Joda: A tribal youth who shifted to Joda in Keonjhar district after being displaced for the Kanpur dam project has brought about a turnaround in his life by growing vegetable through organic methods. Gangadhar Banra, 35 has carved a niche for himself as a successful farmer. Vegetables grown by him have great demand in the market as he uses only organic manure for his crops instead of any chemical fertilizer. People are seen flocking to his farm to buy vegetables as they are cheaper than the existing market prices and cultivated in organic methods.
Five years back, Banra was displaced from his village for the construction of Kanpur mega irrigation project. Left with no other option, he shifted to Joda with his family and moved from mine to mine with the hope of getting work. However, his hopes were shattered after he failed to get work. He finally rolled his sleeves up to take up farming and earn a livelihood for his family. He started cultivation on four acre land lying vacant near the old-age home in Joda on rent basis. The vegetables he is cultivating are long beans, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal and cauliflowers. Slowly fate smiled on him and he started making progress in cultivation works. Now, he is selling a quintal of brinjals per day while he is harvesting over 4,000 cauliflowers every year and selling them in the local market and to traders.
Moreover, an interesting aspect of his cultivation is that he is not using any chemical fertiliser for his crops and raising them in purely organic methods. He is using Jeevamrut organic fertiliser to boost the growth of his crops and his harvest. Banra said that the use of Jeevamrut fertiliser is helping increase his harvest and maintain the vegetable quality and nutrient content which are essential. Banra uses organic manure, cow urine, jaggery, gram flour, and soil collected from the root of the banyan tree to prepare Jeevamrut fertiliser which is a rich source of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous and other micronutrients responsible for plant growth and development. Organic fertiliser also prevents plants and crops from disease and pest attacks. All these items are collected in a big drum and left to decompose which is then applied on the crops within a week.
Moreover, he has bought waste a decomposer from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh to increase the fertility of the soil. This helps in the creation of earthworms which help in increasing the fertility of the soil. Moreover, what has come as a relief for the common consumers is that Banra sells his vegetables at less than their prevailing prices in the market. Banra is assisted by his wife Sumitra who works hand in hand with him to ensure that their hard labour never goes in vain. They have also helped the local residents get organic vegetables which was a dream for them. Vegetable traders Rajiv and Narsingh said that Banra with his hard work has been able to invent new methods of cultivation and put those into practice. This has helped him become a successful and self-reliant farmer. Scribe Benudhar Behera, educationist Somanath Mohanty, senior citizen Madan Mohan Barik said that Banra has started a green revolution in this mining valley which no person could even dare to think of a few years back.