Post by Professional Assistance For Development Action (PRADAN)

Raghunathpur, a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, wasn’t always short on hard work but for years, it was short on returns. For Manjula Gidhi and many others, a sturdy home, reliable income, or even a pair of proper earrings felt like distant luxuries. “The house leaked when it rained. We also lacked adequate clothing, bedding, and blankets, and faced food scarcity,” she recalls. Agriculture was limited mostly to small-scale vegetable farming on small plots. “Everyone in the village cultivated vegetables but only on small patches and there was not much surplus. And we were not organized; so, we sold to traders who came to the village,” she mutters. Then came a shift. With the support of PROWFIT project being implemented by PRADAN and supported by the Walmart Foundation and the Gumla Mahila Kisan Swawlamban Trust, Manjula stepped into the role of an agriculture entrepreneur, no longer just a farmer but someone shaping the farm-to-market journey for others too. Assisted by the Trust, farmers are growing high-value crops like tomato, cauliflower, bitter gourd, and pumpkin, this time with the market in mind. “Our vegetables, which are of excellent quality, are in high demand in the market. I earned Rs. 90,000 selling vegetables in 2023. My fellow women farmers too are earning very good incomes.”, says Manjula. In addition to her earnings from farming, Manjula also receives Rs. 30,000 annually for her role in the agriculture supply chain. With growing incomes, many things have changed. “Brick by brick, with my own hard-earned money, I am constructing a house. This home won’t leak.” What made this transformation possible? Scan the code or click here to know how it all unfolded: https://lnkd.in/gqnX9zEE #PROWFIT #WomenFarmers #RuralEntrepreneurship #PRADAN #WalmartFoundation Avijit Choudhury Rajeev Ranjan Sudhir Sahni Souparno Chatterjee Nivedita Kashyap Aagaz Khan Nishant Gupta Cynanda Noronha

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