| Capacity-building | From 2007 to 2020, Save Soil has been developing optimal farming techniques or crop-wise package of practices and conducted various training programs, farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing sessions, farm visits, hand held farmers and visited model farmers from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The model farms are set up to conduct various experiments for different crops and a package of practices which are created for the farmers. This has given us valuable insights on the regenerative agriculture practices we adopted, including the problems that will arise in large-scale implementation as well as the most effective solutions that are at our disposal right now. We have managed 68 crop cycles this year in the 42 acres of model farms. | On-going |
| Capacity-building | Volunteers are being trained in soil biology-based regenerative practices on model farms, which will be expanded from one trial acre to 3 acres this year. 5 expert volunteers are undergoing the soil food web consultant program with Dr. Elaine Ingham and working on a pilot to enhance on-farm soil biological properties. The remaining 40 acres are used to train field staff and farmer trainers before providing guidance to the farmers on farm visits. This is ongoing yearly. | On-going |
| Convene stakeholders/Networking | Save Soil has been supported by regenerative agriculture stalwarts like Late Nammalvar Ayya, Padma Shri Subhash Palekar, Alangudi Perumal, Nagarathinam Naidu, and subject experts like Dr Punniyamurthy, Dr Saravanan and Poochi. N. Selvam. The mega training programs also act as a huge networking event for all the stakeholders of the movement, be it the farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs, political leaders, influencers and the younger generation.The usual training programs are attended by 50-80 participants, but the mega training programs conducted bimonthly for over 1000 participants on popular topics such as paddy and coconut cultivation. The unique aspect of this is that a large number of farmers come together to interact with successful lead and model farmers. This event also encompasses exhibitions for natural produce, traditional seeds, new technologies and machineries, value addition ideas, registration into FPOs and much more. Mesmerizing cultural elements and delicious food is served as well to the participants in a celebratory manner. Hardly any participant leaves the program midway. The program is dense with ample videos and farmer sharings. Participating farmers also share their experience and feedback as well as their interest in taking up the mentioned practices. The impact of this program is often attended by local influencers and leaders, media and celebrities. | On-going |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | A social media team was set up to create high quality content that covered a wide range of topics ranging from training programs, awareness, best practices in crop cultivation, success stories to pests/weeds/diseases management and innovative farming practices. This totals 329 creatives and 177 videos.
In 2022-2023 the helpline team answered 5000+ technical queries and addressed 6000+ calls for program registrations. The WhatsApp support team shared relevant information to the farmers through 191 WhatsApp groups of 30,000 farmers, of which 12,800 were added in 2024. A technical team answers farmer queries posted in these groups.
Special Awareness Programs took place on our model farm for G20 Officials from various countries and NABARD top officials invited by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
Local students were invited for a 10-day special awareness program in our model farm this year, and interacted in-person with Sadhguru and remotely with a farmer from China on regenerative agriculture.
More than 23,000 farmers were trained in 231 programs as of 31 Mar 2024. One in five farmers has fully transitioned to regenerative agriculture as a result of these programs.. Out of that, over 200 lead farmers have become champions of regenerative agriculture in the state and are spearheading the movement.
Hands-on training was also provided to 40 farmers who came in 4 batches and stayed on the model farms for the 3-Month Farm Intensive Training program, during which they learned all the crop cultivation techniques and practices on the model farm. They were given certificates and some stayed back to support the movement.
The Awareness and Training team conducted 78 programs of 26 types for 6854 participants across Tamil Nadu, out of which 3 were mega training programs conducted this year. Mega trainings are similar to awareness programs for major crops and popular topics. | Completed |
| Field activities | Since 2008, Save Soil has nurtured model farmers who have successfully transitioned to regenerative agriculture from conventional agriculture. By doing so, they have drastically reduced their dependence on external inputs and increased their incomes significantly. These model farmers have also become farmer volunteers, and now share their experience with fellow farmers through training programs conducted by Save Soil. Their farms have also become model farms, where live sessions are conducted for farmers on various crop cultivation aspects.
We have 11 trained staff who visited 1490 farmers all across the state out of which 1006 were fully transitioned and 484 were transitioning in this financial year. They identified over 630 lead farmers and over 207 expert farmers. 206 farms have the possibility to conduct training programs and 173 farms have the possibility of an awareness video shoot. | On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | COP15
Sadhguru presented the 3-pronged strategy to return a minimum 3-6% organic matter content to agricultural soils across the world: 1) government incentives for farmer adaptation of sustainable soil management practices 2) easy access for farmers to carbon markets 3) preferential market for food certification based on SOM content of the soil
COP28
Save Soil presented Soil as a Climate Solution: Healthy soil is essential for carbon sequestration, which can help mitigate climate change. The initiative argued that investing in soil health can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sadhguru discussed the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural and industrial practices to mitigate environmental impact. | Completed |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | The Indian Government is taking proactive steps to restore soil health by large scale promotion of Natural Farming. The National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF) & National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, have expressed willingness to collaborate after very successful stakeholder consultation meetings. The MoU with MANAGE was later signed. | Completed |
| Scientific/technical activities | SS-TKV (Thaimann Kaakum Vivasayam, Agriculture that Revitalize the Soil) aims to transition farmers from conventional agriculture to climate resilient agriculture over the next decade. The key is implementing a scientific, effective, and scalable methodology for crop cultivation. Currently, natural farmers across India are employing various techniques which need a comprehensive understanding of the effects these inputs have on soil and plants, or how these practices can be optimized. Many farmers report issues with stagnating yields, underscoring the need for a more informed, data-driven approach to enhance soil health and productivity.
SS-TKV is committed to restoring soil health by focusing on its biological properties, which have been significantly degraded by chemical farming. Influenced by thought leaders such as Dabolkar, Subhash Palekar, and Nammazhvar Ayya, TKV understands the crucial role microorganisms play in soil health and crop yields. Now TKV’s approach is also deeply influenced by pioneers like Dr. Elaine Ingham, whose research on soil biology, its symbiosis with plants, the importance of a balanced soil food web, optimum fungal bacterial ratio and its effect on plant succession has transformed our understanding of agriculture.
Equipped with this knowledge, TKV collaborated with model farmers to conduct simple experiments involving hot composting, cover cropping, and no-till practices on their croplands. These initial trial results gave clarity about the effectiveness of the practices and the confidence to kickstart a comprehensive ground-proofing pilot project on our model farm. The objective of this project is to ground-proof the RegenAg practices that have been successfully implemented in various parts of the world so that it can be adopted in India’s farming conditions. | On-going |
