Magasool (meaning "yield" in Tamil) is a not-for-profit organization that works with 1400+ small farmers and farm workers in over 80 Tamil Nadu villages in improving their incomes and nutrition. Magasool was founded by Ajaykumar Tannirkulam and Jayaram Venkatesan, who together wanted to improve the lives of the small and marginal farmers in Tamil Nadu.. With the support of generous individuals like you, Magasool completed 7 years of operations, and 6 years since incorporation, in March 2019. The focus of Magasool is to provide agricultural technological services to farmers in Tamil Nadu.


The Need:
60% of Indians work in agriculture, yet their contribution to GDP has fallen by 30% in the last 40 years (State of Indian Agriculture, 2012-13). From decreasing productivity levels, ever increasing input costs, to poor price realization of their produce, there are many ills that ail the small farmer in a developing country like India. Furthermore, problems are getting compounded by rapid changes in climate and water availability.

To help the small farmer effectively adopt scientific practices, it is necessary to not only subsidize capital cost and provide information, but to also continuously work with the farmer, build trust, help them overcome their risk-aversion through introducing them to role models. 'Magasool' addresses the issue by providing agricultural support that is personalized, adapted to prevailing farming conditions in each region, and hands on.

Services provided by Magasool: 

Modified System of Rice Intensification for Paddy (MSRI)
Modified System of Rice Intensification involves cultivating rice with an appropriate mix of organic manure and fertilizers, starting with young seedlings planted singly at wide spacing in a regular pattern; and with intermittent irrigation that keeps the soil moist but not inundated, and inter cultivation with a weeder that actively aerates the soil. MSRI along with lean farming form a set of ideas for comprehensively managing and conserving resources by changing the way that land, seeds, water, nutrients, and human labour are used to increase productivity from a small but well-tended number of seeds.



The main advantages of MSRI

1. The nursery is transplanted much earlier (traditional is around 30 days), anywhere between 12th to 18th day decreasing the disturbance to roots as well as allowing time for tiller growth.
2. Increased distance between plants in SRI allowing for better access to sunlight and more space for root growth.
3. Weeding and soil loosening using weeder after sowing leading to better aeration and increased tillage.

MSRI fields also require 25% less water in the initial 10 days post transplanting. Between May 2012 and July 2019, Magasool has reached more than 700 farmers in Trichy, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Kanchipuram, Kanyakumari, Theni, Tirunelveli 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).

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. The drill ensured regular spacing between seeds thereby improving access to soil nutrition, aeration and root growth for the plants.
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.

Pest Management
Magasool supports more than 300 farmers of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli Districts to implement integrated pest management and reduce pesticide usage. The pesticide usage has reduced by more than half and farmers saved Rs.3,000 per acre on chemical application.




Household Nutrition
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 the age of 5 years are stunted and a large fraction of pregnant and lactating women are anaemic. Magasool solves 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.


Donate Rs. 15,000/-
Your support of Rs.15,000 will help reach 150 households with the kitchen garden program for improved nutrition.

Donate Rs. 10,000/-
Your contribution of 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.

Donate Rs. 1,500/-
Your contribution of Rs.1,500 will help a farmer in Vilathikulam defend her maize farm against the fall army worm and save Rs.20,000 of income. She gets only one chance at agriculture a year when it rains.

Donate Rs. 20,000/-
Your support of Rs.20,000 will help us setup a voice, text and app based localized (panchayat level) agricultural information system for 500 farmers