Chongki
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Vezolo-u Koza
Roll No: B-1308/20; B. Sc. (Hons)Ag. 2nd year
NU: SASRD, Medziphema Campus
North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA) promoted by the Tata Trusts as the nodal agency for the Trusts’ North East Initiative (NEI), operates in the North-eastern states of India in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Through its interventions NEIDA aims to increase household income by providing economic opportunities, improving adoption of sustainable agriculture, livestock promotion, natural resource management and promotion of vibrant community institutions.
Every Big thing do start with little steps. A farmer, Chongki who is a wife and a mother of 12 children from Chendang Village under Tuensang district is one such person whose life completely changed after she was introduced to NEIDA, through its implementing partner, Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS). Her farming business did not hit a jackpot overnight but through constant hard work, determination and consistency, she has become an entrepreneur in a big way.
Chonki, 57 years old, is a progressive farmer who possess 5-6 agricultural lands measuring up to 1 hectare each.
She practices jhum cultivation where she grows maize, potato and cabbage organically. She also practices orchard where she grows Kiwi. Additionally, she also rears pigs and poultry to supplement her income
It was in the year 2018 that she first joined NEIDA. It was introduced to her through a seminar which was conducted by the implementing partner ECS. NEIDA became the core foundation of her farming business. In the year 2019 under the TDF project she along with her husband started kiwi planation which was also supported by NABARD; where instructions were giving on how to plough the land, how the seedlings were to be planted and how to prevent the seedlings from wilting. The techniques used included placing of supplemented water gallons near the seedlings. These gallons are hung along a rope which is supported by wooden posts. Through this instruction and project provided by NEIDA, she has been diligently continuing her work till date.
Before becoming a beneficiary of NEIDA, she did not have knowledge on improved cultivation methods. There was no proper selection of site for cultivation nor the sowing methods. However, through the project intervention and trainings from NEIDA, she now cultivates much better by selecting specific site for specific crops and line sowing.
The journey of her business started with an initial boost from the NEIDA organization which provided seedlings. All the works was manually done, where no chemical fertilizers were used as she believes that organic farming is a substantial farming. Mechanical machine was hardly used, though at times the Agricultural Department provides 2-3 machines for the society but not individually. The harvest depends on the environment, seedlings used and the soil. The average harvest of maize was 70-80kg while potato was 8-9 bags. The harvested products are then stored in ware house ready for sale. In order to prolong shelf life in different seasons, in case of summer the crops are harvested early in the morning and are sold or transported the day itself. However, during winter months, the harvested crops are stored in the warehouse either to be sold directly or stored for 1-2 days.
However, the road to success was not always sunshine and rainbows; amidst the good progress there were challenges, waiting along the road. Transportation was a hindrance at times as there were hardly any means of transporting the goods and since no chemical fertilizers was used the crops were easily infested by rats, rodent or cabbage caterpillars leading to huge economic losses. Despite the challenges she stood firm and tried every possible way to protect her crop, such as hand picking of caterpillars and applying ash in the cultivated field.
Through the help received from NEIDA, she now not only sells in her locality but is also able to transport to different parts of the district as well as outside of the state such as Jorhat, Assam. She is confident enough that even if the demand of her produces rises, she will be able to meet the needs of the consumers and she also wishes to expand her business in the coming days.
As a woman she feels proud as she now has her ways to earn and give financial support to the family. With an income of more than one lakh annually she can meet the expenses of her family, pay her children’s educational expenses and maintenance of the household. She also encourages the younger generation that NEIDA as an organization can be a stepping stone to start a new chapter of life. Since joining the NEIDA project as a beneficiary, she has inculcated improved agricultural practices which has generated her better income
Chongki who is now an independent and a proud woman farmer, sets an example to others that there are no short cuts to success but only through persistence and determination, can we achieve our goals. In Chendang village there are around 142 households who are NEIDA’s beneficiary and when asked upon how she was able to do things differently and succeed, she replied “in order to be successful or different it all depends upon oneself, not the money or the assets possessed, the result can be seen clearly through one’s hard work and dedication”.
