Organic Farming in Balaghat: Power to the Community, Power to the Farmer!

Exploring the possibilities of introducing and implementing organic practices in several villages has resulted in better yield, higher income and an exponential increase in the confidence of women engaged in organic farming, raising hopes for greater economic stability as well as gender equality

Introduction

T he National Organic Standards Board, based in the USA, provides a succinct definition of organic agriculture: a practice, which comprises an ecological production management system, which promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycle and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.

The Balaghat team of PRADAN was set up in 2008. The team is currently working in two blocks—Paraswada and Balaghat Sadar, with the Schedule Tribes (ST) such as the Gonds, the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) such as the Baiga, and Other Backward Castes (OBC) such as the Pawar, the Marhar and the Ahir communities. The outreach is 6,200 families in 150 villages, covering 500 SHGs. The area has about 60 per cent forest cover and an undulating terrain. Low accessibility and widespread poverty are the characteristic features of the villages in which PRADAN is working. The average land-holding of the community is about 1.5 acres.

The team has been exploring the possibilities of introducing and implementing organic practices in patches since 2009. Usually, traditional chemical practices, especially in paddy-based intervention, were promoted. In vegetable cultivation, the approach has been more in tune with the organic way, as already practised in this area (vegetables grown for consumption purpose by the community). Based on the outcome of these experimentations in various villages, the team’s approach to agriculture has undergone a radical change, with a complete shift in focus to the organic process.