Varieties of Millet and pulses used to be grown in the hinterlands of Gajapati by the tribals from time immemorial. These crops used to be grown on the most infertile and unsuitable lands, through their indigenous farming method called ‘slash-burn’ cultivation. Despite the adverse conditions coupled with erratic weather conditions, these farmlands provided them nutritious food to work in such harsh geographical conditions. Irrespective of rainfed agriculture, millets and indigenous crop varieties produced enough food to feed the farmers. But now only a few varieties of millets and pulses are available with the farmers, with the farmers are more inclined for hybrid paddy and maize cultivation. SACAL’s intervention on millet cultivation started way back in 2008, with 1.2 acres in Halapanka village. Under SDTT supported SRI program, millet was tried by one Salman Gamango and the variety was Bhairavi. He yielded 10 quintals per acre in the very first year following the SMI (System of Millet Intensification) method. Since then, millet and indigenous pulses and crops are being promoted extensively to secure production against the impacts of climate change and erratic rainfall.

As agriculture plays a pivotal role in our ecosystem, farming can only be sustainable when it does not adversely affect our environment and ecology. In recent years, some parts of the State or other get hit by some type of calamity or other in different magnitude, which badly impacts our crop production, lives and livelihoods. Since a major chunk our farmlands are owned by small and marginal farmers, they suffer the maximum burden. Such climate change induced calamities are likely to affect the globe in the coming days.

Therefore, it is high time that a risk free, cost effective and less external dependent farming culture be adopted so that the small and marginal farmers who occupy less than 2 acres of land could secure their croplands. There comes the need to promote organic farming– a farming culture that requires less irrigation, no chemical fertiliser, no pesticides, and no herbicides and thus ensures a secured food production. It is environment friendly, suitable to our ecosystem, produces healthy, nutritious and region specific food suitable to the local climate. Under this premise, SACAL expedites organic farming culture in its operational villages through system of rice intensification and system of millet intensification. The organic culture is not limited to foodgrain production, but farmers are being promoted for commercial vegetable cultivation, cultivation of pulses and backyard kitchen garden also.