Challenges in Agriculture
In today’s time, farming is considered one of the challenging professions. To tackle the challenges of this profession, not only men but also women are stepping forward and making a name for themselves. The story of a woman we are sharing today could be an inspiration for those who feel stuck with nothing but a piece of land and cannot start afresh. They believe that farming cannot change their destiny. Sagi, a village in the border area of Begusarai and Samastipur in Bihar, is still considered extremely backward. Priyanka from this village approached the livelihood office after reaching her block headquarters and obtained all the information. She took a loan of one lakh rupees from her village’s gram organization in 2021 and began writing her own story.
Changing Destiny through Farming
According to Priyanka Devi, residing in Ward 14 of Sagi Deeh Panchayat, the family’s livelihood used to depend on her father-in-law’s earnings. A few years ago, when he passed away, the family’s financial situation became dire. Her husband was unemployed and they had nothing. She convinced her husband to agree to vegetable farming. Initially, the cost of starting vegetable farming is quite high. So, she took financial assistance of one lakh rupees from Jeevika in installments, bought another acre of land, and started farming various vegetables on a total of two acres.
Success in Vegetable Farming
Priyanka’s husband, Vinod Kumar Mahato, reveals that they have to spend around two to three thousand rupees every month on pesticides and fertilizers for vegetable farming. They produce various types of vegetables simultaneously in their fields. They pay special attention to growing vegetables that will fetch a good price in the market based on the weather and market demand. They mainly cultivate potatoes, along with chilies, brinjal, tomatoes, cauliflower, and other vegetables on their two-acre land. While Priyanka prepares the vegetables, Vinod sells them in the markets of Samastipur. They earn around eight to ten thousand rupees per week. They believe that if husband and wife work together in farming, they can change their destiny.
नीरज कुमार/बेगूसराय की कहानी में प्रियंका देवी ने सब्जी की खेती से अपने परिवार की तकदीर बदलने का सफर शुरू किया। उन्होंने जीविका से आर्थिक सहायता लेकर खेती में तरक्की की और हर सप्ताह 8 से 10 हजार की कमाई कर रही हैं। उनकी कहानी से प्रेरित होकर अब बिहार के गांवों में भी महिलाएं खेती-किसानी में अपनी पहचान बना रही हैं। इससे पति-पत्नी मिलकर खेती किसानी में कदम रखकर अपनी तकदीर बदल सकते हैं।
