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In a region of southern India, 800,000 peasants cultivate their land without any pesticides. It is the largest agroecology project in the world.
In southern India, the agricultural region around Anantapur, one of the largest in the country, is in the process of converting to 100% natural agriculture, going against the Indian agricultural model. The land has eight million peasants, including Surendra Reddy. The farmer was one of the first converts. For four years, he has cultivated his fields without chemicals. “At first, the switch to natural agriculture was very difficult. After years of using chemicals and pesticides, my land was dead.”, he confides.
He also abandoned monoculture, in order to grow different types of fruits and vegetables on his land: papayas, tomatoes, or even eggplants. They grow on a mixture of cow dung and urine, which stimulates microbial life in the soil. “Today, I think less and I earn more”, rejoices Surendra Reddy. In total, nearly 800,000 farmers in the region have converted to 100% natural agriculture. It is the largest agroecology project in the world. We owe it to Vijay Kumar, agricultural advisor to the government, who wanted to develop the program in reaction to a wave of suicide among peasants in his region.