Earning enough money to sustain his family of three children and a wife was always a challenge for Madhusudan Giri a farmer from Nuasahi village under Baliapal block of Odisha’s Baleshwar district. He had to resort to doing masonry work to make both ends meet.
Giri was not aware of key agricultural practices like varietal selection, seed treatment, integrated nutrient management, pest and disease management and crop management during adverse weather. Consequently, he suffered huge losses.
The improper methods of controlling crop pests and diseases, suggested by local pesticide dealers, led to crop loss and less production.
The in 2017, he appeared in a cable TV phone-in programme of the Reliance Foundation (RF) as he had called their toll free no 1800-419-8800. A few days later, he faced stem borer issue in his paddy nursery. Based on the RF expert advisory he was able to control the pest attack in his paddy nursery. From then on, Madhusudan started calling the RF helpline number frequently to address his queries related to groundnut and vegetable farming.
The interactive programmes organised by Reliance Foundation, including audio/video conferences, connect farmers with agricultural experts. He started participating in the multi-location audio conferences organised by the Foundation to learn more about farming activities. These experts provide information about best agricultural practices that help rural farmers increase their crop yield and protect crops from pest and disease attack.
“I am the messenger of RFIS advisory for my village. I ask for a solution to the issues related cultivation on behalf of many farmers who are illiterate. The RF experts provide them with the right knowledge at the right time. For groundnut farming, I took advise on fertiliser management and as a result, was successful in producing a good quantity of groundnut. I talk about the RFIS helpline number to the farmers of my village. Many times I invite RF team with their experts to my village for an interaction with farmers of y village. Since our village is situated on a riverbank, most of the farmers do cultivation throughout the year. RF experts always help us with weather information. They have been to my village thrice for awareness programmes, soil testing, land preparation and fertiliser management,” said Madhusudan.
“I cultivate paddy in one-acre area during the Kharif season, by using Reliance Foundation advisory. At present, I get a yield of around 20 quintals of paddy. Earlier, I used to get 15-16 quintals of yield. Similarly, by using RF advisory I get nearly 7 quintals of groundnut, whereas earlier, I used to get only 5 quintals during the Rabi season,” the farmer added.
“Due to the preparatory and preventive agriculture advisory I got from RF, I faced no critical issue with my crop. With the application of timely and right advisory, I get the benefit of less expenditure in comparison to other farmers,” he said.
