Women making fortune with agri-work
During a visit to a few areas of Jamalpur Sadar upazila, many women were seen operating power-tiller-operated seeders and many were cultivating various crops on fields, while their husbands were engaged in other works
In the harsh midday sun, Shanti Begum pushes behind the roaring engine of a two-wheeler tractor to plough a small plot of land next to their homestead in Jamira village of Jamalpur Sadar upazila as women and children of nearby houses turn up along the land and look on.
This is what she has been doing for around two years to lend a hand to her husband in providing planting services to farmers who need to sow paddy, wheat, maize, chilli, brinjal and other crops, earning them a good amount of money each planting season.
"This Boro season, we tilled 100 bighas of land and profited Tk50,000, excluding a fuel cost amounting to Tk70,000," Shanti told The Business Standard.
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Thus, the couple has become self-reliant. In 2020, the woman and her husband bought the tractor, she added.
Shanti became the first woman in her area who could operate such a type of seeder, making her locally famous. After seeing the success of her business, many other women followed suit.
Like her Shanti, many women in remote areas of Sadar, Dewanganj and Islampur upazilas have also gone on to become farmer workers alongside their male counterparts and contributing to their families.
During a visit to a few areas of the upazilas, many women were seen operating power-tiller-operated seeders and many were cultivating various crops on fields, while their husbands were engaged in other works. Besides, many women were found tending to their homestead vegetables gardens
The 'Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains for Smallholder Farmers (NSVC)' project is being implemented by World Vision Bangladesh in collaboration with local partner Unnayan Sangha ,and funded by Australian government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
The $5.77 million or around TK 490,450,000 project began in 2017 in 21 unions under three sub-districts of Jamalpur –Jamalpur sadar, Dewanganj and Islampur and will be ended up by June 2023.
The men and women of 20,000 families have been involved in income generating activities through this project. Some 800 producer groups have been formed with them. And, 65% of those involved in income-generating agriculture work are women.
According to World Vision, a little more than74% of the households involved in the programme have been able to increase their income. From production to marketing, they have developed a value so they can easily get agri-inputs and sell produce.
It has been found that the families, who have now seen their income increase to Tk17,500 or above, used to earn Tk10,000. With this earning, they can now spend more on nutritious food, and education and healthcare for their children.
Through the nutrition sensitive value chain for smallholder farmers, 76.4% of the producer groups' families are now able to spend on their children's health, while it was 45.1% before.
Through the value chain activity, 8.40 per cent of the producer group's family is able to spend on their child's health. Earlier, 45.10 per cent households in this group used to spend this.
Out of these groups, 122 women have become entrepreneurs, many of whom have created a linkage with the market to purchase agricultural implements under the project with a 25% subsidy on prices, get quality seeds free of cost, and receive training in cultivation and sale of products.
Kamrunnahar of Jamalpur Sadar upazila's Kendua union, who bought a power tiller for Tk95,500 with a 25% subsidy from the World Vision project, told TBS, "It is possible to plough about 100 bighas of land every year using a power tiller."
She also has a threshing machine. "With the income generated through providing services to farmers using these two machines, I am maintaining my family expenses well."
There are 108 community sales agents created from the producer groups. They are acting as sales representatives to provide the groups with seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and also sell their agricultural produce.
Farid Uddin, a sales representative at Jamira village in Sadar upazila, siad, "There are 219 producer groups in the region. If I can help farmers get wholesalers for 100 maunds of their produce, I get Tk800-Tk1,000 in commission."
Both men and women from the producer groups cultivate paddy, maize, chilli and brinjal.
One of them is a Shikha who planted a zinc-enriched rice variety on 20 decimals of land this season. She got advice to plant such a paddy variety because of his involvement with the project. She also cultivated chilli.
"We are receiving regular advice and training on crop production and management. Again, the agents are bringing us good seeds. That is why production is getting better," Shikha said.
Another woman entrepreneur, Mitu Akhter, said, "We now calculate the cost from the beginning to the end of crop production. As a result, after selling the produce, we can see how much we earn."
Asim R Chatterjee, project manager of Nutrition Sensitive Value Chain for Smallholder Farmers, told TBS, "We are working to increase agricultural production and create small entrepreneurs and develop area-based value chains, with intent to improve the living standards of smallholder farmers."
