Harvesting Hope: Ending Farmer Suicides, Cultivating Prosperity

 

The Art of Living’s Farmer’s Meet witnessed a historic gathering of 10,000 farmers, 500 sarpanch and heads of villages who expressed their gratitude for the change and abundance in their lives brought through the work being done by The Art of Living for the farmers of Maharashtra.

This post is also available in: हिन्दी

Lives transformed: In a historic gathering, 10,000 farmers express gratitude to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

We have to stop farmer suicides immediately. If farmer is unhappy, consumer cannot be healthy either!

Pune, Maharashtra
Feb 8, 2024

The Art of Living’s Farmer’s Meet held in Pune on Feb 7 – 8, 2024 witnessed a historic gathering of 10,000 farmers, 500 sarpanches and heads of villages from across Maharashtra. The farmers expressed their gratitude for the transformation and abundance in their lives brought about by the work done by The Art of Living. More than 10,000 tribal farmers have been trained in Sambhaji Nagar district, Maharashtra, in natural farming and sustainable agriculture, making them self-reliant. The project found mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat show as well.

Farmers and other beneficiaries of Art of Living’s rural projects attended the event with Gurudev

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said there is an urgent need to solve the problem of farmer suicides in Maharashtra. “We have to stop farmer suicides. We have 500 sarpanches present here. I request you to make sure that not a single farmer is depressed in your village. I appeal to the Government of Maharashtra also to take this forward – that farmer suicides will not be allowed to happen anymore. Our volunteers will work with you for this.”

Gurudev asked farmers and others to pay special attention to fellow farmers. “If you see even one farmer is sad or stressed, stop and talk to them. Ask them what is bothering them? We should tell farmers, if you want to give your life, give your life towards the nation’s welfare. This is what Art of Living does – helps clear the mind of the poison of negativity and adds renewed purpose to life.”

Gurudev appealed to heads of villages and parents to ensure youth and children stay away from addictions and alcohol. He said if the farmer is unhappy, the consumer of the food he produces will not be healthy either. “We need to raise waves of devotion and happiness like there were during the times of Sant Tukaram and Namdev.”

Gurudev addressing the gathering

In its efforts to bring about holistic rural development in the state, The Art of Living is implementing natural farming, training thousands of farmers, in more than 1.3 million hectares in Maharashtra. The Government of Maharashtra recently signed an MOU with The Art of Living for this.

The Art of Living is facilitating a direct market for farmers’ produce, eliminating the middleman thereby resulting in increased profit margins. The Kisan Basket launched at the event allows consumers to connect directly with farmers by subscribing to produce baskets.

The benefits of natural farming are multifold. “With Gurudev’s inspiration, I have been practicing natural farming for the last seven years,” shared Kishor Thorat, a farmer from Maharashtra, “With mixed cropping, it is now in my hands to fix the price of the fruits and vegetables I grow naturally. In 1 acre of land, I am growing 28 types of fruits and 40 types of vegetables. I am earning profits of around Rs. 7 lakh a year.”

Dattatray Dumar, another farmer trained in natural farming from Dhumalvadi village, Phaltan, is selling the fruits he grows all over India, Dubai and UK. Also, since they are all organic produce, no money is wasted on chemical fertilizers.

Popular Marathi actor and environment activist, Sayaji Shinde, who attended the event, said: “Today in Gurudev’s presence I have experienced how work happens successfully when we work with a positive mindset,”. He also encouraged everyone to plant at least 500 trees saying, “only trees deserve celebrity status.”

Marathi actor and environment activist, Sayaji Shinde speaking

Sarpanch of Hiwre Bazar and Padmashree awardee, Popat Rao Pawar spoke about the need to keep the soil healthy. He said, chemical-free farming alone can ensure our future generations stay healthy. “If we want the Ram Rajya we had in Treta Yug, then we will need to implement the vision of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and take natural farming everywhere.”

At the event, The Art of Living Social Projects and Govt of Maharashtra-MNREGA signed an MOU taking the JalTara project forward. Present on the occasion were Shri Mangesh Chivate, OSD to Maharashtra Chief Minister; Rahul Gethe, OSD to Maharashtra MNREGA Dept; and Mrs. Sanjana Ghopade, Deputy Secretary-EGS-MGNREGA.

Under Art of Living’s JalTara project, 45,500 Jaltara recharge structures have been constructed in 115 villages in just two years benefiting lakhs of people. JalTara recharge structures are 4x4x6 recharge structures filled with sand, gravel and rocks so water flows, percolates and recharges groundwater. This helps to prevent flooding, reduces erosion, maintains nutrition in the soil, and protects crops. Water tables have improved by 14 feet on average; farmer incomes have increased by over 120% on average and crop yields have improved by over 42% in these places.

This post is also available in: हिन्दी