JOIN USThe Institute for Cultural Research and Action in Bengaluru is working with farmers
in rainfed regions of the State to promote indigenous farming practices, finds out Pooja Mahesh
Today, eating food that is produced in a sustainable manner has become important for many. Not only would sustainable farming help in conserving soil and water resources, it would also enhance agrodiversity and ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods.
To achieve this, Bengaluru-based Institute for Cultural Research and Action (ICRA) has been working with various small, rainfed farmers in five districts — Ballari, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Ramanagara and Tumakuru for the last two decades. What drew the organisation to the field of organic farming is the devastation that was taking place in agriculture — ecologically and economically.
“As an organisation, ICRA has always been engaged with the issues of sustainable and equitable development, and draws inspiration from indigenous traditions,” elaborates P Babu, chief functionary at ICRA. They focus on soil, water and nutrient management, mixed cropping, crop rotation, pest and disease management and post-harvest techniques among others. The organisation involves farmers in every stage of the work and acknowledges their knowledge and experience, making the efforts community-driven and effective. Thus, ICRA is instrumental in the regeneration of 18 food crop varieties, 26 vegetable types and various indigenous cropping systems.
Alavanadi Kottareshappa, a Ballari-based farmer, had to suffer losses as his crop failed constantly and land went barren due to the intensive use of chemical inputs. This has been a common sight in many farms in the past few decades. The scenario changed when Kottareshappa converted to organic farming 10 years ago with the support of ICRA. “Both soil and crop health has improved, pets and diseases have reduced and the farm productivity has increased,” Kottareshappa says. ICRA has supported many farmers to shift to eco-friendly cultivation methods, making farming sustainable for them.
United we stand
“Our team is in close contact with farmers at every step, especially in the conversion period. In fact, our local teams comprise farmers from the same village,” explains Babu. This is where the different farmers groups (sanghas) come into play. Established with the help of ICRA, they share their experiments and experiences in their respective groups. To supplement the activities, ICRA has initiated Prayoga Parivar, a collaborative platform that encourages farmers to go organic.
ICRA also documents farmer and community wisdom and tries to protect and promote traditional practices for the larger good. One such instance is the annual jatre (fair) that is held at Ukkadagatri near Harihara that happens around Shivaratri. Devotees, who are essentially farmers, collect the best seeds from their farm, take it to the jatre and throw it at the deity atop the teru (chariot). Then, onlookers collect the seeds and plant them in their land as they consider it to be god’s gift. This practice helps the people get the best seeds and stresses the significance of mixed cropping system.
A similar jatre is done at Ujjini in Ballari district for the deity, Marulasiddeshwara at the end of May. However, the date varies according to the nakshatras. The ritual is called tailabhisheka, which means drenching the idol with oil. ICRA has successfully been able to build the concept of having a kitchen garden around this cultural practice for the past nine years.
Such community-based festivals essentially aim at brining the community together, ensuring them nutrition and making them self-reliant. Those who are not devotees of this god sow their seeds on paurnami (full moon) day that follows tailabhisheka.
System in place
The shift from chemical to organic is gradual. Normally, farmers begin growing organic produce on one part of their land and slowly expand it. And when they are wholly organic, they are given a ‘Participatory Guarantee System’ (PGS) certification. This is a locally focused quality assurance system that certifies organic producers based on the active participation of various stakeholders. This is done by building trust, social networks and knowledge exchange among those involved.
For many organic farmers, third party certification is often difficult to access as there are problems of high costs, accessibility and understanding among others. Hence, PGS acts as a low-cost alternative for farmers that will help market their organic produce better. ICRA supports around 3,000 organic farmers, of which over 700 are PGS certified.
As the initiative evolved and more number of people joined the loop, farmers started exploring markets and joined hands to form a farmers’ producer company called ‘Sattva Ahara’. This is a unique, community-driven initiative that spreads awareness and acts as a platform for farmers and consumers to connect with each other directly.
In conjunction with its on-the-field work, ICRA has also been raising awareness about the ill-effects of genetically modified crops through various ways. This is being done with the help of various active farmers’ groups. By doing so, they hope to bring in accountability to public institutions.
Additionally, ICRA also engages in a lot of research, which also gets applied on the field. In an effort to document and disseminate farmers’ knowledge, ICRA publishes Sahaja Saguvali, a bimonthly farm magazine in Kannada, which is edited by V Gayathri, who also works closely in the ICRA field areas. Along with discussing various issues that affect agriculture, the magazine also provides inputs for eco-friendly farming and profiles innovative organic farmers. The magazine, which is lauded for its exhaustive documentation of farmers’ efforts and informative articles on related issues, has become a platform for farmers and researchers to share, learn and network.
ICRA can be contacted at icrablr@gmail.com or on 080-25283370.