Micro drip irrigation project in 30 blocks of 9 districts of the State is proving to be a boon for farmers. The State government is continuously expanding the Jharkhand Bagwani Densification Micro Drip Irrigation Project. Training and facilities are being provided to produce better crops with less water through drip irrigation.
YashminKhatoon of Jhalakdih village in Bengabad block of Giridih district says that she has been cultivating with drip irrigation for the last two years. A member of the women's self-help groupManzil, Yashmeen said that while the income of Rs50,000 was difficult in the first year, today Rs 50-60 thousand are earned from a single crop. She says, she used to cultivate in the traditional way earlier. Due to lack of water, only one crop was able to be planted in a year, but now it takes up to 3 crops. Then she had neither the knowledge of sowing nor the right amount of fertilizer to be used by the line method.
Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society is running Jharkhand Horticultural Intensification Micro Drip Irrigation Project under Rural Development Department. The aim of the project is to increase vegetable production of the farmers of the State through sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture. Under this project, the means of drip irrigation, polynursary house and high quality earthworm manure unit are being provided. The result is that thousands of farmers dependent on one crop in a year have now increased their profit by more than double by growing three to four crops in a year.
Significantly, limited availability of water in Jharkhand has always been a problem for farmers. In such a situation, the drip irrigation project is proving to be a boon. SuniaKalundia, a resident of Eligara village of Tantnagar block of West Singhbhum, who is cultivating vegetables with drip irrigation, says that she never thought that due to change in the method of irrigation, there will be a lot of difference in production and there will not be any water problem.
The project is being implemented by Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society in 30 blocks of nine districts of the State. Through this project, farmers have to increase their income by linking drip irrigation and eco-friendly farming in areas with limited water availability. So far, more than 7,000 farmers in project-driven districts are earning better production and better income by taking advantage of micro drip irrigation and other facilities. Instead of one, now three to four crops are being grown in a year.
So far, about 16,000 farmers have been registered to join this project. The priority of the State government is to make the facility rich for the farmers, so that even in the difficult geographical conditions of Jharkhand, they do not have any problem including irrigation.