Hyderabad: Rotarians on a mission to help poor farmers

Hyderabad: Rotarians of twin cities under Rotary District 3150 have embarked on a very novel initiative, 'Mission Naagali.' Naagali in Telugu means plough. It is an initiative to help poor, small and marginal farmers plough their fields with the help of tractors free of cost.

The fields are ploughed in the initial spells of the rain. But, it was noticed by the initiators of the project that many farmers didn't begin their agriculture works due to non-availability of the funds. Add to that, due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, some of them found it difficult to raise money through borrowing.

A few villages such as Chintakunta Village in Dharur Mandal in Vikarabad district were chosen. Rotarians set a target of mechanised ploughing of 125 acres benefiting almost around 70 farmers, whose land parcels are less than 2 acres. The project was executed at a cost of Rs 3 lakh and it was kicked off on June 9 and concluded on Sunday. They completed tilling and ploughing of 125 acres free of cost.

"And we don't want to rest there. We have taken it up as a very prestigious project. It has given us a great sense of satisfaction," says V Ramraj, Rotary District Governor of Rotary District 3150 for the year 2020-21. Rotarian Hanmanth Reddy personally monitored 'Mission Naagali.' He is advising all clubs under his leadership to come forward and target at least 1,000 acres by next year.

We are even exploring if we could arrange farm implements for free use, shared Ramraj. "This is the crucial season to farmers as well as the people. It is crucial to sustain and enhance the livelihood of the farming community. It is they who continue to serve the food and nourishment needs of millions of people of this country. Their productivity is all the more important now under these challenging circumstances due to Covid-19 outbreak," he observed.

A brainchild of Rotarian, V Ramraj, a resident of Hyderabad, the project was accomplished in collaboration with Anitha Reddy, a member of Rotary Club of Smart Hyderabad, and two more Rotary Clubs – Rotary Club of Chandanagar and Rotary Club of Greater Hyderabad.

Ramraj, a Hyderabad based industrialist, during his recent visit to Chintakunta village in Dharur mandal in Vikarabad district found many lands were not ploughed and on enquiry came to know the plight of the poor and marginal farmers.

Looking at 'Mission Naagali' in social media, Anitha Reddy, joined Ramraj's mission and gave it a systematic turn. She too started pooling funds for this. 2 more clubs Rotary Club of Chandanagar and Rotary Club of Greater Hyderabad too came forward to be a part of this mission.