Partnerships Support Expansion of Conservation Agriculture
“Conservation agriculture is all about savings,” said Sunderaj, a farmer in Thiruvaiyaru, a village in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. Sunderaj was thinking about quitting agriculture before he learned about practices such as direct seeded rice and laser land levelling.
In 2014, using these practices with support from CSISA, Sunderaj’s yields went up from 4 to 6 tons per hectare, even though he used 50 percent less water and was able to save 45 percent on fertilizer, seeds, tillage and other costs. His confidence in the profitability of agriculture has been restored.
To expand conservation farming methods among more farmers like Sunderaj, CSISA has developed strong strategic partnerships and built the capacity of key partners including the Department of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and Reliance Foundation.
These partnerships have helped generate awareness and increase the adoption of improved agricultural practices in Tamil Nadu. As a result, the Tamil Nadu Department of Agriculture has now recommended that farmers use machine drill seeding for rice in the Cauvery Delta region and distributed a direct seeded rice manual to farmers to support its expansion.
