A group of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) based in the United States are running a helpline for farmers in Maharashtra called “Kisan Mitra Helpline”. At a time when farmers in the state are plagued by multiple problems, not least of them being severe drought, this enterprising group, working under the banner ‘Save Indian Farmers’, is assisting farmers with organic farming, micro financing, water conservation and education as well as welfare activities in distant villages.
Farmers are introduced to the helpline i.e. 02233836081 through word-of-mouth or after attending one of the seminars organised by the group in their villages. Speaking about it, a New Jersey-based volunteer said they launched the programme around two years ago. “The prime intention was to help farmers with issues that are often neglected or need professional advice. From micro financing issues to suicidal thoughts, we get a number of queries and we reach out to the numbers from where we received calls to address the issues,” he said.
The group, in association with their counterparts in Maharashtra and corporate connections, manages to pool money through CSR activities to help farmers open shops or buy basics like fertilisers or crops. With the help of a number of NGOs associated with the group, they have executed projects related to water conservation in Pathari village near Yavatmal. Known as Pathari canal repair project, they have repaired the canal that helped farmers harvest a second crop after the monsoons were over. The same land has yielded double due to completion of this project. At the same time, the group has adopted 25 farmers from another village in Borisinh to help them with farm animals and equipment.
The volunteers said that they were trying to do their bit towards the country where they were born. Based in Arkansas district of the US, the group has a number of volunteers from New Jersey and other states who keep them bound to the soil they were born on.
