April 2022 newsletter | Save Indian Farmers

Dear Subscribers,

Thank you for your continued support and generous donations that we used for running various projects with the help of our on ground partners.
Over the last one year, we received over 80 calls on our Kisan Mitra helpline in India. Our volunteers answered all the calls and were able to provide successful resolution to over 50 farmers and their families.

Through your donations, we were able to help several farmers change their lives. Some of the beneficiaries shared their stories with us and we are delighted to bring them to you.

As you read through how we used your previous donations, please consider donating more to Save Indian Farmers.

S.V.Ranganath Janupanahalli, Tumkur

Mr. Ranganath, a marginal farmer with two acres engaged in dry land farming, was supported by SIF in partnership with Avishkar to purchase a local cow. He is now able to sell milk at Rs. 60/ltr and ghee for Rs. 1400/kg. Organic farming training helped him prepare liquid fertilizers such as Jeevamrutha and Dasaparni with cow dung and urine. He shared that the SIF organic farming project has helped him to improve soil fertility and reduce cost of cultivation.

Read more about Ranganath and other beneficiaries of the organic farming project in Tumkur

Girija Babu, Ambajogai

Jyoti alias Girija Babu Fad livesin a village called `Murti ` (Tq: Ambajogai, Maharashtra) with her father. Her marriage was short lived and she was abandoned by her husband after few months of tying a knot. She reached out to us through Manaswini and needed help to buy goats.

SIF provided her a loan of 34,500 Rs and with this amount she bought 3 goats. She rears and then sells the goats at Rs. 7000 each which helped her pay back SIF´s micro-loan amount in full. She is able to live independently, is now a member of self-help group and is raising 6 female goats and 5 baby goats.

Read more about our beneficiaries of micro-financing project here

Rudrappa, Koglilgeri Belgaum

Rudrappa lives in Kogilgeri with his parents. They have 8 acres but it is hard to do farming as the labor costs are very high hence they work on 3 acres. SIF helped him through Krishi Samarthya project by providing training on organic farming techniques.

Vegetables were distributed to the people who attended the meeting. Our partner, BDSSS also performed soil testing and is awaiting results. Currently he grows roses on 2 acres and tomatoes on one acre. He has bore water and plans to plant 5 acres of betel nut in the future.

Krishi Samarthya, Karnataka

SIF has worked with Belgaum Diocesan Social Service Society(BDSSS) on this project to educate the farmers on organic farming, organic pesticides, organic manure, medicinal herbs and home-based kitchen gardening. A total of 15 children clubs that are set up, offer basic education as well as emphasize on sustainable agriculture. A youth volunteer has been offering free classes to the village children.

We initially planned for 90 farmers but extended the project to 98 considering the interest from the farmers. There are 25 more farmers eager to join as this project has created interest in water conservation, alternate livelihood and rainforest harvesting models.

SIF & BDSSS’s efforts have been recognized by University of Dharwad and they have come forward with seed and sapling donations.

Organic Farming, Karnataka

The SIF organic farming project has been implemented in 23 villages of Tumkur and Koratagere talukas of Tumkur district. Over 60 farmers are being supported to adopt organic farming practices. It is amazing to know that farmers are producing high quality outputs using these techniques.

Our total group size in this area is approximately 126 and farmers are regularly selling in the outlet with daily sales ranging between Rs.2500-3000.

Beej Swaraj, Rajasthan

SIF is participating in the Beej Swaraj project with the Vaaghdhara Sanstha in Rajasthan to help with seed sovereignty in the tribal villages. A Community Managed Seed System (CMSS) manual was prepared detailing the process of seed production and establishing the seed centers.

One day refresher training programme was conducted for Swaraj Mitra on the seed production and CMSS. Regular monthly dialogue/ awareness meetings are being organized at village level with the Saksham Samooh (SS) members.

Water Conservation, Uttarakhand

With the UANA-SIF Water Conservation initiatives at Dinda village, Dabralsyun is demonstrating amazing results as two water bodies are full of water till date. At this location, 3 rain water harvesting ponds have been constructed with the help of UANA-SIF & 2 ponds by Gram Pradhan. Around 200 oak saplings have also been planted so far. We hope that in the next two years, we will get water throughout the year. We definitely need more support from you to help the farmers maintain 200 oak saplings.

Horticulture, Tamil Nadu

There are 30 farmer beneficiaries that we are working with as part of this project. We distributed 1092 seeds in total of brinjal, lady’s finger, chillies and trays to encourage the nursery raising. Each farmer received 133 kilos of vermicompost to apply to their crops and also to motivate them to prepare the vermicompost on their own in future. Raw materials for the production of Panchakavya were distributed and farmers were given prepared liquids of Meen Amilam (Rotten fish liquid) and Herbal pesticides (fermented bitter plant leaves and stems in cow urine).

To Encourage farmers to prepare their organic farm inputs, 100 liters containers were distributed. Farmers were taken to Government Agriculture College, Kumulur farm as an opportunity to get them educated, oriented and be motivated after witnessing the pioneer farmer and their cultivation practices. They discussed their questions and concerns with Dr. Sivaranjani, the Asst. Professor at the college who facilitated the farm tour.

Sangit ka Karwa

Save Indian Farmers Foundation, our entity in India held its very first musical fundraiser – Sangit Ka Karwa, in Vile Parle, Mumbai on March 25th. Over 300 music enthusiasts joined at the event and many came forward to support the cause by donating funds as well as signing up as volunteers. All funds raised will be used to support our project – Umed, where 20 farmers and their families affected by a recent landslide event in Karsud village of Mahabaleshwar taluka in Satara district will be provided equipment to restructure their farms which are now full of debris and hence non cultivable.

Landslide site full of debris