Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
The story of Anita Jadhav of Jadhavwadi in Igatpuri tehsil of Nashik,
Maharashtra, illustrates the above. Her family owns four acres of rainfed
land, which is cultivated only in the kharif season. The family had no
other regular source of income. In 2003-04, she joined the Wadi program
and started cultivation of guava in a 1-acre plot. Till the trees reached
maturity, she grew tur, chana, and other pulses in the spaces between
trees. Using improved agriculture practices promoted by the BAIF-
MITTRA scheme, she earned an annual net income of around Rs. 5,000.
In 2006-07, the guava trees bore their first fruit, fetching a net
income of Rs. 6,000, followed by Rs. 7,000 at second fruiting (generally,
guava trees produce fruits twice a year, in the rainy season, and in winter).
In 2007-08, the income from first fruiting of the guava trees was Rs.
13,000. Anita used the money to buy a buffalo of `Mahuda’ breed, which
yielded 7 liters of milk a day. From the milk earnings, she bought a
crossbred cow. In 2008-09, her net income from sale of milk amounted
to Rs. 60,000, which was in addition to Rs. 32,000 earned from the sale
of guavas. Thus, in a short span of 6 years, Anita’s family rose above the
below poverty line to nearly attain `lakhpati’ status. 48
CASE 2: PROJECT GREENHANDS’ INITIATIVE – TREES FOR LIFE:
PGH, in its own way, has been working with farmers in the last decade
to create awareness on farm forestry, and encourage them to plant trees.
With rise in price of farm inputs, delayed rainfall, shortage of labor
and increased living, the repercussions for an average farmer is far more
disastrous than what meets our eye. Most farmers have abandoned their
traditional, sustainable agriculture practices, and now depend on costly
loans from banks or money lenders for continuing agriculture.
Through the “Trees for Life” agro-forestry campaign, farmers are
encouraged to plant a combination of fruit, fodder and timber trees in
the farmland. Through this model that is designed to bring tree-based
agriculture back to the heart of Indian farming, farmers are guided to
choose and plant the right kind of tree saplings to take care of all issues
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