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REPORT OF WORK DURING APRIL 2001 - MARCH 2002 I.
RESEARCH WORK This programme is supported by the using agriculture diversity award of IDRC, Canada and implemented by UBINIG, Bangladesh. This programme was completed during the current financial year. Under this project the following activities were undertaken. A network of 200 women farmers were organised in the villages of Kattankulathur block of the Kanchipuram district. This network of women farmers were involved in biodiversity conservation of vegetables. There was an understanding between this network that they would be provided that the initial supply of seeds which would be collected from seed savers. The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS) undertook that they would give the technical know-how of gardening organically and treating the pests by natural control methods. In this way, organic farming was to be promoted. Kitchen gardens also were the source for a number of herbs which could be utilized for home remedies. A calendar on indigenous vegetable varieties was prepared during this period. This was brought out in the local language. B. AN ACTION PLAN TO ENHANCE COVER AND BIOMASS IN THE KATTANKOLATHUR PANCHAYAT UNION OF KANCHEEPURAM DISTRICT OF TAMILNADU This is an ongoing project which is being supported by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. During the year a series of training programmes were organised for women, farmers and students and teachers of schools on the use of medicinal plants for primary health care. Packages of saplings and planting materials were supplied to interested households in the selected villages of Kattankolathur block to set up Kitchen Herbal Gardens (KHG). Each of these households was given a training on the propagation of these plants and their use for primary health care. Herbal Gardens have also been set up in some selected schools in which training programmes have also been conducted for students and teachers. An essay competition and an elocution competition were organised for students of the school to raise awareness regarding the potential and possibilities of the use of medicinal plants for Self-Help and primary health care. C. COMPARING AND SUSTAINING AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS (COMPAS) The third phase of the COMPAS porject that commenced in January 2001 has been continued during the course of this year. As part of this effort, we have continued experiments on Vrkshayurveda (Traditional Indian Plant Sciences) with special emphasis on the use of Vrkshayurveda techiques for pest control, crop protection and enhancement of plant growth. We have also conducted a series of training programmes for farmers. Experiments have been continued with the paddy crop, vegetables as well as horticultural crops. Our staff has undertaken visits to other organisations which are involved in work relating to traditional agriculture. D. COMPAS PROJECT COORDINATION OF THE WORK OF THE ASIAN PARTNERS A newsletter for the COMPAS Asian partners entitled CLARION has commenced publication during the course of this year. A visit was undertaken in June 2001 by A.V.Balasubramanian, Asian Coordinator to Sri Lanka to visit the COMPAS partners at Sri Lanka. He was also invited to attend the COMPAS-UNESCO Universities consortium Planning Meeting that was held in the Netherlands in February 2002 to plan for a programme for collaboration between COMPAS partners and a set of nine Universities from various parts of the world. E. COMPAS WEBSITE After discussion with COMPAS partners in various parts of the world, a preliminary version of the COMPAS website was circulated for comments with password protection during June 2001. The content of the website and its design were discussed in detail with the COMPAS partners during the COMPAS International workshop that was held at Chennai in September 2001. Subsequently, a modified version of the COMPAS website has gone public with effect from January 2002. The website is bilingual and available in English and Spanish. The website provides information regarding each one of the COMPAS partners and their activities as well as coordination efforts. All the publications of the COMPAS network including the COMPAS magazine, the book Food for Thought and newsletter of regions are available online besides which information regarding publications of individual partners is also available. The website is being updated regularly. F. COMPAS INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP The Centre hosted a meeting of all the partners of the COMPAS project between September 16th and September 30th at Chennai. The objective of the meeting was to take stock and review the activities of the COMPAS project during the current phase and evolve through mutual consultations a programme for coordinated work for the next phase during the period July 2002 to December 2006. The meeting consisted of discussions, visits and interactive session at Chennai and it was interposed with a six day field trip to visit various COMPAS partners in India. A special session was also organised on September 28th and 29th for interaction with a cross section of invitees from research institutions, Government agencies and donor agencies with the COMPAS partners. G. USE OF VRKSHAYURVEDA (TRADITIONAL INDIAN PLANT SCIENCE) FOR THE RICE CROP This project which is being carried out and supported by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India has been concluded this year. During the course of the year, we conducted a series of training programmes for farmers on the use of Vrkshayurveda for the paddy crop. Based on our experiments and experiences, a user’s manual on Vrkshayurveda has also been produced in English as well as in Tamil. A final report regarding the project has been submitted to the Department of Science and Technology. H. NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN – HEALTH AND BIODIVERSITY The Government of India has launched an effort for producting a – “National Biodiviersity Strategy and Action Plan”. A.V.Balasubramanian of CIKS has been entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the work of the Thematic Working Group on Health and Biodiversity. During the course of the year, he participated in several activities relating to the development of the action plan and attended meetings of Coordinators involved in developing the action plan. A first draft of the action plan was submitted to the coordinating agency this year and some comments and suggestions have been received. Currently, we are in the process of producing a revised version of the action plan incorporating all the relevant comments and suggestions. I. CIKS-FRLHT PROGRAMME ON VRKSHAYURVEDA AND MRGAYURVEDA (TRADITIONAL INDIAN PLANT SCIENCE AND VETERINARY SCIENCE) This is a programme being undertaken jointly with the Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT, Bangalore). As part of this programme, we have participated in efforts for evaluation and strengthening of Ethno-veterinary practices by analysing these practices from the view point of Mrgayurveda (Traditional Indian veterinary Science). A series of consultations and workshops were organized involving farmers, ethno-veterinary practitioners and modern veterinary practitioners in a programme that was facilitated by the Tamil Nadu Milk Cooperative Federation and the National Dairy Development Board in collaboration with FRLHT. A series of review meetings regarding the potential and prospects of Vrkshayurveda were organised with Ayurvedic experts. J. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE CIKS has undertaken a project to train 25 farmers from different villages of Kanchipuram district for a period of 18 months. During these 18 months it is proposed to have 22 sessions. Besides this our field workers would also be visiting their villages and providing on farm help and training. The idea behind this programme is to train these 25 farmers in such a fashion so that they could be our future trainers on organic farming in villages. This programme is being supported by German Technical Cooperation. Under this project five trainer’s training sessions have been conducted. These sessions have focussed on biodiversity conservation, soil conservation, soil fertility management, identification of pests and diseases of paddy and vegetables and their control and laying out a kitchen garden. There have been also sessions on the preparation of plant based biopesticides and also preparation of composts. Educational material on green manure and green leaf manure and also organic vegetable gardening was brought out under this programme. K. CAPACITY BUILDING OF WOMEN FARMERS This project was a continuation of the last year’s programme. This was supported by the small grants programme under the people and conservation programme of the world wild life fund, Washington, USA. This programme was completed during the financial year. 25 farmers of whom 15 were women and 10 were men were trained on different aspects of organic farming. Under this programme a booklet on organic vegetable gardening and indigenous rice varieties in Tamil were brought out. Posters on pests of paddy and their non-chemical pest control methods were also brought out. The trainees had 6 more training sessions covering various aspects of organic farming. Besides this the trainees are also met regularly during the course of the month by our field workers. There were also smaller training sessions held in the villages from where these trainees come from. On farm demonstrations were also conducted in the villages. After the conclusion of this training programme 5 of the trainees have already been inducted in our training resource team for conducting various training programmes. L. ON FARM CONSERVATION OF INDIGENOUS GENETIC RESOURCES This programme was supported under the Rufford Small grants programme of the Whitley foundation. The following activities have been completed during the current financial year. A detailed survey was undertaken in 100 villages of the Kanchipuram district for making an assessment of indigenous varieties of paddy and vegetables available in this area. An inventory of farmers in these villages who cultivate these varieties have been made. A network of 100 farmers has been organised in three blocks of Kanchipuram district for indigenous seed conservation, exchange of seeds and exchange of information. The farmers are provided with an initial supply of seeds. These farmers return twice the quantity of seeds to the community seed bank after harvest. Detailed formats for documentation of the cultivation details of every farmer in our network are also being maintained. Our field staff closely monitor the conservation work at these farmers fields. One in-situ conservation centre has been set up in the Kattankalathur block where these varieties are multiplied in-situ. 25 training programmes covering 500 farmers were conducted under this programme. Educational material in the form of slides and a poster calendar on vegetables has been prepared. M. TRAINING PROGRAMME AND PREPARATION OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL ON ORGANIC FARMING This is a project for conducting training programmes and preparation of educational material on organic farming. This programme was launched during the current financial year and it is being supported by Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technolgoy (CAPART), New Delhi. The objectives of this project is as follows : a) To empower small farmers with technologies on organic farming by conducting short term training programmes followed by regular visits and monitoring. b) To empower representatives of NGO’s across the country by conducting a trainers training programme on organic farming. c) To prepare educational material on technologies related to organic farming. During the first six months of the project (August 2001 – January 2002) the following have been achieved under this project and report of it is provided. 1. Two short term training programmes have been conducted. One training programme was conducted in the Kattankalathur block of Kancheepuram District and the other in Sirkazhi. 2. A ten day trainers’ training programme for NGO representatives was conducted in Chennai. 3. A poster calendar on seven ways to go organic was prepared and distributed in three languages (English, Tamil and Hindi). N. DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL PRODUCTS AS BIOPESTICIDES AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL This is a programme supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi. Under this programme the following have been achieved. 1. Shelf life of plant preparations (using ayurvedic mode of preparation) which have pesticidal properties was listed out. 2. Training was provided to our staff in the preparation of these products with the help of ayurvedic vaidyas. 3. Plant based biopesticide preparations were made using ayurvedic principles. Nearly 12 preparations were made. 4. Experiments were conducted to test the efficacy of these products against a wide range of pests and crops. Initial experiments have shown promising results. Experiments are being repeated for conclusive results. O. COMMUNITY SEED BANKS FOR CONSERVATION OF INDIGENOUS GENETIC RESOURCES This is a programme supported by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) GEF / CCF (Global Environmental Facility / Country Cooperation Framework) small grants programme. Under this programme the objectives were
During the current year 125 villages were surveyed for collection of varieties and documentation of farmers who conserve these varieties. A network of more than 200 farmers has been organised who have been actively involved in the conservation work. Evaluation, characterisation and multiplication of these varieties have been completed for the varieties conserved during the current season. 29 training programmes on organic farming were completed. Educational material in the form of 150 slides and the poster calendar consisting of six sheets with indigenous vegetable varieties were prepared. Conservation activities started in full swing in one in-situ conservation centre. P. ORGANIC FARMING RESOURCE CENTRE This programme was supported by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, USA. Under this programme we provided information to various farmers on organic farming. A training facility has also been set up in Sukkankollai in the Maduranthagam block of Kanchipuram District. II. EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXTENSION WORK A. TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE PROMOTION PROGRAMME Our centre has been pioneering the efforts in promoting the preservation of indigenous varieties and organic farming Tamilnadu for the last 8 years. It has conceived a programme called “Arogyam” which is a scheme for linking up producers and consumers of organically produced food. Under this scheme members are enrolled from in and around Chennai city by paying a one time registration fee. These members are given first preference to purchase the organic produce. Our centre ensures the authenticity of these products. The produce comes from the farmers directly, the products are available to the consumer at a reasonable rate and the farmer gets a reasonable return by avoiding middle men. The members enrolled in this scheme were supplied organic food regularly. They were supplied with various rice varieties, sesame oil, tamarind and vegetables. III. PRODUCTION OF AUDIO-VISUALS AND PUBLICATIONS 1. PUBLICATIONS A. PESTICIDE POST The Pesticide post and Poochikolli seithi (Tamil) which are newsletters brought out by our centre on alternatives to chemical agriculture has successfully entered the 10th and 9th year respectively. During this year five issues of pesticide post and five issues of Poochikolli seithi was brought out. Through these newsletters experiences of our farmers from our field area were shared. Several success stories from our experimental farm at Anjur and also that of other farmers were highlighted. Besides this information on several alternatives were discussed. B. OTHER PUBLICATOINS CIKS has been producing educational and training material through its various projects. Besides this, CIKS has its own programme for bringing out educational and training material. Under this programme we participated in an agricultural fair held at Arachalur near Erode. We also reprinted a book entitled – “Prakriti: An Ayurvedic guide to health”. 2. PRODUCTION OF AUDIOVISUALS ON NON-CHEMICAL METHODS OF PEST CONTROL This is a project which is being implemented with support from Coucil for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), New Delhi. The objective of this effort is to produced three audio visual on the use of non-chemical methods for pest control and crop protection. The material would be presented in a manner that can be understood by farmers. The intended audience for this material would be farmers and voluntary agencies involved in agriculture and rural development activities. Under this programme we have undertaken to cover the following themes : 1. Use of non-chemical methods for pest control 2. Use of neem for pest control 3. Biocontrol methods for pest control We have done extensive video shootings and would be completing the programme during the next year.
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