by Brother Sheldon Dias
GUJARAT, JULY 31, 2017: Farmers in 16 villages of Chhotaudepur and Kawant in Gujarat have for long found it difficult to avail of a government provided farmer-welfare 
scheme, which provides manure and fertilisers, to help them increase their yield during the monsoon.
scheme, which provides manure and fertilisers, to help them increase their yield during the monsoon.
During interactions with the farming community, the problem was brought forth, and it prompted Don Bosco Lok Seva Kendra (LSK) to apply for permission to become a distributor for the government in the region.
Don Bosco LSK, in collaboration with the collector and the District Development Officer (DDO) LSK got the required permissions to distribute manure, after a tedious procedure that spanned seven weeks. LSK now distributes free manure and fertilisers worth Rs 14, 40,000 to 400 BPL farmers across 16 villages in the region of Chhotaudepur and Kawant, Gujarat.
Brother Ramesh Duirairaj said that the project was a pilot programme, which would create opportunities for bigger beneficial schemes for the farmers. The LSK members plan to develop the farmers and boost food and crop production in the state.
"The hard work and pain staking task of constant communication with the government seems worth the struggles when you see so many farmers benefiting from the same," Karsan Yadav, LSK member, said.
Under the scheme, each farmer has now been given five bags of manure DAAP, AMN and urea. The farmers collected the bags from Don Bosco Chhotadeupur. "We are sure that Don Bosco LSK is always there for us through thick and thin. They fill the empty spaces between the government and us, and help us get what we deserve," Rathwa Magan Ramesh, a small-scale farmer from Janiyaran Village, said.