RURAL UPLIFT CENTRE - STUDY REPORT
Poor & Marginal farmers have food security and preparedness for
Disaster Response due to Organic Farming in
Tirunelveli & Kanyakumari Districts of Tamil Nadu
INTRODUCTION
Rural Uplift Centre (RUC), supported by Manos Unidas, Spain has relieved the poor from poverty and prepared them for responding climate change induced disasters. RUC did a door-to-door survey of 400 poor farmers cultivating paddy, banana, cotton, groundnut, cereals, vegetables, rubber, coconut and raising goats, cow, hen, etc. in Tirunelveli & Kanyakumari Districts and came out with the following observations.
| Area cultivated in acres | 200.06 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 2779.30 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 6542.50 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 3763.20 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs. 27,073.38 per month.
Labour cost for four months not included. Harvest is once in two years if water is sufficient.
| Area cultivated in acres | 261.56 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 10719.65 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 28294.40 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 17574.75 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.65,533.64 per month.
Labour cost for 12 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 27.00 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 247.50 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 675.00 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 427.50 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.14,741.38 in 6 months. Additional crop raised in paddy field.
Labour cost for 6 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 28.60 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 173.50 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 516.80 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 343.30 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.13,732/- in 3 months. Additional crop raised during the year.
Labour cost for 3 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 21.32 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 216.19 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 548.00 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 331.82 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.7,059.89 in 3 months.
Labour cost for 3 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 49.92 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 1284.60 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 2943.70 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 1659.10 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.7,976.44 in 3 months. Additional crop raised in paddy fields.
Labour cost for 3 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 74.88 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 2541.70 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 5911.20 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 3369.50 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.35,845.74 in 3 months.
Labour cost for 3 months not included.
| Area cultivated in acres | 62.40 |
| Input Cost (in thousands) | 1282.40 |
| Yield (in thousands) | 3784.50 |
| Profit (in thousands) | 2502.10 |
Each farmer got an average profit of Rs.20,178.23 per month.
Labour cost for 12 months not included. Pest attack (aceria guerreronis) reduces yield in entire district.
| No. of farmers | No. of Animals | Input Cost | Yield rupees | Profit rupees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cow rearing farmers - 209 | 560 | 1636.10 | 4590.25 | 2954.15 |
| Hen rearing farmers - 197 | 5082 | 703.83 | 1917.10 | 1213.27 |
| Goat rearing farmers - 173 | 1307 | 693.50 | 3371.20 | 2677.70 |
| Bee keeping farmers - 45 | 2417 | 218.00 | 1141.00 | 923.00 |
| Total | 9366 | 3251.43 | 11019.55 | 7768.12 |
Preparedness Programme
| Scheme | No. of Farmers |
|---|---|
| Crop Insurance / Risk transfer | 128 |
| Life Insurance / Risk transfer | 238 |
| Animal Insurance / Risk transfer | 156 |
| Benefit from Govt. Schemes | 205 |
| Disaster Management Task force / Groups | 20 |
| Disaster Management Information centre | 20 |
Mitigation Activities
| Activity | No. of Farmers |
|---|---|
| Water bodies deepened / maintained | 312 |
| Converting conventional electric bulb to CFL / LED | 353 |
| Rain water collection tanks constructed | 311 |
Other Benefits
- Ensured food security at household and community level.
- Relieved from poverty and hunger.
- Able to get organic food for family and community.
- Reduced dependency on external input and cost of input.
- Reduced dependency on external technology.
- Increased soil fertility and water holding capacity.
- Farmers capable of disseminating organic farming strategy.
- Enhanced readiness for disaster response.
Challenges
- Humus presence not studied scientifically; additional organic manure required.
- Severe challenge controlling disease and pests; monoculture and partial organic practice.
- Organic certification process is lengthy and costly.
- Lack of experimental farms for seed, compost, pest repeller, bio-fertilizer trials.