Jagu Badnayak: A story of success and transformation through sustainable agriculture
Shri Jagu Badnayak
Village: Bayaput
GP: Guneipada
Block: Lamtaput
District: Koraput
Demonstration: Backyard Kitchen Garden
Shri Jagu Badnayak aged about 60 years old is a progressive tribal farmer who is a resident of Bayaput village of Lamtaput block in Koraput district. He is taking care of the livelihoods of six members of his family. He owned 5 acres of land out of which 1 acre upland, 2 acre medium land and 2 acre low land under rain-fed category. Jagu comes from a large family, consisting of three sons and two daughters. He was an experienced and hardworking farmer, cultivating a variety of crops on his five-acre land, including paddy, finger millet, and little millet. His family depends on farming for their livelihood and income.
He used to cultivate vegetable in his backyard garden in a mono cropping method. The livelihoods of his family members depend on agricultural activities. He was much interested to adopt new technologies in vegetable cultivation.
Seven years ago, Jagu met with a tragic accident that left him physically handicapped, making it impossible for him to continue farming as he once did. However, after the accident, he faced significant challenges in continuing traditional farming practices. Despite this, his determination and the intervention of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) have helped him regain his agricultural livelihood in a new and innovative way. With his physical limitations, Jagu found it increasingly difficult to manage his fields. The inability to work directly on his land affected not only his livelihood but also the well-being of his family. His sons took over the responsibility of cultivating the farmland, but Jagu longed to contribute in some way to agricultural activities.
In MSSRF’S Samposhan project (MSSRF) recognized the potential of backyard kitchen gardening as a sustainable solution for Jagu’s family. Under their intervention program, MSSRF provided him with training, technical support, and high-quality seeds to initiate a kitchen garden in his backyard. The foundation emphasized organic farming methods and seasonal crop rotation to maximize productivity.
After the project implementation, he showed interest in taking up the backyard garden to next level and followed the guidance of MSSRF staff. He was very much impressed and was motivated to cultivated vegetable in systematic manners which will give them different types of vegetable and help his economy. Then change the back yard kitchen garden by using only Bio inputs practices in his field of 0.02 acre.
Mr. Jagu Badnayak participated in all the training programmes on preparation and application of various botanical formulations like Jeevamruta, Handikhata, Neemastra etc. He also prepared enriched FYM using a Consortia of NPK developed by IFFCO which was very effective for soil application organised by MSSRF in Samposhan project. In the back yard kitchen garden he not only cultivated different types of vegetable but his family member intake a nutrition rich food.
With the support of MSSRF, Jagu started cultivating 13 different types of vegetables, including tomato, brinjal, cabbage, carrot, radish, ladyfinger, pumpkin, chilli, cowpea, bitter gourd, and leafy vegetable. These crops not only provided a steady source of nutritious food for his family but also enabled him to sell surplus produce in the local market, generating additional income. Generally, he used to buy vegetable from the weekly market but now he is no more buyers of vegetable but the seller of them that add income that meets the basic requirements of his family. He sells at least 20 kg of tomatoes, 10 to 15 kg of brinjals, 5 to 10 kg on an average from each vegetable and a large quantity of spinach and coriander leaves every week. Buyers at the weekly market love his vegetables because they are organically grown. Although they are smaller in size, they say the taste is far better than others. This appreciation motivates his and makes him happy with his small business, which ensures both his income and the health of others.
The establishment of the kitchen garden has significantly improved the living conditions of Jagu’s family. The availability of fresh vegetables has enhanced their nutrition, reducing dependency on external food sources. The surplus produce has also contributed to household income, making the family more financially stable.
Beyond benefiting his own family, Jagu’s very much happy with the production of vegetable he could not expect the production from his small piece of land. He is extremely happy with this performance and he will follow this practice in coming years. His success has inspired other villagers to adopt kitchen gardening practices. His determination and perseverance have demonstrated that with the right support and knowledge, even small-scale farming can lead to substantial improvements in livelihoods.