One acre farming kit for 1200 farmers affected by Covid-19 in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh

Due to the covid19 lockdown, one of the most affected communities are small & marginal farmers. Agriculture operations come to a standstill due to lack of labours, non-availability of machineries, government restrictions on transportation etc. which affects the production, harvest and post harvest management aspects. APMCs and Mandis are closed, resulting in losses,  distress sale of products by the farmers for lower prices and unable to repay the loans availed from banks and other financial institutions. 

The immediate relief support provided by the Government in terms of free ration and Kisan Samman Nidhi (Rs.2000) support is inadequate to recover & rebuild their livelihoods. Given the current status, it will be very difficult for farmers to repay their existing loans and also avail new loans for the upcoming crop production. Our initiative focuses on providing them one acre kit at free of cost for the most needy small farmers which will enable them to take up cultivation in the upcoming Kharif season.

Our initiative aims at supporting 1200 small & marginal farmers severely affected by covid-19 in Bagepalli in Karnataka and Bankhedi & Rehti in Madhya Pradesh. 

These farmers are shareholders of the Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) promoted and being supported by Vrutti. These 1200 farmers have been identified by the FPOs based on criteria such as farmers who have lost their livelihoods completely, do not have any alternate source of income and those who are not able to get any external support so far. 

These farmers will be provided one acre farming kit which will include good quality seeds, bio-fertilisers and growth promoters. This will help the farmers to take up the cultivation for the upcoming kharif season who will otherwise go into debt trap. 

Each package will cost about Rs.3000 and will be distributed by the FPOs with a buy back arrangement between the farmers and the FPO. This will also benefit FPO to generate revenue from the business transactions.

• Farmers will be prevented from availing credit from informal source at a higher interest rate 
• Employment opportunities for landless labourers and in-migrants 
• Farmers livelihood is taken care with dignity and empathy