Rantha Pradhan have started his journey with AROUSE in National Literacy mission Prog since 1999. During last 5 years he was usually associated in agriculture activities and always has an intension to initiate the vegetable crops with new technology. After having trained by AROUSE, he has involved himself and his community friends towards market led intervention by doing farm activity in a business form. He has planted Cauliflower and prepared creeper plot of 10 decimal each. He has used the basic norms and practices mentioned in the developed PoP (package of Practices) for quality production by preparing ‘Machan’ (made by bamboos and special synthetic wire) for creeper supported from BMGF project of VB Net Foundation.
<strong>Rantha Pradhan (36), a progressive farmer of Salyatoli hamlet of Brinda Panchayat of Gumla </strong>
Against all odds, he has taken the initiatives and faced many challenges to consider the activity as an enterprise and prove himself as an entrepreneur for others. In order to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and to increase the fertility of land he is using the poultry dung and vermin compost into the field. As his land is inside the forest area and far away from the approaching road, he has managed the required irrigation from the river far away from his field with the help of the youth, hence other seasonal farming and non farming support to run his family smoothly. He has already make a profit of Rs 9,000/- and above in 2.5 months, and still 25% of its produce are yet to be sell out in case of cauliflower. Apart from it, he has planted bottle gourd, bitter gourd by machan system. The expected income from the creeper crops from 10 dc of land will not less than 13,000/-. The quality of the yield is highly attracting other. He usually sells the yield to Gumla market twice in a week within 2hours. The year crop planning help him to understand the market as well as supply demand chain.
At present he is the mentor of the village and making trained to others for doing agriculture (vegetables) commercially at large, keeping in mind the market dynamics and the need of the market. The youths of the village are highly motivated by him and 16 have decided to go with vegetable crops commercially by adopting systematically and scientifically models developed by him.