Change of Fortune
Mina Rao from Nandapur village, Koraput district of Odisha, owned two nondescript cows which were able to yield only 3 to 4 litres of milk per day. After availing of the crossbreeding service of the cattle development centre at Hikimput, his fortunes changed. His milk...
Champion Woman Dairy Farmer
Sushma Lakda, a woman dairy farmer from Kudu Navatoli, Lohardaga, Jharkhand, narrated her experience in maintaining a herd of 20 cows who yield 80-100 litres of milk every day enabling her to pursue the engineering studies of two of her sons and daughter in the...
Blazing a New Trail
Vijaya Rani, an AI technician, operating a franchised cattle development centre in Chanamuthyreddy Gudern village in Atmakur Mandal, Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh since 2003, was conferred the “Women Achievers' Award” by the Times Foundation, Delhi, in...
Harvest of Hope
Jayantibhai Chimanbhai Patel's farm in Kesargam village in Bharuch district of Gujarat was no different from many others in the vicinity. He grew cotton and pigeon pea with traditional irrigation system. He then heard about the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), at Chaswad...
Every Drop of Water Counts
The main occupation of Baldeogarh in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, a semi-arid region with red sandy soil and deprived of ground water, is agriculture and its allied activities. With rain-fed agriculture and low yielding livestock, people in this area are...
River Revival
Garkhindi is an interior village in Parner block of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, with 1280 population representing 256 households and 1375 ha land with agriculture as the main occupation. The average annual rainfall was 534 mm but due to scanty rainfall during...
From Darkness to Light
After her husband, a farmer, committed suicide, the responsibility of bringing up her two children came on Tarabai Baban Padol from Sonewadi Budruk village, Niphad, Nashik, Maharashtra. She has three acres of land under irrigation with a well as her source of...
Wadi improved her Quality of Life
When the Governor of Maharashtra, Dr. P.C. Alexander visited the tribal development programme at Jawhar in Palghar district of Maharashtra, on October 24, 2001, his attention was drawn to a tribal woman Tulshi Rama Kinar, standing in the front row. It was revealed...
Wadi means business for Babanbhai
In early 1980's, when Dr. Manibhai Desai, Founder of BAIF, proposed to promote Orchard Development for rehabilitation of Scheduled Tribe families in South Gujarat, all the tribal families having one acre, were invited, provided they were willing to give up...
Factory Worker to Innovative Farmer
Babulal Dayal from Kaukheda village in Barmer, Rajasthan, was a rag picker. In 2013, he joined the BAIF-CAIRN Wadi project and planted 150 plants of ber, gunda, pomegranate, lemon, budded khejri and Apple ber on his degraded land. Realising the problems of unsafe...
Beating all Odds
Dan Singh, a 65 year old man from Manner Malla village in Patti district of Uttarakhand, practiced traditional farming on open terraces of rugged mountainous terrain. He was often confronted with hail storm, heavy rainfall, intense heat and incidences of pests and...
Woman Farmer demonstrates Woman Power
Chhabeli Devi is a marginal farmer in Gopalichak village, Dharhara, Munger district of Bhar. She had approximately one acre of land for cultivation. With her association with the TARINA Project, she was trained in vegetable cultivation and also attended an exposure...
Vegetable Growers Double their Income
To increase the income of small farmers, vegetable cultivation was promoted in Damaragidda mandal of Mahaboobnagar district, Telangana, covering 1173 farmers. Major interventions included supply of superior quality vegetables seeds at subsidised cost, guiding farmers...
Championing Equality
At first, Rangaina Koppalu village in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district appears to be nondescript, but as one walks by its bylanes, one gets to see boards next to the main doors bearing the names of ‘Champion’ women. They are championing women empowerment and right agricultural practices, and are trained under…