At the edge of the desert, an oasis

In more than a dozen villages of Bhuj taluka, where the only naturally occurring vegetation is the thorny Proposis juliflora — known locally as gando baval or ‘‘mad acacia’’ for its tendency to proliferate wildly — farmers are now growing groundnut, millet, jowar, coconut, pomegranate, amla and a variety of vegetables.

How do they do it? Scientists of the Gujarat Agriculture University were the first to sow hope in the hearts of local farmers. They studied soil samples and suggested the fields could yield good crops if they were overlaid with a cushion of fine soil. They also came up with new varieties of the date seed and the kesar mango, which could grow on such soil and require less water than usual.

‘‘At our research stations at Mundra and Bachau, we experimented with various kinds of soils and seeds. The research in date seeds, which resulted in a new variety, was the high point. All this knowledge has been passed on to farmers in these villages,’’ says Dr B S Chundawat, vice-chancellor of GAU, Dantiwada.

Though the suggestions were simple, they met with a degree of resistance since they called for hard work. ‘‘Moreover, farmers coming to these suggestions fresh from failed crops were hesitant to take risks,’’ says another scientist. ‘‘There were also practical concerns, like the source of the money for creating the soil cushion.’’

That is where the local Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan stepped in. ‘‘The farmers were already on their knees following crop failures. They did not have much money to experiment with,’’ says Bhawatpriyadas Swami, who is based at Maninagar temple in Ahmedabad.

‘‘Since banks were hesitant to give them loans, we provided the funds, assuring them that our support would continue even if the experiment failed. The farmers had experience and we provided money and guidance.’’

And together with the scientists’ inputs, they helped turn some 150 barren acres in Kera, Dahisara, Baladia and Madhapur villages into lush green productive spaces.

Says Ravji Kerai,‘‘When I started work two years ago, there was nothing but gando baval above the soil and large stones below. We dug the stones out and used them for a boundary wall. We laid out a cushion of sand-soil mixture. Now, with drip irrigation and some other practices suggested by the scientists, I grow groundnut, coconut, pomegranate, cotton, medicinal herbs and dates.’’

Gramsevaks holding diplomas in agriculture science, appointed by the agriculture directorate, provide the crucial link in bringing the research to the farms.

‘‘The directorate sends us information from the GAU. We then help farmers grasp new techniques like drip irrigation, grafting and choice of seeds etc. This tie-up is working well,’’ says H N Waghamsinh, a gramsevak in Bhuj.

The success story plays out in village after village. In Meghpar, Manjibhai says: ‘‘Nothing grew here although water was available from a borewell — until we experimented with the top soil. The mango trees are growing well and two groundnut crops were excellent.’’

In Kera, Premjibhai is busy preparing his field. ‘‘About 100 truckloads of rocks have been taken out from nearly 14 acres of land. Now we are filling it up with a soil mixture and preparing it for a groundnut crop,’’ says Premjibhai.