Two Women Agriculture-Entrepreneurs Receive National Honour

Our Correspondent

MANGALDAI: After Hima Das, Rima Das and Bhagyabati Kachari, it is time for two more worthy daughters of Assam to make their presence felt in the national level in the field of agriculture.

Both the proud daughters of the State have been conferred the national honor of ideal women farmers by the Government of India. They are Nabanita Das (33) of Potiya Gaon in Jorhat district and Dipika Rabha- a mother of two children of Krishnai area of Goalpara district. Union Minister for Agriculture, Radha Mohan Singh, in an official function organized recently at Pussa in New Delhi in presence of senior officials of Agriculture, conferred the award of national honor to both the progressive and ideal women farmers in recognition to their immense contribution to the field of agriculture farming.

Nabanita Das of Jorhat district, who is known as ‘Pothar Konya’ (daughter of the agricultural field), lost her parents at a tender age and was brought up by her elder sister. After passing the most troubled days, Nabanita later completed her training in Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) and for a short stint served as a nurse on a contractual basis. But this job, though a lucrative one for other girls, could not satisfy this ‘Pothar Konya’ and in 2010 she gave up her job only to get involved in organic farming without any formal experience in it.

She began her journey as an agri-entrepreneur in her paternal plot of land measuring seven bighas and started cultivation by driving tractors and ploughing and within a short period, she was successful in producing black rice, red rice, joha rice, and other vegetables. She later expanded her agriculture plot to 80 bighas only to create a history of success and achievement in agriculture. Earlier, she was conferred felicitation by the State Chief Minister, Agriculture Minister and even by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. She was also taken on a field exposure trip to Vietnam by the Government of India.

Another successful woman agri-entrepreneur, Dipika Rabha (40), wife of Tarun Chandra Rabha of Goalpara, has been producing papaya, black Joha rice, turmeric, pineapple, and betel nut. She is also involved in the piggery, fishery farm, poultry, and duckery unit.