The dry arid state of Rajasthan now apart from producing wheat and bajra is also developing successful women startups in the agrarian, dairy and organic fields.
New and creative ways of agriculture are being accepted by women farmers in Rajasthan to find the solution to their problems. 20 government-approved start-ups in the state are thus being run by women, out of which 5 are organic, 2 are dairy-based and 13 are agrarian, the number for which nationwide is 173.
Around 3.60 crore women of Rajasthan are participating in these new ways of farming and bringing about a change in both numbers and techniques.
Taman Kumar Sharma, Joint Director, Department of Information and Technology, Jaipur said, “Last year, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, 150 women entrepreneurs from Rajasthan participated in a brainstorming session to discuss startups apart from training, startups receive seed funding from the government along with a sustainability and marketing allowance. Vagdhara Sansthan secretary Jayesh Joshi, said that 3.60 crore women are involved in agricultural work. Women who are promoting organic farming, startups and community-based activities are raising awareness to take this further. Many women are also employed in the food processing sector.
The government is making sure to provide information about new technology related to agriculture, one of the widely known beneficiaries of this information is Santhosh Pachar from Jhigar Badi village of Sikar district in Rajasthan who has received the President’s Award twice (2013 & 2017) for her new experiments in carrot seeds in the agriculture sector.
According to her, she did advanced farming in the 30 bighas of land she had. She learned a lot from the agricultural officer who she didn’t know about in the beginning and started preparing carrot seeds herself instead of buying them from the market. Her carrot seed germinated quickly, took 75 days for the carrot to yield, was 5 percent more sweeter which increased the production by one and a half to two times.
Apart from this she also installed a cow dung gas plant using indigenous technology, benefiting 20 households in the village and helping other women by giving information about new experiments in agriculture.
Another woman farmer who marked a spot and inspired others is Santosh Khedar of Sikar district who specializes in the cultivation of “Santosh Khedar Pomegranate”. With her husband, she started the cultivation of pomegranate after her husband saw one plant and got the idea approved by her wife. Uncertain if it would be a profitable deal they worked hard and eventually doubled their income!
They also grow lemon, guava & apple plants in the empty spaces now and are earning more than 10 lakhs annually.
Women from different areas of Rajasthan are determined to advance their farming game, they are not just farmers anymore they are self-sufficient creative farmers who are determined to take the agrarian industry ahead!
