FFID – CHETNA OCIP – FELISSIMO
Peace-By-Peace Foundation (PBPF)‘A Collaborative Program Towards Supporting Smallholder Cotton
Farmer Households
From South Odisha and North Telangana’A NNUAL REPORT
01ST A PRIL 2021 – 31ST MARCH 2022

Submitted to: Peace-by-Peace Foundation
Submitted by: Forum For Integrated Development (FFID)
Submitted on: 20th May 2022

1. PROJECT AT-A-GLANCE
Report Title: Peace-By-Peace Foundation (PBPF): ‘A Collaborative
Project for Supporting Smallholder Tribal Cotton Farming
Households’

Report Type: Annual Report (01st April 2021 – 31st March 2022)

Submitted To: Peace by Peace Foundation, Japan

Submitted By: Forum For Integrated Development (FFID) – Grant
Recipient

Beneficiary: 14,232 Smallholder Cotton Farmers (pre-dominantly
tribal) of Chetna Organic

Project
Location: South Odisha & North Telangana

Type of Fund

: Yearly Grant

Reason:Supported By(i)Transitional Support Towards Organic(ii)
Education Support: Peace by Peace Foundation, Japan

ReportingDate: 20th May 2022

Author/s: Y M M Srikar and Arun Ambatipudi (with inputs fromfield)

2. CONTEXT
During the year 2021-2022 the project ‘A Collaborative Project for Supporting
Smallholder Tribal Cotton Farming Households’ had to witness theunprecedented emergence of Covid-19 a dangerous virus spread across India has
affected the health and livelihoods of all the sections of the society equally. The|

virus spread started in the year 2020 and continued till June 2021 in India with agap of a few months in between there was a spread of the 3 wave.
The farmers from the project area had to face many eventualities to overcome
the Covid-19 challenges. PBPF has supported FFID to integrate a few activities
along with the regular project to build the capacities of the farming communities
to overcome the Covid-19 challenges. Farmers facing financial difficulties due toloss of livelihoods have received support from PBPF to meet the seed costs bythat the farmers wouldn’t lose the Agri year and Organic Certification.
The project also could oversee the below impacts with the support provided tothe conventional farmers to transform into organic farming. Some of the majorchanges the project has observed during the year in the project area and at thepolicy level of the state and central government are as follows.
• 1000 new farmers have been enrolled in IC1 (In-conversion 1) during theyear 2021-2022 and they were provided handholding support tounderstand the organic practices.
• Zero usage of chemicals by the farmers has reduced the cost of cultivation
by 36%• The application of organic inputs has helped in improving the organiccarbon by 10%• Measures taken by farmers through the adoption of prophylactic
sprayings for every 20 days have helped farmers to protect the crop.
• Village level tuitions or classes organized in 17 villages have benefited thestudents from the rural areas to engage in studies during the lockdown.
• First time in history the cotton markets have been pro-farmers due to thecontinuous increase in the price of seed cotton. The markets haveobserved an increase of around 61% compared to the Minimum Support
Price (MSP) of INR.6025/- per quintal (100 KG) whereas the market pricewas INR.7500 to INR.9500. At present, the market for seed cotton hasreached INR.12500/- by March 2022.
• 40,000 bio-mass plants such as gliricidia, kaisemaio, Pongamia pinnata,
Subabul, were planted on the farm bunds. The trees planted have helped
in mulching (retains moisture) composting (manuring with green leaves
and Agri waste) and nitrogen-fixing in the soils.

|• The introduction of economic support of INR.6000/- per year for farmers
by the Central and State Governments is helping the farmers to meet
Agri requirements to some extent.
• Big farmers, who have stored the seed cotton and sold it after the hike inthe cotton price have benefitted.
• An increase in cotton price during the last year is expected to increase
the cotton area in both the regions for the year 2022-2023.
• Government cropping policy to promote paddy and failing to buy backthe produce from the farmers has discouraged the farming community.
• Farmers are in total confusion on whether to follow the Government
guidelines for crop production.
• In Telangana, the Government is promoting palm oil as there is a severe
shortage of oils. The special Agri policy is intended to subsidize thefarmers shifting to palm oil production.
Interventions made during the year have helped the farming communities to reestablish themselves confidently with the support extended to them toovercome the Covid-19 challenges. Seed support to needy farmers has helped toretain the organic certification and the awareness campaigns carried out havebuilt the confidence of the farming community to overcome the Covid-19
challenges.
During the year the broad components covered under the project are as below.
(1) Transitional Support to organic Cotton Farmers(2) Education Support
The activities built under the above components have helped the project toreach out to 14,232 small and marginal farming households from 314 villages(See Annex-1 for project area details). The learnings and impacts generated withthe project are documented in this report.
3. SEASONAL CONDITIONS AND CROP STATUS
Though the 2nd and 3rd wave of Covid-19 has impacted the lives of the farmers
the interventions carried out to support the farming community to overcome thechallenges have helped the farmers to re-establish themselves. The agriculture
operations for the season have started in a slow pace but it has regained the|momentum. As usual, the seasonal conditions didn’t cooperate with the farmers
to carry out the operations smoothly. Some of the conditions experienced byboth the regions in the area are as follows.

Particulars

TelanganaOdishaNormal Rainfall

1000-1100 mm

1100-1300 mm

Rainfall Received (2021- 1900-2000 mm
2022)

750-900 mm

Incessant Rains

Aug-200 mm

Aug -200 mm

Dry Spell/High
Temperature
Diseases Observed

Sep

Sep

Weeding/Intercultivation Operations

Leaf Folder

Normal Yields (Kgs)

700-800

550-700

Current Yields

700

550

MSP

INR.6,025/-

INR.6,025/-

Market Price

INR.10,000

INR.10,000/-

Table.1.1
Both the regions have experienced mixed seasons as the details shown in theabove table 1.1 Odisha has received the deficit rainfall, whereas the Telangana
region has received the excess rainfall. Odisha has experienced severe issues
with leaf folder disease and the yields have dropped to 550 kgs per acre. An
increase in market price has saved the farmers though there is a drop in yields.
4. STATUS OF ACTIVITIES UNDER PbP PROJECT
Unlike last year all the project activities were implemented smoothly, though
there was a lockdown in between with the emergence of 2 nd and 3rd waves of
Covid-19. The focus during the year was to identify 1000 conventional farmers
and to provide them the handholding support to build their confidence in organic|practices. With the transformation of 1000 farmers (500 TS & 500 OD), the totalorganic farmers under the project have reached to 14,232 small farming
households directly from 314 villages.
To help farmers understand the organic farming practices, Chetna has facilitatedorganizing various kinds of demonstration units in the villages, organizedtraining, and exposures. To provide education to the students impacted withlockdown the village-level schools have been organized in 17 villages on regularbasis to engage the students in studies and to motivate them by that theywouldn’t drop out of the school.
4.1. Target Cotton Farming Households
Total households covered during the year 2021-2022 are as below.
State

District

TELANGANA

Adilabad/Asifab Utnoor/Narnoor/Sirpur(U)/Keadrameri/Jainoor/Asifabad

5,183

ODISHA

Kalahandi

Bhawanipatna

2,060

Gollamunda

2,064

Lanjigarh

1,855

Bolangir

Kantabanji

1096

Rayagada

Muniguda

1,974

05

11

14232

TOTAL

Cluster

Target HHs

Table: 1.2
Table 1.2 shows the details of the areas with a total number of farmers under
the project. In the year 2021-2022 a total of 1000 farmers have got thehandholding support with the implementation of capacity building activities.

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5. Support to Rehabilitate Small and Marginal Farmers Affected with Covid-19
Farmers facing financial difficulties due to Covid-19 were identified and they
were provided with seedsupport to initiate the Agriseason to re-establish theirlivelihood and also to protect
their organic certification.
The provision of seedsupport has helped 2000
needy farmers to begin theAgri season if not these
Seed Distribution & Seed Treatment
families would have lost theseason & income to sustain
themselves for a year and this also would have exerted pressure on thecommunity and the government to provide relief. The seed support has
rehabilitated 2000 small and marginal farming households covering a total
population of 8000, which means the activity has benefited 8000 members inrebuilding their livelihoods apart from protecting organic certification of 1000IC1 farmers and 1000-IC2 farmers covering 2000 acres. On average, each farmer
could get a yield of 500 kg of seed cotton, which was sold at INR.10,000/compared to the MSP (Minimum Support Price) of INR.6025. After a long time,the markets were pro-farmers as the price of seed cotton increased from time
to time. It is understood that the seed cotton price has increased by 61%
breaking all the records.
Key Components Supported under PbP
During the year 2021-2022, the PBPF has broadly supported 2 components toimplement in 314 villages. The components supported are as underA. Transitional Support to Organic Cotton Farmers
B. Education Support
Transitional Support to Organic Cotton Farmers
Focus on providing transformation support to conventional farmers has
continued as per the mandate set in the project. During the year 1000 farmers(500 Telangana and 500 Odisha) have received handholding support on organic|practices. All these 1000 farmers were identified from 314 villages as shown intable 1.2 and all these farmers' capacities were built with Pre-Season, MidSeason, and End Season training. Timely monitoring and support by technicalteams have built the confidence of the farmers to move forward with theexecution of the organic practices. During the year the project could reach to14232 “A” grade organic farmers.
Critical Support for Soil Fertility & Plant Protection
Farmers in transition were provided with critical support to improve the soil
fertility to protect the plants from disease and pests. During the year various
kinds of demonstrations were taken up to build the farmers knowledge onorganic practices. Some of the interventions taken up during the year are as
follows
Particulars

No of Total
Total
Units
Production Areas(KGS)
Covered(Acre)
Concentrated 60
12000
240
Organic
Manures

ImpactRemarks

Improved
Resistanceby
75%80%

12000 KGS of
Neem Cake,
Pongamia,
Mahua Cake
was produced
and this wasappliedon
240 acres.

VermiCompost

ReducedMicronutrient
deficiency
by 80%
Increasedwater
holding
capacity by
50%
Neutralized
PH Value

From 06 unitsofvermicompost
units, 54000
kgs of manure
were
produced andthe same has
been used in
108 acres.

06

54000

108

|

NADEP
Compost10

120000120

Organic
Nutrients

50

40,000litres667

Bio-Mass(Plants)

40,0008000001600

Maintains
Soil Ph
Soil
Moisture
Improvesby 60%

From 10 unitsofNADEP
compost,a
total of 12000
kgs of manure
was produced
andspreadover
120
acres.
Enhanced
From 50 units
productivity oforganic
by 25%
nutrients,
Improves
40,000 litres
Water
were
holding
produced andCapacity,
were used on
667 acres
Water
800000 kgs ofholdingmanure were
capacity
produced andincreased
appliedonby 60%.
1600 acres.

Table: 1.3
The above table shows that interventions carried out in the project area has
improved the resistance of theplants making plants tolerant
to the climatic conditions. The
yields per the year have beensaved to a large extent with
the interventions if no theplight of the farmers would
have been pathetic.
Apart from this the majorchange observed is the
Vermi Compost Unit
improvementofwater
holding capacity by which the moisture in the farm is extended by 10 days. The
Ph value is neutralized and maintained in a few farms.

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Training & Exposure

As per the SAP (Standard
Agriculture
Practices)developed by Chetna atrainingschedulewasdeveloped for training theStaff, model farmers, and forfollow-up training at thevillage level.

Village Level Trainings to Farmers

Some of the training covered under the project are as follows
1. Pre-Season Training
2. Mid-Season Trainings
3. Post-Harvest Trainings
The trainings were initiated ina TOT (Training of Trainers)
model in which Staff andModel farmers were involved
after which the village leveltrainings were carried out
covering all the 314 villages.
Each training was organizedfor 2-days in a residential
manner and a strategy toreach out to the farmers was
Exposure to Model Farms
developed
with
fixed
deadlines. After the trainings at the village level, the technical team of Chetna
visited all the villages to build the confidence of the farmers in organic practices.
Follow-up by the technical team has helped the farmers to adopt prophylactic|

treatment which has helped
the farmers to manage thepest and disease in time. The
trainings have also helped thefarmers to enhance theirknowledge on bio-extract
preparation,
manurepreparation, liquid manure
preparation, and execution ofvarious farm-level activities as
per the requirement.

Village Level Training

Exposure visits were organized to the farmers to model farms and to the Chetna
research centers to enhance the understanding of the farmers on organic
practices and demonstrations on nursery raising, seed banks, cotton trials,
manure development, solar energy water management, etc.

Eco-Centers & Seed Conservation

04 eco centres under the Chetna control have organized various types of lowcost demonstrations easily adoptable by the farmers. Demonstration units suchas compost making, soil and moisture conservation, drip irrigation, seed banks,
dairy management, best performance long-staple cottonseed production,
vegetable cultivation, horticulture promotion, rainwater harvesting structures,mulching with glyridedia, liquid manure preparations, botanical extract
preparations, organic tonic preparation, etc., were established. CORCC at
Lanjigarh is surrounded by barbed wire fencing to protect the research centre
from animals and human trespassing. This has helped the college students fromgovernment and private to get exposure to various kinds of organic practices.
From Chetna project areas 476 farmers have come to the centres to learn about
the organic practices.

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Farmer Level Eco Centre
In Telangana 4 farmer level eco centres were established to promote thelearnings of the farmers at
the grass-root level. The
model farmers from 4
clusters were selected fromthe villages which are in the
mid-distance to other villages
and model farmers fromthese villages were provided
assistance to raise compost
pits, bund plantation, interFarmer Level Eco-Centre Displaying Pheromone Traps/ Yellow
Sticky Traps
cropping, mixed cropping,soil and moisture conservation, vegetable cultivation, agroforestry, and organic
practices. Farmers from surrounding villages have got the opportunity to visit thedemonstration and promote the same on their farms.
CORCC Development
Chetna research centre isbuilding the confidence of the
farmers for over a decade.
Cost-effective demonstrations
taken up in the research
centre is helping the farmers
to adopt the technology on
their
farms.
Farmers
witnessing
thedemonstrations are able totransform the learnings into
New Borewell at CORCC
their own farms. During theyear fencing of CORCC up to1750 ft was taken up to protect the farm from trespassing by the animals andthe humans. Apart from that nursery units, land development activities, cotton
varietal trials, soil and moisture conservation activities, and vegetable cultivation
with low-cost technology for water efficiency were demonstrated. Seed banks at|the research centre have been renovated and the existing seeds have been
distributed to the farmers for multiplication.
Promotion of Diversified Cotton Farming Systems
a. Development & strengthening of seed banks
04 seedbanks have been renovated to strengthen the conservation methods. All
the seed banks have been provided with new racks, jars, and containers to
improvethestoragemethods. A survey has been
conducted to review thetraditional seeds and it has
been documented to sharewith the farmers at thecommunity level. Cluster
wise
seed
exchange
programs were organized to
Seed Bank
promote seed conservation
methods through the exchange and multiplication of seeds between the farmers
of different villages.
Some of the activities implemented during the year under seed multiplicationand conservation are hereunder.
Location of
Seed Bank

CORCC,
LanjigarhclusterManaged by

COFA

Activities taken up during the year
Trials were conducted on 31 varieties ofhirsutum and harborium in the research centre
to study the performance of the seed in different
soils and climatic conditions. Trials at the farmer
level were also conducted and the data fromboth the areas have been recorded forinterpretation. A total of 620 kgs of foundation
seeds have been acquired for further
multiplication for the next season. Apart from|

this multiplication of millets, green gram, andblack gram, the red gram was taken up toconserve the local seeds. Soil and moisture
conservation activities through the application,of manures, mulching, bunding, leveling, etc.
were also taken up.
Demonstration of inter-crop is helping thefarmers to start the same system in their farms
as this is the staple diet in the area. This method
has been introduced last year and the same has
been continued to motivate the farmers to adopt
the method on a large scale. Farmers understoodthat in case the cotton crop fails the farmers will
have food security through the promotion ofmillets as an inter-crop. In the research centre
after 4 rows of cotton 1 row of millet is being
promoted.
A new borewell has been dug in the research
centre to meet the extensive needs of theresearch centre and attached it to a drip
irrigation system to promote water use efficiency
in the farms.
Installation of barbed wire was taken up toprotect the eco-center from animals from thevillage and forest. To date, 1750 ft of fencing has
been installed.

Golamunda
Cooperative

Basumata
Coop

Research on cotton varietals was conducted in
the eco center to record the performance of eachvariety under light and heavy soils. Baby trials
were also conducted in the farmers’ fields anddata from all the farms have been collected forreporting.

|The seed bank established at the centre has beenrenovated as there was a continuous threat fromthe rodents. Seeds collected from the farmers
have
been
storedsafelyforthedistribution/multiplication for the next year.
Multiplication of traditional seeds has been
carried out to demonstrate the technology to thefarmers. During the year demonstrations such as
red gram, black gram, green gram, paddy, millets,and vegetables were taken up.
Demonstrations such as composting methods,
liquid manure preparations, bio-extract
preparations, EFYM, et., have been taken up andstrengthened for the farmers learning. Varietal
trials on hirsutam and herbarium varieties weretaken up with 03 replications.
The demonstration of millet as an inter-crop in
Madding Eco
Matrubhumi cotton has continued to motivate farmers toCentreCoopadopt the method to achieve food security if the
Bhawanipatnacotton crop fails due to climatic conditions.
Vegetable promotion and dairy management
are helping the centre to receive some income
from the sales of vegetables and milk. Farmers
from the surrounding villages are attracted to themethod to promote their farms for additional
income.
Pragathi EcoCentre,
PragathiCoop
Ragapur,Sirpur (U)Seed multiplication and research activities werecarried out in the eco-center to enhance thefarmers learning on seed conservation and tounderstand the importance of local seeds
suitable to the soils. From the demonstrations,
650 kgs of cotton foundation seeds, 250 kgs of|red gram, 120 kgs of castor, 300 kgs of maize, and150 kgs of okra were multiplied and stored forthe farmer's distribution for the next year.

b. Cotton with Millets as Inter-crop

Demonstrations with farmers on millets as an inter-crop with cotton have been
introduced as a pilot. The new system has developed confidence among thefarmers as this is helping themto attain food security without
hampering cotton production.
Regular advice from thetechnical team has helped thefarmers to see this as analternative income and also
the best method to establish
food security. For every 4
Millets with Cotton as an Inter-crop
rows, 1 row of millet was
introduced, this has given them a yield of 75 kgs per acre. Most of the farmers
have retained the produce for their consumption and the surplus was sold in themarkets. The market rate per millet for 100 kgs for the year 2021-2022 was INR.
3500/Promotion of Integrated Farming Systems in Organic Cotton
To improve the living standards of the households’ various kinds of life skill
interventions were taken up in the communities by integrating the income
generation activities suitable for promotion of integrated agri systems.
Individuals from the villages who have less land and a few landless families havebeen identified and their skills have been built on dairy management, goatrearing, poultry rearing, backyard vegetable cultivation, and preparation of bio
extracts, manures, etc. During the year some of the interventions introduced are
as follows.

|Backyard Poultry
50 units of backyard poultry were promoted to help farming households
establish alternative income at the family level. Families’ skills in poultry
management were built and they were provided with 5 birds to raise. All these
are local birds that are nutritious, good for health, and have good value in themarket. Families have taken up the multiplication of the birds and a few families
are able to sell the birds in case of emergency in the market. A few families areable to feed their children witheggs which are good for theirhealth. Due to Coronavirus theconsumption of eggs and meathasincreased
fetching
additional income to thefamilies due to the demand.
Each egg price has reached
INR.10/- and the meat pricehas touched around INR.600/in the market. Additional
Backyard Poultry
income raised through this hashelped the families to meettheir needs to some extent during the lockdown.
Backyard Kitchen Gardens
Farming families have received support to establish organic back yead Kitchen
gardens. During the year 50
families have received avegetable kit consisting of 10
varieties of vegetable seeds togrow in their backyards.
Families have promoted theorganic methods in vegetable
cultivation has helped them tosell the vegetables for 10%
higher in the market. During
the lockdown, all these families
Backyard Kitchen Garden
could get an additional incomeof INR.750 per month to support their families.

|c. Goatary
landless households from the organic farming villages have received support
from the project to establish
an income generation activity
with goat rearing. During theyear 20 families have received
20 units of goats consisting of
5 goats (1 male + 4 Female).
Multiplication of goats has
started and the families are
happy that they can get milk atpresent to consume. Apartfrom this, a few families have
Goatary Support for Livelihood Enhancement
received
supportfromfinancial schemes under the government to establish goat rearing as a livelihood.

Incubation Support to the Farmers in Transition
During the year 1000 new farmers have received the Incubation support fortransforming
toorganic
farming. All these farmers
have been enrolled in IC1 andthey were given handholding
support to understand theorganic methods to meet therequirements to enter into
IC2. The technical team isregularly monitoring thefarms and they are giving
timely advice to the farmers
External Inspection by CU
to build their confidence. Theinternal
andexternal
inspection of the farmers is completed and the details of the operations havebeen recorded in the organic farm dairy (OFD) developed by Chetna which helps
in interpreting the data of each farmer at the end of each year.

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Soil Tests
Soil samples of the new farmers have been collected and the tests on these soils
were conducted to record thechanges taking place with theinterventions.
The
comparison will help inunderstanding
theimprovements in the soil andalso helps in developing theintervention
schedules.
Reports from the soil tests
show that there is deficiency
of Nitrogen, Boron, Sulphur,
Orientation and Installation of Soil Testing Machine
Ph value is below 6.5 and thenature of the soil is acidic.

The measures to improve all these components in the soil will be taken up withvarious interventions in thenext year. During the year
interventions
suchasapplication of 4 tons of EFYM
application, 600 litres ofliquid nutrients application,
800 litres of botanicalextraction application, intercrop with legume-based
pulses, border crops and trap
crops.
Staff Conducting Soil Test|

Education Fund Support
a. Scholarships
Last year we couldn’t implement this activity due to lockdown, but during theyear 2021-2022 all the 50
students
fromtheeconomically
backward
category were identified andthey were supported with thescholarship as they were
facing too many challenges ascompared to the last time due
to covid-19. During the year
the students received support
Students pursuing Higher education
for pursuing streams such as
Industrial Trainings, Arts, Bio-Sciences, Agri-Sciences, computer Sciences,
Commerce., etc.
b. School Level Competition
We couldn’t organize these activities as all the educational institutions were
under lockdown due to Covid-19.

c. Bridge Schools
02 schools were established inTelangana to help the school
dropouts to attend the school
established at the village level.
Children dropped out fromschool due to reasons such aslack of interest, financial
constraints. distance of theGovt school from the village,
family responsibilities such as
to attend the householdchores have been identified
and they are motivated to

Dropout Students Learning Laptop Operations.

|attend the bridge school. During the year 2 schools have been established andthis facility has helped 105 children to attend the classes and learn the syllabus
from the classes they have missed. These students have been taken re-admission
into the regular school and started attending the classes regularly.
d. Providing MAAD/Para-teachers in regular school
All the 17 para teachers haveorganized village level schools
to engage with the students
during the lockdown. The
activity has established aplatform to motivate thechildren to attend the classes.
The tuitions imparted to thechildren has helped to cover
the syllabus for the classes
they have missed. The village
Village Level School Organized During the Lockdown
level tuitions have also helped
the children to updatethemselves with the subjects if not they would have found a big void as they
were promoted to the next class without any examination. The activity has
helped 17 villages on an average 50 children have received the tuition from eachvillage and the total number of children who benefitted from the education is
850 for the year 2021-2022.
e. Life skills development for children belonging to cotton farmer’s families:
Cottonfarmerchildreninterested in developing theirskills on alternative livelihoods
have been identified and they
were provided with training
on tailoring. During the year
60 girls have utilized thetraining services. In eachbatch, 15 girls were trained for3 months. In total 2 batches oftraining were organized forthe year 2021 to 2022.
Certificates of completion of

Tailoring Class in Progress|training were issued to the students after passing out the exams successfully.
Out of these 10 students have started their enterprises at the village level andthey are earning INR.3000 to 4500/- per month
Annex-1
The following table provides the details of operational areas for the year 20202021:

State

Districts

Cluster#
Villages#
Farmers
coveredin 201920#
Villages
havingOFT
farmers# OFT
certifiedfarmers by
Mar-20Telangana Adilabad/A Utnoor(Erst while sifabadpart of AP)

184

5455

178

4683

OdishaBhawanipatna

21

2147

21

1811

Golamunda

19

2143

19

1987

Lanjigarh

19

1902

19

1765

Kantabanji

20

1257

20

Kalahandi

Bolangir

1096
Rayagada
TOTAL

Muniguda

51

3125

24

1890

314

16029

281

13,232||