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Devaputra Leads Neighbors in Adopting Organic Farming

Devaputra, his wife, and their six children are experiencing increased food and nutrition security from eating the traditional crops they now grow organically on their farm. They say they feel safer because they know there are no chemical residues in their food, and they appreciate the economic benefits of not having to buy seeds, fertilizer and insecticides.

Farmers like Devaputra are conserving and using native seeds and adopting organic farming practices to help them flourish in spite of this year’s drought and other weather-related effects in Southern India.

Devaputra has been a member of a farmers’ cooperative since 2013 which later joined FRB’s India South program. He has participated in a number of capacity-building programs and workshops that focus on organic agriculture and emphasize the need for genetically diverse food crops, especially native millet, in adapting to climate change. As a result, he and the other participants have been able to adjust their farming practices, maintain optimal soil pH and fertility, protect beneficial insects, and achieve greater yields.

As a member of his co-op’s governing body, Devaputra wants everyone to experience his family’s success. He has emerged as a role model for the other farmers of his village and surrounding villages, actively promoting native seed saving and conservation agriculture. He recently hosted a field day on his farm to show the benefits of organic farming.

India South encompasses 30 communities, 500 households, and 2,500 individuals

 

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