At a time when the threat of another severe drought and another spate of tragedies striking the lives of farmers looms large, here comes the story of few farmers who refuse to stay down. They have chosen to fight back and have surprised the world. Here are 3 such farmers
Sushil Kumar: Earlier this year, Sushil Kumar a farmer from Nalanda Bihar created a new world record in paddy cultivation by growing 224 quintals of paddy a hectare (22.4 tons) using this technique, which is based on principles of nurturing the roots, enriching soil and giving plants more space to grow. Using these methods, Kumar shattered the world record of 194 quintal/ha registered by Chinese scientist Yuvan Longping. Four of his friends from the same village whom he encouraged also had an extraordinary produce. So proud was the chief minister Nitish Kumar of the achievements of the young farmers from his home district that he not only felicitated them at their ancestral place but also asked them to motivate other peasants in the state. SRI requires less water and seeds than the traditional methods but helps procure far greater quantities. It is believed that Jyoti Manjhi is a woman from the Naxal-infested Gaya district. She popularized the technique of system of root intensification (SRI) of in Bihar by cultivating paddy on the barren land and converted many villages in Fatehpur block of the district into a veritable rice bowl. She is now a political figure in the area.
Rakesh Kumar: Rakesh Kumar hails from Sohdih in Darveshpura region and focuses on potato and onion cultivation. His farms yielded 1,088 quintal/ha of potato this year - which is a new world record by itself shattering the earlier one set by a Dutch farmer. Rakesh is now trying to replicate the potato success story with onion in the same field. Credit must also be given to the horticultural officer of Nalanda district D Mahato for constantly encouraging farmers to embrace organic farming techniques. initially, the farmers were unwilling to take any chance and refused to use only vermicompost. After much prodding, some farmers, including Rakesh, agreed to go for organic farming on a small scale and started with cauliflower. The result was very encouraging. Now, 345 farmers' interest groups are engaged in organic farming of vegetables on over 3,000 acres of land.