HARIT PRAYAS: EMPOWERING WOMEN FARMERS IN BUNDELKHAND REGION

Today, the face of the afflicted farmer is almost always that of a man’s; the woman farmer has been all but forgotten. While we are still talking about women, let us spare a thought for those who do not appear on the pages of our newspapers or on television channels; women who seem invisible even when the subject under discussion relates directly to them. Forgotten most of the time is the fact that the bulk of work done on farms across India is by women. Just statistics never tell the full story but the fact remains that while 79 per cent of rural women are agricultural workers, fewer rural men, 63 per cent, work on land. Despite this reality, where the bulk of the workers on land are women, only nine per cent of women own agricultural land. The untold story of Indian agriculture is not just one of mismanagement — of water and other resources — but also of the refusal to acknowledge women’s contribution to agriculture. Despite numerous studies that have established beyond doubt that the bulk of the work to produce the food that all of us consume is done by women, they are still not recognised as farmers in our official agricultural policies. As a result, whenever the government announces schemes for farmers, the women who are actually doing the work are left out of it.

HARIT PRAYAS empowering women farmers…

With all this situation in India with HARIT PRAYAS effort in Bundelkhand , Caritas India is able to train about 117 women farmers and are engaged in farming practices from soweing, ploughing , weeding and harvesting . recently in HARIT PRAYAS review AAtam Mantahn-2 ( In Jamghat village of Sagar) a women farmer named Kusum shred her experiences with male farmers….

“Kususm a women farmer from Kanwar village ( a HARIT PRAYAS project village) of Chatarpur district after initiation of HARIT PRAYAS project in village get trained on agriculture and allied practices and technologies and formed a women farmers collective and did first time in her life entire practice of farming including ploughing and harvested highest production in year 2013 ( for rabi crop) . Now Kusum shares her experince with male farmers of not only of her village or of her native district but also shares her experience of cultivation with farmers of other districts.....now Kusum is happy and her family members especially her mother in law is proud of her that her daughter in law is a change agent in the entire region and is not less than any male farmer”

Watch Kusum educating male farmers on sustainable agriculture practices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OvK6_TEPC8&feature=youtu.be

For more on HARIT PRAYAS log on to www.haritprayas.blogspot.com or www.caritasindia.org.