Accion Fraterna(AF) Ecology Centre, a non-governmental organisation working with dryland farmers for the past 40 years in 230 villages of undivided Anantapur district, has been recognised for running the ‘Best Outstanding Sustainable Agriculture Development Progamme’ in the country by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry(FICCI).
AF Ecology Centre Director Y.V. Malla Reddy received the award in New Delhi on Wednesday evening from Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on behalf of the organisation and thanked the FICCI for recognising their efforts in promoting the ‘Navadhanya’ concept.
Under this concept, different types of crops are grown at one place so that the farmer family gets some or other crop to reap round the year. The organisation works with 30,000 households of small and marginal rainfed farmers and landless labour represented by women, he added.
The core issue in Anantapur district is the “vulnerability of rural livelihoods” due to frequent and consecutive droughts, aggravated by climate change. Rainfed farming is in crisis due to lack of drought-climate adaptability among farmers, leading to crop failures, debts and distress, Mr. Malla Reddy pointed out.
