Hooghly farmers diversify crops, set model
The problem of water was removed, the system of irrigation was fixed
It is very important to have proper irrigation system for good farming, because profit cannot be earned from farming by relying only on rain. Due to lack of water, farmers of many villages leave agriculture and start doing other work, while some are able to get only one crop throughout the year. This makes it difficult to make a living. Before 2012, farmers of Panchgachia village in Hooghly district of West Bengal were also facing the problem of acute water shortage. Due to this, farmers were able to cultivate only paddy throughout the year, but now it is not so. To know how this village overcome water problem, the team of Kisan of India reached Panchgachia village and our correspondent Gaurav Manral spoke to the farmer Sushant Kumar.
Life changed
Farmers of Panchgachiya village are leading a happy life today, but before 2012 the situation was different. Due to the scarcity of water, the farmers here had to face a lot of problems in farming. Sushant Kumar, a farmer of this village, says that many people left farming and started working with others. He had to deal with the problem of migration also. Only one crop was produced throughout the year. It was becoming difficult to run a household due to paddy cultivation. He says that in 2012, they contacted the Water Resources Department. After this, a pump was installed in the village and the water problem of the villagers was solved.
Grow 3 crops in a year
The farmers of this village, who grew only paddy before 2012, are now cultivating thrice a year. Sushant says that now we do farming according to the season. Along with paddy, some vegetables are grown during the rainy season. In winter, they cultivate potatoes, cabbage, mustard etc. and in summer, they cultivate groundnut, sesame along with other vegetables. This gives good income. He says that there is more profit from vegetable cultivation.
Growing improved varieties of potatoes
Sushant Kumar has planted many improved varieties of potatoes in his field, including A 2708 (Chandramukhi), Jyoti, Pukhraj etc. He says that potato cultivation starts in November as this time is most suitable. The soil is prepared before the sowing of potatoes, for which the soil should be properly dry first. It takes three to three and a half months for the potato crop to be ready.
If you manage properly then you will get good crop
If sowing, irrigation etc. are done properly then a good crop is obtained. The amount of crop depends on the variety of potato. He further states that one bigha field yields 110 bags of A 2708 (Chandramukhi) and Jyoti, while the production of Pukhraj ranges from 135 to 140 bags. He sells some potatoes directly from the farm and keeps the rest in the store, which he sells in the market when the demand increases.
With the help of the Water Resources Department and the hard work of the farmers, the water problem of the farmers of Panchgachia village was solved. Today this village is emerging as a model for other villages in its area.
Contact us: If farmers want to share information or experiences related to farming with us, then they can do this by calling us on the phone number 9599273766 or by writing an email to kisanofindia.mail@gmail.com or by sending your recording. Through Kisan of India, we will convey your message to the people, because we believe that if the farmers are advanced then the country is happy.