Bogaram village
Crop: redgram (dryland; single crop)
Venkataiah, 30, is a dhobi by caste and has one acre of cultivable land. He irons clothes to substitute his meagre and seasonal farm income. His dream is to have his own kiosk by the main road, where customers are aplenty. In 2004-05, he says he spent Rs 2,660 on pesticides for his redgram crop. (He spent more than the market price as he bought them on credit). He got 200 kg of pulses that sold for Rs 3,200. Earning: Rs 500. While he made a loss, his neighbour Bugappa had a good crop without using any pesticides. Bugappa was one of 20 farmers who had registered for the NPM programme in the first year. When the women's group of Bogaram was registering NPM farmers in 2005, Venkataiah's mother, Balamma, got him enrolled among the 50 new entrants. They got extension advice from Krishnaiah, the village NPM coordinator who gets a monthly honorarium of Rs 700 for rendering extension advice. "He taught me the life cycle of insects and how to use pheromone traps and dung-urine sprays. This year, the pest incidence on my field was lower than neighbouring farms. My total cost of cultivation was down to Rs 300,' he says. Untimely rains affected his crop, but he still got 300 kg, which got him Rs 5,325. The profit was unprecedented. "This Sankranti , we bought mutton and prepared biryani,' beams Balamma. "Another year like this, and I'll make my kiosk. There will be work and money through the year then,' hopes her son.
