Monsanto India has won acclaim by way of the first prize, for their project 'Humsafar - a friend in need' at Lakshya, the annual festival of National Institute of Technology and Industrial Engineering (NITIE). This project, conceptualised and implemented in Monsanto, won the 'Lakshya General & HR Management Award.'
Named 'Humsafar' to indicate it would accompany the farmer through good and bad agricultural seasons, this programme is aimed at educating the farmer, especially the small farmer, to improved farming mechanisms. This approach is expected to guide the farmer through his entire crop cycle rather than just one seasonal crop.
The project was launched in fourteen villages in Udaipur district of Rajasthan in 2001 and was extended to another 28 villages in 2002, along with conduction periodical farmer training programems in an additional 98 villages.The reason for selection for this district is that despite being the largest maize growing district in the country, the cultivation through hybrid seeds is a mere 10 per cent.
With the average holdings of the farmers in this area below three acres, they still grow non-remunerative low yielding of domestic quality of desi maize. This is mostly due to low exposure to improved farming practices, lack of awareness of hybrids and age-old practices, said Humsafar in a press release issued by the company.
Farmers were tracked from the first day itself along with identification of 'gaps'. Training was imparted including the adoption of the right crop spacing, right hybrids, number and timings of irrigation schedules, fertilizer types along with dosages and timings.
As a result of this project, yields rose 100 per cent from an average 10 quintals per acre to an average of 20 quintals per acre and more importantly farm profitability also rose by 98 per cent from Rs 3000 per acre tp Rs 5968 per acre. Humsafar Kisan Seva Kendras were set up in each village to serve as a platform to address farmer needs.
Partnering with Monsanto in this project were Godrej Agrovet which agreed to procure the hybrid maize seeds at premium prices and Karmsheel Sansthan, a non governmental organisation (NGO) working for the socio-economic development of the project villages through formation of self help groups.
