Green fields of Rajka (fodder grass) in Jakholai; September 2015

Agricultural land belonging to 60 farmers, around 313 acres in total,which were previously lying
completely barren or with only one tenuous rain-fed harvest a year are now yielding three harvests a year with the farmers income tripling within the very first year of the project.This is owing to the new irrigation facilities allowing them to sink wellson their land.

Farmers who did have irrigated land have now found their well syielding far more water than before and from two harvests a year and vegetables in the summer.The availability of water will only improve with each consecutive year (with the exception of years of successive drought) and farmers can look forward to two harvests of grain or cash crop and a harvest of vegetables in the summer thus also contributing to food security and the nutritional status of the population.Based on observations for the past three years,the extent of irrigated landis bound to expand by at least 100 acres each year.The challenge infact,will be to ensure that the farmers do not start growing water intensive crops –something that they have avoided till date.