What is the program?

Farming under rainfed conditions is the major source of livelihood for the majority of small landholding farming families in Karnataka.  As a member of RRAN, the Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network, Maarga approaches the serious issue of rural distress in the villages of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu through the creation of learning spaces for small and marginal farmers to transition into economically viable and ecologically sustainable agricultural practices.  

How do we do this? Akkadi Saalu:

As a credible alternative to the conventional cost and chemical intensive farming, Maarga, along with RRAN, has been promoting Akkadi Saalu, a diversity based ecological farming practice that integrates multi-cropping with livestock, native seeds, soil enrichment, organic fertilizers and bio-markers as indicators of crop health. Akkadi Saalu is a traditional, biodiversity based ecological farming practice with zero chemical fertilisers, zero chemical pesticides and minimal use of ground water. 

What do we do?

Unlike formulaic interventions of other input-based alternatives, Akkadi Saalu is built on proven ecological principles integrated into locally adopted farming systems and innovations like BioChar. With village wide initiatives of Akkadi Saalu in Rainfed Kolar, Maarga is contributing to a silent rural revolution, making agriculture a credible livelihood choice and a credible front against farming induced climate change.   

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Current status

Maarga is a member of RRAN and is implementing peer-to-peer knowledge sharing of akkadi saalu to ensure that agricultureis profitable livelihood in rural Karnataka and TamilNadu.