Bharat Dogra finds out that the focus behind providing an impetus to natural farming remains on establishing a direct link between ecologically protective farmers and health-conscious consumers. Once farming communities move in this direction, its consolidation will enable better quality seeds and saplings as well as know-how and other help in a more organised way.
The Tikamgarh Model, harnessed in Madhya Pradesh’s district has emerged as a potential boost in encouraging small farmers to adopt natural farming practices, with special emphasis on encouraging women farmers, as well as diversifying crops with multi-layer vegetable gardens and small fruit orchards. Thanks to the efforts of Srijan, a voluntary organization.,
Now that these farmers have a higher diversity of crops grown using natural farming methods (and avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides), the next obvious step is to try to increase the income of farmers by taking their produce directly to consumers who value healthy food. However, this would involve additional effort on the part of the farmers to take up food processing activities as well. Value addition with processing activities, which are taken up keeping in view health and nutrition value of food, also brings new livelihood support and income to rural communities.
Once farming communities move in this direction, the consolidation efforts also make it possible to receive inputs like better quality seeds and saplings as well as know-how and other help in a more organised way.
Women farmers are a very important part of the Tikamgarh model. Saroj Kushwaha of Pathari village is a woman farmer who has adopted natural farming practices with a lot of commitment and has also encouraged and helped several other farmers to do so. She has started a natural farming centre on her small farm of about four acres or so with the help of Srijan. She has initiated a multi-layer vegetable garden and has enrolled for training as a ‘goat doctor’ so that the goats of her village can now be treated within the village with her help.
Not too far from this village is another inspiring woman farmer Phoola Devi, who is very poor. Although she owns a small piece of land, she has grabbed attention and won appreciation from the villagers for her hard work in creating a beautiful fruit orchard on this land.
Such sincere women farmers are the real strength of this organization, which has now also been registered as a company, the Ken Betwa Women Farmer Producer Company. This company has 2300 shareholders, who are mostly women farmers of Tikamgarh district. The name Ken-Betwa is derived from the local rivers of Bundelkhand region—Ken and Betwa rivers—and the message sought to be conveyed by this name is that just as it is very important to protect these rivers for the prosperity of the region, it is also important to protect the sustainable livelihoods of small farmers.
Instead of being too ambitious, this effort has come up with the sale of a limited number of products initially for direct sale to consumers. Orders from health-conscious consumers are coming in based on its website information and other avenues of approaching consumers. Although this effort is already getting good response from big cities like Mumbai, the organization aims to keep a balance between such orders and sales closer to home.
The products being marketed include cold press groundnut and mustard oil, ghee based on the milk of local breeds of cows, graded and packaged groundnuts, kodon and kutki millets, arhar and moong pulses.
By using cottage and village-scale processing, this effort ensures additional advantages which may be lost in large-scale processing. Healthier, more nutritious edible oil can be obtained while oilcake remains available for local dairy animals instead of being lost to the wider market or the export market.
Farmers get their payment quickly. Often the produce is collected right from their doorstep so that they do not have to spend money and time in the sale effort. At some of the processing centers women farmers can come and use the equipment available here for the processing of the produce which has not been sold to the company. Whatever profits the company makes remain with the company of which they are the shareholders.
Rakesh Singh and Kamlesh Kurmi of Srijan who have been closely involved with the initial planning of this venture say, “The idea is not to make a big splash with too many products but instead to emphasize quality control and establish credibility. Once this is achieved other gains will come in due course. We have several innovative ideas which will be implemented when things stabilize a bit.”
A side activity of this effort has been to also make available some bulk farm produce (such as wheat to biscuit makers) to bigger procurers. However, the focus remains on establishing a direct link between ecologically protective farmers and health-conscious consumers.