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There are quite a lot of stories we hear that inspire us to do more and be better. One such woman farmer, Savita Kumbhar’s tale, is worthy of such admiration. Despite the difficulties that life threw her way, she rose above them and reclaimed herself.
The untimely demise of her husband left the family unable to sustain their livelihood of farming and manage household requirements. An immensely difficult task to move forward after such a personal loss, but Savita, her two young sons, and her mother-in-law decided to find a way to thrive. Farming is their primary family occupation and had been for a few generations but Savita lacked the exact knowledge and her sons were too young. Despite the odds stacked against her, Savita resolved to learn the trade and be the sole breadwinner for the family.
“I was confused initially and had lots of questions but I had my two children, their education, their future, my mother-in-law and all their dreams in mind. The thought of fulfilling their dreams gave me the courage and determination to succeed in farming.”
What followed was days and nights of toil. Savita attributes her success in farming to the support of her family, neighbours, fellow farmers of her village and today AgroStar. She went through a lot of hardships that are a part of being a farmer like heavy lifting, long hours in the field, working with different chemicals and working at night; but always mentions how the support from her family, village and farming community kept her moving forward. Her biggest source of motivation has been her sons. For ease of operations in the field, she knew a tractor would make a huge difference but learning one wasn’t that easy. It was her sons who kept her motivated and despite several practice attempts resulting in damaged crops, they kept encouraging her. And eventually, she learnt it.
Farming has always been a community activity and not a task managed by one single person. Women are an equal part of the farming community and Savita’s story is just one to bring light to that truth. In fact, women end up managing the household chores, cooking, and all main farming activities sans being involved in the decision-making processes.
Savita driving her tractor to the farm along with some farm-implements
We found Savita’s story inspiring and tremendously admirable and so, this year on Women’s Day when we thought of commemorating the women farmers of our country, we thought of showcasing them on our platform. The idea came to us when we came across Savita’s profile on ‘Krishi Charcha’ in our AgroStar Agridoctor app. ‘Krishi Charcha’ is one of India’s largest online farmer communities used by over 2 Million+ farmers and is exclusive to farming-related discussions. Farmers use this medium to upload their crop queries through a picture of their crop to seek guidance from AgroStar’s Agridoctors or fellow farmers or to share their thoughts on farming practices and crop management. They also use this platform to showcase their good harvest and sometimes upload selfies with their crops in the background. Coming across a woman farmer’s profile who was quite active, inspired us.
Glimpses from Savita’s profile and posts on the AgroStar App
So this year on International Women’s Day, we introduced a new handle on our AgroStar Agri-doctor app, called the ‘Women Farmer’s Forum’. Through this handle, we began sharing interviews of women farmers and Savita’s being the first post got an overwhelming response. Her interview made the menfolk of the farming community recognise her efforts and motivate her with words of encouragement, addressing her as ‘Tai’ (elder sister in Marathi) and giving her the confidence she truly needed to continue learning on the online community of AgroStar farmers. From the response received on her interview, she has definitely triggered some retrospection in the menfolk from the farming community, much to our joy. And in the spirit of promoting gender equality in an otherwise male-dominated field of agriculture, we continue to share stories of women farmers and their contributions.
Today, Savita truly enjoys using ‘Krishi Charcha’ to connect with other farmers, share stories and offers guidance. Another sincere effort that Savita acknowledges is the agri-advice she gets from our AgroStar advisors for all her farming efforts. Savita’s gained confidence has empowered her to encourage farmers to ask questions and find solutions to their problems. Her profile stats speak for her.
For us to see her grow and continue to drive forward is truly heart-warming. At AgroStar we feel privileged, being able to help Savita in this journey. Today Savita is a proud AgroStar farmer and an active community member who is propagating the cause of farmers and inspiring change in the agri-community. It is thanks to her relentless drive that many more women farmers have come forth and are front-facing such agritech solutions.
For us to see her grow and continue to drive forward is truly heart-warming. At AgroStar we feel privileged, being able to help Savita in this journey. Today Savita is a proud AgroStar farmer and an active community member who is propagating the cause of farmers and inspiring change in the agri-community. It is thanks to her relentless drive that many more women farmers have come forth and are front-facing such agritech solutions.
It’s her incredibly strong mindset that first inspired us to write about her and the same reflects in her message to women around the world. “Even if there are many problems, don’t stagger. Rise from all the difficulties.” She goes on to say, “a positive attitude is winning half the battle and anyone can do that with some commitment and hard work.”
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