Organic Agriculture – Reviving the Old

In 2019 Dvija from Grade 11 started a project titled ‘Swarnim Krishi, which has become a 1M1B Future Leaders project. The project aims to spread awareness and change behaviour among farmers in Gujarat, by encouraging them to pick up organic farming – practice lost due to modern farming which has become conventional. Inviting expert speakers, Dvija organise sessions, encouraging organic farming methods. We reached out to Dvija to find out more about her project and aims for the future.  

I plan to spread more awareness not only amongst the farmers but also the community so that they buy organic food – Dvija, Grade 11 

Millions of tonnes of pesticides are utilised annually worldwide, and usage keeps increasing over time. “These facts and statistics are concerning and so we urge to reduce the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment”, says Dvija. To do this she has arranged five in-person and online awareness sessions for over 100 farmers. By inviting guest speakers, such as doctors and people from non-governmental organisations, her aim is twofold: to sustain farmers’ livelihoods, and to protect the environment and ecosystem. Dvija explains: “I am very health conscious and it bothered me that we intake food that is full of chemicals and pesticides. It was necessary to take this initiative, it not only aims to improve the farmers' livelihoods but also reduce climate change and provide healthy food to the customers.” 

As part of her initiative, Dvija held a fundraiser to provide 21 families of farmers with seeds and organic fertilisers. “They were able to earn their living for almost a year after the provision”, says Dvija, who in partnership with Deepak Foundation, used some of the funds raised to build kiosks for tribal women to sell their agricultural produce close to their homes. “The kiosks provide them with water, paper bags, a weighing machine and other necessities”, says Dvija, whose project has now made these tribal women independent.  

One of the biggest challenges for Dvija is to convince farmers to switch to organic farming. “They would refuse to listen to me as I was too young”, says Dvija, who decided to connect the target group with other farmers who already practised organic farming, so that they would get inspired and trust her initiative. Dvija plans to also spread awareness among the community to buy organic food. “Through my social media accounts, I advocate for organic stores and local vendors in our community to encourage people to buy organic food”, says Dvija, who is aiming to builds a strong connection between farmers and organic stores. “I also organised a session on jungle-farming and polyculture farming, where the farmers learn how to grow a variety of crops and flora in a limited area of land.” 

To learn more, visit Dvija’s project Instagram account Swarnim Krishi.