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An Overview Of Our Solution

Janadhanya is an association of women farmers and seed savers working on agro-biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture. It does so through preservation and propagation of indigenous varieties of seeds and adoption of traditional agriculture methods. These varieties are suited to the local agro-ecology, require less external inputs and are resistant to climatic stress and pest. The local varieties ensure food and nutrition security for the farmers. In addition, farmers adopt soil and water conservation measures, use organic fertilisers and bio-pesticides prepared locally to conduct agriculture. The agricultural products are certified under Participatory Guarantee System, which is peer-certification system for organic products. Janadhanya with the help of its partners directly markets the produce to the rural and urban consumers for higher value realiz

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Suburban

Rural

Organization type

Cooperative

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Grasslands

Population impacted

2,300 people

Size of agricultural area

1200 Ha.

Production quantity

70,00,000 Kilos

People employed

2 people

Describe your solution

Janadhanya, an association of women farmers, works in the Kanakapura Taluk on agro-biodiversity conservation and seed preservation. It engages with 2700 women smallholders, seed savers and their community institutions on preservation of indigenous varieties of seeds and traditional agriculture. It has successfully preserved and propagated indigenous varieties of millets (43), pulses (10), paddy (80) and vegetables (50). These varieties are suited to the local agro-ecology, require less external inputs and are resistant to climatic stress and pest. In addition, farmers adopt soil and water conservation measures, use organic fertilisers and bio-pesticides prepared locally to conduct agriculture. The agricultural products are certified under Participatory Guarantee System, which is peer-certification system for organic products. Janadhanya with the help of its partners directly markets the produce to the rural and urban consumers for higher value realization.

Describe your implementation

1.Agro-biodiversity conservation through in-situ and ex-situ conservation of indigenous seeds in three Community Seed Banks. Seed banks provide seeds to farmers at lower cost and provide information on the phenotypes of the varieties to help farmers select the appropriate variety. 2.Preparation, selling and use of organic fertilisers and pesticides. 3.Adoption of soil and water conservation measures like use of silt, cover crop, gully plugging and stone bunds. 4.Other activities include: •Training of farmers, Integrated Farming System, Soil Testing, Kitchen and Herbal Gardens, Seed Fare and rare variety demonstration. •Adoption of Participatory Guarantee System, which is a peer-review certification of system of organic production. •Value addition activities like grading, processing, packaging and labelling the produce. •Direct marketing of the value-added products through target selling, supplying to organic outlets and at organic fairs to both urban and rural consumers. •Sharing return with the producers and producer groups. 5.Strong network of community institutions like Self Help Groups, Enterprise Groups, Producer Company and PGS Group, which network to deliver the planning, execution, monitoring and follow-up of the activities mentioned above. Community Resource Persons, are trained in the process and they provide timely guidance and hand-holding support to farmers. 6.The enabling conditions are: (i) community institutions; (ii) partnership with GREEN Foundation, which provides facilitation, technical guidance, funding and mentoring support; and, (iii) presence of a large urban market like Bangalore, nearby. 7.Key Success Factors are: (i) Three CSBs; (ii) 13 Enterprise Groups; (iii) conservation and propagation of varieties; (iv) linkage with urban and rural market. Challenges – Confidence of farmers in the process and livelihoods vulnerabilities, which were addressed by persistent engagement, demonstration and livelihoods diversification.

External connections

GREEN Foundation – GREEN Foundation, a Charitable Trust, initiated the agro-biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture work in the area. GREEN Foundation works as a facilitator in developing the social capital and guides the science of seed preservation as well as sustainable agriculture work. It generates grant, which supports the federation activities. GREEN Foundation also carries out research or agro-biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture. It is a member of national level body of bio-diversity conservation. Janadhanya Producer Company – Janadhanya Producer Company Private Limited is responsible for marketing of the farmers’ produce and the value-added products. It is registered under the Companies Act of Government of India. It helps the producer identify markets and cater to the needs of the consumer demand.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

World food production is lagging the demand for food. There is an urgent need to increase food production. Increasing food production faces several challenges, the foremost being extreme and unpredictable climatic conditions. Other significant challenges are the market forces and livelihoods needs of the farmers. The percentage of consumer pie reaching the farmers is around 20%. Producers’ access to and control over the value chain is minimum. They end up doing more production and are exploited in the process of production in terms of inputs and prices for their produce. The challenge is to produce food in a manner that preserves the environment, promotes the agro-biodiversity and addresses the livelihoods needs of the small and marginal farmers.

Describe the context in which you are operating

Janadhanya works in Kanakapura Taluk of Ramanagara district in Karnataka, India. As per the Census 2011 the taluk has a population of 269,863 persons, of which 56% are male and 44% females. 23% of the population comprise of Scheduled Castes and 3% of Scheduled Tribes. There are 76,580 cultivators, and 27,490 agricultural labourers. It falls within the southern dry zone with sandy loam soil and average 700 – 800 mm rainfall. Only 20% of the area is irrigated. Agriculture is the primary source of occupation and crops suited to rainfed conditions are grown in the region. Drought affects production of food and fodder. This makes the food security and livelihoods of the farmers vulnerable. Extreme weather coupled with farmers’ dependence on external sources for their agricultural inputs has significantly reduced agro-biodiversity of the region. This loss of diversity has impacted livelihoods, reduced local varieties of seeds, which sustain their economy, environment, culture and health.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

There were two key strategies for agro-biodiversity conservation work, i.e., seed preservation through promotion of Community Seed Banks and sustainable agriculture. Community Seed Banks are network of women farmers, who identify, preserve and propagate indigenous varieties of millets, paddy, vegetables and pulses. These varieties are resistant to climatic uncertainties and pest attack. These varieties do not require use of chemicals or inorganic fertilisers, which has resulted in improved soil health and fertility. In sustainable agriculture, the federation has promoted traditional agricultural method, which includes soil and water conservation measures, use of bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides and using agro-forestry to improve farm productivity.

Language(s)

Kannada, some English, Hindi

Water

There are two types of benefit on water. Traditional seeds are resistant to climatic stress. Those require less water, which leads to conservation of water. Surface run-off or ground water do not get contaminated with inorganic chemicals and these are not used in agriculture.

Food Security/Nutrition

The varieties are adaptive to the local agro-climate and provide good yield even under adverse climatic conditions, which ensures food security. Nutritional security is ensured by maintaining a basket of indigenous varieties of crops, which has been in the diet of the local population for centuries.

Economic/Sustainable Development

Conservation and exchange of indigenous varieties of seeds and production and use of bio-fertilisers and bio-chemicals reduces dependence of farmers on external sources for their inputs. Direct marketing of the organic produce and value added products ensures additional income for the farmers.

Climate

As mentioned earlier, the indigenous varieties of crops promoted are adaptive to the local agro-climate. These do not require intensive use of inorganic inputs for better yield. This leads to overall benefit for the micro-climate.

Sustainability

The current work on agro-biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture is funded partly by GREEN Foundation. Part of the resources come from direct marketing of the produce, which is marketed to rural and urban consumers through Janadhanya Producer Company, which has been promoted specifically for the purpose. Return from the sale of the produce is shared between the Enterprise Groups, which work on various agriculture and allied small enterprises. A part of the profit is shared with the community institutions to fund the seed preservation activities.

Return on investment

This has taken several years of effort, which was sustained through grant support. Part of the fund for managing the activities comes from the direct marketing effort. It would be difficult to ascertain the exact cost of these activities. In recent years, the return has been 3 times the cost of the investment, which has been calculated per farmer.

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

Replication of the work related to seed preservation requires strong community institutions, technical knowledge of seed preservation work, taking and enterprise approach to generate higher return, linking the enterprises to the market and overall an inclination to adopt safe and sustainable agriculture. The concept has been replicated in the taluk of Kanakapura. GREEN Foundation has identified two agroecological zones, one in Karnataka and second in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, to replicate the concept. The concept and process will be introduced to the Farmer Producer Organisations for which a preliminary orientation programme has been carried out. Subsequently, training, handholding and demonstration support will be provided to the farmers to start seed savers groups.

Overview

Janadhanya