FARMERS' DAY CELEBRATED IN TRIPURA

Most Rev. Bishop Lumen Monteiro Inaugurating Farmers' Day

The Day...

Farmers’ Day was organised by Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST) on 12^th June 2015 at Community Hall premises, Yesrai village. The programme was held on 12^th June 2015. A seed fair was also organised under this programme. Seed fair was inaugurated by Most Rev. Bishop Lumen,   Monteiro, Chairman, Caritas India & Bishop of Agartala Diocese. The programme was also  attended by Mr. R.K. Debbarman, General Manager of NABARD as Guest of Honour along with other dignitaries from the civil society. The programme was marked by cultural songs & dances.   Fr. Jeevan Kennedy, Director & his team played the host for the programme. A Seed Fair also held under the aegis of the programme that included stalls showcasing traditional seeds & appropriate technologies.  Around 246 farmers from 32 project villages participated in the programme.

Fr. Jeevan Kennedy with GM, NABARD & Bishop

The most encouraging part of the programme was to see a large number of women taking active part. More than 40% of the participants were women.

Cultural event

The Plan.....

As a part of the project (FARM NE) activity, Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura (JUST) took up the plan of organizing Farmers’ Day (FD) during the month of April 2015. The project team sat in a meeting chaired by Director Rev. Fr. Jeevan Kennedy & chalked out plans for implementation of the programme. The project team were all excited to be part of the programme.

Team JUST explaining appropriate technologies

The project team called for a meeting of the office bearers of different farmers’ club (FC) to discuss in details about organizing Farmers’ Day. Around 42 farmers from different FCs took part in the meeting. The farmers’ response to the call was simply overwhelming. Different roles & responsibilities were given away to the farmers with an intention to encourage 100% participation. They in turn responded in affirmative.

The Beginning...

The community came together as one unit & send a message to the world that they can! They left nothing short to make the programme a success. Now, the farmers are looking beyond & thinking on conservation practices for local seeds & adopting appropriate technologies like weed composting, bio pest repellents & clay pot fridge etc.

Miles to Go....

JUST on its part is trying to explore options for developing market linkages for organic products from the project villages & also encouraging farmers to take up organic farming. 

Shared by: Vincent Debbarma, JUST, Agartala

Complied by: Team Caritas India, Guwahati