Seeking an Eco-systems Approach for Soil Regeneration: Efforts Towards Sustainable Agriculture in Tribal Hinterlands

Soil is the source of almost all terrestrial life. However, much of our food productionProduction destroys or damages soil. Tribal communitiesCommunity once had eco-friendly practices, which protected the forests and the environment and so also soil. Modern-day processes have led to much destruction of the forests and denudation of their environment, forcing tribal communitiesCommunity into commercial cultivation practices, with consequences for their health, food and income security. InstitutionsInstitutions, as also non-profit organisations, have the space to try alternative methods of eco-friendly farming, which can address impoverishment, and also lead to more sustainable agriculture. Over the last decade, Agragamee has taken up systematic experimentation to develop such an alternative through organic and minimum soil disturbance methods. The results have established that zero-tillZero-till methods lead to increased and steady productionProduction for rainfed traditional crops as well as irrigated vegetable crops. It requires significantly reduced inputs compared to organic agriculture, including water, manure and labour costs, and checks pest attacks almost completely. The issue is: how does one replicate these efforts?