Agroecological Farming
Agroecological Farming covers a variety of farming techniques such as Natural Farming, Organic Farming, Permaculture, etc., practices that are not reliant on chemical inputs, make use of traditional seeds and focus on regenerative soil practices aimed towards localisation and resilience.
Planet-centric approach involved and importance
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Natural/Organic way of growing food that caters to the local needs.
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Providing toxin free, safe and healthy food to people at a fair price.
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Earth-centric practices to make decisions about the land according to season, local ecology and traditional wisdom.
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Growing native food crops without over extracting resources.
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Autonomy to the local community in decision making in the farming process.
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Preserving and passing on local and traditional knowledge on food, seeds, seed-saving, harvesting, etc.
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Sharing and distributing seeds of traditional/indigenous varieties of native crops.
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Seed saving in varied quantities along with detailed information on these to fight bio-piracy.
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Facilitating climate resilient farming.
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Environmental activism to ensure rights of farmers are not curtailed.
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Being cognizant of the local cultures that play a crucial role in the decision making around food systems within the communities.
Knowledge, Skillset, and Mindset to be developed to become a practitioner
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Basic knowledge of farming helps in the initial stages. Volunteering in other farms or fields helps in building a basic skill set.
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Knowledge of traditional varieties of seeds that are resilient to natural calamities.
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Knowledge of topography, water tables, sowing and harvesting seasons for fruits and vegetables.
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Slowing down, be with self’ and ‘in the moment’.
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Being observant and learning from the rest of nature.
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Experimenting on land in terms of trying different watering, transplanting, animal rearing techniques.
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Interest to work towards growing one’s own food.
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Patience to learn a new lifestyle altogether that is dependant on the land, living according to circadian rhythms, seasonal labour, and humility to natural forces.
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Readiness to face challenges and failures when starting out a new life different from urban life.
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Openness to unlearn and gain new information according to regional demands such as culture, market systems, community interest in collaboration.
Opportunities in such a pathway
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Huge need for safe food in today’s world.
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Conscious shift is happening around growing and consumption of healthy food.
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Many more people are including millets in their diet. There is a demand for millets, but availability is less.
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Many people in the cities are lacking time to prepare millet based food as they need to be soaked for a few hours, opening up possibilities for millet based restaurants and food courts.
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Assimilating the vast knowledge and converting it to a simple form for people who find it difficult to access it- students, women farmers, economically and socially underserved farmers.
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Building a support system of individuals with similar interests to help with market and climate issues.
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Living a community life and in harmony with the rest of nature.
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Knowledge exchange with researchers can lead to indigenous knowledge gaining scientific validation and reaching a wider audience.
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Farms can serve as learning spaces.
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Living off land and having control over one’s means of survival.
Learning resources
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Readings
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One Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka
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The Natural Way of Farming: The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy, Masanobu Fukuoka
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The Road Back to Nature, Masanobu Fukuoka
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The Green Sprout Journey: Exploring Home-based, Ecological Activities with Children, Satoko Chatterjee
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Economy of Permanence, J.C. Kumarappa
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Scrapbook of Food and Farm System, Anshuman Das
Networks