Ienclose a news publishedin the Bhubneshwar edition of the Pioneer, for your perusal
The extensive cultivation of hybrid/high yielding variety paddy has not been able to withstand drought. But minor millet Gurjee has been able to withstand it providing food security to the poor in Balangir district.
In our village, after paddy, cotton is being promoted and cultivated on large scale in the Att land as an alternative cash crop, says Keshari Sahu, a farmer of Ganeri village, narrating his experience to the workers of NGO Janamukti Anusthan (JMA) during a recent survey on how farmers are coping with climate change and drought in the drought-prone district.
Even as many of our villagers this year went for cotton cultivation to earn more money, I decided to take up Gurjee in three out of my five acre of Att land, Keshari reveals.
Gurjee, which is usually sown in the month of June and harvested two months later, requires almost no chemical fertiliser. It is both tasty and nutritious and its cultivation should be promoted. Unless this is done, the cultivation of other cash crops like cotton and maize would overtake it, which would further reduce the area under Gurjee, points out Bhajaram Sahu of JMA.
“Since last few years, the rainfall in our area has become irregular and its quantity has declined. I believe it is due to change in climate. As a result of inadequate rain the moisture content in the soil has been also coming down. To tide over the crisis, each year I used to apply three cartloads of cow dung and organic manure to maintain the soil moisture and fertility”, says Keshari, who added that notwithstanding the drought this year, he earned Rs 7,000 by selling Gurjee
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• Many Thanks, Sudhir da!
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent news. You have done everything very passionately and in spite of this, you have also been trying more to revive the village economy & traditional agri.mechanism since some decades. It is a very needful news for thinkers in the present (drought) situation .we salute your efforts.
With warm regards,
Bhajaram sahu
We know gurjee is a century long practiced millet in Balangir. It was ensuring immediate food security to the rural poor, even if there would be drought. Another interesting thing is that gurjee can be used for control of malaria. Gurjee kills mosquito. We can't see mosquito in the areas where gurjee is cultivated or harvested.
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