Author: thegoodsight

Solidaridad has been on a mission mode to ‘feminize supply chains’, whereby women are encouraged to become a part of the formal supply chains and market economy

Women form the backbone of agriculture in Asia. A large proportion of their time goes into working in fields and rearing cattle. Even after active involvement in agriculture, women are not able to participate in the formal market as supply chains are male-dominated and not much has been done to create an enabling environment for women to participate. As a result, women are devoid of financial benefits generated through the sale of agro commodities. To change the social normative, Solidaridad has been on a mission mode to ‘feminize supply chains’, whereby women are encouraged to become a part of the formal supply chains and market economy.

In Bangladesh, for instance, Solidaridad has been leveraging digital technology to collectivize women in the dairy sector. The increased usage of technology has resulted in more women using digital tools to access information on better management of farming activities. Coupled with training on financial literacy, women farmers are entering the formal supply chain.

Technology collectivizing women dairy farmers in Bangladesh

Tapoti, a traditional dairy farmer in Bangladesh, says: “I never knew the use of mobile could help me accelerate my dairy business. Seeing the success of fellow women dairy farmers using mobile phones, I decided to purchase a mobile phone for myself. I received urgent services related to disease management for my cattle, which was beyond my imagination. I can use my mobile phone comfortably and get necessary information related to dairy farming by just giving a call to the hotline number.”

Tapoti is among the many dairy farmers in Bangladesh who are registered with the Milk Collection Centre (MCC) via the i2i app which provides seamless access to good dairy practices and tracks milk collection to the MCC along with the disbursal of payments. This has ensured women’s empowerment through increased income-generating opportunities, which in turn has resulted in greater participation and engagement of women in community-based organizations (CBOs). Further, it has helped women farmers become entrepreneurs. “I am proud to say that I am now a successful dairy entrepreneur. This was possible because of the support I received on model dairy farming practices over phone,” she says.

Women-led enterprises making a mark in India

“We want at least 1,000 women to join our FPO,” says Sapna Rai, Executive Director of Rakshika Mahila Kisan Producer Company. This FPO or farmer producer organization is working with 300 soy farmers of Gunaga village in Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh, India.

The company was formed on 15 February 2021 under the guidance of Solidaridad and Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MPSRLM). All the 300 women farmers have contributed towards the FPO corpus and are its members too.

As the first step, Solidaridad provided extensive training to farmers in the area to cultivate soy (the geography is suitable for the crop) and carried out awareness campaigns about its nutritional benefits. Encouraged by the income from the soy cultivation, Sapna sensed an opportunity to aim higher. She along with some other women farmers in the village formed a group to market their produce better. Solidaridad and its knowledge partners told them about the nutritional benefits of tofu and trained them on producing it from dried soy.  Sapna and team grabbed the opportunity.

Now the FPO has set up a semi-automatic plant to produce tofu at a mass scale. “We are also raising awareness on how tofu is infused with proteins and is a great source of food for those suffering from protein deficiency, especially children,” she says. While the major buyers are the local markets, the FPO is planning to expand its supply to schools, hotels, and hospitals.

A proud moment for the company came last year when one of its promoters and a soy farmer, Devli Bai, got an opportunity to digitally interact with the Prime Minister and share her story of empowerment.

Breaking the glass ceiling

Recognition for women in agriculture is slow and hard to come by. But organized as collectives, farmers such as Sapna and Tapoti are changing the game by gradually carving a space for women in the agro-supply chain by understanding marketspace and commodity businesses. There is a plethora of economic arguments in favour of feminized supply chains. One, women-led supply chain is less susceptible to disruption since women are not prone to shift their market base. Second, women-led agriculture has the potential to fight poverty’s nefarious effects. Third, women are better sustainability managers because they are known to be more sensitive to the environment and the benefits of natural farming. And lastly, food sufficiency is bound to increase in a world where women, who are natural nurturers, are at the helm.

Sapna is now thinking of diversifying the FPO after deliberations with her colleagues. “It is necessary for us to identify consumer needs and then create businesses since many women have different interests and strengths.”

Targeting the Hard-core Poor (THP) Programme is a rigorously evaluated and proven model that brings sustainable and transformative change in the lives of the extremely poor

Bandhan-Konnagar (BK) was registered as Society in 2001 under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. Since 2006, BK has addressed extreme poverty through a unique model of graduating women leading ultra-poor households to emerge as successful entrepreneurs through Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme (THP).

At present, THP covers 5494 Gram Panchayats in 72 districts across 13 states that include Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal

Women leading ‘ultra-poor’ households in the age group of 18 to 59 years and living in extreme poverty are the prime beneficiaries of THP. Keeping to “deprivation criteria” under Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011, the households selected for THP have no male earning member between ages 16 to 59 years. The THP beneficiaries are the sole bread winners for their family. They lack confidence, skills, financial support, savings and credible productive assets for sustainable livelihood and need economic security required to lead a life of dignity.

THP Objectives

• Ensure economic, social and inspirational changes in the lives of the ‘ultra-poor’ households
• Ensure holistic assistance to capacitate the hard-core or ‘ultra-poor’ in building self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods with improvement in overall quality of life
• Ensure convergence with Government schemes & entitlements
• Ensure graduation of the hard-core poor into socio-economic mainstream within 24 months

India’s phenomenal economic growth story in the last 3 decades has an underlying chapter on extreme poverty. The SECC 2011 with deprivation criteria set, estimates a significant number of households that are identified as ‘ultra-poor’ households since they fail to meet basic consumption needs and remain trapped in poverty. THP is a unique model designed by Bandhan-Konnagar in 2006. It has been evolving since then, keeping to dynamics of social & economic challenges continuing and emerging across the country that endanger and push households within vicious circle of poverty. Believing in engendered approach to support women-led households being pushed down to deplorable assetless conditions, THP programme identifies the beneficiaries through a PRA process, household surveys and local stakeholder’s involvement. Each beneficiary is taken through a 18 to 24 months of rigorous process that involves continuous motivational and capacity enhancement support, mentoring, motivation and coaching in micro-enterprise development and management of farm & non-farm segments as per beneficiary choice and local market factors.

The unique feature of Bandhan-Konnagar model compared to other such ‘graduation model’ approaches adopted by diverse agencies in India and other countries is that assets are transferred in kind only; consumption stipends provided for motivation and sustenance during the preparatory phase; handholding in business management for 6-8 months with encouragement to diversify assets and enterprises; and finally convergence with linkage for beneficiaries through all eligible social security schemes and banking and micro-credit facilities. The intensive programme support ensures that after 24 months beneficiaries confidently assume enterprise success in diverse trades and mix of enterprises in farm and non-farm with confirmed asset multiplication and economic security at household level. Eventually the households showcase access to education, better health and nutrition outcomes with coverage under diverse social security schemes, insurance coverage, credit access and banking services. Each household emerges out of poverty with HH income multiplied by at least 5 times for over 90 percent of beneficiaries. THP success has supported Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society or JEEViKA design and implement the Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) programme targeting 2 lakh households in the state of Bihar wherein Bandhan-Konnagar provides the Technical Assistance support to SJY. THP goal is to bring economic, social and inspirational changes in the lives of the poorest and marginalized women and support circular economy in remote and rural India. 

Justification

Around 69.43 lakh women headed households in India fall under three or more deprivation indicators as per SECC 2011 and many communities have historically remained at the bottom of the development pyramid since they are far from access to social and economic resources or opportunities. Poverty induces zero or low literacy, little or no capital, minimal skills and as a result the ‘ultra-poor’ remain tied to low wage, insecure or infrequent occupations. Without productive assets or sustainable sources of income, ‘ultra-poor’ cannot meet basic consumption needs. THP Programme as studied by world’s renowned economists, remains a rigorously evaluated and proven model that brings sustainable and transformative change in the lives of the extremely poor. THP empowers ‘ultra-poor’ households to find solutions that cater to household needs, fits to local market needs and sets to social and economic dimensions in the community. The impact studies indicate that asset growth and capital build up for majority of beneficiaries continue even 10 years post intervention.

THP: Major Activities

• Identification of the beneficiaries through a participatory process to ensure unbiased selection.
• Capacity building of selected beneficiaries on Enterprise Development & Management.
• Formation of Village Committee-Ati Daridra Sahayak Committee (ADSC) for support.
• Productive asset transfer for initiating farm-non-farm combination of enterprises.
• Consumption stipend during capacity building and enterprise set-up for motivation.
• Hand holding and mentoring through weekly group meeting with home/ enterprise visits.
• Ensure access and linkages to different social security schemes and financial services.
• Financial literacy and development of saving habit with asset investment.
• Main streaming of beneficiaries with social consciousness.

Impact: As evidence depicts

Bandhan-Konnagar has implemented the THP model since 2006 with so far 1.72 lakh ultra–poor households, moving them successfully out of poverty across 13 states in India and another cohort of 1.46 lakh through Technical support extended to JEEViKA in Bihar since 2019.

In 2006, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research and established at the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in 2003, began a randomized evaluation of the THP programme in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The study revealed that THP caused broad and lasting economic impacts including increased consumption, growth in assets and increased savings of households. Long-term studies by researchers suggest that the impact has been even bigger ten years after intervention completion.

In 2016, Deloitte assessed the programme impact in the districts of South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad of West Bengal. The assessment found average annual income of beneficiary households to have increased by 778%.

In 2018, J-PAL assessed THP programme impact in Jhalawar- Rajasthan, where it revealed that average monthly income of beneficiaries tripled with average monthly household-income also recorded to be more than double and overall, the average value of assets held by the beneficiaries nearly doubled, from Rs. 12,085 to Rs. 21,017.

Ref: https://economics.mit.edu/files/12015

https://www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/publications/92_12_The-Long-Impact-of-Graduation-Program_TUP_Sept2016.pdf

https://www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/publications/building-stable-livelihoods.pdf

Impact: At a Glace

• The program has reached 1.72 lakh ultra-poor households and helped them to graduate out of extreme poverty with high aspirations.
• Over 1.30 lakh graduated ultra-poor households have been mainstreamed and became economically self-reliant and socially included.
• Over 1.66 lakh households have been involved in the larger financial and social eco-system with convergence support from government schemes and entitlements.

Challenges

• Unbiased beneficiary selection—free from any local pressure with community acceptance and proper functioning of village committees like Ati Daridra Sahayak Committee.
• Any unforeseen shocks- natural calamities, diseases-deaths that affects regular beneficiary enterprise operations.

“Poverty is a social and economic phenomenon historically influenced by social systems in India. At Bandhan-Konnagar, we believe in igniting potential and hence every ultra-poor household when guided, motivated and coached, successfully establishes enterprises that help to sustain livelihood and create assets to take a quantum leap out of poverty. The THP story is known across the world. Bandhan-Konnagar has developed the model that has put in IT enabled MIS and outcome tracking in 13 states. We are now technical leaders in the country on one of ‘ultra-poor’ poverty alleviation model through enterprise approach and aspire to support State Rural Development Missions for at scale solution,” shares Shantamay Chatterjee, Vice President, Bandhan-Konnagar.

“We are indebted to our donors Bandhan Bank Limited, Bajaj Finserve, Bandhan Financial Services Limited, ITC, Founders Pledge and many others in the present and the past and seek support of investors and donors to reach out to the farthest corners of the country and every year resolve extreme poverty affecting at least 200,000 households. Our dream is to create significant impacts as THP is a very cost-effective model whereby through a onetime investment we permanently reduce financial burden of subsidies, cash support and other grants that go to support the extreme poor survive. The ultimate goal for us at Bandhan-Konnagar is to support the Government reach SDG 1 and Zero Extreme Poverty in India, adds Chatterjee.

Trickle Up’s programs prioritize empowering women to identify new income streams and build a sustainable pathway out of poverty

Women living in extreme poverty are vulnerable to income, health, climate, social shocks with limited scope to mitigate the consequences. Trickle Up’s mission is to partner with them to build economic opportunity and drive inclusion. Its work is anchored in the belief of creating sustainable and scalable change. It is built on robust evidence from the field of Graduation and the organization’s decades of experience across different geographies and partnering with different populations.

By 2030, Trickle Up will have reached 5 million people living in extreme poverty by delivering programming to a total of 1 million women.

For the last 43 years, Trickle Up has been investing in the process of identifying people living in extreme poverty and to design social interventions to put an end to their cycle of poverty. Often, this segment of the population is ignored because of high risk of investment and perceived low returns.

Trickle Up’s programs package livelihoods support, financial inclusion, social inclusion, and social safety nets, which Trickle Up has adapted from the tested Graduation Approach. Trickle Up’s programs are time-bound interventions that combine livelihood development, savings, and social protection.

In India, Trickle Up works in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, serving 29,655 people directly as project participants, with a reach of 184,205 people in rural areas that are often home to many members of scheduled castes and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Trickle Up’s programs prioritize empowering women to identify new income streams and build a sustainable pathway out of poverty.

At the close of the “Pathways out of Poverty” project, 900 participating households, on average, performed 3.7 livelihood activities each (activity diversification is a crucial factor in building resilience to setbacks), and 95% of participating women had at least two means of generating income. Besides, annual household income from all sources increased by more than 160%.

Greater economic stability from diverse and remunerative livelihoods and access to savings and credit significantly decreased distress migration amongst people, including those searching for wage labor, often in undignified, dangerous, and ill-paid tasks. The project also allowed women to engage in economic activities requiring year-round attention and their children remained in school.

Interestingly, almost all participating households had savings at the project close. Their debt to moneylenders reduced precipitously, and their families’ food consumption improved (in regularity, variety, and quality).

Of tremendous importance, women reported playing a significant role in household decision-making by the close of the project. In turn, they felt more valued by their community, took pride in earning income and paying off debt, and enjoyed enough latitude to be creative in their daily lives.

Trickle Up India Foundation has been supported by Tata Communications and the Walmart Foundation to implement the MPOWERED project (2,800 participants) and the Ultra-Poor Market Access project (1,000 participants), respectively. Trickle Up’s field-based partner NGOs are Lokadrusti, Mahashakti Foundation, Nirman, Sewa, Nydhee (in Odisha), Pravah and Srijan in Jharkhand. Furthermore, Trickle Up has capacity building partnerships with SEWA and Pravah.

Like most non-profit organizations Trickle Up is dedicated to diminishing risks and uncertainties to the continuity of its work, especially with regards to funding and staffing. Funding opportunities are becoming increasingly competitive and unpredictable. Secondly, attracting and retaining high quality staff is the backbone to any successful program.

Trickle Up is also aware of and exposed to external risks such as climate change and exogenous global shocks, like the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, working in Odisha and Jharkhand makes climate change an immediate concern as both regions are disaster prone and communities living in extreme poverty are at highest risk, which can slow program delivery. However, Trickle Up continues to explore mitigation strategies to effectively offset these risks and ensure continuity for its participants. In line with 2030 global agreements, Trickle Up has ensured that its work connects to and strengthens the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to tackle some of the world’s most urgent problems.

SDG Linkages

SDG 1: “No Poverty” is the primary goal that guides Trickle Up’s work. While working with populations in extreme poverty requires more resource-intensive programs, Trickle Up is determined to reach these populations to create longer lasting and more resilient transformations in people’s lives.

SDG 2: “No Hunger” is a key part of sustainable pathways out of poverty. In order to meet their basic needs, Trickle Up’s programs often connect participants to consumption support to eliminate food security as a worry and giving participants more opportunity to focus financial and physical resources on other needs. When participants have higher incomes, the first ensured outcome is essential nutrition and three meals daily.

SDG 3: At Trickle Up, “Good health and well-being” is critical to the success of any livelihood program. As participants living in extreme poverty have greater income, their overall wellbeing has time to flourish.

SDG 5: “Gender equality” is the lens through which Trickle Up designs all its programs. It is committed to enabling equitable gender parity at the ground level and up.

SDG 8: “Decent work and economic growth” is the founding principle upon which Trickle Up’s programs guide participants to pathways out of poverty by engaging them in meaningful income-generating livelihood activities.

SDG 10: Trickle Up’s effort to eradicate extreme poverty is one slice of “Reduced inequalities.” Reducing the disparity between urban and rural populations while also ensuring a fairer market for marginalized communities is a component of Trickle Up’s long-term programming.

Sushant Verma, Asia Regional Director, Trickle Up, underlines the importance of coaches, referring to them as ‘Champions of Change’. He says, “The need-based tailored support provided by them not only ensures the well-being of participants, but their involvement at the village level developmental work has enabled them to take up leadership roles in their respective villages and Panchayats.”

While promoting health and resilience of natural ecosystems, regenerative farming is also helping cotton growers earn more and spend less  

In Manegaon village in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Sudhakar Kohale’s name is synonymous with sustainable farming. Born into a family of farmers, Sudhakar (59) and his wife Pramila (50) are proud of their 6-acre land where they cultivate cotton, Bengal gram, pigeon pea and vegetables.

But not so long ago, Sudhakar was uncertain about his future as a farmer. Barely making enough from the farm to run his family of 11 members, Sudhakar looked for a supplementary source of income and decided to also work at a nearby textile mill in Kalmeshwar. In 2002, several textile mills in Maharashtra shut shop due to financial crisis, including the one where Sudharkar worked. He was back to square one.

Sudhakar and Pramila toiled on the fields but somehow the results were not showing in terms of yield. Further, the soil was turning hard and their expenses on chemical fertilizers were increasing. Sudhakar realised he had to farm in a way that would reduce his input costs and simultaneously improve his earnings.

In 2022, Sudhakar and Pramila attended a training session on vermicompost at a training and resource centre run by Solidaridad in Burujwada in Saoner block of Nagpur. The programme informed the attending farmers, including Sudhakar, about the many benefits of vermicompost and how it can be used as a natural fertilizer for the soil, as well as shared the know-how on how to make it. At the end of the session, the farmers were provided with vermi-beds. Sudhakar and Pramila received one too.

“At our training and resource centres, we organise training for farmers on use of natural crop protection products, good agricultural practices, vermicomposting etc. We also create awareness through farmer field schools and farmer corner meetings as well as weekly online farmer trainings,” says Sarfraj Diwan, District Coordinator (Nagpur), Solidaridad.

Sudhakar was using cow dung to make compost, but the quantity was too little to make any difference to his crop. Now, equipped with the vermi-bed and some guidance from the Solidaridad field team, Sudhakar decided to prepare vermicompost and used it in his farm – taking the first step towards sustainable farming (and moving away from chemical-intensive farming). Additionally, he was encouraged to use organic pest repellents like jivamrut, nimboli ark and dashparni, and reduce dependence on chemical pesticides.

In the harvest season, Sudhakar saw the change. Against an average of 15 quintal every year, this time, he got 20 quintals of cotton from his farm, a more than 35% increase in production. His spend on chemical pesticides reduced from Rs 15,000 per year to Rs 10,000 per year.   

After witnessing the results in the first year, Pramila, who had just recovered from cancer and knew the treatment cost had put a strain on the family’s savings, motivated Sudhakar to start a vermicompost unit in his farm to earn extra money. Besides cotton, he started using the vermicompost in his vegetable fields and sold the remaining compost in the local market. Since then, Sudhakar’s vermicompost unit has expanded and now consists of eight vermi-beds. Annually, Sudhakar sells 300 quintals of vermicompost and earns Rs 2 lakh.

Further, with the use of vermicompost and little to no use of chemical fertilizers over a period of time, Sudhakar saw his hard soil turning moist and its vitality revived. He is also practicing inter-cropping with vegetables, which is not only beneficial for the soil but also provides Sudhakar yet another source of income besides the cotton crop.

As a result of good agricultural practices, Sudhakar saw his income from the farm increase from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, a 20% jump. Further, the additional income from selling vermicompost has made things a bit easier for the family.

“Earlier, we did not have enough money to buy inputs for the farm or even for the family during a medical emergency, I always had to look outside for help. Now, things have changed. I can manage my finances better because of the increase in income. Agriculture is an uncertain profession; the adverse impacts of climate may lead to crop loss. Youngsters in farming must have an option of earning a supplementary income, like selling vermicompost, to be able to continue as a farmer,” says Sudhakar.   

After reaping the benefits of sustainable farming, Sudhakar now wants every farmer in his village to turn over a new leaf – and to do that, he is sharing the knowledge he has acquired from Solidaridad with his fellow farmers.

The Green Route to Profit

Like Sudhakar, shifting away from chemical-intensive farming has proved to be a gainful decision for Ashatai Upasrao Musale too. A resident of Bhendala village in Saoner taluka of Nagpur, 60-year-old Ashatai is a farmer for the last 20 years and along with her husband Upasrawji Musale owns 6 acres of land, where she grows cotton, lemon and vegetables. 

Her biggest worry till a few years ago was the mounting expenses on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Every year, she was spending Rs 80,000-Rs 90,000 on these, but her cotton yield was far from satisfactory.

“We did not know about cost-effective and natural methods of dealing with pest and insect attacks, and incurred a huge cost on chemical fertilizers,” says Ashatai.

That’s when Ashatai met Solidaridad field staff through her village members. Solidaridad provided her with a vermicompost bed and a biogas digester. Ashatai was already into livestock farming – with Solidaridad’s training, she learnt to use the cow dung in the digester as well as for vermicomposting. The biogas is used by the workers on her farm to prepare their food. 

Among other things, Ashatai also learnt about yellow sticky traps, an effective way to manage pests. Yellow sticky traps are installed in between the crops, which attract flying insect pests and trap them (the insects get stuck to them). The sticky traps also help in early detection of pests, giving the farmer a timely warning to manage the situation before it escalates into a big pest attack, thereby also checking extensive use of chemical pesticides.

“Earlier I was spending Rs 10,000 annually on pesticides but because of these sticky traps, I am now saving that money,” says Ashatai.

Like Sudhakar, she too was introduced to cheap but effective organic pest repellents like jivamrut, nimboli ark and dashparni. As a result of these efforts, Ashatai’s yearly spend on fertilizers and pesticides has reduced to Rs 40,000 – a more than 50% drop from Rs 90,000 (approx.) she was spending earlier. Along with that, her cotton yield has improved from 7 quintal per acre to 9 quintal per acre.

“Our programme is designed to empower farmers with knowledge and skills on sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, which promote health and resilience of natural ecosystems. Our approach on the ground has helped farmers farm not only more profitably, but also adopt a range of holistic, regenerative practices to restore the degenerated soil, improve carbon sequestration and reduce GHG emissions in agriculture, to mitigate the impact of climate change,” says Anukool Nagi, Assistant General Manager, Solidaridad.

How a 65-year-old wheat farmer’s life has turned for the better – through vermicomposting

Sixty-five-year-old Kanwar Lal of Narwal village in Agar Malwa district of Madhya Pradesh had been practicing chemical intensive farming on his 8-acre land for several years. The use of excessive fertilisers and pesticides led to an exponential rise in the input cost, over 60% per acre, while his crop yield remained stagnant. Add to that the degradation of soil quality due to destruction of its physio-chemical and biological properties, such as microbial population, soil composition, soil pH, organic carbon content, and water holding capacity. Further, climate change adversely affected his crop productivity even as pest and disease attacks increased.

“I used to spend around Rs 43,000 every year on chemical fertilisers during the Rabi and Kharif seasons,” says Kanwar Lal. “Due to excess use of fertilisers, the soil was getting hard. Consequently, the crop also required a lot of water. And each year, the amount of fertiliser needed for the crop only increased and so did my input costs.”

Not sure how to fight these challenges, Kanwar Lal shared his concerns with the front-line team of Solidaridad, two years ago. Soon, he joined the training sessions conducted by the field staff of Solidaridad and observed the practical benefits of eco-friendly and sustainable agricultural practices.

Making a Sustainable Choice

To begin with, the field team provided Kanwar Lal with a compost unit. Following the technical advice from experts, he utilised the dung from his small herd of cattle to generate 10 quintals of good quality compost within 40 days of installation. The application of this organic compost to the crop gave him better results compared to chemical fertilisers.

With the regular use of organic compost, his crop yield increased last season – from 9 to 12 quintals in wheat and 250 kg to 400 kg in soybean.

“In peak cultivation season, farmers have to stand in long queues all through the day to purchase chemical fertilisers. It is not only a drain on their time but the high cost of fertilisers also increases the input cost for the farmer,” says Badri Lal Malviya, cluster in-charge. “Further, prolonged use of chemical fertilisers affects soil fertility, which is turn leads to less yield.” 

Solidaridad, therefore, is encouraging farmers to transition to sustainable and climate-friendly farming. “A compost unit is provided to farmers to help them make vermicompost using cattle dung and agriculture waste. Earthworms and other technical inputs are also provided,” explains Badri Lal.

Having realised the benefits of vermicompost, Kanwar Lal set up four more compost units, of 10 quintals each. He roped in his two sons to help him with the farm activities.

This Rabi season too, he is using vermicompost on his wheat, orange and marigold crop. In a flower crop too (marigold), the benefits of vermicompost are visible through better flower initiation, fewer instances of flower drops and a decrease in pest attacks.

The vermiwash (the nutrient-rich liquid extract from vermicompost) extracted from each unit is a highly beneficial bio-pesticide for crops which also works as a growth supplement.

Kanwar Lal is now producing three to five litres of vermiwash from each unit, every week. Through fertigation and foliar spray, he is also applying it on the standing crop of wheat and gram.

A Source of Additional Income

Going a step further, he is also supplying the vermicompost to other farmers in his community, and bringing home an additional income. His annual income has increased by more than Rs 1.6 lakh since he started using and selling organic vermicompost. To date, he has sold 25 quintals of vermicompost.

Over the next few years, Kanwal Lal wants to try other innovative methods of making compost using cattle horn, dry fish, poultry manure etc. – all of them are rich source of nutrients.

“I am thankful to Solidaridad for bringing the knowledge and skills to my doorstep and helping me transform my farming practices. Today, I am proud to say that everyone in my community looks up to me as a source of knowledge and information,” says Kanwar Lal.

“With the help of intensive awareness drives and training programmes, Solidaridad is encouraging farmers to adopt good agricultural practices,” says Dr Suresh Motwani, General Manager, Solidaridad. “Use of organic manure is one such practice that a large number of farmers have adopted. Organic manure has proven advantages over chemical fertilisers in improving soil fertility, increasing yield and reducing input costs.” To ensure total adoption of good agricultural practices, Solidaridad works with farmers across all stages of cultivation. “We have a holistic approach of providing agricultural inputs at each stage of farming, from pre- and during cultivation to post-cultivation,” says Dr Suresh.