Kisan Pragati Melawa received an overwhelming response from the farming community of Parola Takula, Jalgaon
Jalgaon: In a bid to tackle the issues of agriculture distress in Jalgaon district, Grand Maratha Foundation conducted ‘Kisan Pragati Melawa’ held on June 3, 2018.
The day-long farmers meet was held at village Ratnapimpri, Parola Tal, Jalgaon dist.
Ratnapimpri has witnessed a lot of farmer distress from last 2 to 3 years with over 25 farmer deaths in this single village of Maharashtra. This village perhaps has the maximum farmer suicides till date.
‘Kisan Pragati Melawa’ focused on 2 thought provoking subjects- a ray of hope to the young farmers and a change in mind-set of the existing farmers .It was important to show the youth how they can earn handsome wealth if farming was done based on market demands and requirements. The young farmers need to do farming differently and intelligently.
This initiative servers a dual purpose of educating & changing the mindset of the Young farmers by creating awareness about modern agricultural technology like ‘Shendriya Sheti’ & ‘Paryayi Shet’ and at the same time enhancing their economic condition by facilitating the development of support systems for them.
They were provided with key information on ‘Shendriya Sheti’ & ‘Paryayi Shet’which are money spinners. More importantly they were provided with clear message that if this generation does not turn back to ‘organic’ based farming thEn the current chemical based farming, although a profit making farming with less hard-work, will have a huge repercussion on human life ( owing to poisoned food), and on their beloved farms, making the fields unfit for the next generation.
The event was graced by Mr. Anil Bhokare, Agriculture head (Jalgaon), Mr Vilas Sonawane, Inspector od Police, Parola, Police Station, Mr. D.B Patil, SOD Amalner, Abhay Paranjape, Five Fold Path Mission, Bruce Johnson Specialist-Vedic Homa Organic Farming, Jitu Kumutia Specialist-Natueco Farming, Sanjay Patil Specialist-Alternative Farming.
Distribution for Seed Strengthening and Protection Solutions to ensure that seeds are not eaten or destroyed by insects : Given to 110 farmers
Distribution of Spray Machines with Safety Kit so that the poorest of the poor farmer gets to earn additional labour. : Given to 5 farmers
Utility item i.e Distribution of solar cum electric torches: Given to110 farmers
Grand Maratha Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to empower and assist the poor farmers of Maharashtra.
The main objective of the foundation is to boost farmers’ self-confidence and enhance their livelihood by educating and helping them with long term sustainable solutions. The main aim is to introduce modern farming techniques and E- learning.
Speaking about the initiative, Mr Rohit Shelatkar, Founder, Grand Maratha Foundation said, “Merely supporting sections of the society to counter the effects of the problems is not a permanent solution. We should focus on eradicating the problems from their roots. To eliminate them completely, it is necessary to locate their roots and deal with them permanently. There is no point in depending on the administration for every single issue. As citizens, we too have our duties. Once we realise this and take positive steps, it will not take much time for even small pathways to become highways to progress. What is needed is the will and unconditional perseverance.”
He further added, “Through such activities we have moved forward from a small step of income generation movement to a sustainable revolutionary step. We’ve successfully changed the mindset of the farmers by encouraging them to transit from a short-lived chemical based farming to a more sustainable ‘organic farming’ & ‘alternative farming.
Going further: Grand Maratha Foundation has taken upon itself to train the youth of Parola farmers to practise Vedic form of farming. These young farmers will create their own model farm and use it as a demo to influence other farmers to adopt Shendriya Sheti & Paryāyī Shētī.
