0.5 acre

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

NUTRITION AND CROP PROTECTION DEMONSTRATION: WHEAT

Shiv Shankar Prasad is a dynamic farmer of village Bariarpur Urf Bajidpur (south) Kodarkatta, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He has been associated with the project Gram Uttan of PTC Foundation, implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, through a Kisan Gosthi organized in 2017. Shiv Shankar has been engaged in agriculture for the past thirty-five years and has observed that traditional farming is not as profitable as earlier, so he understands the need to practice modern techniques of agriculture in the field. He received training and assistance from the project team in 2018 with a modern Package of Practices (PoP) for wheat in 0.5 acre of his field.

Shiv Shankar was provided with a better quality of seed; carbendazim for seed treatment; micro fertilizers including potash, zinc, boron, sulphur; and information on pesticides for plant protection. By using this scientific method, his wheat yield increased by about 330 kg in 0.5 acre. He is motivated to continue using the modern practices he has learned and has influenced many other farmers of his village to do the same.

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

NUTRITION AND CROP PROTECTION DEMONSTRATION: PADDY

Ram Prawesh Paswan is a struggling farmer of the village Pakhnaha Shriram, block Minapur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He has been associated with the project Gram Uttan of PTC Foundation, implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, through a Field Day organized in 2017. Most of the farmers in his village practice traditional farming, which is not cost-effective. Ram Prawesh received assistance and training from the project team with a modern Package of Practices (PoP) for paddy in 0.5 acre of his field. For the demonstration, he was provided with better quality seed, carbendazim for seed treatment, micro fertilizers, along with information on pests and their control. The results he obtained are shown in the table below.

Year	Paddy Production	Increase in yield in paddy due to use of modern PoP is about 440 kg/0.5 acre
2016 before PoP	660–770 kg/0.5 acre
2017–18 and 2019–20, after PoP	1,100–1,210kg/0.5 acre

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

NUTRITION AND CROP PROTECTION DEMONSTRATION: POTATO

Mintu Devi is a diligent farmer of village Ratanpura, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. She was dissatisfied with her crop yields due to the difficulty in obtaining timely labor and insufficient knowledge about modern techniques of farming. Therefore, she was eager to learn and adopt improved farming practices. In 2018, Mintu Devi participated in a farmers meeting organized by Gram Utthan project of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation. Subsequently, she was imparted a demonstration in 0.5 acres of her field with a modern package of practices (PoP) for potato, which included training on cultural practices, providing high-quality seed, micro fertilizers, and information on crop protection methods. She is motivated by the results and has decided to use more technology in her farming.

Year	Quantity of potato produced	Increase in yield in potato due to use of modern PoP is 2,500–2,850 kg/ 0.5 acre
2017 (Before PoP)	1,200–1650 kg /0.5 acre
2018–2020 (After PoP)	3,700–4500 kg/0.5acre

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

JALKALP WATER FILTER

Surendar Singh is a resident of village Ratanpura, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. In this village even though drinking water is available all year round through hand pump (water table 60–110 feet), many families suffer with stomach-related problems due to the drinking water not being healthy. Surendar’s son always had had stomach problems, for which several doctors were consulted and remedies tried, but all to no avail. The hand-pump water was yellowish in color, which the PTC’s project (implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation) Gram Uttan’s team ascribed to being due to having above-acceptable limits of iron content in the water. In addition, biological contamination was found in the drinking water in many places.

To address this issue, the project promoted the effective, low-maintenance, and affordable biosand water filter (JalKalp), which Surender purchased in 2018 at the subsidized cost of INR 1,000. JalKalp protects from biological contaminants, iron, arsenic, and manganese toxicity as well as removing turbidity. Surendar says that ever since his family began using the filter, his son’s chronic stomach problem has disappeared. Now he encourages his fellow villagers to also use JalKalp.

Year	Quantity of potato produced	Increase in yield in potato due to use of modern PoP is 2,500–2,850 kg/ 0.5 acre
2017 (Before PoP)	1,200–1650 kg /0.5 acre
2018–2020 (After PoP)	3,700–4500 kg/0.5acre

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

PROMOTION OF GOATERY AS BUSINESS

Pinki Devi, wife of Mayashankar Kumar Pandit lives in village Kodarkatta, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. She has been associated with Gram Utthan project of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, since 2019. She is a regular attendee of all the meetings organized by the project. She was selected to be a part of the initiative on promoting goatery as a business enterprise. In 2020, Pinki Devi was provided with five females and one male goat, as well as a ten day training on goatery management. She includes supplements such as a mineral mixture, bran and wheat husk, in the daily feed of goats, and knows about medicines to be given to goats, if needed. By 2021, her herd increased to twenty goats, through birth and purchase. Pinki and her husband say that right now their focus is on increasing the size of their herd by thirty to forty goats. Male goats are easily sold at the rate of INR 300–350 per kg of body weight.

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL

Ranjana Devi, wife of Manoj Kumar, lives in village Bariarpur Urf Bajidpur, block Motipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. She was not receiving the free rations provided by government’s Public Distribution System because she did not have a ration card. Ranjana Devi had tried many times to procure a ration card, including giving an agent INR 800 for it, but she was cheated. She then heard that a meeting (Mahila Baithak) of the Women’s Leadership School was being organized in her village, as part of Gram Utthan project of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, and joined it in 2018. In this group, she shared her predicament about the ration card. The project team assisted her step by step to get her free ration card. Now she owns a ration card and is availing the benefits of it. Also she now assists other women trying to get ration cards from the block office.

Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir

(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)

407 villages covered

Stories from the Ground

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