Abhiram Bhoi says – “Vedanta has helped me dream big. I have grown cotton organically in eight acres of land earning Rs. 23,000, against Rs. 7000 that I earned earlier from pulse cultivation.

Project Jaibik, Organic Cotton Cultivation was initiated under the sustainable livelihood initiatives to facilitate farmers to grow cotton organically which entailed using cultural practices, bio fertilizers and biological pest controls rather than inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. Traditionally the farmers were engaged in Cotton cultivation. But neither the yield nor market was secure. VAL has been providing support to enhance the existing skill as well as planning and creating appropriate linkages both backward as well as forward.  Farmers have been trained in making and using organic manure resulting in sustained as well as enhanced soil productivity. The crops have been insured with Agriculture Insurance Company, Bhubaneswar.

Earlier the crops were prone to pests and the farmers faced losses. Our intervention has led to zero pest attack and the income generated has scaled from INR 4000 to over INR 10,000 per acre with an assured market.

With the use of organic manure, 219 acres of land have been brought under organic cotton cultivation with increased land productivity and farmers’ income. 178.96 acres of cultivated land belonging to 92 farmers in 8 villages of Lanjigarh Block and have been insured against natural disasters