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Anisha: Organic Farming and Food Security

Large-scale, industrialized agriculture is not sustainable environmentally, and it takes security from farm families. Susila Dharma Germany and Anisha, a Foundation in South India established in 1998, successfully applied for funding from the German government (BMZ). The project is to return 500 acres of agricultural land from chemical to organic farming practices and thereby create an agricultural system that, over time, increases the fertility of the ecosystem. This grant is helping 200 families in twenty-one villages in south-eastern Karnataka province to improve their living conditions and their food security. The funding started in 2008 and will continue through 2011.

Anisha identified many issues: poor soil quality; overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; an increase in indebtedness and dependence on markets and subsidies for food products; a lack of employment opportunities apart from agriculture labour; more migration by villagers searching for work; and increasing health problems.

To achieve the project goal, a number of interlinked projects, activities and improvements are taking place. Agricultural methodology is being improved through the introduction of sustainable, organic techniques. This, in turn, improves overall food security. In the past, farmers saved seeds from year to year, a practice that was economical and led to a high level of genetic diversity. The creation of seed banks to re-establish this diversity will also help farmers to avoid the pressure to purchase the chemicals that the new hybrid seeds force them to use. Sustainable farming techniques depend entirely on the skill and understanding of the farmers themselves. To help build and maintain the knowledge needed, an integral part of Anisha’s plan is the establishment of a resource centre with adjoining land for demonstration and trial purposes. Finally, in order to help the farmers to get better prices for their products, the plan includes the formation of a Farmers’ Federation to improve the marketing of produce and to certify it as ‘organic.’