The farmers’ groups working with Chetana-Vikas have taken up the responsibility of coming out of the rut of agrarian crisis themselves.

Going Organic

They follow principles of Sustainable Agriculture.  The basis is Organic cultivation of crops which brings back soil fertility and frees the land of toxic chemicals.

Food & Nutrition Security of farmer family

The farmer families are self-reliant and more dependent on the land for providing them Food and Nutrition Security rather than the free sops offered by the Government.  They grow 35-40 different food crops for themselves and also for sustaining the land.

The farmer family grows organic food for itself and the surplus goes to the consumer who believe in eating chemical free food and which has come by working with the nature and also not through genetically modified or transformed crops.

PARTICIPATORY GUARANTEE  SYSTEMS (PGS) :

All the farmers have formed groups to implement PGS.

PGS is an organic guarantee system, run by farmers groups themselves.  This allows small farmers across the wider network to support each other in cooperative processing and marketing opportunities that would be too large for a single farmer family or a small group.  By working together, they also find strength in numbers and give more credibility to the program as a whole.

It is a process which is consistent and transparent.

PGS Programs are created for small farmers who generally sell directly and locally, but with a system of Mutual Recognition and support between regional groups.  Farmers are invested in supporting and advising each other to maintain the integrity of the group as a whole.  The system of peer inspections further encourages sharing and advising, creating a grassroots support network that the farmer can turn to.

There is a system of peer appraisal by members of the farmers groups of their respective fields. The most important aspect is the familiarity of the members with each other and their cultivation practices.

The whole system is governed by the Regional entities related to farmers groups and also a National Council consisting of activists farmers, and NGOs.

PGS is a means of Organic guarantee for products produced and consumed within India.  The main emphasis is on creating farmer-consumer linkages and to cater largely to the vast domestic and local markets before tapping the export options.

Incidences of food riots, lack of enough access to food for vulnerable people and unabated farmers’ suicides, have become a regular feature in India.  They are infact alerts.  It is high time these issues are looked up with fresh approach and perspective.

Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Vice Chairman of Planning Commission, Government of India, has gone on record saying as much that “Government can not stop farmers’ suicides”.

Nevertheless, as against this, we have a number of illustrative stories of farmers who have found their way-out with highly replicable, worth emulating measures – practical, simple, low cost and yet effective; Technology and approaches based on appropriate amalgamation of modern science and traditional knowledge & wisdom.

Comprehensiveness in development efforts to create alternative models ; Systematic and scientific micro-studies and experiments leading to action research ; Implementing an integrated approach and perspective between the different development components ;  Encouraging the reflection-action-reflection cycle of conscientisation ;  Intensive training and consistent learning exposure to local village cadre emphasizing human resource development.  These are some of the inbuilt key points.

These approaches help the farmers also to face policy and market fluctuation and also tackle increasing ill-effects of climate change on  agriculture.