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CBOs
& NRMs |
Non
Pesticidal Management |
Reducing costs
of Pest Management in Redgram:
The
chick hatched from an egg resembles a chicken and a child
resembles it’s parent. How is that you are saying an egg
laid by a moth (butterfly) becomes a caterpillar? A farmer
in Bolvanipalli naively asked this question in one of the
initial training programs on managing pests without using
chemicals. This program is taken up on Redgram by the Kosgi
Mandal Mahila Samakhya with help from WASSAN under Velugu.
The crop has just come to harvest and the 350 farmers who
are part of this initiative are radiating the confidence
that they can do away with chemical pesticides in Redgram.
The program was taken up in 400 acres in 15 villages. These
farmers are members of the SHGs, which are part of the
Mandal Mahila Samakhya.
About
80% of these partner farmers did away with chemical
pesticides and the rest yielding to the psychological
pressures of the market sprayed one or two rounds. In the
initial situation analysis it was observed that the farmers
are spending around Rs.2000 per acre on chemical pesticides.
Redgram is a common crop cultivated by most of the women in
the Kosgi Samakhya. Even assuming one acre for each member,
the women would be spending anywhere between 50 lakhs to one
crore rupees on pesticides- an amount several times higher
than what they could save in a year! The Samakhya decided to
act. The technology is available and there are examples in
Punukula village in Khammam district where the entire
village did away with pesticides. The perspective has
evolved over years of experimentation by Centre for World
Solidarity.
The
program in Kosgi started in this season with registration of
farmers who want to be part of this initiative. Each farmer
procured 60 kgs of need seed. Several training programs were
organized. The farmers slowly understood the science of pest
management - the pest life cycles, various ways of
controlling pests at different stages i.e. eggs,
caterpillars at different stages and the moths. They used
need kernel extracts, cow dung-urine solution, tobacco
decoction and manual methods. Once the farmers started
observing and deliberating on controlling pests at different
stages using locally available material, their instinct for
experimentation opened up. Not just neem, some of the
farmers mixed several plant decoctions available locally to
control pests. Their minds are freed from the ‘inevitability
of pesticides’ and they are again on their own
experimenting, discussing and exploring ways of managing
pests with in the resources locally available.
Kosgi
Samakhya tasted the success. They could save about three
lakh rupees of hard earned investments of their women
members otherwise going for pesticide industry. Looking at
the success Mr. Vijay Kumar, CEO of the Velugu program
invited 20 Mandal Mahila Samakhyas to see and share the
experience. A workshop has just been concluded, where all
these women leading Samakhyas having membership of about one
lakh women, resolved to make their agriculture free from
pesticides in five years.
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