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THINGS ARE HAPPENING - New Lease of Life with LEISA Technologies
Self
Help Group comes into play
Chittoor faces frequent droughts and serious pests and diseases due to monocropping
in Groundnuts. Here AME entered with its Participatory Technology Development
(PTD) experimentation to overcome some of these problems through LEISA technologies.
Participating farm women of Pragathi Mahila Samakhya - a federation of Self
Help Groups promoted by MYRADA - faced the problem of shortage of good seed.
They met the District Collector for help. When he attended Samakhya meeting,
they forcefully articulated the need for Groundnut seed for 1800 SHG members.
While promising help, the Collector posed the question. " What can you
contribute in this effort?". Immediately, on the same day, the Samakhya
came forward to contribute Rs. 1,000/ per individual. Within four days, they
remitted 7.25 lakhs into the collective account. The Collector was pleasantly
surprised. The women had mortgaged their earrings, sold goats and grains for
this purpose. They succeeded in getting the groundnut seed, which they wanted
badly.
(Source: Case study presented in the Field day, Madanapalli, Andhra Pradesh)
Anegundi
Panchayat goes LEISA
Here is a picture of adoption of LEISA technologies by the farmers in Paddy
after experiencing PTD.
| Level of inputs | Farmers | Area (acres)* |
| Organic (no fertilizers, no pesticides) | 18 | 15 |
| Pesticide free (no pesticides, using some fertilisers) | 27 | 200 |
| Reduced pesticide (from 6 sprays to one or two only) | 70 | 300 |
| Stopped soil application of phorate granules | 100 | 500 |
| Total | 215 | 1015 |
* Some of the farmers have farms that measure more than 20 acres each under Paddy cultivation.
The farmers reported to have
saved Rs. 1,000/- per acre per season by avoiding 5 sprays. The average increase
in paddy yield adds to another Rs. 400/-. Thus, the increase in profit was
about Rs. 1,400/-
(Source: Case study presented in the Field day, Raichur, Kamataka)
How
Raju's life changed
Raju is a marginal farmer, belonging to Enamreddiapatti Pudur village, owning
60 cents (2400 sqm) land and harvesting only 6-7 bags of paddy from the land
before joining Farmers Field School (FFS). The Integrated Crop Management
(ICM) practices he learnt in FFS have helped him to double the yield of Paddy
to 15-16 bags. Now, he has become a resource farmer training others. He claims
that after his successsful efforts, about 10 relatives of his have started
following ICM practices. He has popularised the ICM practices amongst farmers
who are members of Milk Society, in the neighbouring villages. They discuss
these practices while going to deliver milk. According to his estimates, about
300 out of 550 farmers in the neighbouring villages are following some of
the ICM practices and have stopped using pesticides on paddy crop. Encouraged
with success, he has purchased 10 goats and 3 cows to get enough farm yard
manure and also to supplement his income from crop production.
(Source: Case study presented in the Field day, Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu)
