Balhi Soren, is an ambitious member of Hatighoda Women Producer Group, lives with her small family in Hatighoda village of Thankurmunda block in Mayurbhanj district. Being a mason, her husband Mansingh Soren, somehow was managing the livelihoods of the family striving nearly 10 hours a day. He used to migrate for better earning to Chennai leaving two daughters with Balhi. Though they possess 1 hectare of land near river side, Balhi used to cultivate it only in Kharif season. Due to limited financial resources, she never tried for vegetable cultivation in that piece of land.

Being an active member of Hatighoda Producer Group, she got an opportunity to participate in a training programme on “Seasonal Vegetable Cultivation” which was being organized in her own village under Agriculture Cluster Programme of CYSD in 2019. Out of the training she acquired new knowledge and skill on how to initiate vegetable farming.

“After getting new ideas, I got excited to start vegetable cultivation in our riverside land, besides the Khariff crop and subsequently motivated my husband to stop migrating to Chennai. Then we decided to start vegetable farming in our field,” shared Balhi.

They initiated cultivation of different vegetables procuring one motor pump in subsidized price through OAIC with a view to irrigate the farm land lifting water from the nearby river. The vegetable yield last year was good, so also they earned a decent amount by selling the produces in nearby market.

“Good return further inspired us to extend our farm activities in other neighbours’ land on lease basis and we continued to earn 5 times more than the invested amount out of these activities in both Kharif and Rabi seasons” said Mansingh.

Initially, Balhi took a loan of Rs. 10000 from her SHG and started vegetable cultivation. Investing Rs. 10000, she got a net return of Rs. 70,000. With the intervention of CYSD project team she has applied for hybrid vegetable subsidy of Rs. 8000/- from Horticulture Department.

“Being an uneducated woman with scanty resources in hand, I was helpless due to a lack of information. I had never dreamed that one day I will run my own business successfully”, expressed Balhi in cheerful face.

This successful journey of Balhi has motivated other women producer members in her area and triggered a new lease of life for them by initiating vegetable farm activities. At present, 140 women producers have joined the Producer Group, out of which 54 producers are being engaged in vegetable cultivation in 26 acres of land and 40 households have initiated vegetable cultivation in 15 acres of land in Rabi season too.

Indeed, with her acquired knowledge and consecutive successes, Balhi is today mobilizing other women in her community to follow her footsteps and choose vegetable cultivation as a viable livelihood.

“The role of women has increased manifold since the Agriculture Production Cluster programme began. We now realized that economic self-dependence can come with this kind of new livelihoods source”, Balhi explains proudly.