Why we support the farmers in India

We have observed the changes that were taking place in the indian market and we have noticed a shift in the attitude of the indian consumer. The retailing business in India, which so far was occupied by the small shop keepers, is suddenly stage for the big players with their hypermarkets that are presently built in the thousands. Additionally an ambitious export industry emerges - and together these corporations start to act as a driving force in the agricultural production chain. The farmers are requested to increase their output, which calls for adjustments and intensification of production methods.



The quest for cheap mass production is unfortunately taking precedence over environmental and health concerns. E.g. the switching over to genetically modified crops carries unforeseeable risks for the environment, the biodiversity and last but not least for the health of people and livestock. There is no experience based on long term studies, as whether such risks can be excluded - on the contrary: there are international studies indicating possible illeffects resulting from genetically modified feedingstuffs and foods.

It remains to mention that there are regions where according to reports up to 70% of all marginal and small famers have lost their land holdings as collateral for loans taken for unexpected high input costs with such crops - which they were unable to repay after a failed harvest.

Farming is a tough business. For a small farmer it is sometimes hard to earn enough for a living. Owing only a small patch of land, a famer does not have an option to scale up his income from cultivation alone. One year can be a profitable one, but the next year will maybe bring failure due to unforseeable factors - e.g. a lack of rain. farming therefor has become some kind of a lottery.

There are usually many people in a farmers family to be supported with a tight budget. As the available land usually is too small to be further divided, it is passed on to one sole successor. For the remaining children, who cannot become farmers themselves, it is difficult to find an aternative profession without a proper education.



Often small scale and marginal famers are demoralized and tempted to give up in order to search for a better existence in a city. In many cases however they end up in one of the slums. Times have changed and are calling for new prospects for the rural communities. The marginal farmers are in need of additional and diversified sources of income for them to retain their integrity and independence.

It is our motivation to research and develop solutions for a village to master the challenges and to benefit from the change. We see our task mainly in establishing a research and information platform, in awareness training and in the realization of specific projects in order to make the so gained experience available to the wider public and enable other rural communities to adapt and adopt these findings for their own needs and benefit.

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