BONGAIGAON, Dec 14 - A woman farmer of a village in Chirang district continues to struggle day after day to sustain her family amidst various constraints. Asha Rani Barman, a 25-year-old resident of Petlagaon-Kathalguri, had to leave school when she was in Class 7 after her father passed away in the year 2009. Her elder sister and mother had to maintain the family by working as labourers. When her elder sister got married in 2024, the burden to look after her mother and aged grandmother totally fell on Asha.
She started farming on her 7.5-bigha plot, and gradually started rearing poultry and goats, and later added two cows to boost her income.
In 2018, Asha earn around Rs 38,000 by selling mustard and potato cultivated in her field. She got Rs 56,000 last year by selling potatoes grown in her land. However, Asha is facing a lot of difficulties while working to feed herself and her family. �I have to hire agricultural equipment like spray machine, tractor, power tiller, spades for my agricultural work, as I have been unable to buy them till now due to my poor income,� Asha said.
She lamented that she was yet to receive any help from the government. �I have neither received any technical help nor any logistic aid from the Agriculture department. I also did not get the benefit of the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN),� the woman farmer said.
This year, she was forced to sell her two cows, and with the money earned, she was able to sow potatoes in 2.5 bighas. For this, she has already spent an amount of Rs 19,000.
She still needs money for pesticides and fertilizers. For this, she is thinking of borrowing some money from a neighbour or sell her poultry and goats.
Asha�s 59-year-old mother Purnima Barman expressed sorrow over her daughter�s struggles. �Asha could not continue her studies because of the penury we had to face after my husband�s demise. She had to take the burden of the entire family when she was just 19 years old,� said Purnima Barman.
