Enabavi–the Road Ahead in Agriculture

Tarakarama Rao Raghupati and
Jay Shankar Prasad

Introduction
Organic farming is not a new concept to Indian farmers. Before the Green Revolution, during which the chemical fertilisers were introduced, Indian farmers used to cultivate crops using natural resources like Farm Yard Manure (FYM), leaves of various plant species, animal wastes, etc.
With the advent of Green Revolution, High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) came into existence. In order to utilise the potentiality of the HYVs, the use of chemical fertilisers was popularised. Farmers who were habituated to use organic fertilisers, shifted to the chemicals in order to reap greater benefits by increasing the productivity. Farmers got habituated to the use of chemicals (Fertilisers and plant protection chemicals), and in this process they did not realise that the usage of chemicals will destroy the soil fertility and the soil health.
In order to reap extra benefits, the farmers started using more of chemicals than recommended. Because of this, the pests got acclimatised to the chemicals. As a result the dosage of the chemicals used to kill the pests has to be increased. Because of the high cost of chemicals, cost of cultivation increased. For purchasing the chemicals, farmers borrowed money from the local moneylenders. Because of the less returns (due to soil ill health, loss of soil fertility, etc.), the farmers were unable to pay the debts. As a result, farmers started committing suicides because of the economic pressures. Use of chemical fertilisers has drastically affected the livelihoods of the Indian farmers.
Chemical Free Farming - Need of the hour
Chemical free farming means cultivating crops without using any chemicals, i.e., without using either a single granule of chemical fertiliser or a single drop of plant protection chemicals.
Even though greater than 60% of the Indian population derives their livelihood from Agriculture, the share of agriculture in Indian GDP is only 19%. This is because of so many reasons, and exports are one of the key issues in improving the returns from agriculture.
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Now-a-days, in the era of globalisation, wherein the export standards are very strict, quality of the product is of prime importance. Though India is one of the largest producers of various agriculture products, the products are being rejected for export because of the exceeding levels of chemical residues in them.
In order to cater to the international market and increase the revenue from the exports, the Indian farmers have to reduce the use of chemicals, to meet the export standards. In this regard, scientists once again are concentrating on the age-old practice of organic farming. As organic farming does not yield high benefits in the initial years, the scientists are apprehensive whether the farmers will implement organic farming after being habituated to the use of chemicals.
This case is about Enabavi, a village in Andhra Pradesh.
Village profile
Enabavi is a hamlet of Manikyapuram village which belongs to Linghalaghanapuram Mandal of Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh. The total number of households in the village is 51 and the total area under cultivation is 280 acres. The irrigation facility for the fields is being catered by 29 bore wells. Paddy, Cotton, Tobacco, Maize, Red gram, Sesame, Chilly, Onion, Garlic and Vegetables like Tomato, Bitter Gourd, Lady’s finger, Beans, Coriander, Spinach, Lettuce, etc. are the crops they grow in the village. There is a water tank and three hand pumps in the village providing water for drinking and other household activities. A primary school is there which provides education facility till 5th standard to the children of the village. A Primary Health Centre (PHC) is there in Manikyapuram village which is 2kms away from Enabavi.
Chemical Farming to Chemical Free Farming
During 90 s, Red Hairy Caterpillar (RHC) used to be a devastating pest on almost all crops in Enabavi. In 1995, an organization named CROPS, an organisation based in Jangaon in Warangal district, took some steps in the village in order to eradicate the RHC incidence on the crops. For this, the organisation got financial help from AEI-Luxembourg through CWS (Centre for World Solidarity). By that time, like all the other farmers, the farmers of Enabavi were also habituated to cultivate crops by using fertilisers and plant protection chemicals. CROPS worked in the village for 3 years (1995–98) in order to eradicate the incidence of RHC with the help of Solar Light Traps. They distributed one light trap to each farmer to keep them in the fields during night. By doing so, the organisation successfully
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eradicated Red Hairy Caterpillar in 3 years, with the help of the farmers of the village. After this success, the organisation left the village in 1998.
Two years since then, i.e., in 2000, Ponnam Mallaiah, a progressive farmer from Enabavi attended a meeting in Kallem village and met Lingaiah, the head of CROPS. There, Mallaiah asked Lingaiah to suggest some cultivation practice, so that the villagers would benefited. Then, CROPS suggested the farmers to go for Non Pesticide Management (NPM) and guided them in practising the same. Only three farmers came forward in the 1st year (2000). The three farmers who came forward have practised non pesticide management on a very small scale. The farmers of the village realised the benefits of NPM and in 2001, more than 50% of the farmers were practising NPM in their fields in some part of their lands. But the farmers who practised NPM in the 1st year, practised NPM on their entire land. In
2001 Rabi, the organisation advised the farmers to go for complete organic farming. Six farmers practised complete organic farming in that season. In
2002, almost all farmers came forward to practise organic farming, but as it was for the first time they were a bit apprehensive and used fertilisers to some extent, but in less quantity (half of what they used previously). From
2003 onwards, all the farmers started complete chemical free farming.
Public Private Community Participation Model
Public Institutions’ Role
The Government of Andhra Pradesh has implemented a programme called Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture programme which is implemented by Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty Government of Andhra Pradesh, Sustainable Agriculture Network of NGOs with technical support by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
Government of
Andhra Pradesh
Public Sector Banks
CROPS
CSA
CWS
OXFAM
Organic Farmers’
Society
PUBLIC PRIVATE
COMMUNITY
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The public sector banks (SBI) provides financial support by providing loans to the farmers’ society.
Private Sector’s Role
Many organisations are supporting the chemical free farming in Enabavi. CROPS, a local NGO; Centre for World Solidarity (CWS), and Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) which are based at Hyderabad and international funding agencies like Oxfam are supporting the farmers of this village by various means in the successful cultivation of crops without using chemicals.
CROPS (Centre for Rural Operations Programmes Society)
This is a local level NGO which is based at Jangaon in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. The organisation has helped the villagers to transform their village into a complete chemical free village by providing technical help with the help of various other organisations. In addition to the technical help they have provided to the villagers, they helped them in the following ways to practise chemical free organic farming: l Provided financial help for procuring various organic resources: n CROPS gave financial help to construct vermicompost beds and provided the earthworms to the farmers. n The organisation also provided tank silt to each and every farmer of the village for three years (2004–07). The organisation paid the proclaimer cost to dig and fill the silt into the tractors and the farmers paid for the transportation. l Provided training to the farmers regarding various organic practices and preparation of various organic supplements for the fertilisers and plant protection chemicals. l Provide market to the organic products.
In addition to these activities, the organisation has taken up seed production programme in all the crops that are grown in the village.
Details of Seed production programme:
Paddy: IR64 and Chittimutyalu are the varieties that are being produced. The seed is distributed not only to the villagers but also to other organisations like WASSAN and SEVA, Warangal.
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Red gram: Maruthi is the variety that is being used. The seed is distributed to CSA, MARRI, Secure, IKP (Gundal) in addition to the farmers of the village.
Sesame: Madhavi is the variety that is being multiplied and the seed is distributed to the famers of the village and the nearby villages.
Maize: Narmada is the variety that is being produced and the seed is distributed to farmers of Enabavi and to the farmers of the nearby villages.
Cotton: in cotton, the farmers have practised hybrid seed production and developed a hybrid called Ramanjaneyulu. The female parent used for the crossing was Narasimha and the male parent was Bunny cotton.
Chilly: Marutham is the variety that is used in the seed production.
Vegetables: Seed production of vegetables like Tomato (Haritha and Rohini), Brinjal (Aadhar and a local variety) and Cluster bean (Neelima) is also taken up.
Centre for World Solidarity (CWS)
CWS is present in Hyderabad and it is one of the funding agencies for CROPS for taking up various activities in the village. This is the organisation through which CROPS got fund from AEI-Luxembourg to intervene into Enabavi for eradicating Red Hairy Caterpillar.
Their main aim is to reduce the water wastage by promoting better water management practices. Accordingly, they have taken up some projects in the village in order to promote water management.
Under the project named ‘Social Regulations Project’, CWS has installed a rain gauge which helps in collecting rainfall data. CROPS is the implementing agency. In this project, rainfall is measured every month and the data is displayed on the wall of the community hall cum milk collection centre, where people gather for various meetings and for selling milk. As a part of the project, CWS is also promoting SRI cultivation of paddy in the village.
Another activity which they have taken up is periodic monitoring of ground water levels in the observational wells. They have started this activity from 2007–08. Every month, the coordinator of the programme, who is the resident of the village, will collect data from the observational wells twice (2nd and 15th of every month). This will help the farmer to know how much deep the water is there, so that they will take care of the ground water management.
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They have provided capacitors (see the picture) for all the 29 bore wells present in the village so as to regulate the power supply to each and every bore well. Previously, the bore well which is near to the transformer used to get more power, thereby it used to pump more water. The bore well which is far off from the transformer used to get less power. Now, because of the capacitors, the power distribution is even and the water supply is also good.
They also promote the cultivation of dry land crops (Sunflower, Maize, etc.) which requires less water, thereby, the water table can be saved from depletion. Because of this, the farmers are having sufficient amount of water for the cultivation of crops and they have reduced the cost of irrigation.
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)
CSA (Secunderabad) is the organisation which provides technical support regarding organic farming. They provide training regarding the preparation of various organic extracts and solutions. They are promoting the chemical free food products by taking up an initiative called “SAHAJA AHARAM”, which means Natural Food in Telugu.
This organisation is responsible for providing the major market for the villagers. It provides market facility to the organic products on 5th of every month. The farmers will take the products to the CSA office situated in Hyderabad and from there will sell the them at a higher price. They provide market for the organically grown vegetables and rice.
Oxfam-India
Oxfam-India has taken up the project in the current season only and their project is regarding the marketing of non-BT cotton that is being cultivated in the village. They have formed a society named, Sthree Sakthi Sendriya Rythula Paraspara Sahayaka Sahakara Sangham. The membership fee for joining the society is Rs500 and the organisation has provided Rs1000/acre to each farmer.
Community’s Role: Enabavi Sendriya Rythula Paraspara Sahayaka Sahakara Sangham:
This is the society of organic farmers in the village. All the farmers of the village are the members of the society. They have framed some rules and they strictly follow them.
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Every farmer will: l practise organic farming l produce our own seed. l practise inter cropping. l grow trees in his/her household. l have a kitchen garden in his/her household. l improve his/her livestock population l be a member of one of the farmers’ groups l maintain a register for the cultivation details l not use genetically modified crops l create awareness to the farmers of other villages about the practices of organic farming l abide strictly to the rules framed by the village organisation and CROPS.
Effect of chemical free farming on the livelihood of the villagers
In order to study the impact of chemical free farming on the livelihoods of the villagers, we have surveyed 20 farmers and collected their experiences. The survey findings are as follows: l Urea and DAP are among the fertilisers they use in both paddy and cotton l They use monocrotophos in cotton and phorate granules in paddy as plant protection chemicals. l On an average, in paddy they save Rs1425 per acre in paddy and Rs6090 in cotton, because of not using the fertilisers and pesticides.
In place of fertilisers, they use: l Compost l Vermi compost l Green manure l Green leaf manure l Bio fertilisers l Other solutions.
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In place of plant protection chemicals, they use: l Tobacco leaf extract l Solution of cow dung and urine l Green chillies and garlic extract l Dry chillies and garlic extract l Extract of Green chillies, Neem leaves, Garlic and Tobacco leaves l Other leaf extracts.
The survey details are mentioned in the appendix.
Experience of a farmers
1. Ponnam Mallaiah
Village : Enabavi
Mandal : Linghalaghanapuram
District : Warangal
State : Andhra Pradesh
Paddy cultivation
Ponnam Mallaiah has 12 acres of agricultural land and he grows paddy in 4 acres. Besides paddy, he also grows cotton and tobacco as major crops. His irrigation source is bore well. He grows the crops without using any chemicals. He has 6 cattle to provide him with dung, which is utilised for vermin-compost. The yield obtained in paddy is 23 quintals per acre.
Chemical free cultivation
Initially he used to grow the crops using chemicals but the incident of Red hairy caterpillar (RHC) was very severe on the crops. An organisation called CROPS intervened in their village in 1995 and took up the activity of controlling the caterpillar by using Solar light traps. Within three years, the RHC was successfully eradicated and CROPS then suggested they take up NPM (Non Pesticide Management) and provided them with guidance and financial support to construct vermin-compost pit. From the year 2003, all the farmers in the village are growing the crops organically.
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In the place of chemical fertilisers, he uses the following: l Compost l Vermi- compost l Green manure l Green leaf manure l Azolla
Benefits:
l Low cost of cultivation l Improves soil health l Less attack of pests on the crops l Higher price for the produce l Better health condition of the family members l Crop loan is not required l The quality of the produce is better.
Constraints in practicing: l Lesser yield obtained compared to chemically produced crop in the initial days.
Lessons learnt: l Though the yield is less, the higher price for the organically produced grains compensate for the loss. l He does not have to take Crop Loan hence he is in a good state of mind and health. l Learnt how to grow Azolla.
Suggestions:
l For chemical free farming-Neem tree is the ‘Gold Mine’.
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Comparative study
Particulars Cost per Acre (in Rs)
Inorganic farming Chemical free farming
Operations
Nursery l Land preparation 400 400 l Seed 400 400 l Manures 250 250 l Fertilisers 50 –
Main field l Land preparation 1,200 1,200 l Transplanting 1,000 1,000 l Manures 500 1,500 l Fertilisers 1,540 – l Weeding 1,0500 1,000 l Plant protection chemicals 2,000 2,000 l Harvesting & Threshing 9,140 7,750
Total
Yield and Income l Yield(in quintals) 24.5 23 l Gross returns (in Rs) 12,495(22,785) 27,600 l Net returns (in Rs) 3355(13,645) 24.5 19,850
2. Ettaaboina Pedda Siddulu.
Village : Enabavi
Mandal : Linghalaghanapuram
District : Warangal
State : Andhra Pradesh
Cotton cultivation
Ettaaboina Pedda Siddulu has a total land holding of 3.3 acres out of which he grows cotton in 1 acre of land. He has 6 cattle and a bore well. He used to grow the crop following the normal practice of applying fertilisers
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and plant protection chemicals in his fields. The yield obtained was 8–9 quintals per acre.
Comparative study:
Particulars Cost per Acre (in Rs.)
Inorganic farming
Chemical free farming
Operations
l Land preparation 2400 2400 l Seed cost 500 500 l Sowing 200 200 l Manures 1,200 1,200 l Fertilisers 3,800 – l Weeding 480 480 l Plant protection 1,500 – l Chemicals 18,00 1,800 l Harvesting 11,880 7,330
Total
Yield and Income l Yield(in quintals) 9 8 l Gross returns (in Rs.) 27,000 24,000 l Net returns (in Rs.) 15,120 16,670
Benefits
l Cost of cultivation is less l Pest attack is very low hence product is not affected with the application of pesticides l Increase in soil health l Since plant protection chemicals are not applied, the health of the farmer is not affected. l Free of debts.
Constraints in practicing l Less yield in the initial days when compared to chemical farming.
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Lessons learnt l Organic farming is best for soil and human beings l Profit generated is almost same.
Suggestions
l He feels that the price of organically produced crop should be higher than chemically produced l Every farmer should grow cotton organically.
Change in the Livelihood: the people of the village are very happy with the way things have changed. They no longer have to take loan for cultivation which makes them master of their produce and. Their income level has also increased resulting in their standard of living rising too. The farmers are getting educated by learning new methods and the desire to send their children to school has also increased. Their health status is far better than that of the farmers of other villages due to intake of completely chemical free produce.
Chemical Free Farming: Future Perspective
In order to improve the condition of the priority sector and its contribution to the country’s GDP, the government has to participate very actively to promote chemical free farming. In addition, Corporates should also participate in promoting chemical free farming.
Government’s Role in the near future
The role of government has been very minimal in promoting chemical free farming. The Government has to involve in various ways to promote chemical free farming. l Agriculture research should concentrate on chemical free farming. l Agriculture Extension Department should be activated to promot chemical free farming and create awareness among the farmers. l Provide support to private organisations like NGOs and other funding agencies which are promoting chemical free farming. l Encourage the agriculture chemical industry to produce organic fertilisers and plant protection substances.
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Role of Corporates in the PPCP model in the near future l Help the villagers to obtain certification for their products. l Adopt a village and encourage chemical free farming by providing technical and financial help. l Corporates like Reliance Fresh, MORE, etc., which are into Agri Retailing can promote chemical free farming by practising contract farming. l Corporate can also set up organic stores in towns and cities.
Conclusion
Chemical free farming is not something which is beyond reach or impractical. Enabavi has set an example and it is time for the rest to be in the race. As seen from the story of this village, many things have changed gradually for the betterment. Their living standard, awareness level, health condition, education status, etc., all have improved. All that is needed is self realisation and support from the government and corporates along with unity among the farmers of the villages. The need of the hour is that rather than giving more and more subsidy on chemical fertilisers, the government should take strong measures to promote chemical free produce. It will not only help the farmers with the above benefits mentioned but also improve their soil condition by making it more sustainable.