Seethanagaram Panchayat in Telangana brought twenty-five acres of land under organic farming. The farmers with 4 to 5 acres of the land decided to dedicate 1 -1.5 acres of land for organic cultivation. The number seems small, but it is significant in realizing the high dependence of farmers on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The farmers of Seethanagaram Panchayat of Gudur Mandal from Mahabubabad District in Telangana use higher doses of crops like Rice, Tomatoes, Chilli, Maize, Turmeric, cotton, green gram, and red gram for profit. It causes negative health and environmental effects. Overly exposure to chemicals causes health issues including dermatological, gastrointestinal, neurological, respiratory and reproductive levels, whereas soil health is badly compromised, affecting the overall production.

While conducting a sample cost-benefit analysis of Bt. Cotton crop, it was observed, farmers spent almost Rs. 2000 for the seeds, Rs. 4000 for chemical fertilizers (Urea, DAP, Potash) and Rs. 20,000 for the pesticides (Monocrotophos, Ullala, Chlorpyriphos) still resulting in lesser return at the end. Farmers cultivating chilli have been affected badly due to the attack of Thrips Parvispinus which colonize on flowers of chilli causing the heavy flower to drop and thereby reducing chilli production.

Ujjwala project in Telangana helped the farmers to realize the ill-effect of chemical farming and presented the alternative in terms of organic nutrient and pest management practices. The farmers were motivated through knowledge sharing and skill development on various sustainable agriculture practices. It works towards fostering and securing self-sustaining climate resilient-cum-adaptive agriculture and livelihoods through community-owned processes.

Few farmers have realized the impact of monocropping and the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the soil as they mentioned that it is affecting soil health, plant health and human health. They have also realized that the cost of cultivation is less (less investments as they call) in organic farming and it is profitable compared to chemical farming though the yield is comparatively less in the initial years.

Four ward members of Seethanagaram panchayat came forward to join as volunteers under the U3 project in promoting organic farming to improve people’s health with the principle of “eat what you know and grow what you eat”. Now the farmers are confident in promoting organic farming as they gained knowledge and skills from the trainings provided by Lodi Multipurpose Social Service Society (LMSSS) under the U3 program of Caritas India. 43 volunteers in different villages joined hands with LMSSS for promoting organic farming practices.

The community in this village started adopting organic farming as the safest way of farming, which protects humans, plants, and the whole ecosystem. The trained farmers started using natural pesticides like Jeevamrutham (fermentation of cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, horse gram powder and Ant Hill Soil) and use pest traps like Pheromone traps, yellow and blue sticky cards instead of insecticides and pesticides. These Natural pesticides are biodegradable, barely leave residues in the soil and are less likely to harm humans or animals.

A Village Information Centre was set up in the Panchayat Office to provide quick access to the latest information/ knowledge on agriculture, crop production, sustainable practices etc. The project also plans to conduct Participatory Action research in control plots of 1 acre each through experimentation and testing. In this process, soil health management will be improved through intercropping and multi-cropping, application of organic manure and growth promoters, Integrated pest and crop management, beekeeping, waste management, water management etc.