Collective farming has emerged as one of the transformative and sustainable practices of the Facilitating Agricultural Regeneration Measures (FARM) Northeast programme towards achieving self-reliance of the communities. The programme aimed to revive traditional farming practices to meet the food and nutrition security, promote collective action for socio-economic and self-governance development and revive traditional preventive and curative health practices.

Caritas India through Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST), is implementing the development programme FARM, funded by Misereor to empower community action leading to the revival of traditional socio-economic, governance and health systems for achieving greater self-reliance of communities.

Agriculture is the backbone of Northeast India, but it needs improvement in productivity and efficiency to bring sustainability in the sector. Uruabari village from Borkathal under Hezamara R.D Block was always interested to form a group to access knowledge and technology, promote greater value addition to agriculture produce, promoting investments in agriculture and creating a favorable and enabling economic environment for sustainability.

Mrs. Kalyani Debbarma from the village took the lead in organizing people and presented the idea of forming a Farmer’s club. She was very interested to witness the achievement of Urua Farmer’s club and Kolaghat Farmers club and the trainings conducted by JUST with the help of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Agriculture Department, etc. The villagers approached FARM NE staff and requested to help in forming the Farmer’s Club. After several meetings by FARM NE, Pohor Farmer’s Club was formed with 12 members in September 2017.

In November 2017, the Pohor Farmer’s Club for the first time decided to do collective farming. The FARM NE team linked the farmer’s club with ICAR so they can get the necessary support in time of need. Mrs. Kalyani Debbarma, the president of the club donated her 2 bighas of her land to the group for cultivation. They also received 5 kgs of peas from ICAR free of cost in a view of strengthening the group. They got about Rs. 8,500/- income from the peas after selling was deposited in the group’s savings account and with that amount, inter-loaning was done among the group members.

Mrs. Kalyani Debbarma is also an herbal medicine practitioner. The FARM NE team from JUST helped her to upscale the herbal graden.

The club further plans to continue the cultivation with different seasonal crops. This perhaps reflects our conviction of sustaining out interventions beyond the project period.

“We cultivated different types of vegetables like peas, maize, etc. Though at our first attempt we couldn’t earn much profit, yet our collective effort gave us more joy and happiness. Forming group and working together brought our hearts closer”, says Kalyani. “I was always interested to do something for my village as most of the women in the village are housewives and they don’t have anything much to do. After forming the Farmer’s Club with the help of JUST through the FARM NE project they got motivated could do some income generation activities”.