CESSS has facilitated one day training and exposure visit for twenty-six farmers and staff of Spandan organization, Khandwa MP for strengthening capacities and knowledge on “Sustainable Agriculture and promotion of community Livelihood” on 13^th Sep. 2017 at CESSS.

Spandan is the partner of Caritas India for integrated programme to help the Korku community to free themselves from chronic malnutrition and hunger in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. One of the component of the programme is to improve nutritional security through improve agricultural practices.

CESSS is very closely working with all the Caritas India partners and other developmental institutions, which is working for the agriculture and other developmental sectors due to CESSS linked with Spandan organization, Khandwa is working in backward Melghat region for regeneration of Agriculture and holistic community developmental since several years.

An exposure visit was coordinated to strengthen the capacities of farmers and staff for the promotion of Sustainable Agriculture practices. For this training CESSS arranged all the necessary practical and theoretical session on various IPM, INM and livelihood according to the respective session topics of the training exposure visit.

Apart from exposure visit on sustainable agriculture practices, the session covered topics like agrarian crises and impact on small holder farmers, climate change and their impact on agriculture, disasters of chemical farming and impact, promotion of organic farming and its process. Alternative of chemical farming, post-harvest technology, production of bio manure, INM methods and Quality control of Organic inputs, prepared EMO, Jeevamrut, fish tonic, NPK bio etc. were also undertaken.

All the participants visited different production trial plot at village level and CESSS as well as visited mini dal mill unit, raw materials collection centre and Bio manure production centre’s which is operating by village youth and discussed with all the group members and learned about development of SSI units. A practical session was conducted on IPM to share various pest repellent methods, like Dashaparni, Lamit, Neem Arka, trap crop, light trap, yellow sticky trap etc.

SAP models at CESSS trial plots were demonstrated to share the mix cropping system, preparation of green manuring methods at field.

Participants learned about farmer’s friendly birds and enemy birds, how to develop live fencing at field, soil and water conservation structures and their usefulness in farm, how to mobilize govt. fund for buildup Soil and water conservation structures at farmer’s land and implement MGNREGA campaign with community participants at village level.

The participants had very fruitful discussion with Farmer’s Field school members on the experiences after adopting Organic farming to learn the opportunities and challenges. Session was also taken to utilize existing govt. schemes and program to develop various income generation activities in the families and to converge existing livelihood schemes.