Lives Touched
2012 - 2020
Districts of Purulia, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal
The Story
Water sector reforms are based on the need to foster decentralization and participation that involves water users. This is meant to provide a framework for decentralizing decision-making to the lowest level and to allow ‘beneficiaries and other stakeholders’ to be involved from the project planning stage. The State has thus been conceived in a changed role from that of a service provider to that of a regulator.
WBADMIP embarks on the aim of increasing the agriculture production of small and marginal farmers from socially unprivileged communities with special emphasis on women and tribals – by creating provisions for minor irrigation schemes and transferring part or full control of irrigation systems to users by both allowing them and forcing them to take responsibility for the upkeep of irrigation systems, including financial management, involved in sharing the water-based on allocations amongst themselves.
WBADMIP embarked on three focus areas :
- Strengthening of community based institution through the formation of Water Users’ Association (WUA).
- Irrigation system development.
- Agricultural support service for integrated and convergent livelihood enhancement.
Impact Points
- Creation of 6451Ha irrigated command areas through 293 micro-irrigation schemes and 1179 infrastructures in 3 districts.
- Approximately 11720 small and marginal farmers are directly benefited from these irrigation infrastructures and the project brings an unswerving social change through holistic livelihood development approaches.
- 293 Water Users’ Associations(WUA) formed and functional with their institutional regulatory instruments.
- 85% of the project areas are under triple cropping.
- Cropping intensity has now reached 170% vis-a-vis 130% of pre-project scenarios.
- Outstanding change from primitive agriculture to production-oriented modern and scientific agronomic practices amongst considerable farmers of the districts. High yielding and improved varieties of crops like Papaya, Banana, Drumstick, Bay leaf, Black Pepper & Jackfruit introduced.
- Convergence with and positive upward movement of the agri-allied activities like fisheries – high-value species like Magur (Clariasmagur), Singhi (Heteropneustesfossilis), Koi (Anabas testudineus) is being cultivated in large-scale in amongst farmers in the districts.
- Water User Associations in Social Transformation –
- 10 WUAs are women-ruled.
- 75% have fledged as self-reliant institutions who are successfully maintaining
- Micro-irrigation structures by their own.
Champions of Change
Farmer Case Study from Jalpaiguri
“Setting a New Trend”
Tapan Adhikari (35) engaged in mason work lived in the village with his parents, wife and a daughter on a monthly income of Rs 8000/-. His 8 bigha land was used for cultivation only once a year. INSPIRATION’s intervention and orientation on irrigation enabled him to cultivate the same land throughout the year in three seasons and make significant profit.
Under the Jute Corporation of India’s convergence programme Tapan was the spearhead of the WUA. He was one of the resource persons in the village and facilitated training programmes and workshops. His achievement has been a constant source of inspiration for other farmers and a considerable number of them are following in his footsteps.
Tapan Adhikari
Cropping Intensity
Hectre wise Profitability in INR
Rafiul Karim Pradhan
“Accepting challenges for crossing boundaries”
Rafiul Karim Pradhan, 43, of Matiali block, Jalpaiguri struggled to sustain his family on 10 bighas of land.
I could not imagine that the agricultural work was so respected. I am grateful to the ADMI & Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal.
However, with the intervention of WBADMIP in 2014 – the wheel started turning around. Under the World Bank-supported project, West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP), Rafiul is one of the beneficiaries of two WUAs namely Dakshin Dhupjhora Kishan Bandhu WUA and Purba Batabari Varsha WUA of Matiali block, Jalpaiguri. He tried to utilize the facility of getting assured irrigation from the installation of PDW and cultivated his 4 bighas of land out of 5 bighas in the following Rabi season for the first time and earned a net profit of INR 52,000.
Encouraged after his first Rabi cultivation, his confidence level became high. With the availability of water round the year, he gradually increased irrigated areas with diversified crops. He purchased another 5 bighas of land and cultivated 10 bighas altogether throughout the year with multiple crops ranging from Paddy to Vegetables to Jute.
Rewards and Social Recognition
He was felicitated with the “Krishak Ratna” award in 2017 and consequently the “Krishak Samman”award in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the field of agriculture.
Rafiul feels proud to be a farmer is a happy family man
According to him, additional income unlocked the other avenues of livelihood which eventually gave him a stable financial life.
Case of Promise from Darjeeling
“Cultivated land is scarce but there is no end of enthusiasm”
Kamargach is a small village in the Phasidewa block. Nimash Besera (34), a marginal farmer of Kamargach has just 16 decimal lands. In 2016 Hijli INSPIRATION as the Support Organization (SO) started the intervention under WBADMIP for overall development and boosting of agricultural production through sustainable livelihood to small and marginal farmers, by organizing the farmers’ group as Water Users Association (WUA).
With the land available on lease for cultivation, Nimash Besera was one of the farmers who started the cultivation of vegetables in the winter season in addition to paddy cultivation. By cultivating improved varieties of paddy in 1.5 bighas in the previous year, he got a yield of 11.2 quintals per bigha of paddy. By cultivating cucumber in 0.3 bighas, he got about 5 quintals (Approx) of produce. By selling at Rs.3500 per quintal, excluding expenses, his profit was Rs.12500. Next year he cultivated 0.3 bighas of Beans and got about 1 quintal of beans and sold it at a profit of Rs. 13000.00.
“But the most noteworthy activity he has done to become known as a unique farmer is to grow mushrooms.” He started cultivating mushrooms with the support of a local Christian missionary. They give him initial knowledge and pieces of training and provide mushroom seeds at a very low cost.
Nimash started with a target of 100 cylinders of mushroom cultivation but he successfully cultivated 40 cylinders. It takes 15-21 days to get salable mushrooms from cylinders, and he sells them at Rs 80 to Rs 130 per kg. He sells 1 to 1.5 quintals of mushrooms in about 45 days. Excluding mushrooms seeds, plastic packets, and other expenses, his profit is around Rs.12000.
The best part is that, looking at Nimash’s success a few other farmers under Kamargach ST WUAs are now planning to cultivate mushrooms and have already introduced it in their cropping practice.
Productions / Yield
Land used in Bigha
Tales of Perseverance from Purulia
“Less we put more we get : Journey from dilemma to confidence”
Here is a story of Ashok Mahato of Ketankiari village under Ketankiari RLI Water Users Association in the drought prone Purulia district in West Bengal who has adopted System of Rice Intensification. His story reflects a gradual transformation of dilemma into rock solid confidence.
Ashok used to cultivate paddy in a traditional way by transplanting of 30-40 days old seedlings in a clump of 4-5 numbers. In early 2018 he came to know about the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in a training of Ketankiari RLI Water Users Association.
With pleasure beaming in his eyes Ashok narrates, ‘My heart lifts up with joy with the vigorous crop growth having huge number of tillers (60 – 72 no. ) and panicles (45 – 62 no. ). Paddy was harvested after 120 days. The yield was 760 kg./ bigha which is much higher than the yield of previous year (only 492 kg./ bigha). In 2019, 12 farmers of Ketankiary village have shown interest to cultivate paddy through SRI method. Some of my relatives in other blocks of the district have also shown interest. And as a result of food security, overall livelihood status has been improving gradually”.
He realizes “To combat food crisis SRI method may be an effective tool in future’.
Case Study of a Women Fish Farmer
“Never give up”
Mrs. Shital Rai (35), a housewife, comes from ‘Chenga Busty’ which is a remote village in the Mirik block of Darjeeling District. Most of the people in Chenga Busty are either engaged in farming or work as day labours. About 208 farming families live in this village. They all cultivate in the traditional way.
Cultivation water is available only during the monsoon season, so paddy can be cultivated only during a particular timeline. The biggest problem here was that farmers did not have any information or resource about modern farming and allied activities.
Hijli INSPIRATION had stated initiatives (as SO team) with support of WBADMI project in mid-2017. As this area is hilly, the structure of the land is completely different. After repeated discussions with the farmers, it was decided how to manage the irrigation and water association called “Bara Chenga 1 Water User Association” was formed.
Mrs. Shital Rai participated in WUA meetings. From those meetings, she learnt about fish farming to help the family financially.
About 5 months after implementing her knowledge into fish farming, she earned about 6000.00 Rupees by selling a total of 40 kg big fish. Besides, she also managed a profit of Rs. 10000.00 by selling about 1000 seedlings by about the year-end.
Her success has raised the interest of many other female members of the WUA to fish farming as a means to support the family and also become economically independent.
Kranti Ashar Alo Water Users Association
“The Women Headed Wua”
Farming was considered to be a realm purely dominated by men. However, Kranti Ashar Alo Water Users’ Association formed in December, 2015 comprising 42 women farmers is undoubtedly one of its kind in having established itself as competent & successful in what was so long known to be a ‘male world’.