Mr. Ghamandi Mulewa and Sitabai Mulewa
Organisation:
BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development (BISLD)
Location:
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Problem:
Tribal families living in Rajpur District, depend on agriculture for their livelihood like any other tribal families. Basically, they used to produce only two crops, maize and cotton; extensive use of pesticides in the production reduced their returns. Farmers in this area suffered a lot due to large scale dependence on cotton and no other alternative crop. With the help of BISLD, Mr. Gamandi Mulewa started Guava plantation and by further experimenting, he has standardized the techniques for grafting of acid lime (Kagzi lime) and propagation of ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis) in the area. He is also supplying the planting material to other farmers from the village. The two crops have good potential for ensuring alternative income source to the farmers in the area.
Solution:
Mr. Ghamandi Mulewa as a part of Wadi Programme by BAIF believed that new crops will reduce the dependence of farmers on a sole crop of cotton and help develop sustainable diversified agri-horticulture in the area. He has supplied the acid lime (Kagzi lime) and propagation of ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis) plants to nearly 27 farmers. Without any external support, he is now producing recently around 250 plants annually.
Scalability and Impact:
He has standardized the techniques for grafting of acid lime (Kagzi lime) and propagation of ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis) in the area, and supplying the planting material to other farmers from the village. The two crops have good potential for ensuring alternative income source to the farmers in the area. He plans to test and standardize techniques for other crops like “Kundru” (Tindori/Parval). He plans to develop his farm and adjoining farms as a demonstration for other farmers. He further proposes to increase the scale of plant propagation in order to be able to meet the increasing demand from other farmers.
Financial Requirements:
Financial
Awards and Recognition:
First award received at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Barwani (M.P.) for Kundru (Tindori/Parval) during an exhibition of vegetable cum fruits on March 16-17, 2018.