Help Farmers Earn More With Less: Lean Farming For Small Land | Milaap
Help Farmers Earn More With Less: Lean Farming For Small Land Holders
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    Created by

    Ajay
  • MT

    This fundraiser will benefit

    Magasool Trust

    from Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu

Tax benefits for INR donations will be issued by Magasool Trust

Magasool (meaning "yield" in Tamil) is a not-for-profit organization that works with 1200+ small  farmers and farm workers in over 60 Tamil Nadu villages in improving their incomes and nutrition.  With the support of generous individuals like you, Magasool completed 6 years of operations, and 5 years since incorporation, in March 2018. 

Indian agriculture is in crisis - with disappearing yields, dwindling numbers of farmers, and upset ecological balance. Magasool is promoting crops and cropping practices that will reduce usage of water, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and  increase the use of cheaper bio-degradable alternatives in a manner that increases profitability and sustainability for farmers. We aim to make agriculture sustainable for our planet and for farmers.

We provide scientific cultivation, organic vermicomposting, soil testing, produce processing, and marketing services  that help farmers reduce input costs, realize higher yields, and profits. The average farm household eats a very poor diet and children suffer from several micro-nutrient and major nutrient deficiencies. To help fulfill children's and other family members' dietary needs, we run a completely free kitchen garden programme to supply agricultural households with vegetables. We engage our employee base on education and policy initiatives, actively help rehabilitate them from alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. We recruit young farm help and farmers to train them on technology and business and make them self reliant. Finally, we aim to make Indian agriculture a part of India's growth story, and include the 75% of rural Indians in generating wealth.

Some of our farmer clients' testimonies on how Magasool services have helped them:

" The groundwater in my plot has become saline from sea water intrusion. The water is making my land salty and infertile. I have to apply twice as much of urea and DAP as my neighbors to get the same yield. In June of this year I was contacted by Magasool coordinator Jaykumar. He told me that the fertility of my land can be improved with scientific soil-test based nutrition  management that uses the best of traditional and modern agricultural practices. I agreed to get a small patch of 0.3 acres tested. I applied Magasool's recommendations on this patch. The results became obvious soon after I transplanted paddy from the nursery to the field. On the test patch the seedlings rooted within 6 days. On rest of my land the seedlings took 10-15 days to  root. The plants on the test patch respond better to nutrient application.  If I get a good yield at the end of the season from the test plot, I will apply Magasool's suggestion to my full plot of 3 acres. I anticipate that this will reduce the usage of chemicals in my plot by 40% and increase my profits. At the same time the quality of my soil will improve.",  Karthik, farmer Ayapakkam Village, July 2018 

“I harvested in the first week of January. This is the first time I am trying the system of rice intensification with a transplanter. While there were lots of doubts initially, I was confident after looking at the number of tillers. Usually I get around 27 bags per acre (1 bag = 75 kg) in samba. This time I have got 32 bags per acre. I am hoping that Magasool will bring many more such programs. I am starting to build an organic manure unit with Magasool’s help now”- Kannan, Farmer with 2.25 acres of land, Boothamur village, Cuddalore, Jan 2014

Magasool generates local employment, develops technologies suited to local weather and soil conditions, and improves yields for farmers across 60 villages in Tamil Nadu. A large part of our organisation is self sustained through our enterprise and the services we provide.  To continue to support our capital needs like upgrading to modern machinery, supporting our welfare schemes on nutrition, and providing intensive support to a large farmer base, we want to raise INR 10 lakhs by September 30th 2018. Every Rs.1 that you contribute is used to implement technology that generates Rs.4 in wealth through agriculture for the farmers! Magasool's cropping services act as multipliers and help generate stable incomes for farmers and farm workers. Help us make agriculture a viable source of livelihood for their families in a sustainable manner.
*Your contribution of Rs 6,000 will help three farmers scientifically manage their farm soil and increase profits by Rs 5000 per acre per season for 4 seasons. This will also help the environment by drastically cutting usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

*Your Rs. 10,000 will help take water-saving  and yield-improving paddy transplantation technology to 5 farmers improving profits by Rs 5,000  per acre per farmer per season for 3 seasons.

*Your Rs. 15,000 will help take efficiency increasing groundnuts and pulses harvesting  technology to 5 farmers improving profits by Rs 10,000  per acre per farmer per season for 4 seasons. This income will go towards meeting their household nutrition needs, medical needs, and educating their children.

Details of the proposed programs (https://www.facebook.com/Magasool/) are below -


                                   
                                          Bio Innoculants
1. Lean farming for small landholders: Farmers typically apply chemical fertilizers based on the level of subsidy and not on what their farm soil specifically requires.  Over the course of time soil composition changes for the worse requiring more fertilizer application for producing the same yield. The problem is exacerbated by falling ground water levels (water from deep borewells tend to contain more salt).  Magasool is helping correct this through a mix of of best practices from tradition and scientific soil-test based nutrition management. Our interventions help reduce fertilizer usage by more than 30% and restore long-term soil fertility and organic content.
 
In addition, we are promoting integrated pest management to reduce dependence on pesticides.  
We request INR 1 lakh to expand the program to 50 more  farmers by June 2019.

2. Modified System of Rice Intensification (MSRI) through mechanized transplanters - 

    
               Paddy Nursery                       Mechanized SRI (M-SRI)
The main advantages of MSRI are –(i) The nursery is transplanted when the saplings are young, anywhere between 12 to 18 days decreasing the disturbance to roots as well as allowing time for higher tiller growth. This leads  to robust foliage growth, (ii) Increased distance between plants in SRI allows for better access to sunlight and more space for root growth.
MSRI fields also require 25% less water in the initial 10 days post transplanting.
Between May 2012 and July 2018, the program has reached more than 650 farmers  in Trichy, Cuddalore, Kanchipuram, Kanyakumari, Theni  and Thanjavur districts. Most farmers have reported  yield increase of 10 to 20 % resulting in an increased income  of anywhere between Rs 2500 to Rs 5000 per acre (translating to more than 30% increase in profits).

We request  a total of INR 4 lakhs for 2 new transplanters which will let us continue providing services to beneficiaries in an uninterrupted manner and expand to new villages in Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts.

3. Increasing ground-nut acreage through enhanced planting and harvest efficiency - Groundnuts require much less water than paddy or sugarcane and give 20% higher profits to farmers. They also help restore soil fertility when used as a rotation crop.
We partnered with a few farmers to pilot  a mechanized seed drill in early  2018 and results were very encouraging.
 
                                             
We request 5 lacs (additional amount will be raised through CSR) to procure high quality transplantors and  provide sowing and harvesting as a service to more than 200 small farmers (250 farmers in Year 1 and 350 farmers in Year 2).  Our solution is expected to increase productivity by more than 30%. This will lead to farmer profits go up by more than Rs 10000 (ten thousand) per acre.

Join the Magasool movement!  

Indian passport holders who want to contribute in foreign currency, please contact us at emailmagasool@gmail.com
We will share the necessary details.

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