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“Is it okay to stop looking for government or corporate jobs and start working with your smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods and provide them a stable source of income?”
I am Ajay Kumar, a student of agriculture who belongs to Himachal Pradesh and would like to contribute towards the farming families of the state. Following the completion of my post-graduate degree in agriculture, I began my journey as a research intern in a state project based on natural farming for nearly a year and then had the opportunity to explore the agriculture field on a global scale with the help of Graam Dishaa Trust. So, I went to Germany for one year, and during the year, I worked there with one of the non-profit organizations that is mainly associated with more than 1500 farms in southern Germany. After working on various farms during the year, I got enough exposure and motivation to step into agriculture entrepreneurship to boost the livelihood of local farms in my state. Side-wise, I used to be associated with the Graam Dishaa Trust as a volunteer during my internship. After returning from Germany, I discussed with one of the GDT's trustees about launching an agricultural startup with Graam Dishaa Javik Samuh, which is part of the GDT. There are 10–12 members in Graam Dishaa Javik Samuh, and most of them are dependent on labor wages and unstable sources of income to feed their families. So, as a first step, I would like to implement my experience on their farm land or GDJS farm land to set up a nursery and vegetable production unit, and from there, I have various plans for value addition so that none of them have to do anything other than work on their own field.
About Graam Dishaa Trust and Graam Dishaa Javik Samuh:
About Gram Disha Trust: GDT has been working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and smallholder producer welfare for over a decade. The vision of the trust is to create sustainable value for smallholders in India and the Himalayan ecosystems.
About Graam Dishaa Javik Samuh: GDJS is a group of farmers working under the guidance of GDT.
The GDJS needs these funds to build an agroecological nursery and vegetable production:
To setup a proper ecological nursery and vegetable production base we need approx. Rs.3lakhs (3,500 - 4000$) out that 40% of the funds are going to give by GDT.
Website of Gram Disha Trust: https://gramdisha.wordpress.com/
A short introduction video of our group (with English subtitles) :- https://youtu.be/nyHdZ_S3kaMJanuary progress report that Gram Disha Trust initiated for Gram Disha Jaivik Self Help Group.
