Woman farmer from Noamundi doubles her vegetable production

Tata Steel Foundation’s help in drip irrigation brings about a big change

Noamundi (West Singhbhum): The traditional method of farming in Noamundi, located in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, is undergoing a silent revolution with the use of modern techniques and innovation. One such technique- drip irrigation farming along with the use of polythene mulching process is rapidly getting traction among farmers in Noamundi.

With the help of Tata Steel Foundation, Sanmita Bobonga, a farmer from Rengarbera village in Pokherpi Panchayat, is one of the early adopters of drip irrigation farming in Noamundi. She says, “We were able to set drip irrigation with the support of Department of Irrigation, Chaibasa. The mulching polythene sheet provided Tata Steel Foundation along with the drips have helped me double the vegetable production. As the production has skyrocketed, I sell vegetables not only in Noamundi but also in nearby places like Barbil in Odisha and Chaibasa in West Singhbhum. I am grateful to Tata Steel Foundation for the regular and continued support since the last seven years.”

Sanmita has four acres of land in Rengarbera village and with the adoption of these two new technologies to grow vegetables such as cauliflower, brinjals, tomato and beans, she has been able to increase her additional annual income by more than Rs. 50,000. This additional income has also helped her to fund the education of her son in a private school. She is now an inspiration for other famers in her village. “I take great pride in telling people that I am a farmer, I love when people come to me and seek my advice on ways and means to improve the productivity of the vegetable produce in their farms. I love mentoring and advising people in my village to adopt innovative and modern technology to improve the ways the vegetable farming is done which save’s their time, energy and labor involved”, says Sanmita.

In the past, farmers had to invest a lot more time in manual work for irrigating the land which was tiring and less productive. With the adoption of this modern drip technology farmers will be able to save time, energy and water consumption in the land. Moreover, this technology will also help in boosting their profits.