Women farmers progressing fast under special project in state

When women are achieving new heights in every sphere, agriculture and dairy development are also witnessing major strides by the fairer sex.

It is evident from the way women farmers are progressing fast under a special project in the agrarian state.

Launched in 2022, the project STREE (Social Transformative Rural Economic Empowerment) is a collaborative effort by Grant Thornton Bharat LLP and HDFC Bank Parivartan.

Assisted by the Central and state governments, it aims to transform lives of women farmers across Ludhiana, Moga, Barnala and Ropar districts by equipping them with skills and resources needed for economic independence.

The project has established 17 women farmer producer companies (FPCs), each having almost 1,500 women shareholders in each FPC, impacting over 25,000 women in the four districts. These FPCs are making significant strides in agricultural sectors and have resulted in a 20 to 25 per cent improvement in cattle health and milk yield through collaborations with Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Punjab Dairy Development Board (PDDB), and AHB Suraksha. Besides, experts from Dutch NGO PUM provide on-field health diagnostics and tele-consultations to enhance the cattle health management.

With an average annual turnover of Rs 45 lakh, the 17 FPCs are at present logging business worth Rs 7.65 crore per annum.

Aided by the Central and state government schemes, beneficiaries have already been facilitated with the convergence of Rs 10 crore.

“After the intervention, the income of women farmers and their households has increased by an average 40 per cent, ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 2 lakh per annum, through various initiatives,” project state team leader Manpreet Singh told The Tribune here on Saturday.

The project’s strength lies in its diversity, with experts from top management institutes such as IIM, Ahmedabad, IRMA, Symbiosis, and leading agricultural institute PAU working collaboratively to empower rural women in the state.

To check the transformation, The Tribune visited five women farmers, three in Ludhiana, and one each in Moga and Barnala districts, who have turned progressive, during the past less than two years.

Mandeep Kaur Pannu has become the first NaMo drone didi under the PM Narendra Modi’s flagship scheme aimed at helping women to become integral stakeholders of their local farming supply chains and rural prosperity.

The 40-year-old graduate from Barundi village in Ludhiana owns 5 acres of agricultural land on which she grows cucumber, okra and moong. Also running a custom hiring centre, Mandeep was facing several challenges such as high input costs, lack of quality inputs and low crop productivity.

On joining project STREE, she started getting crop advisory and got training in integrated nutrient and pest management, which helped her increase crop yield by 8 to 12 per cent. Her custom hiring centre offers services of tractor, rotavator, multi-crop seeder, which has reduced 5 to 7 per cent farming costs for members of her FPC.

“I’m also successfully running an input shop in the cluster, providing quality inputs to member farmers at subsidised prices,” she said while revealing that their FPC had generated an annual income of Rs 60 lakh.

Having received a drone worth Rs 15 lakh free of cost and 15-day free training to become a certified drone pilot, this NaMo Drone Didi is offering drone-spraying services for agricultural fields at the rate of Rs 300 per acre, aiming to cover 4,000 acres every year and generate additional income.

With this, Mandeep’s annual income has increased from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh, a jump of over 40 per cent.

Another progressive farmer is Rupinder Kaur from Lapran village in Ludhiana. Having done a PhD in Botany, the 37-year-old woman also owns five acres of agricultural land where she grows paddy, wheat and maize. Besides, she also has a custom hiring centre and is engaged in animal husbandry with seven cattle heads.

Also becoming a NaMo Drone Didi by getting free drone and training of certified drone pilot, Rupinder has increased milk yield by 18 per cent to raise her income from animal husbandry by almost 38 per cent. Her custom hiring centre has prevented the burning of crop residue on over 1,000 acres, showcasing the effectiveness of innovative farming techniques.

“By producing and selling paddy straw bales at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal, our FPC has generated a substantial income of Rs 30 lakh,” she said while showing drone spraying in the fields, which has helped earn additional income.

Rupinder’s annual income has gone up from Rs 5.1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, an increase of over 37 per cent.

Simranjit Kaur (24) is among the youngest NaMo Drone Didis. She owns two acres at Gehlewal village in Ludhiana while doing animal husbandry as her primary activity with eight cattle heads and cultivating wheat and paddy on her land as secondary activity.

She has been able to increase milk fat by 26 per cent, solid not fat (SNF) by 13 per cent, and milk yield by 18 per cent, which boosted her income by 38 per cent. Her crop yield has also gone up by 8 to 12 per cent.

Offering drone spray services with a target to cover 4,000 acres every year, the BSc degree holder has increased her annual income from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh, a jump of over 40 per cent.

From Chardi Kalan village in Barnala, Kiranpal Kaur (35) is into animal husbandry with four cattle heads, besides growing wheat, paddy and maize on her 1.5-acre agricultural land. Having increased milk fat, SNF by 11 to 13 per cent and milk production by 1.5 to 2 litres per cattle, this matriculate’s income from animal husbandry has increased by Rs 37,000 per annum.

On the agriculture front, she has opted crop diversification by shifting from traditional paddy to basmati, which has helped her increase income by 40 per cent.

This NaMo Drone Didi is offering drone spray services with an aim to cover 4,000 acres annually. Kiranpal’s total annual income has gone up from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 3.1-lakh, an increase of over 29 per cent.

Jaswinder Kaur from Rattian village in Moga owns 6 acres on which she grows wheat and paddy, besides having a wheat flour unit. Having increased crop yield by 8 to 12 per cent, she has been selling packaged wheat flour by procuring wheat from FPC members.

Also a NaMo Drone Didi offering drone spray services over 4,000 acres every year, Jaswinder, who is a Class XII pass-out, has increased her annual income from Rs 2.8 lakh to Rs 3.85 lakh, a jump of almost 38 per cent.

How it helps

FPCs are promoting diversification through initiatives such as basmati rice cultivation and maize silage production and providing subsidised inputs while leveraging drone technology. Securing agricultural input licenses, FPCs are operating input shops that supply high-quality supplies to members, generating a collective revenue of Rs 3-crore. The FPCs are providing timely distribution of fertilisers and supplying high quality seeds to their member farmers at fair prices.

The project took women empowerment to a new level through the NaMo Drone Didi scheme and a partnership with IFFCO, training 23 women as drone pilots. It equipped them to offer drone-based services and earn additional income, furthering their economic independence.

Besides offering training on mushroom cultivation and vermi-compost, as an additional source of income to these women farmers, the project is also enhancing capacity building of women farmers to develop their additional sources of livelihood during off season periods through skill and design development.

Project highlights

Institution building: 17 producer organisations, 16 input shops, 10,000 members, Rs 11-crore annual turnover, Rs 1.5-crore equity.

Capacity building: 25,000 women farmers trained on good agricultural practices, 6,000 trained in diverse skills, 100 business development service partnerships with IFFCO and Markfed.

Convergence: Rs 10-crore leveraged through government schemes, market linkages of 17 producer organisations and credit linkages of 10 producer organisations.

Coverage: Ludhiana, Moga, Barnala and Ropar districts, 17 farmers producer companies registered, 25,000 women farmers already made members, 10,000 more being roped in.

Turnover: Average annual turnover of farmer producer companies is Rs 50 lakh.

Income: Post-interventions, the income of women farmers and households has increased by an average 40 per cent, ranging between Rs 40,000 and Rs 2 lakh per member through various initiatives.

What they say

“Project STREE’s innovative approach is unlocking the potential of women farmers, propelling them towards a brighter future. We have recognised their efforts at a recent dissemination workshop,” said Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Agriculture Minister, Punjab.

“Our project is driven by a dedicated team of 21 persons in four districts, led by Tarun Baijnath and V Padmanand, who are supporting the FPCs in policy advocacy with the help of state government and DCs concerned as to ensure input licenses for FPCs as well as infrastructure support. Also, support in enabling convergence with state and Central Government schemes and partnerships with business development service providers is also turning out to be a game changer,” said Manpreet Singh, state team leader, STREE.