Didi Vadi or “Sisters’ Vegetable Garden” is a project started in Jharkhand jointly by Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society and MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) of the Central Government. It is one step ahead in the direction of removing malnutrition among the poor.
Under the Didi Vadi Project, about 20 lakh members will have to grow vegetables. The State Government will provide assistance to these vegetable growing ladies.
About 5 lakh families comprising these members are to be benefitted directly under the project. About 70175 specific tribal families have also been linked to the project.
Ladies conducting Didi Vadi will be in a sound position to sell extra vegetables in the market. Thus, they can make themselves self dependent monetarily. The government hopes that this project will show eradication of malnutrition in the state.
Didi Vadi member will get free fertilizers, saplings, and facility for irrigation. For these, they will be provided money from the government. A beneficiary will have to grow vegetable in a field ranging from one to five dismal.
Each beneficiary will get 100 human days from MNREGA. Beneficiaries will get financial support for constructing water reservoir for irrigation. Two Didi-friends from each group will get employment equivalent to 100-100 man days. These ladies will have to cooperate to make better the work of vegetable cultivation.
For Didi-Vadi Project beneficiaries are being selected and they are permitted as per the target. In the Jamtara district the farming of vegetables has already been started. It has been targeted that women and children should get nutritious food through this project.
Beneficiaries reveal that rice and pulses are already being provided free to them. Now the scarcity of vegetables will also be removed. They will get money by selling spinach, pea and papaya etc.
The beneficiaries are directed to grow tomatoes, spinach, brinjal, papaya, and drum-sticks. It is reported that maximum benefit will be available for 32500 families of Giridih, and 32000 families from Palamu.
28000 families from Ranchi and 24000 families from Garhwa are yet to be linked. 2200 families each from Santhal, Pakur, and Dumka too are to be linked soon.
It is aimed to link21000 families from Godda, 20000 families from Sahib Ganj, 19000 families from Deoghar, and 14000 more families from Jam Tara. 12000 families from Lohardaga district are yet to be linked.
For taking benefit of the project, MNREGA Job card must be in the name of a lady or her husband. Benefits of the project are being given to BPL, SC, SPST, PMY and small farmers.
