NALBARI, July 17 - Renu Baishya (60) of Sariahtali Goshala village in Nalbari district passed her life in a miserable condition after the demise of her husband.
The income from five bighas of agricultural land was too meagre to meet the total expenditure of her three-member family. However, the Prime Minister�s double income scheme has ushered in a ray of hope of better days for the poor family.
The new scheme has admittedly started to change the economic condition of her family. Thanks to the Nalbari Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), which adopted the village under the Prime Minister�s double income scheme and provided various modern agricultural facilities an technical know-how in order to ensure double income of every household in the village.'
After the scheme was adopted by the Nalbari KVK, Renu Baishya�s family, among others, was supplied high-yielding variety seeds, manure, pesticides and even technical knowhow to cultivate multiple crops in the same plot of land on a rotational basis in sync with the changing seasons.
Obviously, families like the Baishyas could easily generate additional income, thereby enabling them to save financial resources for a rainy day. It is therefore most natural that Renu is so enthusiastic about the new initiative.
It may be pertinent to add here that the Nalbari Krishi Vigyan Kendra adopted Sariahtali-Goshala as a model village under the Prime Minister�s double income scheme in 2017 and subsequently extended all necessary support to the farming families accordingly.
The Nalbari KVK then prepared a five-year plan for doubling farmers� income. According to a survey which was carried out, the Sariahtali Goshala village has 122 families and all of them depend on agriculture as their only means of sustenance. Of these farm families, 5 percent farmers are landless, while 75 percent marginal and 20 percent small farmers.The Prime Minister�s double income scheme gradually changed their income-generating potential.
The KVK also provided them inputs related to duckery, goatery, quail and pisciculture with an aim to kickstart multi-purpose farming. When this Correspondent visited the village on Sunday, the ruralites were busy in their agricultural land, as usual. Even the scorching heat of the summer sun above failed to dampen their spirits.
One Shyamanta Kumar Baishya, president of the village-level management committee under the scheme, said that they normally select the beneficiaries by holding public meeting and extending support accordingly.
He added that during the last rabi season they cultivated mustard, lentil and gram and were subsequently able to reap a bountiful harvest.
Baishya added that before the initiative of the Nalbari KVK, the villagers had harvested much lesser produce when compared to the present haulage.
Earlier, we somehow managed to harvest only 10 to 15 maunds of rice per bigha of land. Presently, the same plot yields 20 to 25 maunds per bigha. Appreciating the scheme, youths of the village like Jagadish Kumar Baishya, Swapan Rajbongshi and others were seen toiling in their respective paddy fields.
It may not be out of place to mention here that subject matter specialists of Nalbari KVK, Manasi Chakravarty and Sonmaina Bhuyan have been putting their weight behind in making the scheme effective in the village.
