Tribals get financial security with Maa Thota programme

Many tribal families in remote areas of Srikakulam district could get financial security with Maa Thota scheme. A tribal farmer J.China Babu said that he could get around Rs.25, 000 per year with exclusive sale of ridge gourd which has huge demand in the district due to its export quality.

December 18, 2014 10:10 am | Updated June 13, 2016 02:37 am IST - SRIKAKULAM:

Tribal farmers being engaged in Maa Thota programme in hilly ares of Patapatnam in Srikakulam District. Photo: Basheer

Tribal farmers being engaged in Maa Thota programme in hilly ares of Patapatnam in Srikakulam District. Photo: Basheer

Many tribal families in remote areas of Srikakulam district could get financial security with Maa Thota scheme (our garden), a flagship programme of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Lack of opportunities in the district has already resulted in exodus of people to faraway places in search of livelihood.

Unlike people living in plain areas, tribals lead a pathetic life with meager income and poor basic amenities. Maa Thota programme has turned as a ray of hope for around 2,100 tribal families in five mandals - Saravakota, Patapatnam, Meliyaputti, Jalumuru and Hiramandalm.

With the financial support from NABARD, Bapuji Rural Engineering and Development Society has been implementing the programme in rocky terrain which has now turned into a farm land. In a span of ten years, NABARD and BREDS could turn barren lands into agriculture fields with the construction of water pits, percolation tanks.

NABARD Assistant General Manager MD Vasudevan and BREDS chief Executive Officer A.Rama Krishna Raju told The Hindu that the tribals were being trained in usage of advanced technology and new techniques to get more yielding from the crop. During the development of land, the farmers will get financial support for the labour in their field and get ownership right over the land in future.

“Each tribal family is able to generate up to Rs.30, 000 income per year by growing vegetables, banana, cashew, neem, amla and other crops. They would also get financial security with the growing of teak plants all along the crop area since they would help farmers to get lump sum amount in future,” said Mr. Ramakrishna Raju.  

A tribal farmer J.China Babu said that he could get around Rs.25, 000 per year with exclusive sale of ridge gourd which has huge demand in the district due to its export quality. Many farmers said that they could earn more if proper storage and marketing facilities were created for their produces." 

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.