BAYER
From seed seller to agri-entrepreneur Prior to joining Better Life Farming in June 2020 , Ranju Singh was a small-scale seasonal seed seller travelling from village to village . She could only supply seeds to the smallholders who happened to be around when Ranju visited their village . But with multiple villages on her visiting list each week , the chances were high that smallholders would miss the opportunity to buy seeds .
What she values most about Better Life Farming is the availability of inputs , guidance and advice on the best possible utilisation of time , effort and money . That , she knows , is important because a lack of modern-day cultivation knowledge and supportive guidance in the past had limited the smallholders ’ opportunities to develop their farming potential . But now more and more of them are applying advanced technologies such as drip irrigation , mulching , staking , shade cultivation , etc . This is all the more important given the challenges smallholder farmers face in India . In particular , many of them are on the verge of opting out of farming because they lack appropriate marketing channels and access to professional off-takers . As a result , they suffer from low produce prices and insufficient returns on their farming investments . member of an NGO , Mahila Mandal , which serves around 3,000 farmers in the region and also works to uplift and empower smallholder farmers and women in the Chatra district . In the past , Ranju Singh was involved in a number of social welfare organisations and is currently engaged in providing social and legal justice to juvenile girls in her area . What ’ s more , the project is helping poor , disadvantaged children to escape from the drudgeries of child labour and gender discrimination and lead better lives in the future . By sharing her story with these children , she hopes to encourage them to develop a more clearly defined purpose for their lives – be it in agriculture or elsewhere .
Ranju Singh ’ s concern to empower women and support female agri-entrepreneurs ties in well with one of the Better Life Farming Alliance ’ s goals : Women Empowerment and improving female smallholders ’ access to information , services and resources are key to addressing the enormous social , economic and environmental challenges faced in rural India , for example . Newly established womendedicated BLF centres in India are one practical example of how the Alliance is promoting gender-smart initiatives across smallholder farming countries .
Working to empower women Besides her commitment to smallholders in general , Ranju Singh is particularly concerned about helping female agrientrepreneurs in successfully growing and marketing their crops . Ranju is a highly active sustainabilitymag . com 39