Ranchi: After the order of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the convergence of schemes in Pakur district has brought about a change as through the Chas Haat initiative, the benefits of agriculture schemes of various departments of the district are being given to the sisters of Sakhi Mandal in an integrated manner.
A horticulture-based innovative effort has been made to connect the women of Sakhi Mandal with a strong livelihood. This initiative called Chas Haat is ensuring an increase in the income of rural households. With the joint effort of the Pakur district administration and Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society, through the Chas Haat initiative, work is being done to change the lives of women of Sakhi Mandal by connecting them with vegetable production.
Chas Haat initiative was started in the year 2021 with the goal of developing Pakur as a horticulture hub through the Chas Haat initiative. The objective of this ambitious scheme is to increase the production and marketing of vegetable crops in the district with the concerted efforts and convergence of all the departments concerned.
Along with this, through this project, the target farmer families have to ensure an annual income of up to 1 lakh and promote women’s entrepreneurship. In less than a year, with this initiative of the district administration and JSLPS, change has started showing on the ground and the income of the women has started increasing.
Maya Devi, a resident of Balliapatra village under Maheshpur block of Pakur district, used to run her house in some way. By joining the Chas Haat initiative, Maya is earning a good income by growing many vegetables including Phul Gobi, Parwal through micro drip irrigation, and advanced technical training on 50 decimal land.
Maya said that earlier, due to lack of irrigation, right seeds and fertilizers etc, farming could not be done properly and there was no profit, but with the help of Chas Haat initiative, in the last season itself she cultivated vegetables at the cost of Rs 17000 only and got a profit of Rs 55,050 by deducting the cost of cultivation. Joining the Chaas Haat project has given her confidence and is also changing the status of her family through farming.
Through the Chas Haat initiative, the benefits of farming schemes of various departments of the district are being given to the sisters of Sakhi Mandal in an integrated manner through Chas Haat. To overcome the problem of irrigation, land conservation and other departments are providing deep boring and pump sets. At the same time, farmers are being helped by drip irrigation schemes.
Various types of training, capacity building and seeds are arranged through Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society, KVK and Atma. Apart from this, efforts are also being made to export the products to international markets with the help of government organizations like APEDA.
Arrangements are being made for a cluster level Sotting Grading Centre, Crop Collection Centre, Chas Haat Farm Fresh Marketing Center and Veg Carts (movable vegetable shops), etc in all Panchayats so that agriculture-based entrepreneurship can be increased. In the last financial year, through the Chas Haat initiative, about 7803 farmers of Pakur have started cultivating vegetables on 1712 acres of land. Through the production of about 266 metric tonnes of vegetables, these farmers have ensured the sale of about 4.5 crores in a short time.
Under this project, so far Chas Haat Farmer Producer Company has been formed by identifying about 8000 farmers and 5000 acres of land in the district. Vegetable cultivation is being done by dividing all these identified farmers into 28 clusters and 112 screws. One of the most important goals of this scheme is to produce 3 to 4 crops annually. Through this initiative, the Pakur district is on its way to being established as a horticulture hub. “The Chas Haat initiative aims to develop Pakur district as a horticulture hub.
Through this initiative, the work of expanding the business of rural women by empowering them is being done through the producer company. The company is running better under the leadership of women and the income of women is also increasing. With this initiative, thousands of rural women of Pakur district are on the path of self-reliance,” said Deputy Commissioner, Pakur Varun Ranjan.