Causes - Naturland

Bio + Fair for Empowering
Rural Communities
The South Indian Experience
Presented by
Mr. Sunil Joseph, Advisor
PDS Organic Spices
(A unit of Peermade Development Society)
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share” Biofach, Germany

Contents
� Peermade Development Society (PDS) the NGO
� Indian farming scenario
� PDS Organic Project – Serving Small Farmers
� Bio + Fair for empowering rural communities
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Peermade Development Society (PDS)
the NGO
� Started in 1979 by Bishop Mathew
� Offering multi-directional services
� Tribal Development
� Ayurveda – Traditional Indian
System of Medicine
� Women and Children
Development
� Watershed Development
� Organic Farming
� Working with several Indian
government and International
organizations
Visit www.pdspeermade.com
www.pdslandtolab.org
Our Founder
H.E. Mar Mathew
Arackal
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Training & Development
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Water conservation & Bio gas generation
� Reducing Ecological Footprint
� Renewable source of energy
� Reduction in indoor pollution
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Animal Husbandry & Bee Keeping
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

PDS Organic - Building Healthy, Fertile Soil
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Indian Farming Scenario
Source: “A Special Programme for Small and Marginal Farmers” – Report of the National
Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (www.nceus.gov.in) December 2008
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� All India level >80% owning or
operating < 2 hectares – ie., small
and marginal farm size group
� In 12 out of 27 states S&M > 90%
� Nationally smallholder’s
contribution to total value of crop
output > 50%
� Smallholder generally have higher
index of crop intensity and
diversification
� India's Position in World
Agriculture in 2008
Wheat – 2 nd , Rice – 2 nd
Pulses – 1 st , Fruits – 2 nd
Vegetables – 2 nd , Milk – 1 st (FAO,
Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific, Bangkok)

Indian Farming Scenario
Challenges � 16% of the Country’s total area is
drought prone
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� A total of 68% of sown area is
subject to drought in varying
degrees
� Per Capita Water availability is
steadily declining
� Low qualification of farmers
� No global trade experience (but
local market experiences)
� No or little access to infrastructure
(warehouses, transport etc.)
� No or little access to investment
capital (e.g. loans to pre-finance
seed materials and other inputs)

Indian Farming Scenario
Rupashree Nanda , CNN-IBN Jan 18, 2011
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/farmer-suicides-increase-at-an-alarming-rate/140746-3.html
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� Add figures for the years 1995
and 1996 and 2010, the total
figure crosses 2,50,000!
� Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh
� “suicide rate rose steeply till they
are double of the non- farmers' in
the main states,” said P Sainath,
Rural Affairs Editor The Hindu
� Main Causes: Crop failure,
indebtedness, adoption of
inappropriate cultivation practices

Indian Farming Scenario -Small
Farmers in the Idukki project area
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� Remote location
� Difficult Terrain
� Small holdings
� Marginal lands
� Rain fed
� Mixed cultivation
� “Organic” by
default

Small Farmers in the Idukki project
area
� Limited production
capabilities
� Higher income =
access to market +
better price + lower
cost
� Appropriate
institutional support
essential
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

PDS Organic Project – Supporting
Small Farmers
� What do we do?
� Mobilizing small
producers
� Linking producers
to market
� Achieve better
income through
trade
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� Building Blocks
� Establish Organic
Farm Management
System – Convert
to Certified
Organic Farm
� Procurement
� Processing
� Export/Marketing

PDS Organic Spices
� Total no. of certified organic farmers - 1878
� Total area - 1778.94 (Ha.)
� Zones - 07 (Kumily, Cumbummettu , Peermade, Rajakumari,
,Marykulam , Murikassry and Upputhara, )
� Minimum land holding - 0.5 Acres
� Average Size of land holding -1Ha
� Names of different food crops-Tapioca, Elephant Foot Yam, Yam,
� Vegetables grown- Cabbage, Beans, Cauliflower, Vine Cucumber,
Bitter gourd, Spinach, Brinjal, Drumstick, Green Chilly
� Fruits- Mangoes, Jackfruit, Banana, Papaya, Passion fruit etc
� Cash crops: Pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Cloves, Nutmeg, Coffee,
Cocoa,Vanilla
� Livestock - goat, cows, poultry
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

PDS Organic Spices
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Support to farmers
� Organic certification
cost – borne by PDS
� Water Tanks
� Earthworms
� Bio-fertilizer
� Packing material
� Weighing Machines
� Seeds/ planting
material
� Weeding machines
� Training
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
Vermiculture

Market Access
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Building Capacities – adding value at
farms
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

PDS Organic Spices - Processing
Infrastructure
� Established in 2005
� Located in industrially
backward area – Idukki
District
� 150 Km from Kochi Port
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Infrastructure Cont-
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany
� Warehouse, cleaning,
grading and grinding
facilities
� Steam sterilization
� Products of international
quality standards –
ASTA/ ESA/ USFDA/ISO

Quality Control, Packaging & Transport
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Retail Packing Capabilities
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Export in retail packs – Adding value at
source
� Retail Packing
� Private labeling
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Bio + Fair: for empowering rural
communities
� Promotes environmental sustainability - Nondepletion
of natural capital as against maximizing
productivity
� Lower input cost – through low external input
farming methods
� Farmers have assured market since purchase is
from the certified group
� Local employment generation
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Farmer Augusthy Vattavath in Cheruvallikulam unit
Family farm, Mixed cultivation – tapioca, yam, banana, jack fruit, cocoa, vanilla, coconut,
pepper, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, wide variety of trees
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Processing unit with nearly 2 million litres water - rain water harvesting
Canteen using biogas generated from organic kitchen wastes
More transparent supply chain – companies advertise from whom they buy
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Closer interaction with the suppliers/farming community – functioning democracy
Farmers get to know what happens to their produces
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Farmer P J Antony –Amalagiri unit, 1.5 Ha of land, with PDS since 1997.
Yam, cassava, ginger, turmeric, pepper, cloves, papaya, jack fruit, banana, vegetables
Main food items purchased from outside- rice and salt
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Cloves, arecanut, coffee, ginger, mango trees, pepper, Daughter Anita 8 years
Son –Shinto MBA 23 years working as Business Development Executive at PDS Organic
Spices
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany

Bio + Fair: for empowering rural
communities
� Attending ”Naturland Fair”
� Naturland – an organic
association
� Grass-root knowledge of
farmers’ problems
� Can reduce certification
cost when organic & fair is
combined
� Ideal for small farmer
projects to gain access to
world markets
February 18, 2011 “Organic plus Fair – more food to share”
Biofach, Germany