Dozens of green plants can be seen in line with equal distance using ridges and troughs practice at Satnithol Para, a small village in West Tripura.

“I will continue to do organic farming as it brought changes in my life,” says Sukesh Santal, 52, a farmer from Satnithol Farmer’s Club from an Adivasi Community. He acknowledges the support of Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST), a Caritas India partner for helping in getting the loan. He added, “It was a turning point for me and my family because I came to know that if we work hard we will prosper in life.”

Sukesh used to do only kitchen garden, even after having 2.7 acres of cultivable land. The lack of resources has limited his potential to only subsistence agriculture to fulfil the family needs. He used to be a daily wager but was always keen on doing farming at the macro level. Since organic vegetables have a higher demand in the market, his interest was only focused on doing organic farming. He used to visit other’s farm to see how people are farming at a macro level and earning money. He wanted to overcome the family’s difficulties and challenges. 

The Covid-19 lockdown has doubled the miseries of the vulnerable people. The only work which used to help them in sustaining their lives has been snatched. 

To mitigate the situation, Caritas India with the funding support of Misereor, Germany considered the long-term solution by providing seeds to the farmers. These seeds not only help in providing food and nutritional security to the families but also provide sustainable livelihood option for the future. 

In Tripura, the FARM NE team of JUST has supported 121 farming families with high yielding vegetable seeds during the Covid-19 lockdown to earn their livelihood and increase their income. 

Sukesh also received 2 packets of cabbage, 20 kg potatoes, 2 packets of pumpkins, 5 packets of tomato, 5 kg Maize, 1kg Dhania and Denta 2 packets on September 2020 from the FARM NE team. He immediately cultivated these vegetable seeds in all of his 2.7 acres of land.

 The FARM Northeast programme has also supported Sukesh in marketing his produce at the local haat or market. “Now I can earn Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 15,000/- approximately every week since December 2020,” says Sukesh. He also acknowledges that “I would not have done organic cultivation on my land if JUST would not have intervened in my life through Caritas India, FARM NE programme.”

FARM Northeast programme staff are in constant touch with Sukesh to monitor and support his livelihood. “Sukesh had cultivable land but due to his limited access to resources, he couldn’t grow much there. However, now he looks happy as he could see the change happening due to the interventions,” shares Robert Lushai, Project Coordinator of FARM Northeast programme.