Sustainable Agriculture
Implementing the Programs:
In Gujarat, the Saurashtra region is also majorly dependent on agriculture for livelihood purposes. Throughout the journey of 42 years, SSKK has reached almost 22000+ farmers and farming communities of Amreli and Gir Somnath District and aims to bring sustainability in farming by increasing the adoption of biofertilizers/pesticides, organic farming, new technologies, innovations, and practices by which we ensure that practices will:
- Protect the environment,
- Reduce the cost of cultivation,
- Reduces the harmful impact of pesticides and fertilizers
- Increases the soil health
- Optimizing the use of water
1. Better Cotton Program:
The Better Cotton (BC) is a non-profit, multistakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices across 21 countries having 18 Implementing Partners in India. With the support of Implementing Partner CottonConnect South Asia – India we Shishan ane Samaj Kalyan Kendra is the local partner to implement BC into the fields of Amreli and Gir Somnath District. Know more here..
With the Better Cotton Initiative Program we are:
- Minimizing the harmful impact of crop protection practices
- Promoting the use of water efficiently and caring for the availability of water
- Promoting care for the health of the soil
- Conserving natural habitats
- Ensuring care and preservation for the quality of the fiber
Promoting Decent work in farming practices – conditions that support workers’ safety and well-being.
Total Farmers: 22,202
Category | Number |
|---|---|
👨 Men Farmers | 19,483 |
👩 Women Farmers | 2,719 |
🌱 Cotton Growers | 20,957 |
🥬 Non-Cotton Farmers | 1,245 |
💧 Irrigated Farmers | 20,490 |
🌧️ Rainfed Farmers | 1,108 |
💦 Partially Irrigated | 604 |
🌾 Total Cotton Area | 35,170.76 Ha |
🧪 Soil Testing
- 1,030 samples tested
- Personalized recommendations shared
- Farmers trained on nutrient optimization
💧 Micro Irrigation Support
- 49 applications submitted
- 36 received drip sets
- 12 received sprinkler sets
Activity | Achievement |
Trees Planted | 22,866 |
Biochar Demos | 30 |
Designed Structures | 07 |
Farm Ponds | 10 |
Green Cook Stoves Distributed | 100 |
🌾 130 Farmer Field Days Organized
👨🌾 21,182 Farmers Visited Demo Plots
🌱 144 Tons Vermicompost Produced
🧪 12,300 Litres Bio-Fertilizers Produced
👨🌾 22,202 Farmers Trained
👩🌾 3,139 Farm Workers Trained
🤝 Collaboration with 130 Village Child Protection Committees
🚀 44 New Enterprises Established
🏢 87 Enterprises Successfully Running
Our coverage into Better Cotton Initiative fields:
2. Promotion and facilitation of Farmer Producer Organisation - FPO’s
In India, nearly 70% of farming households in India are small and marginal. An average farmer earns a little more than INR 10,000 per month and nearly half of all farmers are estimated to be in debt. Most farms are rain-fed and exposed to climate risks. Small and marginal farmers operate with big disadvantages in terms of scale, diversification of crops, potential price risks, and bargaining power.
FPO is an organization, where the members are farmers. Farmers Producers Organization provides end-to-end support and services to small farmers and covers technical services, marketing, processing, and other aspects of cultivation inputs.
FPCs, introduced in 2000, are a viable ‘new age’ option to address some of these challenges while maintaining India’s present welfare equilibrium. Operating on the long-standing welfare model of ‘collectivization’, FPCs function under the Companies Act of 2013, wherein shareholding farmers pool resources for better market linkages.
Addressing the scenario, SSKK promoted FPOs in very early stages:
- Avirat Agro Producer Company Ltd. was established in 2006-2007.
- Sorath Agricultural Producer Company Ltd.was established in 2016.
3. Promoting Natural Farming:
For large production in recent times, farmers have increased the use of hazardous chemicals like Malathion, Hydramethion, scyphate, etc. This creates the worst effects on the health of humans, and the overall environment as it harms biodiversity, reduces the water quality, and leaves the worst effect on soil health.
To restore the ecological cycle and make farming sustainable SSKK is promoting Natural/Organic farming at loud for:
- Improve Yield
- Environmental Health
- To decrease human and animal health hazards by reducing the level of residues in the product.
- To minimize the cost of cultivation
- To Improve Soil Health and to reduce water consumption
- Livestock Sustainability
- Women’s agency and community ownership for scaling up of Natural Farming
- Resilience
Activities we carried out:
- Demonstration
- Farmers Field Exposure Visits
- Training and Capacity Building
- Promotion and establishment of Bio-Input centers
- Linking farmers to avail benefits of government schemes that promote natural farming