Solidaridad
ETC

Solidaridad is a development organization based in The Netherlands and working for Latin America, Africa and Asia. There are three programmes: Sustainable Economy & Fair Trade; Society Building & Human Rights and Pastorate, Ethics & Culture.

Solidaridad was founded in 1969 and in the early years, it was mainly campaigning against dictatorial regimes in Lating America. Gradually, the focus shifted to sustainable economy and fair trade with the changes in views on international cooperation. However, the motto is still the same: “More than aid”. Solidaridad receives funding from different funding agencies.

Fair Trade programs evolved in the 70’s and 80’s with close collaboration with charity shops and alternative trade organizations in The Netherlands. In 1986, this lead to the development of “Max Havelaar” label. Coffee from Latin America was marketed under this label, which ensured good price for coffee farmers and implementation of non- exploitative labour standards. Subsequently, other labels have been developed for fruits and textiles.

ETC India, based in Bangalore, is part of the ETC International Group. ETC Group executes programs and projects, implements studies and organizes training in the field of agriculture, forestry, health, small enterprises and water supply in Asia, Africa and Latin-America. ETC group is part of the ETC foundation, based in The Netherlands, which is a non profit organization and has offices in different parts of the world.

ETC India is an innovative, not for profit but client oriented, efficient and cost conscious company with high level of integrity, specialized in sustainable rural development with particular reference to:

1. Participatory processes linking public and private sector with civil society
   
2. Social Development (poverty analysis and poverty alleviation strategies, gender analysis and organization of civil society).
   
3. Community learning processes like Farmer Field School approaches.
   
4. Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA, Organic farming and integrated farming systems and crop management approaches).
   
5. Bio-mass production and Renewable Energy in rural areas.
   
6. Bio-diversity management.
   
7. Integrated Rural water management.

NGO Partners:

KRUSHI was formed in 1997 by a team of like minded people with the aim of sensitizing sections and to improve living standards and bring about development changes in urban and rural areas.

Krushi works with about 1200 SHGs in Karimnagar District. Many groups have been trained in cotton cultivation and IPM practices by the Department of Agriculture.

Centre for Environment Concerns
3-4-142/6, Barkatpura, Hyderabad.
Andhra Pradesh - 500 027. India
Tel. +91 40 27564959; 27563017; Res. + 91 40 27564912
E-mail: hyd2_cenvicon@sancharnet.in; cechyd@eth.net

The Centre for Environment Concerns (CEC) was founded in 1984 by a group of academics and activists to address and advocate on sustainable development, environmental management and improve the livelihoods of the poor with focus on semi-arid tropics. It has core team of ten professionals drawn from different backgrounds. It works closely in partnership with civil society groups and individuals in furthering its mandate. The current donor partners of CEC are United Nations Development Programme, the Government of India and Andhra Pradesh, World Wide Fund for Nature with an annual budget of about ten million rupees. The Director of CEC is a member of the Governing Body of the Environment Protection Training Research Institute, on the Academic Council of the National Institute of Rural Development and Member of the Consultative Group on Land Development.

From inculcating environment consciousness among activists and in large 'development' projects, improve the natural resource endowments and enhance human potential to negotiate, CEC addresses a portfolio of interlinked ideas and synergetic activities towards its mandate. Its action are aimed to identify and address the existing gaps in knowledge and action, or innovation in terms of process and products to creatively further larger societal concerns through praxis. CEC approach includes field extension, research, piloting innovation, community institution building and advocacy and the focus is on the semi-arid tropics as it has a weak natural resource base and the largest concentration of rural poor.

The specific areas of CEC competence are

• Innovations & Validation of Development Ideas
• Agriculture Technology Partnerships
• Food Assurance
• Drought Mitigation & Safety Nets
• Farming Systems
• River Basin Management through Societal Consensus
• Enlarging and Deepening Markets
• Policy Reforms & Advocacy

The Participatory Rural Development Initiatives Society (PRDIS)

Introduction
The Participatory Rural Development Initiatives (PRDIS), regsitered in 1999, is a reputed national level development organization and a network umbrella organization, specializing in the areas of agriculture development (agriculture extension & agribusiness) and NRM. In addition to undertaking development work at grassroots level, this organization has also been providing consultancy services to the central govt, various state govts, inter-governmental and international development agencies on rural development issues, specially undertaking benchmark, impact assessment and research studies focussing on agriculture and NRM. Dr. SV Reddy, the Chief Functionary of the organization has served in various capacities, ranging from Professor to the Director of Agriculture Extension in ANGRAU and on special assignments as Advisor (Agriculture Extension) to the WB in sub-Saharan African countries.

Experience in FFS and Cotton IPM
PRDIS has been associated as a partner with the FAO-EU IPM Programme for Cotton in Asia programme. During this association, the organization has not only undertaken reserach assignments at field level, but also organized 17 seasonlong FFS on Cotton in 2 years, covering all the 17 villages in Bhootpur Mandal of Meheboob Nagar district of Andhra Pradesh as part of their Mandal Adoption Programme. More importantly, they have facilitated formation of FFS cotton farmer groups in 6 villages, consisting of the 25 farmers enroled in each of these FFS and promoted group savings. In 2 such villages farmers have organized semi-self financed FFS utilizing the group savings and paid for advisory services to external agents. In addition, some of these groups have started their own smallscale and decentralized bio-control units and vermicomposting at village level.

PRDIS as partner in the current programme
The organization has 4 field level staff trained on IPM in Cotton in the SLToF programme conducted by the FAO-EU programme. Two of these staff have been retained by the project to organize FFS on Organic Cotton in 4 villages (Elikicherla, Manganoor, Kothakapetta and Kothamalgara) in Bhootpur Mandal of Meheboob Nagar district of AP, where IPM training to farmers on cotton have already been imparted through IPM field schools. As part of their mandal adoption programme, the organization has promoted and facilitated linkages between the community and other specialized agencies in the fields of health and eduction to ensure sustainability.

Krushi Vikas Audyogik Shetkari Sanstha (KVAS)

Introduction
KVAS was floated as a farmers' organization in 2001 to support the distressed farming community in Murtizapur taluk of Akola district in Maharashtra. From just a two-man team in 2001, the organization grew in stature and became a full-fledged development organization, specializing in providing agri-related services like agriculture extension and agriculture entrepreneurship and presently has 16 staff in its fold. Mr. BR Kathalkar, the founder of this organization, though a farmer by profession, started his career as a lecturer in a government college in Akola, before switching back to farming. He has been recognized by several agencies for his pioneering work and continued efforts to motivate farmers in Akola district to adopt organic farming practices. He has developed a new and sustainable model in vermicompost development, where farmers are provided with a certain quantity of vermin seeds and on production, these farmers put only half the culture for self use in their fields and pay back the remaining half to neighboring farmers, who adopt and follow a similar chain model. This trend-setting model witnessed production of vermicompost at each and every household level and all villages in the taluk became vermicompost warehouses. The state government of Maharashtra has conferred an award of recognition to Mr. Kathalkar for this effort to make organic farming popular.

Experience in FFS and Cotton IPM
As one of the 19 NGO partners of the FAO-EU IPM Programme for Cotton in Asia programme, KVAS was involved in organizing 12 FFS and facilitating 3 farmer-to-farmer field schools on Cotton, including two on organic cotton in Akola district. It has facilitated formation of FFS cotton farmer groups in 10 of these villages and promoted not only group savings, but also entrepreneurship development activities like production and sustainable use of bio-control products and developing marketing opportunities for organic vegetables.

KVAS as partner in the current programme
Akola, falling under the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra is traditionally a cotton growing belt with black cotton soils. Two staff from this organization have availed training on IPM in Cotton in the SLToF programme conducted by the FAO-EU programme, including its founder and they are presently retained by the project to not only organize FFS but also support production of organic cotton in 2 Alumni villages (Jamthi and Muramba). In addition, it has 4 more farmer trainers trained in cotton IPM through the FFS. This organization enjoys a good rapport with the farming community in Maharashtra. What strikes the eye in these two villages is the presence of earthworms in the cotton fields.

Vidharbha Organic Farming Association (VOFA)

Introduction
In the year xxxx, a group of farmers headed by ZZZZ started a cooperative movement in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra and floated VOFA as a farmers' organization in Nagpur. Consequently in the year 1999, VOFA split up and one of these splinters headed by Mr. Ram Kalaspurkar, a farmer by birth, who went on to become an Engineer, before turning into a political activist, relocated its organization base to the cotton growing marketyard of Yeotmal. Over the years VOFA became well known for not only its field based operations, but also its political activism on a national and international platform to influence policy changes in favor of the farming community. Seed is one of the key areas that VOFA has been focusing on and has been voicing its concern over how seed contamination has become a major issue, leading to lesser yields and lesser profits to the farmers. To address this problem, VOFA has been trying to develop its own varieties studying various indigenous breeder and foundation seeds. Mr. Kalaspurkar keeps being invited not only by the NGO community but also by the political bodies and policy makers, both within and outside the country to both dialogue and deliver lectures on the seed issues.

Experience in FFS and Cotton IPM
In 2001, two staff from VOFA received training on Cotton IPM from one of the seasonlong training programmes organized by the FAO-EU IPM Programme for Cotton in Asia. Following the training, these two staff organized 14 farmer field schools and facilitated 3 farmer-to-farmer field schools organized by farmer trainers trained in the FFS. Two of these were exclusively organic FFS, where the organization experimented the integration of IPM with organic cotton farming. This has helped the farmers to understand that good pest and crop management practices adopted in organic cotton cultivation not only increased yield and maintained the natural biodiversity, but also reduced the cost of cultivation by restricting input use.

History of the field area under the current programme and staff support from VOFA
Maharashtra has been a traditional cotton growing state, rich with black cotton soils and enjoyed the distinction of having the largest area under cotton. For a long period, Yeotmal district was regarded as the biggest market yard for cotton in Asia, till the farmers of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, influenced by the Green Revolution, adopted progressive and mechanized farming practices. Though some farmers in Maharashtra tried adopting conventional practices and experienced problems, many still remained traditional, leaving their soils unexploited.

VOFA initially deputed the two staff trained under the FAO-EU project to support this programme in the two alumni villages of Dolari and Madni of Yeotmal district. But the team leader, a very hard working, humble yet inspiring and devoted to making the organic cause a success and recognized by many as having the potential to become one of the very few organic farming experts in the country unfortunately passed away in June this year. Though VOFA is yet to recover from this shock, the staff like many others in the programme continue to draw inspiration from his achievements.