Our Krushimitra project aims at biodiversity conservation through organic farming and providing suitable markets for organic produce. The objective of the project is to raise awareness and provide guidance about organic farming, creating farmer groups and train them in organic farming and provide proper market space for organic produce.
Awareness about organic farming is done through social media and apps, farmers meeting, farmers fairs, organic agricultural exhibitions, visits to farms and demonstrations about organic farming, farmer training and study tours, organic agricultural goods sales centers and more. We presently work in Ahmednagar and Nasik districts with an average population of three lakh farmers. Our project’s core intention is to preserve cultivatable agricultural land and make the over-developed land productive again through the utilisation of modern, sustainable agricultural and irrigation technologies, giving our beneficiaries a chance to be change makers and rewrite their own fortunes. At present, we have 24 Krushimitra-volunteers who work with us to take our mission forward.
During the pandemic also, Krushimitras continued their work of helping the farmers in their groups to get a good yield of crops. Though all the 24 volunteers are working passionately in their respective areas, one of them has done some exceptional work in Jeur. Dhondibhau Jare has recently helped his farmer group in the nearby villages of Jeur to get an excellent yield of the best quality, residue-free onion crop. These onions reached an excellent price in the wholesale market of Pune. All farmers got a whooping profit of Rs.800-1000 per quintal of their produce. Dhondibhau was recently felicitated by Snehalaya as our best volunteer for 2021-22.
He has been working with our Krushimitra project right from its initiation. His day begins early by visiting the farms of the members of his group. He provides appropriate advice to them regarding seed quality, making organic fertilizers, quantity and rotations of those fertilizers, etc. He is always available on his phone for all of them. During the COVID waves, he has helped farmers to find markets for their produce helping them to continue earning their daily bread. Besides this, he has also created excellent rapport with the local government representatives of the Agriculture Department. This helps in creating awareness and implementing various Government agri-based schemes.
Dhondibhau is a fantastic example of how an active volunteer can help an organisation to not only reach out directly to its beneficiaries but also take the work to the last segments of society.
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