Non Pesticidal Management from Punukula to Prime Minister Relief Fund

Scalingup dilemmas Can results of small experiences be generalized? Do we consider the complex situations community live in? Do we visualize a macro situation while lobbying for a policy change from a small experience? What do we scaleup –technologies or principles How do you replicate the emotions, attachments, commitments and human touch in small experiences

Can small experiences be scaled up ? Relevance of small experiences on a wider scale Availability of resources locally Farmers willingness What institutional and support systems supplementing farmers’ Knowledge and enhancing the skills Reducing the time of transformation Reaching to larger areas

Farmer caught in between… Backward linkages Seeds Fertilizers Pesticides Machinery Oil or Electricity Money+interest Forward linkages Local Trader Bulk traders Distributors Food processors Retailers Consumers MSP and Govt. intervention to reduce price The farmer Seeds+ Knowledge+ Labour= Social capital + Nature’s bounty = Income

Net Returns per ha over Investment for Different Crops Source: State of Indian Farmer, A Millennium Study, 2004, Min of Agriculture, GOI

Returns per Rupee Investment for Different Crops Source: State of Indian Farmer, A Millennium Study, 2004, Min of Agriculture, GOI

Why pesticides ? They form the major chunk of investment Recurring expenditure Vicious cycle Major health hazards Serious environmental problems Easy to convince farmers about problems Withdrawal effects immediately seen

Pesticide spray schedules Resistance to pesticides Pest Resurgence Chronic & Acute Toxicity Pesticide Residue Hazards in Food & Water Adverse effects on beneficial organisms Food Chain Biomagnification Occupational Hazard in Factory & Field Chemical Pesticides

Non Pesticidal Management NPM is a ‘System that maintains the insect populations at levels below those causing economic injury, by having healthy crop and managing the population dynamics in the crop ecosystem”. integration of all suitable management techniques in a harmonious manner with natural regulating and limiting elements of the environment to prevent insects from reaching damaging stage and damaging proportions It is a paradigm shift in moving from input centric model to knowledge and skill based model. Makes best use of natural resources locally available and take best advantage of the natural processes.

Habitat conversion and enhancement Stress pest/ enhance beneficials Reactive inputs Build healthy soils Other practices to reduce crop stress Growing healthy plants Reducing pest numbers Minimal pest damage Non Pesticidal Management

How did we go about ? Good analysis Good documentation Writing in media and getting media write Lobbying with govt. –Jayathi Ghosh Commission –Agriculture Minister

Several promises broken Jayathi Ghosh recommendations Agriculture Minister couldn’t influence dept of agril or Agril University Biovillages-Non starter Scientists and Agril dept did not work further

New alliances Rural Development Department DWMA in Nalgonda-no major progress SERP in Mahaboobnagar in colloboration with WASSAN

December 2004 Piloting institutional model... Piloting NPM as a livelihood intervention in Kosgi MMS during 2004 Farmers trained systematically and technical support provided in the form of coordinators In 225 acres, average savings of Rs. 1200/acre on Red gram the total savings were Rs.2,75,000

Scalingup 2005 the design… Village Organization and Mandal Mahila Samakya taking the lead role Village activist for every village Cluster coordinator for a cluster of five villages MMS enter into agreement with NGOs to provide technical support No Chemical Pesticide use Enabling environment Campaign on ill effects of pesticides, understanding pests, and ecosystem Small enterprises to provide neem powder, NPV etc Farmers as resource persons

YEARDistrictsNo.of. AcresNo.of.farmersVillages The scaling up….

CropCost of Plant protection (Rs./acre) Saving (Rs/acre) ConventionalNPM Cotton (Avg from Khammam) Chillies(Avg from Warangal)15000 to Redgram (Avg from Nalgonda) Groundnut (Avg from Anantapur) Castor(Nalgonda) Paddy(Avg.from Kurnool) Economics

Villages gave up chemicals…… Nearly 12 pesticide free villages in Anantapur, Khammam, Needs to be documented Pesticide free villages…… Gurrapukonda and few more villages in Madakasira became organic

Lobbying with Mainstream research institutions Discussions with KVKs in 2006 and 2007 Study by CRIDA shows NPM with Non Bt cotton is better than Bt cotton ICRISAT came forward to work on soil productivity issues Spices board came forward to support APEDA willing to support Horticulture mission

Community Managed Seed Banks Pilot in 10 villages in Ananthpur district Village self sufficiency as goal Farmers produced and VO helped to distribute among the farmers Good quality seed, in time Subsidy was extended by dept to one village Focus on Seed retention than replacement selecting, saving, storing, sharing and reusing Increasing crop and genetic diversity Networking the seed banks seed banks in 70 villages-wide variety of crops

Opportunities for Agril.workers NPM service centers Village enterprises Agril. Labour leasing land and doing NPM Increase in labor man days Village enterprises Seed production Fodder production Neem procurement and selling

Moving forward… Enhancing and Managing Natural Resources Improving the soil health and productivity Focus on vegetables Community Resource Persons Convergence with Star Procurement Centres Convergence with Food Security Program Convergence with NREGA

Learning… Confidence on ecological models of agriculture increased NPM a good stepping stone Complete paradigm shift in understanding and supporting agriculture is required Ecological and economic costs of externalization of inputs enormous Loosing control over seed is suicidal Moving to organic is the way forward Strong natural resource base is required for sound ecological farming Many more experiences can be tried Policy support is required now…

Technology Inherent problems and limitations Economics Ecological impacts Social context Political control

Constraints… Natural Resources Human Resources Agril. university/Dept. official still hostile Issues beyond control of farmers –Shifts in land use pattern –GM crops case of Bt cotton seed –Loosing control over resources like seed, water etc –Liberalization impacts –Climate change

…and now under PM relief fund Making agriculture a sustainable livelihood Reaching at least 25 lakh acres in next 5 years In 5000 villages Covering more than 10 lakh farmers Rebuilding the value chain Building sustainable farmers organisations