MANDI : Farmers of Kamand have turned the abandoned land into an income-earning venture by producing Junglee Gendha that now helps them earn Rs 9000 per bigha to Rs 11000.
This feat is being accomplished by the farmers with the help of Enabling Women of Kamand valley Society(EWOK) and IIT Mandi.
They have been organizing farmers in the surrounding areas into farmer producer companies (FPC) supported by NABARD. They have signed agreement in February 2020.
The unit is easily accessible to the farmers from Kataula, Batheri, Katindhi, Sakrayar, Kamand, and Navlay Panchayats. The value addition is helping the local farmers to earn around Rs 9000 to Rs 11000 from one bhiga land.
To increase productivity in a scientific way, the farmers of Kamand are working with the model Local community - NGO (EWOK) - Academia (IIT Mandi, CSIR IHBT), industry (Nature Biotech Products).
EWOK keeps organizing interactive sessions to bring all the stakeholders in this model together to address the issues faced by farmers of Mandi district regarding the cultivation of tagetes, Junglee Gendha.
They have been distributing seeds to the local farmers, a total of 60 farmers have received the seeds this year.
Ms. Sandhya Menon, Executive Director Operations, EWOK Society, IIT Mandi, said, “The institution has been providing land to install oil extraction unit and other support. The past three years has proved that not only does Junglee Gendha cultivation help farmers in using their abandoned land but also can increase incomes from Rs. 1200 to Rs. 10000 per bhiga of land.
And the best way for this to go forward is if farmers take ownership to make it successful in the future. “All interested farmers should join with EWOK and run a profitable organization which will help their families and future generations”, she said.
There is great demand for essential oil extracted from the ‘Tagetes’ which is commonly known as ‘Junglee Genda’. EWOK has been motivating the farmers to grow Tagetes on the lands abandoned by them due to the wildlife menace.
This practice is helping the farmers to earn additional income from their neglected lands. An oil extraction unit provided by CSIR-IHBT Palampur as part of Aroma Mission Phase 2 has been installed by EWOK with the land support from IIT Mandi in Salgi village.