200 new small and marginal farmers in 3 villages adopted organic farming after Bala Vikasa conducted awareness and training sessions on the benefits of sustainable agriculture last October. These farmers formed groups and committees to take forward the organic farming program in their villages and immediately began the organic practices in these villages. More than 1585 farmers from 49 villages were part of the organic farming program during the last quarter.

We conducted 2 capacity-building training sessions for 96 group leaders of the organic farming groups from 20 villages to help them develop leadership skills and gain knowledge of the latest organic practices. Post the training, the group leaders procured paddy and rice and implemented organic crop patterns for the rabi season. “After attending the group leaders training, I have gained a good knowledge about the FPO and have increased awareness on rabi seasonal crop patterns,” said Ch Buchi Reddy, a farmer from Mylaram.

1585 organic farmers from 25 villages also voluntarily organized 261 group meetings from October through December, to discuss organic practices. “In our village, we formed 2 organic groups with 36 farmers each, and we are conducting group meetings every month to discuss new techniques regarding organic and agriculture and greatly benefiting from sharing our experiences,“ says K Chirjanjeevi, a small farmer from Perumandlagudem.

The farmers also planted around 700 saplings on farm pond bunds last October. Bala Vikasa provided 390 saplings, and the rest were procured by the 65 farmers who are happy that the bearing plants will provide for their children in a year.

We also provided marketing liaison support to help small organic paddy farmers sell 600 quintals of organic paddy and 450 quintals of organic fine rice at a 10% higher price. At the Siddipet farmer’s market, we helped organic farmers set up a separate section and sell their produce for a 15% higher price than the regular vegetables.