Joshi realized that if any followers come forward to give their entire time for the movement then some practical arrangement would have to be made for their basic sustenance. With that objective, in the same year, a trust was formed titled Krushi Yogakshem Sanshodhan Nyas (Trust for Research in Sustenance of Agriculture). Sharad Joshi, Madhavrao More and Prahlad Karad Patil were the trustees and it was decided that this Trust would give at least Rs. 300 to each full time worker every month. Unfortunately, it was never properly funded and only a few workers could receive that honourarium and that too only for a few months. However, out of their personal conviction the workers kept working hard. The first ever Convention of SS was organized at Satana in Nashik district on 1, 2 and 3 January 1982. To the astonishment of everybody as many as 30,000 farmers attended. They brought their own food and travelled at their own cost. Additionally, each one paid the Convention fee of Rs. 15 each. Apart from the farmers from Maharashtra, representatives of the farmers’ organizations from eight other States of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab also attended. The Convention started at 10 am on the 1st and last session ended at 1 pm on the 3rd. After the last session there was an open rally for which nearly three lakh farmers turned up. That response stunned the organizers themselves and showed how hungry the farmers were for an organization like that. An upbeat mood prevailed throughout the Convention. After the recent agitation the sugarcane farmers had received Rs. 300 per ton, which was more than double the rate they had received over the past several years. Many could repay good portion of their accumulated loans. Even farm labourers began to get double the earlier wage. For the first time the farmers could have some surplus money in hand. The local markets were buzzing with families shopping. Farmers could see the fruits of 174
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
