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Raju Leads by Example, a Case Study of THE ANDHRA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT”
Raju, who is 26 years old, is a modern farmer and an inspiring leader spreading the concept of natural farming in the village of Lingogipalle in Cumbum Mandal of Prakasam District. 350 out of 400 families in Lingogipalle depend on agriculture. The farmers had switched from cultivating paddy to growing commercial crops like cotton and chilli. They had to apply heavy doses of fertilisers and pesticides, and as a result these farmers fell into a debt trap. They suffered very heavy losses and took to seasonal migration. After completing the 10th standard, Raju chose agriculture as a means of earning a living. He attended all the meetings related to agriculture hoping to learn how to make a profit. All the meetings he attended advocated heavy doses of fertilisers and pesticides to enhance crop productivity. He followed whatever he had been taught and used a lot of fertiliser and pesticides but did not achieve the productivity they had promised. Just like the others he too incurred heavy losses. The implementation of the APRLP watershed
Raju Leads by Example, a Case Study of THE ANDHRA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT”
Raju, who is 26 years old, is a modern farmer and an inspiring leader spreading the concept of natural farming in the village of Lingogipalle in Cumbum Mandal of Prakasam District. 350 out of 400 families in Lingogipalle depend on agriculture. The farmers had switched from cultivating paddy to growing commercial crops like cotton and chilli. They had to apply heavy doses of fertilisers and pesticides, and as a result these farmers fell into a debt trap. They suffered very heavy losses and took to seasonal migration. After completing the 10th standard, Raju chose agriculture as a means of earning a living. He attended all the meetings related to agriculture hoping to learn how to make a profit. All the meetings he attended advocated heavy doses of fertilisers and pesticides to enhance crop productivity. He followed whatever he had been taught and used a lot of fertiliser and pesticides but did not achieve the productivity they had promised. Just like the others he too incurred heavy losses. The implementation of the APRLP watershed
development programme in the village changed the situation. The agriculture staff of the multidisciplinary team organised a Gram Sabha during which they proposed recruiting an agriculture paraworker. The villagers suggested the name
of the enthusiastic Raju. He was selected and trained on NPM and IPM methods for 45 days at Kavuru in Guntur district. After the training Raju returned to the village. He convened a Gram Sabha and tried to tell the villagers about NPM and IPM and the other things he had learned during the training, but nobody showed any interest. He was discouraged, but didn’t lose hope; he continued to attend self-help group and village organisation meetings and educated members on IPM methods. After some days he visited every household and spoke to the villagers about these practices but to no avail. Raju then decided it was better to demonstrate and practice rather than preach. So to begin with he started IPM in his field, making sure that some farmers were watching him. He demonstrated IPM practices such as seed treatment, setting yellow traps, vermicomposting, using neem, ginger, kerosene, NPV extracts, summer ploughings, and soil testing. After seeing Raju’s methods, five farmers adopted the principles in the first year. In the second year fifteen farmers and in the third year fifty farmers joined in. Finally every farmer in the village started following his methods.
The DWMA supplied yellow traps in the first two years but now farmers are buying them on their own. After learning the importance of vermicomposting twenty farmers have started producing vermicompost. After meeting their own consumption needs they are selling the remaining vermicompost at Rs.3 per kg. Until now, because of the use of pesticides, the investment per acre used to be Rs.6, 000-8,000 and revenue was only Rs.6, 000-7,000. Sometimes even the principal investment was not being covered. Currently the investment per acre does not cross Rs.2, 000 but the revenue is Rs.8, 000-10,000 per acre. The income per acre is about Rs.6, 000, and farmers have been able to repay most of their debts. With the surplus money most of the farmers have bought cattle and are earning an additional income from rearing cattle. They have stopped migrating and are living happily.
It took three years for Raju to bring in this change in the village. He tirelessly continues to teach farmers about new aspects or techniques. His effort has been recognised and he was awarded the Best Agri Paraworker award by the Minister for Agriculture. Now Raju is busy preparing plans to convert his village into an organic village. His intention is to see that in the next two years his entire village produces organic crops by using only vermicompost, and profits from it. He wants to develop the market by disseminating information about organic crops produced in his village on the ‘Dist Agri Web Site’. Raju wants to prove that he can change anything for the better if he puts his mind to it.
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