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I am Dr. Dipto Bhattacharyya, a plant molecular biologist by past profession. In sheer need to learn how agriculture is pursued in real fields in villages away from sophisticated laboratory setups, I rented 23 acres of agriculture lands for vegetables and flower farming, during January, 2022. I must say, that the people who work in a farmer’s field on contractual basis, basically have to try their purest and hardest with their agri skills to see their families obtain some bread and butter, least to speak regarding a small cash at hand. Basically, wheat and rice being the major crops sowed and harvested, the villagers, especially women, find work as livelihood only for at most 7 months in a year, and that too not on continual basis. The average pay per day would be around Rs 300/-, for working in fields. For the farmer owning an agricultural field, one who produce vegetables, if wholesale market/ mandi rates go awry, such as for example when I write this article, radish rates in wholesale markets are Rs2/- per kg and brinjal rates are around Rs 5/- per kg, he cannot even stretch means to pay for ‘labours’/ (I hate the term, must be workers or employees).
Well this is not the story/ reality which I am planning to put on your table today for applying to acquire a modest donation/ grant/ aid. What follows below are basically extracts of my objectives to turn tables. While in hurry, I would softly suggest to peruse my schematic workflow, wherein any donated monetary aids to this individual will flow.
‘Annoying’
Once I asked a village girl willing to work in my farms if she will fall under the category of child labour. The congregatory response from them was:
1. Noneelse asks this verification.
2. Our family gets work for 5 months and we survive the rest part of the year with whatever we accumulate in these 5 to 6 months.
3. ‘X’ and ‘Y’ passed till secondary and started working in fields. ‘Z’, ‘S’, ‘H’, and ‘α’ quit higher secondary and followed in ‘X’s and ‘Y’s footsteps.
4. We are two sisters ‘β’ and ‘λ’ from the adjacent village and we could not pursue higher studies like graduation plainly in as much as of dearth of money. We normally get to work on whatever we get to, like cleaning foul smelling drains in villages, uprooting weeds and grasses from any farmer’s fields with darati and khurpi to supply fodder for cows.
5. We have a 0.2 acres of field shared by 5 families inherited from a common grandfather, and we sow some wheat or rice or pulses, but that falls nowhere when revenues from this small land is shared between these families. Basically 0.2 acres of wheat production brings in Rs 12000/- only after 6 months, so only one of the families get to earn from that field in a particular year.
6. My brother’s learning carpentry and father’s bedridden and mother’s ill too, therefore two of us earn the requisite bread, butter absent.
Dispiriting
‘I already employ 22 female workers in 23 acres for eggplant, radish, tomato, cabbage, bottlegourd, rose, and marigold farming. I am planning to put kadaknath chicks in my farm and I require personnel. I am sorry, I can’t be of more help’.
Responses:
1. I am ‘δ’. I have children and my husband died last year. Even if you do not employ other women from our village, please allow me. I do not know how to meet my ends. I shall work better and work hard. You shall have no qualms with my work.
2. I am ‘θ’. I had to skip my secondary and got married early. My husband works as a driver but his hands got paralyzed and now with 4 children to look after, I do not know how to manage my family. Please allow me to work in your fields.
3. I am ‘℃’. I am old but I can do manual deweeding, harvesting of flowers, and planting seedlings. My son beats me and drinks profusely. Please let me work in your fields.
Counting on helplessness ‘Not my species’
Agriculture on vast fields without walls is a serious concern and farmers mostly follow stray cattle and nilgay with bamboo sticks to let them out of their fields. Whilst they arrive/ raid at least two times a day in flocks in your fields, you know half of your vegetable production is grazed. Stray cattle are allowed to leave farms when they are of little use in dairies, etcetera.
My lookout
We can create sustainable ecosystems with integrated ponds stocked with sea weeds, shrimps, and fish and farms that can harbor stray cattle and nilgay to produce farmyard manure when let to graze on fast growing grass varieties which will continue to grow once grazed in this integrated system. With installed composting toilets in nearby fields, we can have continuous supply of farmyard manure from stray cattle, and nilgay, and seaweeds manure from integrated pond system, chicken manure from my poultry farms, and composted manure from human excreta. Therefore this integrated system can be used for:
1. High quality organic fertilizer production
2. Fish and Shrimp production.
3. Poultry (meat and eggs)
I am asking charitable aids for 2 projects:
Project1: (Rs 10,00,000/ 12,500 USD)
1.Provide 20 cycles to women workers in new year, January, 2023 (Rs 1,50,000).
2.Help 8 female village students join graduation studies (they can work part-time in my farms).(Rs 8,50,000)
Project2: (3,00,00,000)
Development of a self sustaining Micro-Village Ecosystem.
1. Kadaknath chicken farm (Holding 12000 chicks, Employing 4 women, 1 men).
2. 2.Edible mushroom farm and 3. Medicinal mushroom setup
(Employing 4 women, 1 men)
4. Small capacity goat farm ( Employing 4 women, 1 men).
5. Small capacity dairy cow farm ( Employing 2 women, 1 men).
6..Include stray cattle and Nilgay in farm sheds for farmyard manure
(Employing 2 women, 1 men)
7.Biofertilizer plant
8.Rose cultivation and 9.Marigold cultivation (Employing 6 women, 1 men)
10.Eggplant cultivation and 11.Tomato cultivation (Employing 6 women, 1 men)
12.Plant nursery for supplying rose, marigold, eggplant, and tomato saplings (Employing 2 women, 1 men)
13.An Ecosystem pond for fish, shrimp, sea weed, and lotus culture (
Employing 4 women, 1 men)
I am Dr. Dipto Bhattacharyya, a plant molecular biologist by past profession. In sheer need to learn how agriculture is pursued in real fields in villages away from sophisticated laboratory setups, I rented 23 acres of agriculture lands for vegetables and flower farming, during January, 2022. I must say, that the people who work in a farmer’s field on contractual basis, basically have to try their purest and hardest with their agri skills to see their families obtain some bread and butter, least to speak regarding a small cash at hand. Basically, wheat and rice being the major crops sowed and harvested, the villagers, especially women, find work as livelihood only for at most 7 months in a year, and that too not on continual basis. The average pay per day would be around Rs 300/-, for working in fields. For the farmer owning an agricultural field, one who produce vegetables, if wholesale market/ mandi rates go awry, such as for example when I write this article, radish rates in wholesale markets are Rs2/- per kg and brinjal rates are around Rs 5/- per kg, he cannot even stretch means to pay for ‘labours’/ (I hate the term, must be workers or employees).
Well this is not the story/ reality which I am planning to put on your table today for applying to acquire a modest donation/ grant/ aid. What follows below are basically extracts of my objectives to turn tables. While in hurry, I would softly suggest to peruse my schematic workflow, wherein any donated monetary aids to this individual will flow.
‘Annoying’
Once I asked a village girl willing to work in my farms if she will fall under the category of child labour. The congregatory response from them was:
1. Noneelse asks this verification.
2. Our family gets work for 5 months and we survive the rest part of the year with whatever we accumulate in these 5 to 6 months.
3. ‘X’ and ‘Y’ passed till secondary and started working in fields. ‘Z’, ‘S’, ‘H’, and ‘α’ quit higher secondary and followed in ‘X’s and ‘Y’s footsteps.
4. We are two sisters ‘β’ and ‘λ’ from the adjacent village and we could not pursue higher studies like graduation plainly in as much as of dearth of money. We normally get to work on whatever we get to, like cleaning foul smelling drains in villages, uprooting weeds and grasses from any farmer’s fields with darati and khurpi to supply fodder for cows.
5. We have a 0.2 acres of field shared by 5 families inherited from a common grandfather, and we sow some wheat or rice or pulses, but that falls nowhere when revenues from this small land is shared between these families. Basically 0.2 acres of wheat production brings in Rs 12000/- only after 6 months, so only one of the families get to earn from that field in a particular year.
6. My brother’s learning carpentry and father’s bedridden and mother’s ill too, therefore two of us earn the requisite bread, butter absent.
Dispiriting
‘I already employ 22 female workers in 23 acres for eggplant, radish, tomato, cabbage, bottlegourd, rose, and marigold farming. I am planning to put kadaknath chicks in my farm and I require personnel. I am sorry, I can’t be of more help’.
Responses:
1. I am ‘δ’. I have children and my husband died last year. Even if you do not employ other women from our village, please allow me. I do not know how to meet my ends. I shall work better and work hard. You shall have no qualms with my work.
2. I am ‘θ’. I had to skip my secondary and got married early. My husband works as a driver but his hands got paralyzed and now with 4 children to look after, I do not know how to manage my family. Please allow me to work in your fields.
3. I am ‘℃’. I am old but I can do manual deweeding, harvesting of flowers, and planting seedlings. My son beats me and drinks profusely. Please let me work in your fields.
Counting on helplessness ‘Not my species’
Agriculture on vast fields without walls is a serious concern and farmers mostly follow stray cattle and nilgay with bamboo sticks to let them out of their fields. Whilst they arrive/ raid at least two times a day in flocks in your fields, you know half of your vegetable production is grazed. Stray cattle are allowed to leave farms when they are of little use in dairies, etcetera.
My lookout
We can create sustainable ecosystems with integrated ponds stocked with sea weeds, shrimps, and fish and farms that can harbor stray cattle and nilgay to produce farmyard manure when let to graze on fast growing grass varieties which will continue to grow once grazed in this integrated system. With installed composting toilets in nearby fields, we can have continuous supply of farmyard manure from stray cattle, and nilgay, and seaweeds manure from integrated pond system, chicken manure from my poultry farms, and composted manure from human excreta. Therefore this integrated system can be used for:
1. High quality organic fertilizer production
2. Fish and Shrimp production.
3. Poultry (meat and eggs)
I am asking charitable aids for 2 projects:
Project1: (Rs 10,00,000/ 12,500 USD)
1.Provide 20 cycles to women workers in new year, January, 2023 (Rs 1,50,000).
2.Help 8 female village students join graduation studies (they can work part-time in my farms).(Rs 8,50,000)
Project2: (3,00,00,000)
Development of a self sustaining Micro-Village Ecosystem.
1. Kadaknath chicken farm (Holding 12000 chicks, Employing 4 women, 1 men).
2. 2.Edible mushroom farm and 3. Medicinal mushroom setup
(Employing 4 women, 1 men)
4. Small capacity goat farm ( Employing 4 women, 1 men).
5. Small capacity dairy cow farm ( Employing 2 women, 1 men).
6..Include stray cattle and Nilgay in farm sheds for farmyard manure
(Employing 2 women, 1 men)
7.Biofertilizer plant
8.Rose cultivation and 9.Marigold cultivation (Employing 6 women, 1 men)
10.Eggplant cultivation and 11.Tomato cultivation (Employing 6 women, 1 men)
12.Plant nursery for supplying rose, marigold, eggplant, and tomato saplings (Employing 2 women, 1 men)
13.An Ecosystem pond for fish, shrimp, sea weed, and lotus culture (
Employing 4 women, 1 men)
