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ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
- A DIFFERENT WAY -
The small-holder farmer, in dryland/rainfed areas such as Anantapur district, is today being systematically wiped out. They are being told that they do not know farming, their economies of scale are not alright, they need to grow high bred or genetically modified cash crops and use nitrogen intensive chemical fertilisers and pesticides not just if they want bumper crops but even to survive. Read more...
Timbaktu Collective / Dharani FaM Co-op Ltd
Opening New Paths for Farmers in Distress – a case study
March 2011
The smallholder farmer of Anantapur district today is in an extreme distress situation.
Over the last decade, 758 farmers' suicides have been reported from Anantapur district. This crisis has been brought about by extreme indebtedness of the farmer, from the use of toxic agro-chemicals and the practice of continuous mono cropping of groundnut as a cash crop. Use of chemicals has led to increase in input costs while yields have been stagnant. Depending on a single crop has increased production and market risks, with the farmer in many cases losing an entire crop to poor rainfall, a pest attack or market price fluctuations. Read more...
TIMBAKTU ORGANIC
PROJECT OF THE TIMBAKTU COLLECTIVE PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE AGRI-BASED LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD SECURITY AMONGST DRYLAND FARMERS OF ANANTAPUR DISTRICT, A.P., INDIA.
India has a large population engaged in agriculture. A huge part of this population lives in fragile eco systems of farming in dryland, rainfed situations. It is recognized that the worst affected in the rural society today are these families dependant on dry farming, with a future rapidly slipping out of their control in terms of unpredictable rainfall patterns, deteriorating farm lands, mounting production costs and unpredictable market situations. Read more...
Assessment of Economic and Ecological Returns From Millet
Based Bio-diverse Organic Farms vis-à-vis Conventional Farms
Green Revolution(GR) technologies, supported by policies, and fuelled by agrochemicals, machinery and irrigation, are well known to have enhanced agricultural production and productivity. While these technologies greatly helped to address food security and food sovereignty needs, farmers using this technologies, have to depend on external inputs which constitute the major cost of production for small-holder farmers. Most of these small farmers are challenged by shortage of cash resources and depend on family labour. Read more...
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