A transformed land beckons one to return home

For Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)

Satyanarayan Singh of Rudrapur village had left home to earn a livelihood by driving lorries across India. However, a visit home put him in touch with the WOTR home who guided him to make his land productive.

When 36-year-old Satyanarayan Singh of Rudrapur village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district left home to drive lorries across India, little did he imagine that one day he would return to farm in that very piece of land that was once barely productive. “My land was not fertile…I mean I could hardly grow anything here apart from Urad dal which was rain-fed,” he said, “This is why I had to leave home to earn my livelihood as a truck driver.” On that warm winter afternoon as we stood listening to Satyanarayan’s journey, it was difficult to imagine that the mango plantation with an abundance of seasonal vegetables in front of us was the same land that once forced him to leave home. This transition—in his field and in Satyanarayan’s life—came into motion just over a year back because of an intervention by WOTR.

Leaving home to find a job outside their village is nothing out of the ordinary here in Rudrapur. Although an agrarian community, agriculture has become increasingly difficult to sustain by because of erratic weather patterns and its associated challenges. Agriculture here is mostly rain-fed and although Gumla, the district where Rudrapur is, receives a copious amount of rainfall every year—1100 mm on an average—other challenges such as a high run-off and low retention, makes irrigation difficult. “I did not have a source of water to irrigate my crops in the dry months,” Satyanarayan said, “Hence the land remained like that. Even the adjacent land which belongs to my uncle was not so productive because of this reason.” 

A window of hope opens up

Satyanarayan’s uncle, Bhim Singh, is sixty years old and has been a farmer all his life. Listening to his nephew narrate his challenges, he nodded his head. Water, he said, “even drinking water” has been a persistent challenge for them. Although the family has a small pond in their field, it does not suffice their needs, particularly in the dry months. “I faced similar problems like Satyanarayan for a long time, until Bipin told me about the prospect of a well in my field through MGNREGA scheme,” Bhim Singh said. 

Bipin Kumar Singh is a Community Resource Person with WOTR who regularly interacts with the community in Rudrapur and is familiar with their lives. Inadequate access to water resources in a key reason for food and nutritional insecurity in India. While government schemes are in place to address such issues, lack of access to such schemes and a low awareness level about such programmes have led to lives such as that of Bhim Singh’s to have remained unchanged over the years. So when Bhim Singh was told that he could apply for a well to be dug in his field under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, he was thrilled. Finally, he could see his water woes coming to an end. 

“With Bipin’s guidance, my brother and I dug the well in my land. It was a laborious task and took us almost five months to finish digging the 32-feet well,” Bhim Singh said. This was three years back and for their work, they were paid Rs 300,000 under MGNREGA. Soon after, WOTR encouraged him to start a mango plantation. Bhim Singh’s land was identified as ideal for this project based on a Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by WOTR for 52 villages in Gumla. 

Learning new things, reaping its benefit

“Bipin (from WOTR) told me that I could plant mango trees in my field under the same MGNREGA scheme, and until the trees mature, can plant seasonal vegetables to earn an income. My confidence had risen by this time and it sounded promising, so I agreed,” Bhim Singh recalled, looking over his now green piece of land, filled with vegetables and young mango trees. Although a farmer, this was the first time that he was going to plant mango, and so Bhim Singh learnt the finer details of raising a plantation—for example, there should be a gap of 15 metres between mango saplings because they would grow to be big trees—from WOTR’s representatives. He also got a training on vegetable farming from WOTR. 

Satyanarayan is today able to earn an income that supports his family without staying away from them.. With his mango saplings growing steadily, he dreams of a more fruitful future.

“What appealed to me about this plantation is that I don’t have to wait for four-five years to start earning from the mango trees. I can grow seasonal vegetables all year round in the meanwhile, and even later, once the trees are grown, I can grow ginger and turmeric under the trees,” he said. Last winters, for example, Bhim Singh earned Rs 60,000 from his winter vegetables. He has not calculated his profits yet for this winter but expects to hover around the same number or more. “I sold cauliflower worth Rs 15,000 this time. Right now it is selling for almost Rs 80 per kilo,” he said, “After harvesting cauliflower, I planted cabbage. I have also harvested peas—about 200-300 kgs.” He has also had a good harvest of garlic, which was selling at Rs 400 per kilo at that time.  

Satyanarayan, similarly, has had a good harvest of winter vegetables. “When I visited home a year and half back, I saw that my uncle had dug a well. I also came to know about the mango plantation and the intercropping of vegetables . . . the very idea of being able to stay home and have a good source of income excited me. It was a golden opportunity and I was willing to work hard for it,” he said.

Like his uncle therefore, Satyanarayan’s land was also approved for a mango plantation under the MGNREGA scheme. “I had heard of MGNREGA but did not know how it could benefit me. With the guidance, that process became easier,” he said. In 2023, Satyanarayan started digging pits in his land to plant the three varieties of mango saplings that he had been provided with, also under the scheme. It was not easy, he added, the soil was hard, but with his uncle’s well close by, irrigating the field became easier. And the results are evident for everyone to see one year later.

“I earned Rs 8000 selling peas alone this year. I also sold potatoes,” Satyanarayan said, “I also harvested cauliflower.” As the seasons change, his plan for the next crop sets into motion. For instance, he is next planning to grow chilli.  

Living a better today, hoping for a better tomorrow

Evidently, the income from their agricultural fields have risen since they began their mango plantation and vegetable farming. Bhim Singh said that earlier he barely had any saving because almost all that he earned from agriculture would be spent in household expenditures and on his children’s education. “I have another patch of land where I cultivate paddy. There was a time when we completely depended on our paddy harvest for our lives. There was no saving,” he shared. The land where his mango plantation is in now would hardly motivate him to come and work in. “But now I wake up at 3.30 a.m. to come and work here. We no longer buy vegetables because it is grown at home.” Impressed by the change in scene in the land, neighbours in the village now come to Bhim Singh for advice. He now tells them about the MGNREGA and how the scheme can benefit them too.  

Bhim Singh now plans to renovate his house and add a few extra rooms so that when his sons get married, they can stay comfortably with their own families. His is a big family of six children, two of who are still studying while two elder daughters are married. Only his eldest son is involved in farming with his father.

Satyanarayan, on the other hand, is at peace with what his present looks like. “As a truck driver I would drive across different states, like Maharashtra and Kerala, but always pine for home. My children are nine and six and I wanted a good life for them. So I would keep my feelings aside and keep driving. Of the Rs 25,000-30,000 that I would earn, I would send Rs 20,000 home,” he said softly, “But this is so much better. My family is happy and I am happy too.”  Satyanarayan is also planning to build a concrete house for him and his family; the bricks, he said, have already been bought and work will start soon. “I keep getting calls, offering work as a truck driver. But I say no. I have a life to build here now,” he signed off.

(Originally posted here: https://wotr.org/blog/a-transformed-land-beckons-one-to-return-home/)