LEAD ORGANISATION: Anthra

LOCATION: Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu / Andhra Pradesh, Assam

Anthra is a resource center founded by women veterinarians in 1992 to address the problems faced by communities that reared animals, especially small farmers, pastoralists, adivasis, dalits, and women, by working collectively with them and blending modern science with traditional knowledge and practices. The proposed project aims to document agroecological practices related to buffalo and duck rearing in areas neglected by mainstream development processes. They engage with local youth, particularly from pastoralist communities, and gather information and data to be shared at workshops, documented through videos, articles, and case studies, and validated with small pilot initiatives while engaging with local research institutions, government bodies, and other stakeholders.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Keystone Foundation

LOCATION: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh

Keystone Foundation was established in 1993 in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu, with interventions focusing on community well-being, biodiversity and natural resource conservation, and the people and nature collective. The proposed project aims to support indigenous seed conservation efforts in India through capacity building, documentation of unique seed traits, and involving local farmers and organisations. Also, supporting existing seed conservators, identifying potential varieties for research and multiplication, and popularising indigenous seeds. The long-term changes the project hopes to achieve include wider adoption of indigenous varieties, the establishment of adaptive seed research stations, and the development of an Indigenous Seeds Registry of India.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Panitar Pally Unnayan Samiti (PPUS)

LOCATION: West Bengal

PPUS is a registered organisation in West Bengal with a vision of achieving social transformation and empowering people through capacity building, economic development, and education. PPUS is working with communities in the fields of organic farming, health, education, etc. and guiding them towards generating economic benefits for sustainable rural development and livelihood improvement. They are working in the Sundarban region. Under the proposed initiative, PPUS will collaborate with local self-governments, academic institutions, farmer collectives, and women’s self-help groups to promote agroecological farming and provide training to women farmers to financially benefit them.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Preservation and Proliferation of rural resources and nature (PRAN)

LOCATION:Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand

Preservation and Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature (PRAN) is formed to enhance people’s capabilities for self-development by working towards improved Livelihood systems of rural communities of India. PRAN works with women of vulnerable and marginalized sections of society. The proposed project aims to integrate scientific interventions and natural farming practices in rainfed cropping systems across four agroecological regions in India, covering 2,750 small and marginal farmers across six states. The project seeks to promote local seeds, intercropping, and nutritional crops, develop training manuals, and establish a cadre of local youth to promote agroecology, with the goal of promoting food and nutritional security, enhancing soil fertility, and building climate resilience in rainfed regions of India.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India

LOCATION: Kerala

PAN India is a non-profit organisation that aims to reduce dependence on toxic chemicals for pest control in agriculture and promote sustainable alternatives while championing traditional knowledge and biodiversity. The proposed project aims to bring the transition from chemical agriculture to agroecological practices, build capacity among local stakeholders and develop a team of trained youth and women to enable agroecology transition in Kole wetlands and promote sustainable, climate-resilient farming and conservation of the Kole wetland ecosystem. The project aims to bridge the knowledge gap towards sustainable, climate-resilient farming based on agroecology, bring together stakeholders in the locality, and enable a grass-roots transition into agroecology in the Chenam Kole wetland ecosystem in central Kerala.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Kheti Virasat Mission

LOCATION: Punjab

Kheti Virasat Mission is a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainable and ecological farming practices in India, particularly in the state of Punjab. Project TRINJAN promotes organic cotton cultivation, supports rural artisans, and strengthens the cotton value chain in the Malwa region of Punjab to address the declining productivity and rising costs faced by cotton farmers. The broader goals of the projects include promoting local seed banks, creating a network of organic cotton growers, documenting traditional methods of growing cotton, conducting workshops and farmers’ conferences, and celebrating rural artisans and farmers through festivals and exhibitions, with the aim of achieving long-term changes through reviving traditional seeds and farming practices and promoting agroecological practices.

LEAD ORGANISATION: The Timbaktu Collective

LOCATION: Andhra Pradesh

The Timbaktu Collective is a non-profit organisation that works towards sustainable development in drought-prone and ecologically challenged districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. The proposed initiative aims to provide sustainable livelihoods to marginalised women farmers and promote local consumption, biodiversity conservation, and fair food systems. They will engage with youths and women farmers vegetable cultivation using agroecological practices, develop a package of practices for organic vegetable cultivation, and pilot an enterprise for procurement, value-addition, and marketing of the farm produce.

LEAD ORGANISATION: WASSAN

LOCATION: Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

WASSAN is a network of CSOs that emerged in 1996 to scale up successful community-managed natural resources development innovations and provide an interface of CSOs with the Government in shaping up the Participatory Watershed Development Program of the Government of India. The project aims to revive traditional crop varieties and strengthen landscape-based and ecologically embedded seed and food systems, creating farmers’ institutions for developing local seed systems for agroecological farming in the northern and southern regions of India. They aim to establish a seed system that respects the community’s cultural and food choices and mainstream traditional varieties.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Sahodaya Trust

LOCATION: Bihar

Sahodaya Trust is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2016 to provide alternative and sustainable learning opportunities to 30 children from underprivileged communities. The organisation focuses on experiential learning, regenerative farming, conservation of native seeds, environmental conservation, community building, and promoting sustainable sources of livelihood.

The initiative aims to promote agroecological practices among small and marginal farmers in three agroclimatic zones/five districts in Bihar, led by Sahodaya Trust, Khetee, the Jaikali Kunvar Memorial Trust, and the Green Vasudha Foundation. The objectives of this initiative are increasing awareness about climate crises, demystifying hybrid seeds, creating gender balance in agriculture, promoting farming as a subject in primary education, and promoting agroecological practices through workshops, campaigns, camps, and farmer events.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Mahila Jagat Lihaz Samiti (MAJLIS)

LOCATION: Madhya Pradesh

Mahila Jagat Lihaaz Samiti is an NGO working on improving the health, education, and economic situation of deprived communities, with special emphasis on women, and implementing sustainable agriculture practices. This initiative aims to promote sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation among the Bhil Adivasis of Western Madhya Pradesh, India. It focused on the cultivation and consumption of indigenous landraces of crops, including millets, sorghum, maize, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables, using farming practices that follow the Bhil Adivasi worldview.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Salim Ali Foundation

LOCATION: Kerala

The Salim Ali Foundation is an Indian charitable trust established in memory of the late Dr Sálim Ali, with a focus on conserving biodiversity, ensuring food security and sustainable development. One of its notable projects is the establishment of an arboretum with 372 species of trees in a 14-acre barren land between Chennai and Pondicherry, which has become a biodiversity park currently being used for education programmes of schools and colleges. A sustainable agroecology project will be implemented in selected villages of Thrissur and Idukki districts in Kerala, South India, to tackle issues related to sustainable agriculture, market facilities, and integrated farming. The project will involve training farmers in agroecological farming, providing traditional seed varieties, and enhancing market facilities through FPOs, with the aim of increasing income and employment opportunities for farmers and promoting traditional farming practices among tribal communities.

LEAD ORGANISATION: Nirmaan Organization

LOCATION: Chhattisgarsh

Nirmaan is a voluntary initiative established in 2005. The organisation has played a vital role in achieving the goal of a 100% organic district in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. with 8500+ farmers certified under PGS India and 110 villages under the process of being declared organic under Large Area Certification. The proposed initiative is a programme with a special focus on youth in Dantewada. It focuses on agroecology and aims to build self-awareness and transformative thinking among tribal and rural youth. They will engage in organising farmers, working with women SHGs, conducting training, promoting traditional seeds, and providing field-level support while also adding value to the community by fostering agroecological practices, conserving traditional knowledge, and building community institutions.