http://www.navdanya.org/

The Organic Revolution

Chemical agriculture and genetic engineering are threatening public health and leading to nutrition decline. Costs of production, which includes hybrid and genetically engieered, seeds, chemicals and irrigation, are increasing with every season pushing farmers into the debt trap and also to suicides.

Thousands of farmers have given their life in India in the last two decades because of the debt. As an insurnace against such vulnerability, Navdanya pioneered the conservtion of biodiversity in India and built a movement for the protection of small farmers through promotion of ecological farming and fair trade to ensure the healthy, diverse and safe food. The movement is now spread throughout India through our partner organisaitons and farmer's networks.

Navdanya's pioneering reearch on the hazards of chemical farming, the costs of industrial agriculture and the risks of genetic engineering have led to a paradigm shift. Our research has proved that contrary to the dominant assumptions, ecological agriculture is highly productive and is the only lasting solution to hunger and poverty.

Navdanya have so far trained above 2,00,000 men and women farmers, students, government officials, representatives of national as well as international NGO's, Voluntary organisations on biodiversity conservation and organic farming. We have also trained several large groups like Yuvacharya of Art of Living, NGO led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The group is presently working in about 5000 villages of India. Navdanya trained secretaries and Extension Officers of the Tibetan govt. in exile and now theri settlements across the country are in conversion to organic. Biodiversity based farming has changed the economic status of the member farmers across the country.

Organic agriculture is not just a source of safer, healthier, tastier food. It is an answer to rural poverty.

High cost corporate agriculture is having adverse impact on livelihood of farmers. The increasing cost of production and the falling price combined with the decline in farm credit is putting great burden on farmers, which is pushing him to suicide. Since 1997, more than 25,000 farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab have taken thier lives. Since then, RFSTE has been monitoring the impact of trade liberalisation policies on Indian farmer and Indian agriculture since the New Economic Policy (1991) and WTO rules of the agreement on agriculture (1995) came into force.

In celebration of non-violent organic agriculture, every year Navdanya organizes Albert Howard Memorial Lecture on 2nd October, initiated in the year 2000 to tribute to the two messiahs of sustainability and non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi and Sir Albert Howard.

Organic agriculture is saving the Earth and farmers' lives.

Navdanya: India’s Organic Pioneers

Over the last two decades, Navdanya has created a silent revolution transforming biodiversity and organic farming into an anti poverty strategy for small and marginal peasants. We have also brought biodiverse and unique organic foods into consumption patterns through direct marketing of our organic products.

Navdanya’s members include farmers as the producer members and consumers as consumer member, shaping the food system through their consumption choices.

Every producer member of Navdanya is a seed keeper and a water keeper committed to protecting the environment, food sovereignty and people’s health. [Read the pledge] Navdanya’s consumer members connect directly to the producer members through fair trade and direct marketing links.

Beginning with the year 2005, Navdanya has joined hands with Slow Food, an international good food movement, in spreading the movement for healthy, culturally diverse, high quality, nutritious and ecologically sustainable food. (See the Membership Form)

To complete the organic chain from seed-to-the-table, Navdanya has started organic outlets and cafeteria and is building a larger network.

Navdanya has connected biodiversity conservation with organic production and have challenged the standardization, uniformity and lack of quality, promoted by the industrial food system.

Please visit our organic products to see the biodiverse foods we bring to the consumer. Also visit our page on organic outlets.