PROJECTSUPPORTED BY
Peace-By-Peace
Foundation(PbPF, JAPAN)
A Collaborative
Program Towards
Supporting
Smallholder
CottonFarmerHouseholds fromSouth Odisha andNorth Telangana’Submitted to:Peace-by-Peace
Foundation
Submitted by:Forum For Integrated
Development (FFID)
Submitted on:
10th May 2021

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMOANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

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 2020 – 31st March 2021)

Submitted To: Peace by Peace Foundation, Japan

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

Beneficiary: 13,232 Smallholder Cotton Farmers (pre-dominantly
tribal) of Chetna Organic

Project
Location: South Odisha & North Telangana

Type of Fund

: Yearly Grant

Reason:Supported By: Peace by Peace Foundation, Japan

ReportingDate: 10th May 2021

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

Transitional Support Towards Organic
Education Support

2. CONTEXT
The project ‘A Collaborative Project for Supporting Smallholder Tribal Cotton
Farming Households ‘was started in the year 2009 with the support of the Peaceby-Peace foundation, Japan in South Odisha and North Telangana by FFIDChetna (India). The main objective of the project is to provide transitional
support to the farmers to transform to Organic from Conventional farming. The
project also focuses on supporting children of cotton farming households on
FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

education through infrastructure development in schools to improve the qualityof education.
The project interventions have started in 10 villages in the year 2009 and theactivities were expanded to different villages after the evaluation and farmer
interactions of the PBPF team.
Currently, the project is being implemented in 314 villages with a total reach outof 13232 small and marginal farming households by the end of March 2021. (SeeAnnex-1 for project area details)
Some of the broad activities supported by PbPF for the year 2020 to 2021 are as
follows.
(i)(ii)

Transitional Support to Organic Cotton Farmers andEducation Support.

The impacts and the outcomes of the project are documented from the activities
implemented during the year.
3. SEASONAL CONDITIONS AND CROP STATUS
The emergence of Covid-19 has created severe hardships for small farming
households in both regions. With theonset of lockdown majority of the
farmers have suffered financial losses
due to unemployment. This situation
has exerted too much pressure on thefamilies for daily sustenance. Though
the season has begun with good rains
in both regions many farmers looked
Figure 1 Ploughing & Seed Sowing
very disappointed as they didn’t have
input costs to initiate the season. Added to this the incessant rains in August and
September have damaged the crop badly resulting in boll damage, flower
dropping, and pest infestations such as leaf folder, mealybug. The farmers in
Odisha also had to face quality issues to market their produce. Apart from this,the cotton harvest was also delayed due to severe climatic conditions making
farmers wait for a longer time to encash the money.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

4. STATUS OF ACTIVITIES UNDER PbP PROJECT
Chetna facilitated the transformation of 1000 farmers into organic farming
during the year 2020 to 2021 by providing handholding support on organic
practices. Out of the 1000 farmers, 500 farmers belong from 6 blocks of Adilabadand Asifabad districts in Telangana and 500 farmers are from 5 blocks ofKalahandi, Bolangir, and Rayagada districts. During the year 2020 to 2021, thetotal organic farmers have reached 13232 households from 314 villages,
covering 11 blocks.
Interventions carried out by Chetna have helped the rainfed farmers to learn theorganic methods to promote sustainable organic practices. The focus of the
project for the year was on establishing demonstrations to generate manures,
prepare botanicals to control pests, and also initiating a few livelihoods to meetthe household needs. The remoteness of the villages has also invited assistanceto improve the quality of education of the children of the farmers through theprovision of para teachers etc.
4.1. Target Cotton Farming Households (Breakup)
Total households covered during the year 2020-2021 are as below.
State
TELANGANAODISHA

District
Adilabad/AsifabadKalahandi

TOTAL

Bolangir
Rayagada05

Cluster
Utnoor/Narnoor/Sirpur(U)/Ke
rameri/Jainoor/Asifabad
Bhawanipatna
Gollamunda
Lanjigarh
Kantabanji
Muniguda
11
Table: 1.1

Target HHs
4,683
1,811
1,987
1,765
1096
1,890
13232

During the financial year 2012 to 2021, a total of 13232 smallholder cotton
farming households from 314 villages spread across 11 blocks/mandals from 05
districts from 02 states/regions have been transformed into organic farming.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

Apart from this, a total of 1000 farmers were enrolled into IC1, and farmers from
IC1 have progressed into IC2 from the year 2021 to 2022.

Apart from the yearly project, an emergency project was also taken up with thesupport of PbPF to assist the small farming households facing severe challenges
due to lock down with the emergence of Covid-19.

a) EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR MIGRANT FARMERS AFFECTED WITH COVID-19

Chetna was engaged in easing thehardships the migrant farmers
werefacingwith
theunprecedented situation thatemerged due to Covid-19 in South
Odisha and North Telangana from25th March to 31st May 2020.
Farmers who have migrated to the
nearby cities to find employment
Figure 2 Awareness Campaigns on Covid-19
after the harvest of cotton to makean additional income to support theneeds of their families were stuck in places with various kinds of hardships. The
lockdown announced by the Government of India has displaced many migrantfamilies from employment creating chaos to find their destinations. Lakhs of
migrant farmers who were stuck in different cities in India have struggled fortransportation, food, etc.

Figure 3 Awareness Campaigns on Covid-19

The situation has made it quite
evident that the migrant workers are
particularly vulnerable in a situation
like the COVID lockdown other thansome vulnerabilities being present innormal times to most of the migrants
involved
inagriculture
andconstruction labor.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

OVERALL OUTREACH AND SUPPORT EXTENDED
Chetna has collected the data from the government departments and also fromthe migrants arriving at Bhawanipatna Railway Station by special trains arrangedby the Government of India. The migrant’s data was compiled and streamlined
to identify the farmers from the project villages. Traditionally, a few smallholderfarming and landless families fromrain-fed areas migrate to the cities
for earning extra income after thecompletion of the harvest. The
migration from the village’s starts inJanuary and ends in May. Most of
the migrants come back to theirvillages around May to June toinitiate Agri operations with theonset of monsoons. The emergence Figure 4 Distribution of Masks and Awareness Campaignsof Covid has posed unfamiliar
challenges for the farming communities. To support the farming communities
Chetna has taken up various activities to sensitize the farming households on themeasures to be adopted to protect their families from the deadly virus.
Chetna could reach out to 15000 families with the distribution of masks,
awareness campaigns, etc., With thesupport of PbPF and Co-operatives.
Chetna could also facilitate a direct
cash transfer (DCF) program to meetthe food and medicine expendituresof the migrants, who were facing
severeeventualities
withunemployment for more than amonth. Most of the migrants had tostruggle for a 1 square meal for the
Figure 5 Awareness Campaigns on Covid-19
family as their savings haveexhausted. With no hope, themigrants have left to their villages on foot covering 1000’s of kilometers withfamilies including children. Recognizing the hardships of the migrants theGovernment of India has arranged few trains exclusively for the migrants toreach their destinations. Chetna has provided INR.500/- to needy households tomeet the food and medical expenditures after reaching the villages.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

The table below shows the details of the migrant families under each block and the total
support received by the families from Chetna. Timely support extended to these families
has helped them to access food & important medicines for a week.
Block Name
Bhawanipatna
Golamunda
Lanjighar
TOTAL

NumberHouseholds
Received Support
88
100
184

Amount Received
by EachHousehold
500
500
500

Total Amount
Distributed in
Each Block
44000
50000
92000
186000

Table 1.2
The direct cash transfer has reached 372 households from 3 blocks. All these households
could meet the expenditures of their families for up to 7 days. Timely support has helped
the families to meet the food expenditure (98%) and medical expenditure (2%). The
households have also received support from the government to further sustain for a few
more days in these difficult times.

b) Supply of Non-GMO Cotton Seed
Small and marginal farmers facing
severe challenges in initiating the Agriseason due to lack of finances tomeet the input costs were supportedwith the provision of Non-GMO
Seeds. The emergence of Covid-19
and unemployment for more than 2months have forced the small
farmers to meet the household
Figure 6 Non-GMO-Cotton Seed Distribution

expenditures from the little savings
they have made from the earlier
season. This situation has put many
farmers in severe hardship, thedistribution of 2000 Non-GMO Seedpackets was an opportunity for thefarming households to rehabilitate

Figure 7 Non-GMO-Cotton Seed Distribution

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

from the challenges they were facing. Losing an agri-season would increasedependency on the government as there are no alternative livelihoods in placein the communities to build resilience. Moreover, the integrity of organic
farming was at stake if the farmers start sowing the GMO seeds provided by thegovernment. Support pitched in by PbPF to access Non-GMO Seed was a timely
help for the needy farmers to save the efforts of organic cultivation.
4.2. Key Components Supported under PbP
PbPF has supported broadly 2 components to implement in 314 villages during
the year 2020 to 2021. The components supported are as underA. Transitional Support to Organic Cotton Farmers
B. Education Support

4.2.A. Transitional Support to Organic Cotton Farmers
Farmers interested to transform into organic farming were identified and they
were provided handholding support to build their capacities on implementing
organic practices. During the year 1000 farmers were identified from 314 villages
and they were engaged in the yearlong activities to enhance their confidence inorganic farming. Handholding support and continuous monitoring of the farms
by the technical teams have helped the farmers build their confidence. With theassistance provided to the 1000 new farmers and with the IC3 farmers being
promoted to the next year the cumulative number of organic farmers hasreached 13232.
4.2. A.1. Critical Support for Soil Fertility & Plant Protection
Measures to improve soil fertility is a prototypical need in the lands of small andmarginal farmers to enhance
productivity. In both areas, thefarmers who depend on rains in poor
soils for cultivation are facing too
many challenges with the nonavailability of non-GMO seeds,
Incessant rains, and lack of knowledge
on measures to improve soil fertility.
Figure 8 Earth Worms in Vermi Unit

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

During the year, Chetna facilitated inaccessing 2000 non-GMO seed
packets to the needy farmers, whowere facing hardships to begin theAgri season for the year 2020 to
2021. The capacities of the farmers
were also built with the training andexposures organized at the projectlevel to benefit in-conversion
farmers to transform into organic andFigure 9 Vermi Compost Units
also to help farmers to take uporganic interventions in their farms. The farmers were also supported toestablish various demonstration units to replicate the low-cost manure methods
to improve soil fertility. During the year some of the packages of practices
implemented to improve the livelihoods of the small and marginal farmers
include promotion of cost-effective manure generation units such as
Vermicompost, NADEP compost, Organic nutrients development, Bio-masspromotion, etc.
To enhance the learnings of the
farmers a Standard Organic Practices(SOP) were developed and costeffective demonstrations were taken
up to promote the soil fertility
measures. During the year 30 units ofSoil amendments, 06 units of VermiCompost, 10 units of NADEP
Compost, 50 units of Organic
Nutrients, and a Nursery of 30000
Figure 10 Bio-Mass Production for In-situ Mulching
Bio-Mass plants along with Sun hemp
production for in-situ mulching were taken up in both the regions. Farmers werealso taught the preparation of bio-extracts such as Top Ten, chili Garlic
Extraction, Custard Apple Leaf Extraction, Neem Seed Carnal Extraction, Neem
Leaf Extraction and liquid manures such as Panchagavya, Fish Emulsion, Fruit
Emulsion, Vermi-Tea, Amruth Khad, etc., to build the nutrition of the soil and

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

plants. The application of various
manures has regenerated the soils
and helped in enhancing productivity.
During the year, each farmer could
harvest up to 7 quintals of cotton per
acre. As last year the price of cotton
was good due to demand in theinternational market but theincessant rains have damaged the
Figure 11 NADEP Compost
production to the large extent.
Production of cotton and quality of cotton was comparatively good in the
Telangana due to good climatic conditions.
4.2.A.2. Training & Exposure
Building capacities of the farmers are of paramount importance to Chetna tomake learnings sustainable and transferable to larger farming communities.
Training and exposure to the small and marginal farmers have motivated many
farmers to realize the objectives. The training of trainers (ToT) model developedby Chetna has helped in reaching out to the maximum number of farmers in all
the 314 villages in the project area.
The training through the TOT model
was organized for 100 staff andfarmers in 3 phases for 6 days. All the
topics in each training were coveredin 2-days each. The 1st training was on
Pre-season, 2nd training was on MidFigure 12 Trainings on Orgnaic Practices for Model
Farmersseason and the 3rd training was on
post-harvest training. The follow-up
training was organized in 314 villages
by the staff and the model farmers,
who have undergone centralized
training facilitated by Chetna. Apart

Figure 13 Exposure to Farmers Fields

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

from this Chetna has provided handholding support to all the farmers to promote
timely intervention to protect the plants. Training in 3 phases has helped thefarmers to carry out prophylactic treatments to control the pest in the initialstages. Demonstrations established at the farm level to produce manures/bio
extracts etc. have helped the farmers to reduce the cost of cultivation. Many
farmers have also learned through demonstrations and replicated the same intheir farms. Most of the interventions developed for the year were based on thesoil test conducted at the field level.
To gain practical experience Chetna has facilitated organizing exposure trips for
100 farmers associated with the PbP project. The participants include model
farmers and the staff who have the capacities to motivate the farmers to adopt
the learnings.
Farmers have visited various
demonstration sites at Pragathi Eco
Centre, Ragapur, Madding Eco
Centre, Madding, and CORCC (Chetna
Organic Research & Conservation
Centre) at Lanjigarh. The visits havehelped the farmers to understandvarious methods of soil and moisture
Figure 14 Botanical Preparations
conservation methods, composting
methods, Sustainable Agriculture Practices (SAP), and other allied activities.
4.2.A.3. Eco-Centers & Seed Conservation
Cost-effective, easy to adopt, andfarmer-friendly demonstrations weretaken up in 04 eco-centers (Pragathi,
Bhawanipatna & Golamunda clusters& CORCC, Lanjigarh) to educate thesmall and marginal farmers. Some of
the activities taken up in the eco
centers include strengthening of soil
and moisture conservation, seed

Figure 15 Demonstration of Multi Cropping Systems

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

banks, vegetable cultivation, horticulture promotion, rainwater harvesting, anda new model to increase water use
efficiency was established to promote
sub-surface drip system. During theyear activities such as Mangoorchards, development/mushroom
cultivation/Animalhusbandrydevelopment manure generation,etc. were taken up in the eco-centers.
Figure 16 Cotton Seed Extraction for Conservation
Under CORCC demonstration ofwater usage efficiency methods with a Subsurface drip system were taken up. To protect
the demonstrations and other crops fencing withbarbed wire was taken up in 250 meters. NonGMO long-staple research varieties on cotton
were taken up in the center. Multi-location trials,
herbarium hybrids, herbarium varieties, hirsutam
hybrids and hirsutam varieties, cotton advanced
generations were taken up. Exposures for model
farmers, staff, and the farmer's groups wereorganized to understand various organic
Figure 17 Meeting with Women’s
practices which are cost-effective and adaptable
Groups on Seed Bank Management
as per the local situation. The learnings of many
farmers have improved after the visits, this is visible with the practices
implemented in their farms. During the year a total of 354 Farmers have visitedthe eco-centers.
4.2. A.4. Farmer Level Eco Centre

Figure 18 Leafy Vegetable Cultivation Demonstrations

Farmer-leveleco-centerswereestablished in 4 farms in 4 clusters inTelangana to help the farmers fromsurrounding villages visit the model
farms to understand the practices
carried out in the eco-centers. In all
the eco-centers low-cost manuredevelopment units were established

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

to meet the soil nutrient of thefarms. Demonstrations such as
multi-location trials on cotton,
Chetna package of practices on
cotton with inter-crop, border crop,and mixed crop, trap crop, etc werecarried out. Farmers from thevillages and the surrounding villages
visit these farms to learn the
Figure 19 Pulses Cultivation
practices. The interaction held with
the IC1 farmers by the model
farmers has helped them to gain confidence and laid easy steps to convert into
organic. Some of the other low-cost promotion units implemented in the eco
centers are NADEP/Basket compost/liquid manures/animal husbandry/cotton
trails /water efficiency usage, Vegetable cultivation/promotion of millets, etc.
4.2.A.5. CORCC Development
Part of strengthening CORCC,
activities such as fencing of farms up
to 250 meters to protect thedemonstrations from animals, Subsurface irrigation systems to enhancewater use efficiency, animalhusbandry development, promotionof Millets as an Inter-crop, multilocation seed trials in light soils, HighFigure 20 Installation of Sub-Surface Drip Irrigation

density planting systems were taken
up. Seed multiplication of millets, redgram, green gram, black gram,sorghum, cotton varietals, vegetables
such as tomato, brinjal, okra, chili,
castor, cowpea were also taken up. All
the seeds are conserved in the seedbanks established in the eco centers topromote them further in the next year.

Figure 21 Vegetable Production with Sub-Surface
Irrigation

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

4.2.A.6. Promotion of Diversified Cotton Farming Systems
a. Development & strengthening of seed banks
Seed banks located in the eco centers were strengthened with the facilitation of
restructuring activities. Conservation and multiplication of the traditional seeds,
which are on the verge of extinction were re-introduced. Seeds, which aresuitable and sustainable in the soils were identified and promoted in the farmer's
fields. Building awareness with village-level meetings and taking up ofmultiplication of local seeds in the farmer lands in the villages are motivating
many farmers to re-look into the Agri-practices.
Some of the activities implemented during the year under seed multiplicationand conservation are hereunder.
Sl #1

Location ofManaged by
Seed Bank

CORCC,
Lanjigarhcluster

COFA

Activities taken up during the year
Apart from the multi-location cotton trial
on Cotton Seed on hirsutam and harborium
varieties, multiplication of millets, green
gram, black gram, the red gram was taken
up to conserve the local seeds. Soil andmoisture conservation activities through theapplication, of manures, mulching, bunding,leveling, etc. were also taken up. Researchon 30 MLT cultivars 2 replications, advanced
generation F1to F8, seed multiplication on
08 Non-GMO Varieties was taken up. The
total production of seed cotton for the year
from the trials was 300 kgs of seed cotton
from which 99 kg of seed was extracted andconserved for the multiplication.
Millets were promoted as an inter-crop toenhance the food security of the farmers if
cotton production fails. In each trial, 1 rowof millet was introduced after 4 rows of

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

cotton. The millet production for the year
was 7.55 kgs.
A new model of the irrigation system wasintroduced for the farmer's learnings toenhance the water use efficiency. This unit
promotes sub-surface irrigation with thehelp of gravity.
07 MT of Manure under NADEP compost,
4.5 MT under Vermi-compost, 02 MT under
General Compost was generated during theyear and was used in the farm and the rest
was distributed to a farmer for Orchard
Management.
A total of 4000 litres of liquid manure / 2500
Botanical extracts were produced & used in
the different crops grown in Eco Canter.
Animal husbandry management activities
such as disease management, milk
production, fodder development, etc were
demonstrated to the farmers.
Installation of barbed wire was taken up toprotect the eco-center from animals fromthe village and forest. To date, 250 metersof fencing have been installed.

2

Golamunda Basumatha
Cooperative Coop

Seed banks were strengthened by taking
up repair works to the seed racks, storage
systems, and flooring. Local seeds from thefarmer's multiplication units were procured
and conserved in the seed banks.
Demonstrations on cotton trials, productionof local seeds such as red gram, black gram,

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

green gram, paddy, millets, and vegetables
were taken up.
A total of 15 kg of seed cotton, 33 kg ofTomato, 24 Kg of Chili, 61 Kg of Okra, and 17
Kg of Eggplant was produced and part of the
produce was sold for consumption and theremaining was conserved for seed.
10 tons of NADEP, 08 Tons ofVermicompost, and 5 tons of generalcompost were produced.
Non-GMO Cotton multi-location trials of
hirsutam and herbarium varieties weretaken up with 02 replications. For
strengthening the soils EFYM application,
Tank silt application, Liquid manure
application, Vermicompost production, andapplication were taken up. The total Seed
Cotton production during the year was
120kgs out of which the seeds extracted
were 39.6 kg of seed.

4

Madding
Eco Centre Mathrubumi
Millets as an inter-crop in cotton were
Bawanipatn Coopdemonstrated to enhance the learning ofathe farmers. A total of 25 kgs of millets were
produced and conserved for promoting
seed multiplication.
Vegetables such as tomato 75 kg, chili 25kg, okra 33 kg, leafy vegetables 10 kg,
papaya production 100 kg were produced
and marketed. From the orchard production
500 kg of mango, 25 kg of amla, 43 kg of
citrus were produced and seeds of these

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

were extracted and conserved in the seedbanks.
Seed multiplication and Conservation ofMillets such as Ragi, Sorghum, Foxtail was
taken up.
20 MT of Vermi/04 MT of NADEP/05 MT of
General compost was produced in the ecocenter and was used on the farm.
A total of 2500 liters of liquid manures & Bio
extracts 1000 litres were produced andwere used as nutrients for crop growth in
the eco-center.
After extracting the seed for conservation a
few grains and vegetables were sold in themarket to generate the income formaintaining the Coop administration.

3

Cotton trials on 4 hirsutam varieties, 3
herbarium varieties, seed multiplication on
the red gram, green gram, black gram,Pragathicastor Jowhar, bio-mass were taken up.
Eco-Centre,
Seed banks were strengthened by taking up
Pragathi Coop
Ragapur,
repairs for the racks, flooring, replacement
Sirpur (U)of containers, etc. Soil conservation
activities such as land leveling, bunding,mulching, EFYM, Organic Nutrients
Applications were taken up.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

b. Cotton with Millets as Inter-crop

Figure 22 Promotion of Millets as Inter-Crop in Cotton

Promotion of millets as an inter-cropin cotton was successful last year andthe activity has been continued forthe 2nd year in 200 acres. The activity
has helped in ensuring food security
and generating income in a shortperiod as this is a short duration crop.
As it is a short duration and small
plant the cotton crop is exposed to

sunlight, helping in controlling thepest and minimizing the flower drop.
Millets as an inter-crop have also
helped in diversification, income
generation, and meeting the staple
food of the tribals in the Kalahandi
district. The total harvest per acre
during the year was around 50-60
Figure 23 Cleaning and Drying of Millets for Storage
kgs. Apart from saving the crops forfood, the surplus was sold in themarkets generating an income of around INR.5500/- per family.

4.2.A.7. Promotion of Integrated Farming Systems in Organic Cotton
Integrating various farming systems is very important to build sustainable
livelihoods for farming households. Chetna facilitates building the skills of small
and marginal farming households to establish alternative livelihoods to ensure
income generation in a lean period. Some of the livelihoods identified and build
are related to farming and they all are traditional practices that have been
neglected after the commercialization of agriculture. Some of the farming
systems promoted during the year are as follows

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

Backyard Poultry
Chetna facilitated the promotion of backyard poultry
with 50 households. Each household was supportedwith 25 units of local birds which are highly nutritious
and have good value in the markets. Women areprovided with a proper orientation on the managementof the unit and the marketing strategies to be taken up
in the future. All the units have been managed
successfully and the egg-laying and multiplication of theunits have started in all the households. Most of thefamilies are focusing more on the multiplication of the
Figure 24 Backyard Poultry
birds apart from consuming a few eggs to meet thePromotion
nutrition requirement of the family. In midst of Covid19, the egg price and the meat prices have skyrocketed
as more and more people started consuming eggs and meat. Currently, the costof each egg is at INR.6.00/- and Chicken is INR 550 per kg.
Backyard Kitchen Gardens
Kitchen gardens were promoted to enhance the consumption of vegetables
among the communities and to generate income through the marketing of
surplus vegetables. During the year A total of 50 households were selected basedon the availability of space, water,
and the interest of the households toshowcase the model. All thesefamilies were provided with different
kinds of seeds packed to initiate the
kitchen gardens. Some of thevegetable grown during the year was
Tomato, Chili, Okra, Eggplant,
Figure 25 Back Yard Kitchen Gardens
Cucumbers, Bottle guards, Ridge
guards, etc. The families have raised
the units successfully and made them available in the village for sale to accessthem within the village, instead of traveling to distant places to buy thevegetables.
This has helped each family involved in raising the kitchen gardens to earn
INR.450-550/- per month.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

c. Goatary
During the year 20 units of goatary
were initiated to support the needyfamilies with alternative livelihoods.
Landless households from the villages
were identified and all of them were
provided with the orientation to
successfully manage the Goataryunit. Apart from the support from
PBP funds were mobilized from the
Figure 26 Livelihood Promotion with Goatary
cooperatives and 80 more units were
provided to the households. The
activity has been grounded successfully and the families can manage the units
with care. Chetna's team is monitoring the activity closely and also organizing
animal health camps to vaccinate the animals.
4.2.A.8. Incubation Support to the Farmers in Transition
Incubation support for transforming organic farming was provided for 1000
farmers for the year 2020 -2021. The identified farmers are involved in all thetraining to enhance their knowledge on organic packages to be followed forpracticing organic farming. The
technical team has provided themhandholding support throughout theyear with close monitoring of the farms
and with timely advice to protect thecrop from all the eventualities. All the
farmers have followed the protocol of
IC1 to be eligible for the IC2 from thenext year. The internal inspection by
Figure 27 External Inspection by CU
the master farmers, who have beenpracticing organic for several years has
been trained and entrusted to inspect to ensure that all the farmers follow the
protocol. The external inspection was conducted by Control Union and reported
that all the 1000 farmers progress to IC2.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

4.3.A.9. Soil Tests
Analysis of soil conducted with 50 samples collected from IC1 farmers show that
there is a deficiency of Nitrogen, Zinc, Boron, and Sulphur. The measures toimprove all these components in thesoil will be taken up with various
interventions from the next year.
During the year interventions such as
application of 4 tons of EFYM
application, 600 litres of liquid
nutrients application, 800 litres ofbotanical extraction application,inter-crop with legume-based pulses,
border crops and trap crops.
Figure 28 Soil Collection for Soil Testing
4.2.B. Education Fund Support
a. Scholarships
Due to lockdown during the year 2020-2021, we couldn’t extend support toneedy students. In most cases, the Government has subsidized the education fee
as the farmers have faced too many challenges to meet the financial needs due
to unemployment for a longer duration. Few students studying in private
institutions were able to meet their tuition fee as the total fee has been reduced.
b. School Level Competition
Due to Covid-19, we couldn’t organize these activities as all the educational
institutions were under lockdown.
c. Bridge Schools
The continuation of 02 number of bridge schools in Telangana State has helped
the children to take the advantage of the resources due to the increase in school
dropouts with the emergence of Covid-19.

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

The demand for the establishment ofbridge schools has increased frommost of the villages as the parents feltthat it will help the children to be
motivated to continue theireducation. During the year a total of
49 boys and 24 girls were enrolled in
the bridge schools. All the children
who have completed the school with
Figure 29 Bridge School in Progress
all the Covid-19 measures are now
prepared to join the regular school in the next year.
d. Providing MAAD/Para-teachers in regular school
Though the plans are distorted due to the lockdown of schools, the Parateacher’s presence has helped thefarming communities to overcome
the covid-19 challenges with timely
advice, reference of patients to thehospitals, appraising the governmenton the food requirements of thecommunities. All the 17 parateachers have also organized tuitions
Figure 30 Para Teachers Organizing Village Level Tuitions for the children to educate them on
Due to Lock Down of Schools
the syllabus for the year by that there
is no gap in the knowledge as they arepromoted into the next class.
e. Life skills development for children belonging to cotton farmer’s families:
Cotton farmer's children interested in developing their skills on alternative
livelihoods have been identified andthey were provided with training on
tailoring. During the year 60 girls have
utilized the training services. In eachbatch, 15 girls were trained for 3
months. In total 2 batches of training
were organized for the year 2020 to
2021. Certificates of completion oftraining were issued to the students
Figure 31 Tailoring Coaching Centre
after passing out the exams
FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

successfully. Out of these 17 students have started their enterprises at the village
level and they are earning INR.2000 to 3000/- per month.
Annex-1
The following table provides the details of operational areas for the year 20192020:

State

Districts

Cluster#
Villages#
Farmers
coveredin 201920#
Villages
havingOFT
farmers# OFT
certifiedfarmers by
Mar-20Telangana(Erstwhilepart of AP)

Adilabad/A Utnoor
sifabad

184

4955

178

4183

OdishaKalahandi

Bhawanipatna

21

1,997

21

1661

Golamunda

19

1,993

19

1837

Lanjigarh

19

1827

19

1690

Kantabanji

20

1157

20

Bolangir

996
Rayagada
TOTAL

Muniguda

51

3100

24

1865

314

15029

281

12,232FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)

FFID-CHETNA OCIP-FELISIMO | ANNUAL REPORT (APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021)