Empowering farmers with natural farming techniques
Preserving soil quality, protecting biodiversity, and uplifting farmers of India.
Strategy
Training and hand-holding farmers in natural farming techniques
Impact
High yield production at low cost
Outreach
2.2 million farmers trained in natural
farming techniques
Overview
Debt, crop failure, and social pressure plague the anna daata (farmers) of India. Farmers take loans to buy expensive chemical fertilizers and seeds. The rains fail, farmers lose their produce and are left with no way to repay the loan to banks and moneylenders.
The Green Revolution in the 60s prompted rampant use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and high-yield hybrid seeds which poisoned the waters, robbed the soil of essential nutrients and adversely impacted the ecosystem.
Current times call for another agriculture revolution that can help farmers, preserve soil quality, and save the ecosystem.
Sri Sri Natural Farming Project has begun such a movement. The project, initiated by The Art of Living, is promoting natural farming techniques across India. It promotes techniques which were prominently used in early times when India’s economy was primarily agrarian. Environment-friendly and sustainable in nature, these techniques promise low expenditure and improved productivity and profits.
NATURAL FARMING
Empowering farmers
Help farmers produce high yield at low cost with environment-friendly methods.
I harvested 8,000 kg of green chilli every 15 days in a mere 1.5 acres of farmland. “When my district was hit by drought, all the farmers received drought compensation while I was still able to make profits. All thanks to the zero budget farming techniques.
- Mahaboob Basha, Lakshmapuram, Kurnool district
The wheat that promises the second green revolution
Strategy
Multipronged efforts by The Art of Living Yuvacharyas, agricultural trainers and several government authorities are helping farmers across the nation. The Art of Living conducts training programs on natural farming in all states. Along with theoretical input on indigenous seeds, indigenous cows, different natural fertilizers and natural pesticides, trainers also discuss with practical demonstration. They address the following points:
- How to prepare different organic fertilizers?
- How it will be applied in the field?
- How they will maintain the field organically?
- What will be the procedure to maintain / handle the post-harvest product naturally?
After the training, the team hand-holds the farmers in their transition to natural farming. The Art of Living has further provided a platform called Kissan Manch to address farmers’ problems through collective effort. To ensure farmers get the best rates for their produce, we also provide them with a direct market.
Training
3 day training
3 day training
on basics of natural farming
Mentorship
Hand-holding
Hand-holding
Yuvacharyas enable farmers to sustain natural farming
Kissan Manch
Direct market
Direct market
Eliminating the middle-man and ensuring farmers sell their produce at best rates
Impact
Sri Sri Natural Farming has primarily trained small and marginal farmers, who own less than 5 acres of land. Their costs per acre have reduced to 1/5th of the cost to chemical farming and require less than one-fifth of the water they previously needed for cultivation.
How farmers have benefited?
- Reduced input cost
- More land can be cultivated with less water
- Rejuvenated land
- Increased yield
- Biodiversity and environment protected
- Subsidy on fertilizers saved
Over 2.2 million farmers
Trained in natural farming method
115,000 farmers
Trained in suicide-prone districts over the last 11 years
1,500
Trainers across India
Inspiration from the community
STORIES
Yield increases by 4 times
“Although I have previously attended natural farming workshops, it was the mentorship provided by The Art of Living that gave me the confidence to switch to it. Eventually, my input cost went down by 4 lakhs. With chemical farming, the yield would be eight quintals of cotton, but with natural farming methods, I harvested 32 quintals.”
No longer dependent on water
stay in a drought-hit village and have no water most of the time in a year. By practicing natural farming I am self-sufficient and no longer dependent on water. I made crops worth Rs 2,75,000 this year with an input cost of just Rs 10,000.
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Contact Us
info@projects.artofliving.org+91 80 67433684
