Why should you, a farmer who owns land, think of killing yourself?" Yunus Khan's question on WhatsApp is rhetorical. An agri entrepreneur from Pusad district in Maharashtra, he is on an unusual WhatsApp group - 'Baliraja', a farmers' hub with over 400 members across the state. Its primary aim is to offer information and advice to farmers in need.
"We help each other," says Khan, an agriculture graduate who has been on the group for a year now. "Things like plant nutrition, soil problems, crop rotation and market prices are important for farmers. We discuss these on WhatsApp."
Sometimes, the messaging service can become an important support group. "We tried to stop 10 suicides across five villages by sending messages on the group," says Amol Sainwar, from Chandrapur village. Sainwar, who comes from an agricultural family, runs a charitable trust, HOPE, in the village which helps farmers find alternate employment in lean season.
Baliraja loosely translates to 'farmer king' in Marathi, but a farmer feels far from royal especially when his child is sick and he doesn't have the Rs 3,500 required for treatment. "He was on the verge of suicide. We could see he was helpless so we helped him find a job at a shop in his village via WhatsApp," says Sainwar.
Only a few small farmers own smartphones but each member of Baliraja stays in touch with 20-30 poor cultivators in the village. This ensures that their problems are communicated to the group.
Baliraja was founded over a year ago by Anil Bandawane, a farmer from Junnar near Pune."I started the WhatsApp group to discuss foreign vegetables like broccoli, zucchini which are in demand in urban markets. But the biggest discussion is always about soil and the rain," says Bandawane. Initially, the group had 100 members, but the number has now grown to 400.
"The admin had to form three more groups - Baliraja Shakha No. 2, 3 and 4 - to accommodate the rush of farmers who were keen to join from all over the state," says Bandawane.
Counselling is key to the group since the government-run kisan call centres lack practical information, say the farmers. "We have to wait for days to hear from them. The farmer is mostly an illiterate person who only looks forward to the limited subsidy. They don't see the other options available to them and this leads to depression," says Khan, who also runs an agri clinic in Akola district to counsel farmers on how to drive a better bargain.
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are also using WhatsApp but the emphasis there is on yield and technology. Harman Singh Randhawa, an orchardist from Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, uses it to connect to farmhands when he is travelling. "They send me photographs of disease or pests on crops if I am not around. I send them solutions in the form of pictures of chemicals to tackle the problem," says Randhawa, the first farmer to successfully grow apples in Punjab.
Harpreet Singh, a farmer from Kalwehri village in Karnal dis trict in Haryana, uses WhatsApp to contact agri scientists for solutions to disease and pests. Farmers who raise the same crop often join up on a WhatsApp group to swap information.
Raminder Singh Ghum man, a scientist at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, says he has created a group of about 25 farmers.
"I alert farmers about diseases and pest attack on different crops.I also send them information about various activities for farmers. For instance, I recently shared the dates of 'kisan melas' (farmer fairs) to be held in different areas so that farmers can attend these events," says Ghumman.
NGOs also find it easy to reach out to farmers through these groups. Reema Sathe of Happy Roots, a startup that helps build alternate income sources for smalltribal farmers in India, is active on Baliraja. "Most farmers depend on a certain crop, but after six months of farming, the land lies bare. So we help them find options like organic poultry farming," she says.
The answer to the problems of the farmer do not lie with the government or the politician, says Khan. "We can help each other mentally and financially," he says.
Source : Times of India
"We help each other," says Khan, an agriculture graduate who has been on the group for a year now. "Things like plant nutrition, soil problems, crop rotation and market prices are important for farmers. We discuss these on WhatsApp."
Sometimes, the messaging service can become an important support group. "We tried to stop 10 suicides across five villages by sending messages on the group," says Amol Sainwar, from Chandrapur village. Sainwar, who comes from an agricultural family, runs a charitable trust, HOPE, in the village which helps farmers find alternate employment in lean season.
Baliraja loosely translates to 'farmer king' in Marathi, but a farmer feels far from royal especially when his child is sick and he doesn't have the Rs 3,500 required for treatment. "He was on the verge of suicide. We could see he was helpless so we helped him find a job at a shop in his village via WhatsApp," says Sainwar.
Only a few small farmers own smartphones but each member of Baliraja stays in touch with 20-30 poor cultivators in the village. This ensures that their problems are communicated to the group.
Baliraja was founded over a year ago by Anil Bandawane, a farmer from Junnar near Pune."I started the WhatsApp group to discuss foreign vegetables like broccoli, zucchini which are in demand in urban markets. But the biggest discussion is always about soil and the rain," says Bandawane. Initially, the group had 100 members, but the number has now grown to 400.
"The admin had to form three more groups - Baliraja Shakha No. 2, 3 and 4 - to accommodate the rush of farmers who were keen to join from all over the state," says Bandawane.
Counselling is key to the group since the government-run kisan call centres lack practical information, say the farmers. "We have to wait for days to hear from them. The farmer is mostly an illiterate person who only looks forward to the limited subsidy. They don't see the other options available to them and this leads to depression," says Khan, who also runs an agri clinic in Akola district to counsel farmers on how to drive a better bargain.
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are also using WhatsApp but the emphasis there is on yield and technology. Harman Singh Randhawa, an orchardist from Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, uses it to connect to farmhands when he is travelling. "They send me photographs of disease or pests on crops if I am not around. I send them solutions in the form of pictures of chemicals to tackle the problem," says Randhawa, the first farmer to successfully grow apples in Punjab.
Harpreet Singh, a farmer from Kalwehri village in Karnal dis trict in Haryana, uses WhatsApp to contact agri scientists for solutions to disease and pests. Farmers who raise the same crop often join up on a WhatsApp group to swap information.
Raminder Singh Ghum man, a scientist at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, says he has created a group of about 25 farmers.
"I alert farmers about diseases and pest attack on different crops.I also send them information about various activities for farmers. For instance, I recently shared the dates of 'kisan melas' (farmer fairs) to be held in different areas so that farmers can attend these events," says Ghumman.
NGOs also find it easy to reach out to farmers through these groups. Reema Sathe of Happy Roots, a startup that helps build alternate income sources for smalltribal farmers in India, is active on Baliraja. "Most farmers depend on a certain crop, but after six months of farming, the land lies bare. So we help them find options like organic poultry farming," she says.
The answer to the problems of the farmer do not lie with the government or the politician, says Khan. "We can help each other mentally and financially," he says.
Source : Times of India
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