Farmers seed a green revolution in rain-shadow Kalahandi
BHAWANIPATNA: In Golamunda block of Kalahandi district, normal monsoon is an aberration. In this rain-shadow zone that witnesses seasonal migration, 51-year-old Krushna Nag and his band of fellow farmers are leading a quiet green revolution turning eight gram panchayats (GPs) into a vegetable hub for the region.
Kalahandi was once dependent on Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the vegetables but thanks to Agrahichasi Producer Company, those grown by farmers from Golamunda block is now reaching the two neighbouring states apart from different districts of Odisha.
With a few lead vegetable grower-entrepreneur farmers paving the way, the producer company was registered in 2022 with just 10 members from eight GPs. The total share capital of the company during the inception was a mere Rs 1.78 lakh.
Now the share-holders’ number has grown to 212, of whom 45 are women. In 2023-24, the total turnover of Agrahichasi was Rs 6.57 lakh which reached Rs 25.24 lakh by October-end and expected to breach the Rs 2 crore mark by the turn of the current financial year.
