Seema Ghosh, a mother of five children is the resident of Dor vilage in Jatara block of Tikamgarh district, Madhya Pradesh. She along with her husband practiced subsistence agriculture on 2.5 acres of land owned by the family, which provided the family with enough food on their plates for 3-4 months, post which they supported their household by working as farm labourers in nearby villages.

Seema had attended a farmer’s training organised by Self-Reliant Initiatives for Joint Action (SRIJAN), two years back on multilayer farming. It is a method of cultivating compatible plants of different heights on the same plot of land by sowing at varying depths of soil at the same time.

The fear of losing out on labour income kept her from experimenting with multilayer farming. Last year changed this way of life for Seema. COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, have had an impact on almost everyone’s life in some way or other. Seema’s family was affected adversely. Unable to find farm labour due to stringent lockdowns, Seema and her husband were struggling to make ends meet. The family was faced with food security issues as their cash reserves were almost depleted. It is during this time, that Seema thought of putting the knowledge, she had gained almost a year back, to test. She decided to set up a multitier farm on 200 sq. mt. of her land.

SRIJAN had initiated multi-tier farming at a small-scale in 2019, to establish the model, as a steady source of cash income for small and marginal farmers, who face frequent liquidity crunch. The initiative, assumed importance in 2020, as a measure to combat COVID19-induced food and nutritional insecurity being faced by a large number of small and marginal farmers during lockdowns.

SRIJAN supported Seema by providing bamboo poles and wire for setting up the trellis, and also provided the seeds of vegetables and fruit crops to be planted on the miniature farm. She and her husband began work by setting up the bamboo trellis in May 2020. She received further trainings and knowledge transmission regarding crop combinations, bed preparation, farmlayout, strategic sowing, seasonal calendar, and manure and bio-pesticide preparation techniques.

She started sowing vegetables in the month of June, just as the rains arrived. She started by sowing the first layer; the tubers, which grow underneath the surface of the soil. She planted ginger and turmeric at a depth of two inches and covered it with mud. Next, she planted leafy vegetables, spinach and coriander as the second layer. Tomatoes were sowed as the third layer, while creeper vegetables of the gourd family formed the fourth layer. Papaya formed the fifth layer of this multi-story cropping field.

As ginger and turmeric are late germinating, by the time they sprouted, she harvested spinach and coriander in August-September. Post this creeper vegetables started fruiting, which she harvested beginning September. At the same time tomatoes also started bearing fruit. The tubers, ginger and turmeric matured nextn and were harvested during February this year. The papaya fruits can be harvested after a year, which Seema will start harvesting post July. The staggered harvests have provided Seema a means of regular cash income, which has allowed her to plan the family’s monthly expenditures better.

Seema was able to harvest 235 kg worth of vegetables in the Kharif season last year and 350 kg of vegetables in Rabi, which included the ginger and turmeric harvests. In summer, she harvested 215kg worth of produce. Seema earned Rs. 24,500 from the sale of vegetables produced on just 200 sq. mt. of her land.

Apart from the regular access to income, the multi-tier farm has allowed the family to consume vegetables daily. She delights in sharing that, her five children enjoy the variety in meals they consume now From the incremental income that she earned, Seema contributed a good portion towards the education of her children. She gladly admits that she and her husband do not have to work on other’s fields now, as their own land is producing such a bounty. Buoyed by her initial success, Seema has expanded the area under multi-tier farming to 300 sq. mt.

Speaking about the vegetable harvests, she says that, since the produce is 100% chemical free, the vegetables are in high demand. Some patrons buy the vegetables from the field itself and the remaining portion is sold in the mandi 3 kms away from their village. She gets a premium price of her vegetables as regular customers are assured about the produce being pesticide free. During the last year, SRIJAN has connected 126 farmers of 23 villages in Jatara and Palera blocks of Tikamgarh district with multi-layer farming technique.

Seema was able to harvest 235 kg worth of vegetables in the Kharif season last year and 350 kg of vegetables in Rabi

SRIJAN supported Seema by providing bamboo poles and wire for setting up the trellis, and also provided the seeds of vegetables and fruit crops to be planted on the miniature farm.