Magasool 2022: Helping farmers reduce pesticide and | Milaap
Magasool 2022: Helping farmers reduce pesticide and fertilizer usage
  • Anonymous

    Created by

    Ajay
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    This fundraiser will benefit

    Farmers and Farm Workers

    from Tirunelveli, 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 2000+ small  farmers and farm workers in over 80 Tamil Nadu villages in improving their incomes and nutrition.  With the support of generous individuals like you, and the faith reposed in us by small agriculturalists,  Magasool completed 10 years of operations, and 9 years since incorporation, in March 2022.

Heavy  and frequent flooding of fields and homes during the last 2-3 monsoons, intrusion of salt into  water tables, enormous fluctuations in agricultural input-costs and output prices, and  increasing pest attacks are making agriculture ever more challenging. Magasool requests your continued trust and support in bringing environmentally sustainable and financially viable solutions to small-land holders and farm workers. We plan to increase our direct reach to 2500 rural households and our remote extension services to 30000 farmers in 2022.

 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.

In 2022, Magasool will focus on - 1. supporting farmers  and farmer workers  to become paddy-transplantation entrepreneurs   2. helping farmers process part of their produce to reduce wastage and increase price remuneration, 3. implementing faster soil and water testing techniques so that farmers can make informed and better crop and  fertiliser choices, 4. popularising integrated pest-management solutions for paddy,  groundnuts, cotton and vegetables, and 5. increasing our mobile radio "Uzhavar Shakthi's" reach to 30,000 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.

Magasool generates local employment, develops technologies suited to local weather and soil conditions, and improves yields for farmers across 100 villages in Tamil Nadu.   To expand support for our farmer training and capital needs, support for welfare schemes on nutrition, and providing intensive support to a larger farmer base, we want to raise INR 30 lakhs by December 30th 2021. 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 30,000 will help an agriculturalist become a paddy-transplantation entrepreneur and double his/her annual income

*Your contribution of Rs 5000 will help Magasool provide soil and water testing services to 25 farmers

*Your contribution of Rs 5,000 will help 40 farmers in 2 villages reduce pesticide usage  by 50%

*Your Rs. 12,000 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 support of Rs 20,000 will help reach 150 households with the kitchen garden program for improved nutrition.

* Your support of Rs 10,000 will help us continue Uzhavar Sakthi  a voice, text and app-based localized  (panchayat level) agriculture and market information system for 500 farmers.

* Your support of Rs 7000 will help us continue an  improved health insurance plan for our field staff and their families

 1. Modified System of Rice Intensification (MSRI) through mechanized transplanters
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 2022, the program has reached more than 800 farmers  in Trichy, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Chengalpattu,  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 11 lacs for 4 new transplanters (and associated accessories)  which will let us continue providing services to beneficiaries in an uninterrupted manner.

Over the last year, 10 farmers of Chengalpattu district have requested support in the form of training and machinery service (mechanic and spares support)  so that they can start providing  transplantation services to other farmers in the area. The transplantation entrepreneurs expect their incomes to double. 
We request  an additional  4lacs to build a team of transplantation entrepreneurs.

2. Produce Processing and Marketing -
Misshapen and/or small-sized  fruits and vegetables do not get procured by traders (or are purchased at below cost of production) and are often left to rot in fields. 10% of perishables typically gets wasted in this manner. There are  seasonal fluctuations in prices which sometimes makes it unremunerative to transport perishables to markets. During these times farmers have to see their entire produce go to waste.
Magasool wants to partner with 20 vegetable growers to pilot drying and powdering as an option to reduce wastage and improve farmer income. Growers can sell the vegetable powder to food processing units. 

Small farmers of paddy and groundnuts farmers bulk sell their produce at the time of harvest and do not (or do not have the financial ability to wait) wait for good prices.  We want to help paddy and groundnut growers to store their produce in modern godowns and give  them an option  to hold produce until market prices are good.

We request   5lacs in processing and marketing support.
3. 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).  However, in the past, efforts to encourage farmers  to adopt soil and water test-based nutrition management have not been very successful. Farmers have often quoted long (more than a month) turn around times and high costs from laboratories as big barriers.
Magasool Team members recently got trained on a potable soil testing kit which will reduce the turn around time to a day and the cost by a factor of 10. 
Our team has also gained substantial experience in testing and promoting integrated pest management methods for paddy, cotton, vegetables and groundnuts.
 These interventions can help reduce fertilizer  and pesticide usage by more than 30% and restore long-term soil fertility,  organic content and make food more safe for human consumption.

We request INR 2lacs to partner with 500 farmers in 2021-2022.

4. Uzhavar Shakti (Farmers' Power) - A localized, remote extension  and market access system for farmers and farm workers
Magasool launched Uzhavar Shakti in partnership with https://gramvaani.org/in March-April 2021 with 1300 farmers. Content is curated from existing services, Government and private information portals and village resident experiences. 9000+ farmers now subscribe to this service.

We request Rs 5 lacs to expand  extension services to  30000 farmers and farm workers in Chengelpattu and Theni Districts in 2022.
5. Organic Kitchen garden
Marginal farmers with little or no landholding often cut down on vegetables when they face economic hardships. Vegetables often show huge seasonal variations in price, leaving farmers and labourers with no choice but to forgo including them in their diets. Children and women are especially mal-nourished, and pregnant and lactating mothers receive inadequate nutrition. 39% of India’s children under 5 years of age are stunted and a large fraction of pregnant and lactating women are anemic. Magasool addresses this problem by distributing vegetable seeds, manure and providing assistance in setting up kitchen gardens around homes. We have seen that gardens increase vegetable access for  poor farmers and labourers significantly. We will distribute seeds for at least 10 to 12 types of vegetables, and help at least 1000 poor rural households in Tamil Nadu  between October 2022  and January 2023 to prepare vegetable gardens to meet their nutrient needs.

We request 1.5lacs for procuring seeds.

6. Health and benefits cover for Magasool field staff and their families  - Magasool field staff work with their farm communities through rain and shine and it is our duty to safeguard their health.  We request 1.5lacs to continue providing health insurance for the field team.

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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