This newsletter is printed in collaboration with Lenovo India
When Kanthalloor Grama Panchayat President P T Mohandas was once campaigning for elections in 2020, he noticed large sacks mendacity in numerous families. On inquiry, he discovered that every of the tribal families there had nearly 500 to one,000 kg of finger millet (ragi) mendacity unused. Reason why — they didn’t understand how to promote it and used this superfood only for self-consumption.
One thing needed to be finished, idea Mohandas.
Whilst he started in quest of techniques to promote the excess ragi and uplift the villagers’ livelihoods, Lenovo was once additionally exploring techniques to combine generation for farmers’ welfare and advertise the cultivation of millets in Kanthalloor.
Why?
Kanthalloor was once as soon as house to over 18 forms of millet, in line with farmers. However during the last twenty years, as other people shifted in opposition to eating extra rice and wheat, millet intake steadily diminished and so did its cultivation. The village misplaced its numerous number of millet and the quantity got here down from 18 to simply two.
Lenovo launched into a project to restore millet cultivation within the Idukki district and assist farmers flourish thru the help of generation. Thru its ‘Paintings for Humankind’ initiative, the volunteers have helped reinstate some misplaced millets, bringing the millet selection to 6.
As well as, it has arrange a virtual centre, labored at the branding and advertising of the millets, and arrange a processing unit — all to assist Kanthalloor’s farmers repair its generational millet glory.
Consequently, during the last yr, about 1,800 kg of six forms of millet — together with finger millet, barnyard millet, little millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, and kodo millet — were cultivated through 25 farmers on 15 acres of land within the village. This harvest has additionally been processed and packaged, and will likely be bought during the more than a few channels. The farmers hail this initiative and hope that it’ll be a harbinger of a higher the next day.
A human-centric innovation
Kanthalloor, a village surrounded through the Western Ghats in Kerala’s Idukki district, was once a hub for millets, cultivating just about 18 types till 3 many years in the past. On the other hand, its proximity to the Chinnar Natural world Sanctuary poses a problem for farmers because of animals like boars and elephants harmful their millet vegetation.
As consumerism grew and the sale of rice greater, the call for for millets declined. This too affected the tribal neighborhood residing within the wooded area, missing get entry to to a correct marketplace for their produce.
In mild of 2023 being the ‘World 12 months of the Millet’, Lenovo aimed to restore this conventional superfood in Kanthalloor, as shared through Pratima Harite, Head of Asia Pacific CSR & Philanthropy at Lenovo Basis.
With an concept to mobilise the neighborhood the usage of generation, Lenovo first surveyed 227 families within the grama panchayat. They discovered that over 60 % of families cultivated millet handiest in a small portion in their land i.e. underneath 20 cents. This was once no longer the case previous, in line with Mohandas, who states that over 60 % of the land was once used to domesticate millets a couple of many years in the past.
“We needed to assist those farmers return to their roots and get started cultivating millets once more, this time empowered with the assistance of generation, coaching and advertising. We consider that sensible generation answers have the facility to change into communities and revive misplaced traditions. This generation would additionally assist the more youthful technology take the tips ahead of their households,” Pratima tells The Higher India.
Lenovo, thru its ‘Paintings for Humankind’ initiative has partnered with Dream India Community — a non-profit organisation operating at the floor — because the implementation spouse; the Grama Panchayat for eco-tourism and farmer engagement; IHRD Faculty for Implemented Sciences, Kanthalloor, for putting in their generation centre; and Samudra Community and Agri app as their virtual integration spouse.
The primary job that Lenovo undertook with the assistance of Dream India Community, was once to select 25 farmers — 16 of whom are girls — from 5 wards and persuade them to sow millets in a portion in their land. They got good-quality seeds and taught alternative ways to restore the crop.
“Those farmers have been already rising ragi for self-consumption. We requested them to take a look at rising any of the opposite 5 types in 50 cents in their unused land through instilling self belief that we’d put it up for sale. Because the land was once already used for millet cultivation previous, there can be no downside. Moreover, millets develop in low-fertility soils and don’t even want an excessive amount of water. They simply want well timed rain to get a nice harvest,” explains Dr Saju Parackal, CEO, Dream India Community.
The usage of tech to restore traditions
Lenovo then were given directly to arrange the ‘Lenovo Virtual Centre for Kanthalloor Millets’ at IHRD Faculty of Implemented Science. This hub, supplied with Lenovo’s gadgets retail outlets knowledge and facilitates data sharing. It organises actions attractive younger other people, helps farmers in exchanging insights, and stocks data on Executive programmes like crop insurance coverage, diversification schemes, and subsidies.
IHRD Faculty scholars volunteer along Lenovo volunteers oversee the Tech Centre. Moreover, Lenovo equipped farmers with Motorola cell phones containing agricultural apps connected to the Samudra Community and Agri App to watch their vegetation.
Subsequent, a processing centre was once established to procedure, emblem and promote the harvested millets. It’s controlled through a self-help staff of six girls from Kudumbashree unit from Kanthalloor. The millets are actually referred to as ‘Kanthalloor millets’ and are to be had in over 50 homestays within the village, with plans to promote them on-line quickly.
This initiative has presented a solid source of revenue for those girls, who in the past labored as contract labourers with out constant jobs.
“We needed to create direct marketplace linkages for the farmers whilst slicing down middlemen. These days, the farmers promote unfastened produce at native retail outlets and don’t seem to be acutely aware of the avenues the place they are able to promote. So we now have created this emblem [Kanthalloor Millets] and proven them techniques to promote to grow to be self-reliant,” says Pratima, including that the millet can also be a part of the mid-day meal programmes on the anganwadis.
This yr, Kanthalloor gained the ‘Perfect Rural Tourism Village Gold Award’ from the Union Executive. With greater than 250 homestays, the village draws many guests on weekends. Millet kiosks will likely be arrange at every homestay, serving as each gross sales issues and seed banks for Kanthalloor Millets.
Dr Parackal says they’re growing linkages with exporters to promote millets as soon as the yield will increase and also are operating with the Kerala Executive’s agriculture division to widen the processing unit.
Radhakrishnan, a farmer who is a part of the programme and previous president of Devikulam block panchayat, expressed happiness on the initiative. “That is our conventional meals; we now have began eating dangerous meals handiest during the last 30 years. It got here to a scenario the place we didn’t also have good-quality seeds to sow. Lenovo helped us supply nice high quality seeds, that have helped us get a nice harvest. We’re hopeful of an excellent higher yield within the coming months,” he says.
The preliminary harvest produced greater than 1,800 kg, as reported through the corporate. Inspired through this luck, they plan to contain 25 further farmers, every with an acre, increasing millet cultivation to hide 75 acres of land.
Lenovo volunteers helped collect knowledge and analyse the have an effect on of answers, serving to farmers get entry to the important apps, and construction consciousness for marketplace linkages. They’re additionally offering virtual get entry to to data on Executive programmes and millet cultivation how to the farmers.
In the meantime, Mohandas informs that he’s boosting the manufacturing of millet through giving subsidies to 124 farmers from subsequent yr. Kannamma Gopalan, some of the 25 farmers who noticed a nice yield, hopes that that is the start of a trail in opposition to development for the villagers.
“This would possibly push the kids to take an pastime in farming. It’s additionally a big step in opposition to development for us,” she says.
Edited through Pranita Bhat