Jayjeet Kumar: An Inspiring Story

Jayjeet’s journey proves that one is never too young to be an agent of change; most essential is the inclination to identify methods, the conviction that old ways must give way to newer, more cost-effective ways to ensure food sufficiency, and the spirit to take calculated risks

I n 2007, Jayjeet Kumar was a 13-year-old middle-school student in Bihar, India, whose family managed to produce just about enough food to feed the family for seven months each year. By 2011, he had come a long way. The Government of Bihar honored him as a ‘Young Star’ for the impact he had had on the lives of hundreds of farmers and the training he had provided to the agricultural officials; he was recognized by the President of India for his efforts to help marginalized rice farming households in his area improve their food security.

He watched the process daily and began to follow and learn the methods of this unfamiliar way of rice planting. He noticed that the farmer used much less water and seeds and yet the plants that grew were thriving and heavy with grain. He saw that healthy tillers had started coming up in a seemingly poorly transplanted plot. He went to the field and interacted with the concerned farmer. He realized that this method would surely lessen his family’s hassle for food security.

How It All Started

He was very excited and shared his experience of observing the benefits of this low-cost cultivation, which promised high returns, with the villagers of Ghantadih, where he lived. In this remote area where people followed traditional methods with no modern farming technologies, the villagers rejected the idea outright and did not believe him.