Malkangiri: In bid to provide long-term as well as sustainable income to members of the tribal community and curb their migration to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and other states, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched ‘Wadi’ programme, Tuesday.
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‘Wadi’ means a small orchard of one or two-acre having multiple crops. The programme has been launched in Manyamkunda panchayat under Kalimela block in Malkangiri district – which was once a Maoist heartland.
Under this programme, nearly 500 tribal families of Kusumput, Potteru, Dokunda, Rajgiri and Manyamkunda villages under Manyamkunda panchayat have planted mango and cashew saplings on high lands belonging to them.
“Following demand from several quarters, NABARD started Wadi programme in Manyamkunda panchayat from this year,” said Dharmendra Beuria DDM of NABARD.
The project duration of this programme is six years and this is the first year of the programme, Beuria added.
“Our target is to ensure that 500 tribal families are benefited. Each family has been taken as a unit. Fruit trees will be planted in one acre of highland belonging to each family. Forty cashew saplings and 37 mango saplings will be planted.”
“Since cashew and mango will give good returns after 4-5 years of planting, we estimate that each family will have a minimum income of one lakh per year,” the DDM asserted.
Beuria said that, since the tribals are not able to generate any income in the first few years they are being given support for cultivating inter-crops like vegetables.
“Manyamkunda was a Maoist dominated area once. There was no development in that area. NABARD with the help of Netaji Development Society has taken up plantation activities and also cultivation of moong (green gram) as inter-crop.”
On being contacted, Kalimela Block chairman Mala Madi said, “I believe that, through these activities there will be socio-economic development of the people”.
“Officials of NABARD and Netaji Development Society approached us to plant fruit trees in our land so that we can eke out a living. After we agreed, NABARD planted saplings in the district. We are now growing moong and millets as inter-crop,” said a local beneficiary.
PNN