I E H, VIDHARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMITI


“Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” - Lal Bahadur Shastri

This slogan of a visionary prime minister had lost its potential over the time. After the independence, according to Gandhiji's vision of Gram-Swaraj, villages and specially farmers were to be the main focus of any development plan of India. As years passed, by agriculture as an industry lost its importance for policy makers of India. This over the time caused severe distress among the farmers leading to recent dramatic rise in the number of suicides among farmer community. Every day in national newspaper invariably there is news related to farmers' suicides.

In 1990s, India woke-up to a spate of suicide among farmers community. The first state where suicides were reported was Maharashtra with particular reference to Vidarbha region. Approximately 3.4 million cotton farmers occupy the Vidarbha region (includes Akola, Buldana, Washim, Amravati, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gondia, Bhandara, Yavatmal, Gadchiroli, and Wardha districts) and 95% of them struggle with massive debt, according to the Vidarbha Jan AandolanSamiti (VJAS; Local Farmers' Support Network)

So for helping farmer’s widow IEH came forward to help them by providing them credit facility and by creating Money lenders Debt Redemption fund. The project aims at rehabilitation of farmers’ widows in the Yawatmal district of Vidharba in Maharashtra. The project entails providing regular support to the most vulnerable farm widows for education of their children, daughters’ marriage, food security, vocational training for the widows, promote organic farming, develop SHG groups to promote community farming and start allied cottage services.