Joining hands to become independent

“The Centre gives 80 per cent subsidy to farmers,provided 20 per cent is contributed by the state. But we have decided to contribute this 20 per cent from our own pockets because the state is not helping us out. We can then start manufacturing turmeric powder,flour,masalas and even mustard oil. We are growing all the crops,and want to make products from our farm produces,avoiding middlemen,” says Tirlochan Singh,a member of this society.

According to other members Bohr Singh and Sukhjeet Singh,while they are getting an MSP of Rs 1,285 for per quintal of wheat,its flour fetches Rs 22 a kilo. “If all goes well,we will not be taking our wheat to the mandis from next season,and instead make flour and market it on our own. We have submitted projects with the Centre to set up processing plants for manufacturing masalas and mustard oil too,” says Sukhjeet.

The society has also thought of a brand name — ‘5aab’ (in Punjabi,five is ‘panj’,while ‘aab’ is water; together,the two words give Punjab its name,which literally means the land of five rivers). The group is already growing turmeric,green chillies and vegetables,apart from wheat and paddy.

The processed turmeric and red chilli powders are available at farmer help society’s store in Dhira Patra. Village sarpanch Kulwant Singh has given space to run this store where urea,pesticides,grocery items and other items are also available,apart from the in-house products,at cheaper rates.

The women of these farmers’ families are trained in making pickles,sauces and juices. The kinnow and rose sharbat,aamla chutney,pickles,tomato sauce made by the self-help group of women here are sold at his store. The products have started finding takers as customers can be seen coming from Ferozepur city,Moga and other places too.

Aloe vera gel is a special attraction here,while organic jaggery and many more farm-fresh items can be seen at the store. With a good response to rose squash,the society will be growing roses in its own farms from this year. “We had to purchase rose leaves earlier. It cost Rs 300 a kg,” says Virsa Singh,who is into organic farming in Bukankhanwala.

The society is also selling organic milk and milk products in Ferozepur Cantonment. About profits,a member says: “Profits are being invested within,but we are able to recover the input costs and the amount that goes into paying salary to the two employees who run the store.”

The society also claims to work on saving the environment by ensuring none of its members burn the straw on fields after harvesting.

“We took a machine on rent to cut the straw. It cost us Rs 1,500 per acre. But we recovered the amount by selling the straw to cardboard factories,while the remains were merged within the fields by ploughing. This way,our urea demand for the next crop was reduced by 50 per cent and even the yield improved,” says Kashmir Singh Bhullar,another member.

Admitting that the government has not extended any financial aid to the farmers in their endeavour,Dr M S Bhullar,Additional Development Officer,Agriculture,says: “Though no financial support is being given to this farmer society,technical knowhow is provided by the agriculture department to the farmers. As a result,they have become more aware now and are doing a better job than others. Farmers have joined hands and started group farming,and even the women in their families have come forward forming a separate self-help group.”