Basudev Jakesika’s 50 cent vegetable farm.

The situation before

Basudev Jakesika is from the village of Khuntabadi, 10 kms from the Muniguda Block Head Quarter. His family owns 4.5 acres of non irrigated land of which 1.5 acres are used to grow paddy, which provides nine months of food to his six member family. He has 3 acres of upland where the production was indifferent. In the upland his family usually grew millets & pulses in an acre of land and earned a maximum return of Rs-5,000/-. The rest of the land remained barren. Basudev wanted to make his barren land productive.

Harsha Trust helps Basudev through convergence

Harsha Trust initiated work in the village in 2014. To start with only 8 of 35 household joined the livelihood initiative. Basudev Jakesika did not join as his land was not suitable for vegetable cultivation. It required farm equipment to make it suitable for cultivation. Harsha Trust linked Basudeb with the Sarpanch of Patraguda who assured him to support the work under MGNREGS. Basudeb started land development work in 2014 summer and completed the land development work in 1.5 acres of land. He was then facilitated to apply for the installation of a bore well under OLIC (Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation) scheme and in September 2015 the bore well became functional.

The land was ready for use and in October 2015 he started vegetable cultivation; he grew cauliflowers on10 cents of land, cabbages on10 cents, tomatoes on 10 cents and brinjal on10 cents for the first time with the help of Harsha Trust. From the crop he earned Rs 32,000/ within just 4 months, which was previously unimaginable in his circumstances, and thus resulted in the expansion of the cultivable area from 40 cents to 80 cents of land.

His fortunes grew with his 50 cent model

Now the land was ready for use and in October, 2015, he started vegetable cultivation which consisted of cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, brinjal in 10 cents of land each for the first time with the help of Harsha Trust. From the crop he earned Rs 32,000/ within four months, which enco uraged him and resulted in expansion of the cultivable area from 40 cents to 80 cents of land. In February 2016 Harsha Trust shared a new innovative model called the ‘50 cent model’, which had a potential of yielding an income of Rs 75,000/- in a year in 50 cents of land. The model consists of growing banana, permanent trellis, seasonal trellis in 10 cents each and seasonal vegetables in 20 cents. The key requirement is an assured water source with a lifting device and fencing. Basudeb had the other components but required fencing. So he sought the support of fencing from Harsha Trust and the organization supported him with barbed wire for fencing on a loan basis. He completed the fencing work in ten days and started vegetable cultivation in 50 cents. He planted pointed gourd as an intercrop. By selling these he earned Rs 41,100 in May 2016 and earned Rs 80,000/- plus in the FY 2016-17. See below crop wise income table in INR.

Crop wise Income Table in INR (2015- 16)

Production in 2016-17 in INR