Northeast India farmers boost yields through Caritas initiative

NEW DELHI (Indian Catholic News) — Caritas India’s nine-year FARM Northeast programme has helped smallholder farmers across northeastern India strengthen food security, improve livelihoods and develop climate-resilient agricultural practices through community-led initiatives.

The programme, called Facilitating Agricultural Regeneration Measures (FARM) Northeast, works across the region’s seven states, promoting farmer collectives, traditional agricultural knowledge and new techniques to help rural communities become more self-reliant.

Implemented with 16 partner organisations and supported financially by Misereor, Germany, the initiative focuses on food and nutritional security, food sovereignty, conservation of indigenous food systems and adaptation to changing climatic conditions.

The programme’s nine-year journey is documented in a 2022 publication titled Nurturing Resilient Farms, compiled by Prabal Sen, lead technical officer, and edited by Patrick Hansda, lead of public relations and communications.

The publication highlights how the programme has sought to strengthen existing community systems rather than replace traditional practices.

Adapting farms to changing climate

Climate change has emerged as a major challenge for farmers in the region, with erratic rainfall, changing weather patterns and declining soil fertility affecting agricultural production.

The publication documents several efforts to help farmers diversify their crops and adopt practices better suited to local conditions.

In Manipur, Daniel Maring had considered abandoning farming after repeated crop losses caused by changing weather patterns.

“We are now living in a different world. It is the world wretched by climate change, unseasonal rainfalls, belated monsoons, and unexpected wind storms,” he says.

After attending a Caritas-supported training programme, Daniel learned traditional farming practices described as more sustainable, resilient and efficient. He subsequently established an orange orchard with about 200 saplings.

His farm produced more than 600 kilograms of oranges in one year, earning him more than 48,000 rupees ($506), according to the publication.

Other initiatives include modifying traditional backyard trellises, known locally as Chaang, to grow different vegetables in limited spaces. The approach combines multiple crops and uses locally available materials such as bamboo, seeds and green biomass for composting.

The programme also encourages farmers to preserve indigenous seeds, promote organic cultivation, diversify livestock activities and conserve community forests.

Collective action improves livelihoods

Farmer collectives have helped communities pool resources, improve production and establish stronger links with markets.

In Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district, farmer Prinith Marak joined a farmers’ club supported by BAKDIL, a local social service organisation.

Previously, he cultivated paddy once a year but struggled to support his family of seven.

Through training and technical assistance, he diversified into fish farming and other agricultural activities. BAKDIL also helped him access a subsidised loan of 446,600 rupees through the state fisheries department to restore his fishpond.

He subsequently introduced fish fingerlings and began combining farming with livestock activities.

With the additional support, Prinith expects an annual income of 300,000 to 400,000 rupees, a substantial increase from his earlier earnings.

In Tripura, Sambhu Debbarma’s participation in a farmers’ club and training in multiple cropping and trellis farming helped him increase his annual income from approximately 60,000-65,000 rupees to 240,000-270,000 rupees.

The publication also highlights women’s self-help groups that have developed collective enterprises, livestock activities and kitchen gardens while extending financial and material assistance to neighbouring families.

Food security through local resources

The importance of locally produced food became particularly evident during the COVID-19 lockdown, when restrictions disrupted employment, markets and food supplies.

A rapid assessment conducted in previous FARM programme villages during July and August 2020 covered 300 households.

The survey found that nearly 52% of the target community had food stocks during the lockdown, while 67.8% of families obtained food from their own farms.

Some families also shared their food with people in need in their villages.

The publication highlights the experience of Sika Kropi, a smallholder farmer in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, whose backyard garden and paddy fields helped sustain her family when household income was severely affected.

“I had enough food from my backyard garden and the fields during this challenging time,” she says.

The programme also promotes rural markets where smallholders can sell chemical-free produce at prices determined by themselves. Collective production and transportation have helped farmers increase their incomes.

Sustaining community-led development

Beyond agricultural production, the initiative has encouraged environmental conservation through plantation drives and the promotion of locally available resources.

One such effort involved using more than 6,000 seed balls on barren, fallow and forest land in northeastern India to increase green cover.

The programme also documents initiatives to preserve wild foods, promote indigenous agricultural practices and strengthen community participation in natural resource management.

The publication presents the nine-year journey as an example of how community participation, traditional knowledge and appropriate agricultural interventions can strengthen the livelihoods and resilience of smallholder farmers.

Read the publication.