Title : Sarvathobhadram-organic initiative: cooperative model for resilient agriculture by adopting system of rice intensification
Abstract:
The assistance of the Sarvathobhadram-Organic-Farmers’ Cooperative helped small and marginal farmers customise, adapt, and customise the system to their unique needs. The Farmers Club, which has 50 members, was established in May 2020 with the goal of assisting farmers in converting to organic agriculture by adopting the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The club's goal is to promote entrepreneurship, a sustainable means of subsistence, and food security in the Anthikad Block Panchayat. By working with government agencies and utilising convergence, the project addressed climate change and resilience while maximising the programs available to farmers in panchayath. The transformation was sluggish initially, but it accelerated over time, indicating that farmers have variable levels of satisfaction based on a variety of circumstances. Very young rice seedlings are planted singly in a grid pattern in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a management strategy for irrigated rice production. The soil is kept moist yet well-drained throughout the whole growing season. Dewatering low-lying fields is the first step in rice farming in a wetland. Fields have typically been surrounded by permanent bunds. The movement of saltwater inward into their fields has been prevented by a network of barrages across the canal and at estuarine mouths. Locally, a system of pumping operations (inflow and outflow) has been designed to pump out excess water and, during times of shortage, to pump water from the river into the canal and ultimately onto the field. If saltwater from estuaries seeps into the field, water is pumped there using contemporary pump sets, which then routes through bunds. Farmers' organisations are working to achieve SDG13 on climate action, which calls for increased resilience and the capacity to adapt local solutions, in order to reduce the risks and tragedies brought on by climate change. This study investigates the adoption of organic farming using the SRI approach, the rise in output, and the effectiveness of the convergence method. The results demonstrate that SRI should be taken into consideration as a potential cultivation method for all farmer's groups as it also tries to identify various obstacles experienced by farmers throughout the paradigm transition from conventional to organic methods (Padasekharam).
