Jaya Organica Yojana

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SUMMARY: “MISSION: Rejuvenate land, Sequester carbon, Water retention, Generate Rural Income, Mitigate Migration. At Scale. Our innovation is what we call “in-situ” education, EDP in Vermi Compost – where we send university educated Agri diploma holders home to farmers who have not had any formal schooling and may not read and write.”

PROBLEM SPACE: “Jaya Organic Yojana addresses the issue of soil infertility caused by over use of chemical fertilizers & pesticides over the last half century. This systemic problem is entrenched over generations of farmers.
To break this is an enormous challenge.
There is a huge imbalance in ecology. There is an alarming depletion of ground water and top soil. There is a potentially catastrophic decimation of microbial life forms. And what is frightening is that this is at Scale.
The biggest problem is Health. The food is contaminated. The elite trend of organic certification is no longer required. We need healthy food. At Scale. For All.
Merely spreading the knowledge has not helped. Government subsidies were misused. When applied, the programs were abandoned for want of consistent, adequate training.
Therefore, we started an innovative training program that brings the trainers home, One-on-One, to large numbers of farmers. We have devised the curriculum to span two harvest seasons to illustrate the qualitative and quantitative improvement in agricultural yield and the soil. The change occurs right before the farmersäó» eyes, in their own lands, by their own hands. This experiential learning makes them committed stakeholders. We have seen real change where we are working.”

SOLUTION: “We begin by identifying villages of agricultural promise, followed by surveys. We cull out farmers interested in our training program, who have some land, water, agri waste and cowdung.
We sensitize farmers on present conditions of soil and produce. Vermi Compost is presented as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in terms of rejuvenating soil, increasing yield, retaining water and creating wealth from waste.
We need to bring a real change on the ground at Scale. So our strategy is to educate thousands of small farmers stretched over hundreds of villages: Forge new practices and mindsets.
This EDP course involves a fee of $250 so the farmer invests in his learning. It is not free. The objective is to bring farmers out of subsidy dependent mindsets. The fee includes a JOY Starter Kit: 3 HDPE ISI Vermi Beds and 6 kilos of Eudrilus Eugeniae earthworms.
This gives the underprivileged at the bottom of the pyramid “”the Means of Production”” and “”Capital””
We identify groups of 200 to 250 farmers in clusters of villages per Certificate Program.
We facilitate a bank loan for the farmer to pay the fee, resulting in financial inclusion and financial literacy.
For every 50 students, a dedicated trainer comes home for 28 weeks. S/he brings Audio & Video lessons on a tablet with our specially designed App. The tab collects data and photographs uploaded weekly to the head office.
A marketing network sells the farmer’s produce. During the training period itself each farmer can produce 5 tons of Vermi Compost worth $300, and earthworms which multiply fast-worth another $300.
We are creating a model which can be replicated, and developing technology for monitoring and evaluation of large numbers at distance. In our 1st year we have 1500 beneficiaries stretched over 800 Kms and more than 100 villages.”