Transformation in Amagara

Amidst kilometre upon kilometre of parched, barren land lies the tribal village of Amagara—a verdant oasis of crops and vegetables—the result of the efforts of the farmers, who dared to risk and experiment with new ideas, methods and technology.

Snapshot Of Rural Poverty in East India

F armers without irrigation facilities in East India are almost invariably poor and at the mercy of the weather. The tribal village of Amagara in Purulia district of West Bengal is no exception.

When Avijit Choudhury from PRADAN went to Amagara in 1999, he found a community of 148 households, with the average family landholding being less than half a hectare. They grew little other than kharif rice, which provided them food security for only six months. The small area of boro rice in wet, low-lying areas mainly benefited wealthier families. Only a handful of families were sure of food sufficiency through the year. There was a high level of distress migration and school attendance was low, especially of girls, because parents could not afford the few necessary books, and children were often required to work in the fields.

Rice in the lowlands is normally a safe crop; however, the pressure of the increasing population has forced families to depend more and more on terraced and bunded uplands, where cultivating rice is risky; poor farmers know of no real alternatives to rice.