Planting Seeds of Hope
When people pose questions like “How so?” or “Is it possible?”, Jamna Devi would counter-question it with “Why not”. She said those exact same words to herself when she heard some farmers discussing the idea of creating a local seed bank in villages. The idea stayed with her.
Jamna Devi, 55, is a resident of Mokhei, a remote village in Phalodi Block of Jodhpur district, Rajasthan. She is a farmer and an active participant of the Support Programme for Indian Cumin and Coriander Enterprises (SPICE) project implemented by GRAVIS in her region. She is a member of the Budhar Das farmer interest group (FIG) of her village as well as a member of Dhora Dharti Farmers Producer Company Limited (FPO) of Phalodi Block. Agriculture is the main source of income for Devi’s family which includes her husband and her son. While all three of them work on the farm, Devi is at the forefront of all the farm related activities. They mainly grow cumin, mustard, and wheat.
When Devi joined the FIG in 2019 she would regularly participate in the monthly meetings as well as training and capacity building programmes on leadership skills, decision making, problem solving, business planning, book keeping, financial literacy, on-farm training on cumin cultivation including production technology, pest and disease management, nutrient and water management and post-harvest management.
One of the key challenges that regularly came up during these discussions was the lack of availability of cumin seeds locally. The idea of opening a seed bank that had stayed with her started taking shape. She immediately pooled in 60 kgs of cumin seeds (GC4 variety) (which are rarely found in the market) and stored in earthen pots using the local and traditional technique of farmers. She created this bank at her home and manages it along with the other members of the FIG. In the next sowing season, FIG members distributed 60 kgs of stored cumin seeds among 25 farmers.
Once the farmers harvested the crop, double the quantity of cumin seeds was taken back from them. 120 kg of cumin was given in the seed bank to be used for the next Rabi season which was later distributed among 50 farmers. As on today, 240 kgs of seeds are with the seed bank. Farmers of her village are able to access good quality seeds at their doorstep saving both time and money while reducing their dependence on input suppliers and commission agents. Jamna Devi has been instrumental in mobilizing several women from her village in using advanced agricultural practices. She is also one of the Board Members of the FPO and gladly participated in the development of 3-year sustainability/business plan activity for her FPO and is geared to contribute in making it a successful farmer enterprise.
