AME Donations

Soil, water and biodiversity are the most precious
of our endowments. But, the way we are handling them,
‘the present is devouring the future’.

AN APPEAL TO DONORS

Farming is the biggest occupation sustaining our population. Of the total holdings, 85 per cent own marginal and small farm holdings of less than 2 hectares. They are mostly located in the fragile ecosystems are hence deeply vulnerable to various externalities.The estimates indicate that small and marginal farmers may account for more than 91 per cent of farm holdings by 2030. The continuously declining farm size also gives rise to concerns on the very sustainability of the small farms.

One can see in this occupation some far reaching damages have taken place specially in dry farming. Almost a complete reliance on the high-grade fertilizers and pesticides has led to impaired soil health, polluted ground water and pesticide residues in farm products. Farmers are compelled to incur high production costs. Farming in general has become unremunerative.

Though operating only on 44 per cent of the cultivated land, these small farms are the main providers of food and nutritional security to the nation. It is therefore necessary to ensure livelihood security of marginal and small farmers by empowering them to farm in a more eco friendly manner.

AME Foundation has been working on the Deccan Plateau, in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, in addressing these issues through some innovative efforts, employing people-centered approaches. The Foundation has been broadly working on

  • Promoting agro ecological practices and low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA)
  •  Guiding farmers to grow combination of crops and enterprises for food, income and nutritional support at household level through season-long Farmer Field School method.
  • Promoting human resource development by adopting participatory learning processes.
  • Encouraging farm youth to continue farming by training them in sustainable agriculture and helping them to become catalysts of change
  • Promoting supplementary activities like kitchen gardening, backyard poultry among women to earn additional income for the household.

                    Today more than 50000 farmers are practicing sustainable agriculture in AMEF working areas.

Please help us to help farmers

 

DONATE NOW

DONATIONS made to AME Foundation are exempt u/s 80G of the IT Act, 1961 (letter no. DIT[E]/80G(R) / 147/ W-1/2003- 04 DTD. BY 01.07.03 ISSUED BY Director of IT (Exemptions), Bangalore).