Sambalpur: With the state government promoting women empowerment, many women SHGs have taken up various income-generating activities that have made them self-sufficient in the state.
A case in point is an SHG working in Baham panchayat under Jujumara block in Sambalpur district.
The women of this group have set an example for others by scripting success in marigold farming that earns them Rs 25000 a month. Marigold farming has been a main source of earning for the SHG named as Pudapada Brukhya Surakhya.
“Every week, nearly one and a half quintals of flower are produced from our farm. We get Rs5000 to Rs6000 from its sales. But lockdown has impacted our flower business. Temples and religious places are shut while weddings and other ceremonies have been restricted,” they said.
However, in normal months, marigold flower sales mount to Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. The Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) and ORMAS are the support base for these women.
“OLM and ORMAS are jointly working on women empowerment. The SHG members had applied for income-generating activities,” said Pushpashri Nayak, the coordinator of the OLM.
Thereafter, the women were suggested to take up marigold flower farming and they were imparted training on it. Two years ago, they took up flower cultivation.
They had taken flower saplings from Niladunguri nursery of the horticulture department. The male members of their families extended a helping hand to them by tilling the farmland.
However, the women did all other works – from planting saplings to harvesting flowers. They irrigate their farms with water from a bore well and at times from a nearby pond.
“Saplings were planted in January and February. Flower harvesting starts in March and continues till June. If someone takes up this farming, he or she can have good earning,” they observed.
They lamented that due to pandemic, the flower business has been caught in slump with restrictions imposed on political meetings, temples, religious activities and weddings. They are worried about unsold flowers that are left to rot.
They are now planning to use unsold flowers to make gum and perfumes. Dry flowers and the flowers abandoned after rituals are being recycled in other states, they pointed out, stating that a cold store is required to preserve the unsold flowers.
Several other SHGs have also successfully taken up flower cultivation in Bamara and Kuchinda areas. But sometimes they also face distress sale.
PNN
