When women plough in a group

self-help group (SHG) and forayed into group farming on about 10 acres of land. The land is owned collectively by them.

The group is not only financially self-sufficient now but also boasts of around Rs 1.5 lakh bank deposits.

Bahuli,situated around 25 km from Sillod tehsil,was mostly engaged in vegetable cultivation. People in this village,with a population of around 1000,were mostly employed as labourers in the fields of adjoining villages.

That was till an Aurangabad-based NGO,Dilasa Janvikas Pratishthan (DJP),decided to intervene.

A visit to every household in the village followed,giving women lessons on how to become self-dependent.

Finally,15 women,aged between 25 and 35 years,agreed to join hands to form the Dilasa Rajmata Womens Self-Help Group (DRW-SHG), said DJP chairperson Dr Anagha Patil.

The SHG was formed under the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Bank Linkage Programme.

Instead of engaging women in routine work like making papad and pickles,the DJP inspired them to go for group or cooperative farming. The concept of group farming was new to them. After 2-3 sessions of counselling,they agreed to give it a try, Patil said.

With an initial contribution of Rs 100 per head,the group became liable for credit linkage in six months.

In 2007,the DRW-SHG borrowed a loan of Rs 25,000 from Maharashtra Gramin Bank on an 18-month repayment term. A sheep breeding project was launched with this money.

The project gave immediate benefits and the group repaid the amount in less than six months and became eligible for a loan twice the earlier amount.

DRW-SHG president Nanda Nikot said: Our first success was enough to inspire confidence in us that we were not born to be labourers for a lifetime. Instead of toiling in the farm of others for a mere Rs 70-80 per day,we have our own business now.

For a second time,they borrowed a loan of Rs 50,000 for vegetable farming in mid-2008.

DRW-SHG deputy president Anita Shingare said: We cultivated brinjal,tomato,chilly and cabbage on about 10 acres of land. The land was spread in fractions like some members grew vegetables on their own 1.5 acres farm,some at two acres and a few on just an acre of land.

We ensured by way of discussion that measurement of land will not create any dispute in sharing profits. With the profits earned from sheep breeding,we bought seeds,fertilizers and other equipment in bulk. Apart from this,the actual labour work in the fields,besides marketing of vegetables,was also done by the group members that saved expenditure and increased profits, Shingare added. The group earned one and half times more than the investment this time around.

Come June 2010,they borrowed Rs 2 lakh loan to cultivate ginger and turmeric on seven acres of land. Vegetables were cultivated on the remaining land. About three acres of the land was irrigated by the drip system while the rest by traditional methods. The group is expecting two to three times profit from the crops by March-end.

The agricultural department has taken cognizance of the SHG. India is a patent holder of turmeric and contributes about 82 per cent to its world production,Sillod tehsil Agriculture officer Uday Deolankar said.

While terming it as great achievement in a small village,Deolankar said that in India,farmers are emotionally attached to their piece of land and might find it difficult to share it with others.

Secondly,resources have limitations despite rapid increase in population,he added.

Therefore,it is commendable,he said,that the DRW-SHG could make group farming possible,which has also helped increase the per capita income.

Most importantly,the SHGs savings in bank has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh while the group has also disbursed loans up to Rs 50,000 to members at a mere 2 per cent interest rate for crucial times like marriages,renovation of houses and medical treatments.

A member of DRW-SHG Radhabai Janjal said the group has taught her to live with pride and dignity. It has developed a confidence in me to deal in markets,to maintain records and even to guide others to work like me. The men in the village are also supporting the group in farming and other works.:

Sillod MLA and former Minister of State for Food and Supply Abdul Sattar Abdul Nabi stressed the need to introduce the concept of group farming.

There has been a steady decrease in the number of farmers with large holdings and a subsequent rise in the number of small and medium farmers with small land holdings. These farmers lack credit,adequate supply of water and other resources,thereby making it difficult for them to earn a steady livelihood. Group farming would ensure equity in water and resource sharing and thereby lead to high productivity at low resources, he added. He assured of extending all possible help to promote such activities in his constituency.