Teak comes to the rescue of Bundelkhand farmers

Natural calamities has affected the farmer of Bundelkhand badly.Financially also they are not sound.The region has less irrigation facilities and farm land is also not productive. They are not able to do farming on their entire land.  In such a situation, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are taking many steps to improve the dreaded destiny of Bundeli farmers. Farmers have planted teak trees in the seven districts of Bundelkhand to become self-sufficient.

On the technical advice from principal scientist of Acriset, more than 1 lakh teak trees have been planted in fields and rams.Teak (Tectona grandis) is one of the most important hardwood timber trees of India . It is a deciduous tree and can attain a height of more than 30 metres. Young leaves are red in colour but become dark green at maturity. Moderate weight, appropriate strength, dimensional stability and durability, easy workability and finishing qualities, makes teakwood the best timber for the manufacture of most of the wooden furniture. Leaves are used in indigenous medicine and their extract indicates complete inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Flowers are considered useful against diseases. The leaves contain yellow and red dyes, which are recommended for dyeing of silk, wool and cotton.

To make the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh green, a target was set to plant 3.25 crore saplings in the month of July this year.  Farmers of  Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur are getting the benefits of the scheme of 3.25 crore saplings. one crore plants are of Moringa and Teak and the rest planted with Peepal, Banyan and Neem.1,84,23,310 saplings were planted in four districts of Chitrakoot division - Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba and Hamirpur and 1,44,92,780 saplings in Jhansi and Lalitpur districts of Jhansi division.  So far, crores of saplings have been prepared in 192 nurseries of Bundelkhand. The government has emphasized to plant saplings full of oxygen, nutritious and less water and rocky soil.  The forest department is distributing these plants to government offices and farmers for free.

Once teak trees grows it is bound to change the economic condition of the farmer and will also improve  the environment of the entire region will also be protected.  Weeds and trees in the fields will lessen farmer's problems.  Kisan Mitra programme is a government aided scheme working in 21 villages of all the seven districts of Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh to double the income of farmers.  In which weeding, horticulture and teak trees are being planted in the fields.More than one lakh teak plants planted with the help of Acriset foundation in U. P. Bundelkhand region. 

Researchers noticed that the fields remain empty in most areas. The field must have ridges and trees.  The farmer should be planting trees in the fields like teak trees,as this will result in economic benefits as well as accumulation of water.  If a farmer puts a hundred trees of teak on his field , he will earn at least twenty lakh rupees in a few years. In five to eight years, every farmer will earn up to twenty lakh rupees.  Weeds and trees in the fields will remove farmers' problems. For Rainwater harvesting i.e.,to prevent rainy water wastage and to prevent soil runoff, the fields of farmers have been divided and Teak trees have also been planted in the rams.

Eucalyptus tree has been banned in Bundelkhand region.  If a person wants to plant it, he has to deposit seven and a half rupees per tree in the government fund and get his permission. there is a huge lack of water in Bundelkhand and the eucalyptus tree draws around three meters of water around it, destroying the fertility of the land which will further worsen the draught stricken area's conditions.this will further increase the farmer's interest in teak plantation. Overall, this is a golden period for teak plantation as the government is providing every possible help to increase its yield.