Villagers adopt rural innovations to increase profit

Villagers adopt rural innovations to increase profit

Villagers adopt rural innovations to increase profit
Story by : Anshuman Das
Written on : 28th December, 2016

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A desi fridge

Under the Sustainable Integrated Farming System (SIFS) program, promoted by Welthungerhilfe, smallholder farmers in Deoghar district of Jharkhand have adopted several rural innovations which help them increase profit from farming activities with little cost. Sanjay Singh of Madanpur village proudly shows his zero-energy cool chamber, which allows farmers to store their produce, especially vegetables, in a cool, dry place, without the requirement of energy in any form. The desi-fridge, as the locals call the chamber, is a brick-walled structure that manages to keep the temperature down by 9-10 degrees, as compared to the surroundings.

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A Garden with a hole

Key-hole gardens, another innovation in Deoghar, focus on production of vegetables to increase the consumption of nutritious food in smallholder farming families. The design consists of a circular convex in the middle, for centralised feeding of water and manure which is evenly spread to the circularly grown crops. The design also involves mulch lining underneath, so that the water does not percolate, and is available for absorption by plants. The water requirement through this system is minimal, almost negligible, and hence suitable for the arid region. Sulochana Devi of Baarwan village, one of the many to have developed a kitchen garden, counts the benefits of the innovations, “My kids eat much healthier now, I give them vegetables every day. Earlier, we could only give them vegetables twice a week.”

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The rice machine

The rice parboiler, has helped many women like Gyani Devi of Barwan village by reducing their drudgery involved in the traditional method of rice parboiling that included hassle of carrying heavy weights and exposure to heat.  The instrument, constructed by reworking a mobile drum, reduces labour requirement and fuel requirement to half. The new rice par-boiling containers have also encouraged more and more farmers to sell parboiled rice instead of paddy and increased their profit.

Sustainable Integrated Farming Systems (SIFS) Programme

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