A livelihood programme for farmers is focussing at strengthening the output of farmers of the mega-city Mumbai so as to meet the rising demands for consumption in the city.
Most of the farmers in MMR region (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) are focussed on working in Mumbai as daily wage earners, and they are not willing to produce crops from their own land. Also, the land around MMR, which is not so fertile for irrigation, can be used to produce for the city’s consumption.
This initiative is to identify land available in the MMR region to grow long-lasting fruit trees which can create a livelihood for the poor farmers below the poverty line by training them and providing necessary support in a plantation. We chose a dwarf-coconut tree plantation for various reasons.
- 300+ truckloads of coconut come to Mumbai every week to meet the demand of coconut water from the south of India, which leaves a huge carbon footprint.
- Transportation is a huge cost which makes coconut expensive in Mumbai.
- Availability of non-cultivated land is huge which can easily be used for coconut farming.
- Dwarf saplings will start yielding 100 to 150 coconuts a year from the fourth year onwards – for the next 35 years.
- Supports women empowerment as they can sell the coconuts avoiding the middlemen in the Mumbai market.
- Dwarf coconut trees are 10 feet tall, and it is easy to remove the coconuts from the tree once they are ready to be sold.
- Coconut trees create safety support for the city during strong winds and tsunami-like situations.
- Being a “Kalpavriksh”, the leaves and the coconut shell have several economic uses.
- In the coconut plantation, other forms of farming can also be done.
- It is protected from weather effects and weeds, which is an assurance for the farmers during a drought-like situation. It is a good bet at places which have salty water as well.
We visited and inspected the local villages of MMR and found huge lands available. The native villagers are also happy to care for and nurture the dwarf coconut trees. This is a perfect partnership where we help them with the quality of trees and provide certified saplings and they nurture the saplings which help in their economic well-being. In one acre, we can plant 80 saplings or surround the farmland with plants. Our volunteers have visited the villages and have identified 210 families who can adopt 9000+ plants immediately.
Success
With support from citizens and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, we planted 1000+ saplings in February, 2018 – and we are looking forward to getting more support from the citizens to support the farmers by gifting them the dwarf coconut saplings which will change their lives and support Mumbai in a big way. There are more than 963 villages in the MMR region, and these need your love and participation if the villagers are to be enabled.
Helping farmers is helping yourself. Even if each one of us can gift one sapling to the farmers, it will make a big difference.
Looking forward to getting adequate support in making MMR economically valuable for farming in the region.
If you wish to donate a coconut tree to poor farmers, please contact Mr Subhajit Mukherjee – 9323942388 ( Mission Green Mumbai ).