Tapping the untapped- Story from Bankura

Farmers from Susunia Jamthol WUA

Paritosh, a hardworking Adivasi middle aged marginal farmer from remote Susunia Jamthol block is a happy man. The reason for his happiness is fair enough as he is earning a handsome amount from his vegetable farm. As the sun rises gently over his cauliflower field deep in the district of Bankura, one of the worst drought effected district of West Bengal, this hard working farmer recounts how he turned this tiny landholding into a stepping stone of success.

Getting ready for Durgapur Mandi

"I used to have only few bighas of land", recalls Paritosh. “I grew just enough for my family’s consumption because, the area is badly effected by drought. I had to work on other people’s land to subsist."

Few months ago, things began to change. With the help of West Bengal Accelerated Development in Minor Irigation Project (WBADMIP), a  project jointly funded by World Bank and West Bengal Government and implemented by Water Resources Investigation & Development Department (WRIDD) he installed a gravity drip irrigation in his 0.25 acre farm  to tap the benefit of the Rabi season crops. With technical guidance from WBADMIP and World Bank experts, this enterprising young man is able to switch to a more profitable cauliflower cultivation and hence could able to generate a good profit by selling his produce in the nearby Durgapur and Kharagpur Mandi. The cauliflower cultivation already has fetched him a net profit of Rs 25,000 for the first time in Rabi season and expecting some more return with few more harvesting to take place. WBADMIP officials also arranged exposure trips for Paritosh and other farmers from the Susunia Jamthol Mini RLI Water Users Association to Durgapur and Kharagpur Mandi  so as to create a sustainable agribusiness model for them.

Now, Paritosh feeling excited with the extra income he earned for the first time is planning to expand his parcels of land for the coming Kharif season ; he soon hopes to see more of his peers joining him to reap the benefits of the ADMI project.