GOAL
Conservation of Agro Bio-diversity in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh,
India, in order to combat drought and continue to live a sustainable agricultural
lifestyle.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
- Two third population of our country derive their livelihood and meet
their survival needs from the rich and abundant Biodiversity - as Forest
dwellers, Farmers, Fisher folk, Healers and Livestock owners
- Two major sectors - Agriculture and Health are dependent on this Biodiversity
- 70% of the India's Health care is accounted for by Indigenous systems
of medicines (Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha) using 7500 species of plants
- 70% of the total Seed supply comes from the farmers
- This knowledge has been freely available within and between communities
in the commons
- Conservation and Utilization of these rich resources have been delicately
and sustainably maintained through sensitively and equitably combining
the ancient intricate systems of traditional Indigenous Knowledge systems.
They reflect the continuous, cumulative and collective innovation of
our people, especially the rural Indigenous communities, in all their
diversity
- The Biological resources were considered to be the Common resources
of the Community, to be used sustainably and shared equitably and collectively
by all its members through institutions such as the Panchayats
- The People's right over the Common resources were never privatised
and monopolised
- The process of globalisation, which is based on handing over of centralised
power by the state to corporate monopolies, violates the principles
of grassroots democracy, defeats the very objective of Panchayat Raj
institutions and is becoming a major threat to the survival of the village
community
- The MNCs through Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) or Patents are
usurping the rights of the local communities over their own seeds, medicinal
plants and other biological resources
- The Government is being pressurised to implement the anti-people provisions
of international treaties, e.g., the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPs) through amendments in our laws.
LOCAL CONTEXT
- Excessive Mono cropping and Cash cropping
- Excessive use of chemicals
- Degradation of Natural Resources
- Loss of Agro Bio-diversity and Genetic Resources
- Loss of nutrition - human, animal and land
- Irresponsibility of the Government
Anantapur District was part of one of the most powerful and rich kingdoms
of south India - The Vijayanagara Kingdom. Penukonda, situated 70 kms
south of Anantapur town and 140 kms north of Bangalore Metropolis, was
the summer capital of King Krishnadevarayava, some 500 years ago. In the
late 19th century a well-known British forester had described the forests
of Penukonda as one of the finest summer deciduous forests in the south.
The Pomegranates and Sitaphal of Penukonda were well known even in the
courts of Delhi. For over 700 years, from the Vijayanagara Rayalus to
the Bahamani Kings, from Tipu Sultan and the Nizam of Hyderabad to the
British, great armies had fought to keep control of this rich and fertile
land. Teak and Hardwikia Binata, two of the finest timber trees to grow
in India, were exported from here to lay the railway line between Gudur
and Madras. Till recently, food and fruit crops in the district were grown
with rain water harvested in more than 300 major irrigation tanks (Cheruvu),
some having Ayacuts of over 1000 acres and known to store enough water
to grow two if not three crops a year. There also were numerous minor
Tanks (Kunta) and perennial springs. Many different local varieties of
rice, major and minor millets were grown here.
In contrast, today Anantapur District is on the way to becoming a desert.
The hills are bare, there are hardly any forests to talk about and the
famed Cheruvus and Kuntas are falling apart, the springs have dried up.
Basically, it has now become a single crop district; it is the largest
Groundnut growing district in the country. Groundnut, unfortunately, does
not feed hungry stomachs.
The common people of Anantapur District today are caught between two problems
- terrible recurring drought every couple of years leading to desertification
on the one hand and political factionalism leading to bloody violence
ever so often on the other. In this situation the people are fast losing
control over their resource base in ways they had never experienced before.
Then ofcourse we have a Government that is readily selling every thing
it can.
Quite unconsciously, the people have been neglecting the natural resources
and traditional genetic base that they had inherited both from their forefathers/mothers
and Mother Nature herself. Simultaneously, they have been getting caught
in the whirlpool of colourful dreams being projected by successive Governments
and the Transnational companies. They have been increasingly getting alienated
from the seeds and animals bred locally, which had sustained their forefathers/mothers
in days gone by. They have been increasing their dependence on the transnational
seed companies and the Government by purchasing new 'alien' seeds. Their
misery has been increasing by the sheer neglect of their natural resources
such as their local varieties of grasses, trees, cattle, poultry, medicine
and other requirements for a sustainable agricultural lifestyle.
The promotion of cheap rice by the State Government, through the Public
Distribution System, has been one of the most important factors in the
reduction of minor millet cropping, paving the way for a mono-cash crop
such as Groundnut to become the major crop in the district.
Nutrition levels have dropped drastically in the villages - for humans,
animals and land. As long duration and tall varieties of food crops are
on the way out nutritious food for humans and the cattle is not easily
available. Natural fodder for the cattle is also unavailable, as the common
pasturelands have become bare. Most people do not keep cattle nowadays,
they buy bullocks just before the Khariff crop and sell them immediately
after the crop. Those cattle that remain do not have much to eat and therefore
do not give much milk or dung. With not enough cattle, manure is getting
scarcer by the day. Which in turn has led to loss of nutrition for the
agricultural land. Increased cash cropping has not helped. Wherever food
crops are still being grown, dependency on new varieties of seeds has
increased and with it the dependency on chemical fertilisers and insecticides
as the new varieties of seeds will not yield much unless chemical fertilisers
are used. Along with the new seeds there are newer and newer pests and
so the cycle grows.
Most of the people eat highly polished rice and Rasam with a little bit
of Chutney. Mudda, Sadda rotti, Korrannam, Jonna rotti are already things
of the past. Most of the villages do not have milk to offer. Wherever
there is milk, almost all of it is exported to the chilling plants in
major towns. So what we have here is low nutrition intake for humans,
animals and land.
At the same time, most of the traditional genetic strains of cattle are
fast disappearing. In some places the local bulls have been consciously
wiped out to introduce foreign strains such as Holstein and Jersey. These
have not done so well and in the bargain the rich local genetic resource,
capable of surviving these harsh weather conditions, is gone. Similarly,
the traditional poultry are in a mess. Anantapur district alone is supposed
to have had more than 40 pure strains of fowl, today we have barely managed
to identify 23 varieties, that too with a lot of cross breeding. The market
has been flooded with "Broilers" that are grown in the most
unnatural manner with chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic.
Many of the youngsters in the villages have never seen a Korra or Sadda
(local millets) crop, forget about eating them. Most do not know what
a Rela or a Tapasi tree looks like. People are forgetting the different
varieties of grasses that grew during the different seasons of the year
on different soils. Many do not know any more what grasses the cattle
eat during the different seasons, even if they do, they cannot find the
different variety of grasses anymore. Many are unaware that Anantapur
district had more than 300 to 400 traditional varieties of rice at one
time and almost none of them are sure how, where and when they were grown.
Much of the medicinal herbs that used to be seen commonly even 20 years
ago are not easily found today. Those who used to know about them have
taken this knowledge to their graves.
OBJECTIVES
In such a grave situation, the Timbaktu Collective has been striving to
help the common people to Rejuvenate, Regenerate and Revitalise, their
Natural Resources and Traditional Genetic base. The idea is to help the
common people to regain control over their Natural Resources and Traditional
Genetic base in order to conserve the Agro Bio-diversity in Anantapur
district, so that they can combat drought and continue to live a sustainable
agricultural lifestyle. The objectives of the "Seeds of Hope "
project therefore is
- To help Rejuvenate and Regenerate the Natural Resources
- To help Revitalise and Conserve the Traditional Genetic base of this
area especially the Traditional Seeds
- To promote traditional food crops
- To build awareness about traditional crop conservation and promotion
ACTIVITIES
- Baseline survey in 3 mandals
- Documentation on crop being grown and seeds sources
- Display of crop seeds collected
- Linking with existing (Community Based Organisations (CBOs) i.e. Thrift
groups / V.S.C.s etc)
- Identification of farmers willing to multiply identified seed
- Making seeds available to farmers who want to grow crops
- Follow up during cultivation
- A seeds multiplication demo plot ( bio diversity conservation farm)
- Dissemination of information through pamphlets and posters
- Networking participating farmers through meetings, awareness workshops
- Preparation of directory of farmers multiplying seeds.
As listed above the activities that are planned under this project are
all aimed towards achieving the Goal set for the project - Conservation
of Agro Bio-diversity in Anantapur district.
- Before any work of conservation can begin we need to carry out a Baseline
Survey in the 3 mandals that we are working in, document the crops being
grown and sources of seeds still available and link with the Community
Based Organisations (CBOs) i.e. Thrift groups / Vana Samarakshana Committees
/ Dalit Yuvak Sanghas that have already been formed in the villages,
so that at the end of the project period we are able to :
1. To strategise
2. To get all the people involved and
3. To gauge the impact of the work done
- As this is going on we need to identify farmers from these mandals
or atleast from the district who are willing to participate in this
experiment and grow the crops or multiply the identified seeds
- When the farmers have been identified seeds have to be made available
to the farmers who want to grow the crops or multiply the seeds
- In the process it is important to display the crop seeds that have
been collected, in a central place so that it acts both as a museum
and a shop from where interested farmers may buy the seeds on display
or place orders for the same. In the long run this space can become
the logical place where farmers can come to sell their organic or traditional
food crops and also to get or exchange advice on forgotten wisdom
- Farmers who have come forward to participate in the experiment may
need follow up support during the cultivation period. We should be able
to give that through our extension
- At the same time while farmers are taking part in the experiment,
it is imperative that we have a small Demonstration plot ourselves for
seeds multiplication and conservation (Hope farm). We will take, on
lease, about one acre of land from a farmer who has assured water supply
and grow small quantities of rare seeds ourselves. Here we can try other
experiments and studies regarding yield, organic and bio pest management,
etc.
- The other very important activity will be Awareness building and Networking
among the farmers. Information will be disseminated through pamphlets
and posters and Networking of participating farmers will be done through
meetings and awareness workshops where we will involve famous organic
and food crop farmers such as Narayan Reddy from Dodbalapur and scientists
such as Dr. Somashekar Reddy (IIM Bangalore). Both of whom have been
collaborating with us for sometime now
- Finally we will prepare a directory of farmers multiplying and conserving
seeds giving details of their Agrarian wisdom and knowledge
PERIOD
It is envisaged that the first phase of this project will be for a period
of three years. Post a thorough mid term evaluation of the project, we
may propose a second phase.
BUDGET
(Note: Amounts are in Rs.)
|
YEAR I
|
YEAR II
|
YEAR III
|
TOTAL
|
Salaries |
|
|
|
|
Coordinator (Rs.5,000 x 13 months) |
65,000.00
|
71,500.00
|
78,650.00
|
2,15,150
|
Cadres ( Rs.2,500 x 3 persons x 13 months) |
97,500.00
|
107,250.00
|
117,975.00
|
3,22,725
|
Home rents (15% of salaries) |
24,375.00
|
26,812.50
|
29,493.75
|
80,681
|
Travel (Rs.2,000 x 12 months) |
24,000.00
|
26,400.00
|
29,040.00
|
79,440
|
Vehicle maintenance (Rs.2,000 x 12 months) |
24,000.00
|
26,400.00
|
29,040.00
|
79,440
|
Trainings and meetings |
|
|
|
|
Trainings (2 Programmes x 30 persons x Rs.150) |
9,000.00
|
9,900.00
|
10,890.00
|
29,790
|
Meetings (4 meetings x 50 persons x Rs.75) |
15,000.00
|
16,500.00
|
18,150.00
|
49,650
|
Exposure trips (2 Trips x 25 persons x Rs.500) |
25,000.00
|
27,500.00
|
30,250.00
|
82,750
|
Display Centre Space |
40,000.00
|
|
|
40,000
|
Materials for stores |
20,000.00
|
10,000.00
|
10,000.00
|
40,000
|
Demo plot (1 acre) |
|
|
|
|
Fencing |
40,000.00
|
|
|
40,000
|
Solar pump and piping |
65,000.00
|
|
|
65,000
|
Construction of Hut |
40,000.00
|
|
|
|
Maintenance (Rs.3500 x 12 months) |
42,000.00
|
46,200.00
|
50,820.00
|
1,39,020
|
Documentation |
20,000.00
|
22,000.00
|
24,200.00
|
66,200
|
Training materials |
10,000.00
|
11,000.00
|
12,100.00
|
33,100
|
Incidental |
6,500.00
|
9,650.00
|
9,615.00
|
25,765
|
TOTAL |
5,30,000.00
|
3,70,00.00
|
4,05,00.00
|
13,05,000
|
+ 10% Administration |
53,000.00
|
37,000.00
|
40,500.00
|
1,30,500
|
GRAND TOTAL |
6,20,375.00
|
4,48,112.50
|
4,90,723.75
|
15,59211
|
|