Sons and daughters of soil

For a country that’s largely agro-based, it is sad that not even a handful of urban population knows a thing about the fields. But that may soon change; at least for the 55,000 students from the city. Vanrai, a city-based environmental organisation, has teamed up with colleges across Pune, roping in as much as 55,000 students, to work with farmers under a project called Amrutvarsha Mahotsav.

Starting July 13, every day 550 students will head to a village, with 10 of them manning an acre, to transplant paddy saplings.
Nandu Phadke, a lawyer and chief consultant with Vanrai on the project, said, “There is an acute shortage of manpower in the farming sector. Thanks to the lure of the cities, at least one person from every farming family goes to cities to earn a living.”  And for a crop which is as difficult as paddy, because it entails one extra step than others (transplantation of the saplings) shortage of labour is a big problem.

“That’s why we are trying this all-inclusive approach to involve city students to work with farmers, and IT and manufacturing sector to lend us buses on their non-business days,” he added. What is interesting is the way the number of students has increased a thousandfold from last year’s pilot project, which had 2,200 students. In its second year, the pioneer project aims to bridge the rural and urban divide.