In Latur, Green Revolution kicks off post-River Rejuvenation
This morning I received a message from Mahadev Gomare from Latur, “इस साल लातूर में २०० किसानों को सोना मोती गेंहू के के प् प्लॉट्स किये है सभी नैसर्गिक रूप से उत्पादित घेऊ की ग्रोथ बहुत ही अच्छी है । २०१३ से चल रहे जलजागृती अभियान के माध्यम से अब किसानों के जीवन में एक खुशाली आ रही है”
This translates to English as “This year 200 farmers grew Sona Moti in 5 plots of land using the organic farming method, which has led to an excellent crop. The campaign of water awareness since 2013 is bringing a lot of happiness in the life of the farmers in the Latur region.”
This was joyful news for many reasons. Mahadev Gomare and his team have been working in the Latur region of Maharashtra since 2013 looking for ways to impact the lives of local farmers through:
1. Rejuvenation of Manjara River, to increase water capacity
2. Two Reforestation Projects
3. Training local farmers to adopt organic farming practices that use less water
4. Pilot test multi-cropping patterns for best yield
5. Model economic benefit through experiments on pilot farms
6. Train farmers at scale to adopt multi-crop organic farming that allows them to increase their income
Why would this new type of crop lead to happiness in the lives of the farmer?
Sona Moti, an improved type of wheat grain, possesses nutritional qualities that attract a higher price.
Sona Moti offers 3 times more folic acid than any other grain. It has nearly 267% more minerals and 40% more protein and fat than any other wheat variety. The low sugar content of Sona Moti also makes it ideal for diabetic patients.
The price for Sona Moti cultivated with natural farming practices is 75–80 rupees (approx $1.2) per kilogram, by comparison, the price for other organic kinds of wheat fetches 30 rupees (approx $0.40) per kilogram.
A successful yield of Sona Moti will allow the farmers to grow a highly lucrative crop using organic farming with less water and has the potential to change their lives from an economic perspective.
River rejuvenation to the economic well-being
Latur, and the region around in Maharashtra, have recently faced really terrible drought, and the suicide rates in the area were dismal. Multiple organizations have been working to address the water scarcity in the region to improve the lives of the farmer.
When intervention is planned to improve the eco-diversity of a region to revive the water, soil, forests and land use, partners like IAHV and OVBI come together to provide support to the AOL leaders on the ground with capital and necessary alliances. The work to increase water capacity started with the Manjara River Rejunevation in 2013–2014. Once the river was revived in Latur region, thus increasing availability of water, other initiatives to improve the biodiversity and ecology of the area were initiated.
The job for the local leaders like Mahadev Gomare starts with increasing water capacity via projects like River Rejuvenation but does not end with it. It is just the beginning of revitalizing the region through multiple phases — including reforestation, organic farming, the introduction of better economic models through multi-cropping and quality of the yield, to ultimately introducing beneficial grains into the market for the end consumer.
River Rejunevation triggers a positive and virtuous cycle throughout the entire society (as we see happening in Latur), making it an excellent case study of the downstream impact of the interventions in the 6 years. Mahadev Gomare and his team’s work in Latur, is a successful pilot showing ecological and economic impact to the farmer — beyond the outputs of our intervention to increase water capacity.
