45 Nagpur farmers' collective fodder farming eases drought shortage, earns Rs 1.5-2 crore a year
Farmers of Aroli village in Nagpur district grow Napier grass together and supply fodder to Vidarbha dairy farms and milk producers, as drought-like conditions loom over the state.
Large parts of the state face drought-like conditions, and a severe fodder shortage is feared in the coming months. Farmers are asking how to save animals they have reared for years through the crisis. Against this backdrop, 45 farmers of Aroli village in Nagpur district have set an example through collective farming.
The farmers have not only met their own fodder needs. Every year they supply fodder worth Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore to hundreds of dairy farms and thousands of milk-producing farmers in Vidarbha. While lakhs of farmers in the state are struggling with where fodder for their animals will come from in a drought, the Aroli farmers have overcome the shortage and shown a path to economic strength. It is being called the "Aroli pattern".
The 45 farmers of Aroli began collective farming in 2017 by forming the "Vishwas Sahakari Sheti Vikas Sangh". Together they planted Napier grass and other fodder crops on about 200 acres. Selling the produce was difficult at first, but the farmers' model of growing and selling fodder has succeeded over the past few years. They now grow the fodder they need and also earn a good profit by selling fodder worth Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore a year to dairy farms and milk producers in different districts of Vidarbha.
The sangh, formed by the farmers, provides seed and other inputs for growing fodder on each farmer's land. The farmer only has to look after the crop and water it. Every two and a half months, the sangh's workers come and harvest the Napier grass.
A special chopping machine has been provided at the fields of all 45 farmers to cut the harvested grass into smaller pieces. The workers who harvest the grass also chop and pack it. The packed fodder is sent immediately by truck to the customers' dairy farms or cattle sheds.
After a fixed period, the sangh deposits in each farmer's account the payment for the fodder grown on their land. Over the past few years the Vishwas Sahakari Sheti Vikas Sangh has made a large profit by selling fodder worth crores of rupees. It has also supplied milk-producing farmers with fodder that has been a lifeline for their animals in difficult drought-like conditions.
