“FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FARMERS THROUGH MODERN TECHNIQUE”

The Trust under the guidance of Sri Bhaiyyu Ji Maharaj and the consent of the Government of Maharashtra, has initiated the Krishi Tirth Information Centre for farmers, to teach farmers advanced farming techniques through modern technology. Krishi Tirth involves setting up of information kiosks in religious places and these information kiosks are equipped with a computer and an LCD screen through which various kinds of information is projected and broadcasted to the farmers who visit the kiosks.

Through the concept of Krishi Tirth, help is given to the farmers to utilize that time for a useful purpose. At Krishi Tirth farmers are provided all the necessary information regarding farming, modern techniques, advanced information of processed seed and agricultural equipments, information of bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, soil tests, good quality seed procurement, effective water management, information about local, national and international market values of farming products, marketing and all the requisite advice pertaining to farming activities as per each individual needs. Spiritual guidance is also made available to the farmers.

A kiosk equipped with the latest equipments and technology is the need to suffice the above requirements of the farmers, and hence Krishi Tirth provides a solution for the same. It is important to note that all the above services are provided to the farmers free of cost.

The young students coming to these places have access to study materials and guidance for higher education and career.

The main centre and head office of Krishi Tirth is based in Pune. Here experts will facilitate all the above stated knowledge through Internet and suggest online solutions for the farmers' difficulties. The detailed information of those who visit the Centre is stored in a computer database.

This project is being successfully run with the help of the Government of Maharashtra marketing committee, the local agricultural product marketing committee (APMC), and the different institutions.

Till now Krishi Tirth projects have been started at 34 religious places in the Maharashtra state, in Tuljapur, Aunda Nagnath, Paralivaijnath, Akkalkot, Khamgaon and lakhs of farmers have benefited from the same. There is a plan to open up 29 Krishi Tirth Kiosks at religious places in Maharashtra.

There are multiple objectives behind the creation of the Krishi Tirth scheme and some of the prominent objectives are the spread of awareness and knowledge concerning various environmental predicaments and issues. The Krishi Tirth scheme also aims at involving the grass root organizations like the village panchayat and other institutions. Providing adequate information and training to farmers for the adoption of various eco-friendly and organic techniques of farming. Helping farmers with organizing credit from financial institutions and also providing information on setting up cooperative movements for their own benefits.

On 21st July 2009 Krishi Teerth Kiosks KTK were inagurated by the Agriculture commissioner Mr. Prabhakar Deshmukh, accompanied by Shri Bhaiyyu Ji Maharaj and members of the Suryoday Parivar. The Agriculture commissioner was delighted by the work and mentioned that his department would fully support this project implemented by Suryoday Trust under P.P. Gurudev's guidance and will also provide a link of KTK on the official website of his Agriculture department.

Agriculture contributes 28% to the national income making, 71% of the population that works in agriculture. Due to the prevalence of nuclear families and decreasing share of land, the costs are increasing thus leaving the poor farmers to take loans from the Sahukars (money lenders) at a high rate of interest. In case of not repaying they become helpless. Becoming helpless, facing crop failure, as well as drought leads them with no other option than to commit suicide. The number says that there has been a very shocking notable increase in the suicidal cases all around the country, especially in the Vidharba region of Maharashtra.

The agricultural communities are the ones that are feeding the 100 crore plus population of India, hence rightly known as “Anna Daata”. But unfortunately the farmer community has always remained neglected and uncared for in our society. Even after more than six decades of Independence the farmers' status has worsened.

History has proof that during the British regime the Indian farmer very boldly faced the comparatively worst conditions but never came to such fatal decision of committing suicide.

Shri Bhaiyyu Ji Maharaj who belongs to the same farmer community and owns his land in Sujalpur, (Madhya Pradesh) has the experience of the woes and worries this community has been facing. His heart was so deeply touched with the news of suicides that he immediately took up the challenge to arrest and stop the suicidal tendency.

He has studied the root causes and came to the conclusion that only monetary aid will not put an end to this problem permanently.

The main objective behind this campaign was to understand the factual and grass root difficulties of the farmers and to enlighten them so that they should deter from this extreme of suicide. It was essential to awaken their lost self-confidence for them to make a flight in life with new hope and spirit.

Pulling together his youthful resources he started the Dhartiputra Seva Abhijan Yatra, a Rally that started on the 1st of May in 2006, covering six districts of Vidarbha namely Buldana, Washim, Akola, Wardha, Amrawati and ended at Yawatmal where over 35.000 farmers where present. Besides 240 villages, which were covered in 60 days, the rally passed through 1.000 Villages and per day 4 meetings were held with the farmers, fifty volunteers worked day and night.

Keeping in mind the main objectives and to achieve the desired success the farmers where assisted, guided, educated and trained by the volunteers who communicated directly with five lack farmers and provided them with training on modern techniques of agriculture, other experts in the banking, psychiatric and religious fields had also contributed by helping them solve their acute financial, social, and psychological problems. Through Audiovisuals, street plays and direct counselling almost 5.000 problems were received out of which 60% were solved on the spot and the rest were forwarded to the government of Maharashtra.

Positive thinking strategies were developed to prevent them from committing suicide. The understandings reached during the training and also gave a major flip to the economic dimension of the relationship to oversee facilitation and expansion of trade in goods and services, investment flows and other areas of economic cooperation characterized by continuity and consensus.

The rally ended on the 30th of June 2006 and a counseling centre was also established at Khamgaon Village to cater for the farmers' needs. This campaign had benefited more than five lack farmers.

We need to improve the state of the farmers because they are the strength and stability of the nation as a whole without them our nation cannot accomplish the desired goal of Golden India.

Bhumisudhar Abhijan (The land fertility enhancement campaign), has been started by adopting 124 villages of Barshitakli Tehsil district of Akola and 1000 villages of Jalgaon district in the state of Maharashtra. This campaign included a team of agriculture experts a team of veterinaries and specialists of animal husbandry. They provided a valuable guidance for the villages of both districts. The Trust also implemented Suryoday Balgram Yojana (A Scheme to provide self-esteem to the rural students) in these areas and distributed 2.000 fruit saplings and biological manure to the school children. Also more than 3.000 poor but talented students were helped under the Suryoday Scholarship Scheme.

This has produced heartening results for the farmers, as they got substantial amount of increased productivity in these areas, which has also reduced the number of suicide farmer cases. Villagers have expressed their humble thankfulness for the initiative taken by the Trust in both districts.

Along with this campaign, the Trust has also established a soil and water-testing laboratory to help the farmers, so that they could get their samples tested and the agricultural experts, who will increase their crops productivity, could advise corrective measures to them.

To eradicate superstitions or blind belief of the villagers about outdated customs and with the help of religious philosophers, the Trust also successfully generated awareness among the villagers and convinced them to stop dowry system and high expenses on daughters' marriages.

A common oath was taken by the villagers to say no to the consumption of alcohol. The Trust has received several applications from farmers about digging of farm ponds in these areas.

The Trust has helped the poor farmers by organizing 200 community marriages on the 1st of April 2008 in Akola district and 1.000 community marriages in Buldhana district on 28th April 2008.

Soon the campaign will also be started in the dry region of Madhya Pradesh, Jhabua and Dhar districts as well as in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Due to the ever increasing population and the various projects undertaken by human beings, water is depleting at an alarming rate. This has resulted in the scarcity of water in different parts of the world and has affected the developing countries to a large extent. Drinking water is one of the biggest problems in today’s world. There is an acute shortage of water for drinking and irrigation purpose. As breath is essential to live so is water. In this polluted world we need pure water and to meet its increasing demand due to water scarcity we need to adopt water harvesting, water conservation, and schemes to avail water to farmers and thirsty human beings.

The importance of water should be made aware as well as to use the water available in a more judicious manner.

It is quite a known fact that water in our country is not conserved. Only 25% of rainwater is harvested. If this rainwater is used and stored in lakes and wells, then it would be sufficient for current needs. In this direction the Suryoday Trust has done a remarkable job, by organizing joint venture efforts with farmer’s public and government organizations. So far 554 farm ponds and the recharging of several underground water bodies have been successfully developed.

Suryoday Jal Sanvardhan Scheme has been proposed by Sri Bhaiyyu Ji Maharaj to face the challenge of water scarcity with water means and by tapping new sources of water and constructing mud dams, lakes and percolation dams to store rain water and thereby avoiding wastage of flowing rainwater and increasing the water table of that area.

The Trust has selected poor and needy farmers for the construction of farm ponds. The government land has also been selected for the construction of community ponds. The Trust provides a J.C.B. machine, a supervisor, an operator and the beneficiary has to bear diesel expenses and a tractor to carry the soil while casting the pond. In some occasions while working with cooperative institutes, the institute shares diesel and other expenses too. This type of work motivates the masses to generate more involvement of people in community-based Programmes of the Trust.

Farmers and the general agrarian population can visit these Centres where they are advised on various improvements in the field of agriculture and are also acquainted with the latest progress and advances which have been incorporated into farming. Technical knowledge and present market conditions are also explained in simple terms to farmers. The first Baliraja Gyan Prabhodhan Kendra was established on the first of May 2005 in Rishi Sankul, Khamgaon and the trust is planning to set up many more of these Centres for the benefit of farmers.

The aim of the Centres is to help farmers get aid from financial institutions under various government schemes, with the active support of voluntary agencies and technical experts. Insufficient rain has led to the deepening of the agrarian crisis. The cost of agricultural production is rising, and the average farmer needs an agro-based industry to support his agricultural income, whether through running dairy units or poultry farms. By introducing the farmers to these Centres they will be taught skills which will lead them to a better and more prosperous life.