Volume 1, Issue 3 : Water & Food Security

October 2010
Inside

ACT I ON
Event -2
Discussion -3
From the Field -5
Case Study -6 A Quarterly Newsletter of Action for Food Production (AFPRO)

ED’s Note Water Resource Management: A Way to

Achieve Food Security
On September 13, 2010 AFPRO conducted an event to commemorate - P.K.Dutta, Unit Manager, AFU-III, Udaipur
AFPRO-SDC partnership, which included release of partnership document
“Winged Seeds” and a panel discussion on the theme “Water and Food
Security in Changing Climate: Partnerships and Challenges”. Three dec-
ades of AFPRO-SDC partnership, established low cost and region specific Managing water resources properly in a sustainable manner is one of
innovative solutions for sustainable rural livelihoods. the most crucial issues for achieving food security. This is more impor-
tant now as climate change has been identified to be a major threat
The key issues that came up were the serious food insecurity prevailing at for hydrological regimes and available freshwater resources, which
the micro level of rural households in marginalized categories and remote will impact on both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture.
region, in spite of food security in food grains at the macro level. While an
increase in food production from 210 million tonnes to 300 million tonness In India, a large percentage of farmers depend mainly on rain-fed
per year is required presently, emphasis was laid on policies that encour- agriculture for their livelihood which covers 60% of the net sown
age proper care and sustainable management of natural resources to area. Crops require water at critical stages for better yields. Lack
support livelihoods in the primary sector. and excess of water during any stage of cultivation cause crop dam-
age. Food security has direct relation with availability of water for
It is very important to adopt water conservation measures on wide scale crop irrigation. The day-to-day variability of rainfall associated with
and provide low cost solutions for water harvesting and in-situ soil conser- weather is a major risk factor for most forms of agriculture.
vation. In arid, semi-arid and hard rock terrains, it is a big challenge to
promote appropriate technology for water conservation and build the Agriculture is highly sensitive to climate variability and weather ex-
capacity of communities to adopt such measures. tremes. Reports from IPCC indicate that enduring changes in climate,
Farming communities need to be capacitated for adapting to differing
groundwater and soil moisture could make it less feasible for crop
weather conditions, whether they be drought, floods or normal situations.
production. Small land holding farmers are the most vulnerable to
Low-cost location specific solutions for soil and water conservation and
climate change, practicing high input intensive agriculture having no
suitable agricultural practices, if properly planned together with the com-
access to appropriate technology. Large investments that are re-
quired for cultivation and weak linkages to the markets often lead
munity will improve food security and livelihoods at the grassroots.
farmers to heavy indebtedness and food insecurity.
Climate and socio-economic changes also play crucial role in food produc-
Water use efficiency is necessary for ensuring agricultural sustainabil-
tion. Government is on the verge of finalizing the Food Security Bill. The Bill
ity in the future. AFPRO’s field level experiences have taught us that
ensures legal rights for the poor to be provided a fixed quantity of rice or
wheat. But, by just addressing distribution aspects can the problem of ex-there is need to involve the community and derive location specific
treme poverty and hunger, experienced by millions be solved? solutions based on innovative principles. In two villages of Udaipur
District, Rajasthan, this approach resulted in two different interventions
This issue of newsletter focuses on location specific technology for conserv-
related to improving water resource management. First, existence of
ing water resources towards improving agriculture production and pre- sloping terrain provided opportunity for improved water-use effi-
venting further degradation of natural resources to achieve food security.ciency while depending on gravity-flow. By renovating existing water
DK Manavalan harvesting structures and lining traditional irrigation channels, farmers
Executive Director, AFPRO are save on two counts. Loss of water during flow has been controlled
due to the lining as well as checks in the irrigation system. Also,
dependence on pump sets for irrigation has reduced, which brings savings on account of power.
Second example was the concept of Water Bank promoted among 12 marginal families. They were capacitated on soil and water conservation
measures for improved productivity. In addition, as their agricultural fields were at an elevated level in comparison to the lone water resource, a
storage structure was developed enabling irrigation based on gravity. They are now also able to grow additional crops.
In Mahabubnagar District, Andhra Pradesh, a third option was taken up to promote awareness on fast depleting ground water resources as well
as enable farmers to take judicious decisions regarding water use and monitor the ground water levels. This was done by introducing participa-
tory monitoring of ground water and setting up of farmer’s clubs, where discussions are held at the community level and appropriate decisions
adopted.
Promotion of mass awareness on climate related issues among farmers and building their capacities on conservation and management of avail-
able natural resources like water will enable them to adapt to climate change. Another important area is introduction of ‘weather based farming
practices’ and installing ‘mini agro-met lab’ at village level. Role of policy makers in this regard also play a crucial role to achieve food security
by proper management of water resources.

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 Event “Agriculture is the noblest of all alchemy; for it turns
earth, and even manure, into gold.” - Paul Chatfield

Event Commemorating
30 Years of AFPRO-SDC Partnership
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Action
for Food Production (AFPRO) partnership has continued for three
decades promoting sustainable approaches for improving rural
livelihoods through socio-technical interventions. This period has been
marked by interventions that have made significant contributions in
the field of rural development and community empowerment. To
commemorate the SDC-AFPRO Partnership, an event was organ-
ized at the India International Center, New Delhi on 13th September
2010. Segmented in two sections, the first section of the event com-
prised release of SDC-AFPRO Partnership Document “Winged
Seeds” followed by the second section which was a Panel Discussion
on “Water & Food Security in a Changing Climate: Partnerships
and Challenges”. Release of Partnership Document “Winged Seeds” by H.E. Mr. Philippe Welti,
Ambassador of Switzerland to India in presence of the Minister

and Mr. Vijay S Borade, Marathwada Sheti Sahayya Mandal

(MSSM), Aurangabad.
This followed by address of the Chief Guest, Prof. K.V.Thomas who
spoke on current challenges of food and water security before the
country. He also complimented the AFPRO-SDC partnership in
showing the way through large number of micro interventions for
streamlining governance of natural resources.
After the release of partnership document a Panel Discussion was
held with the introductory remarks by Ms. Sybille Suter, Country
Director, SDC. Prof. Amitabh Kundu, Centre for the Study of Re-
gional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal, Economist & Environmental Special-
ist, Founder- Institute of Sustainable Planet & member of AFPRO
Governing Body and Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma, Expert Environne-
Inauguration of the Event by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State
for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution mental Sciences participated in the panel discussion, that was
chaired by Mr. Ashok Jaitly, IAS (Retd), Director, Water Resources
Key Highlights
Division, TERI. This was followed by an open session. Panelists as-
Chief Guest Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, sessed present-day issues of water and food security in the rural
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution inaugurated the development and poverty alleviation context, and the role of part-
event by lighting the lamp. After the inauguration, Mr. nerships in addressing these challenges.
D.K.Manavalan (IAS Retd.), Executive Director, AFPRO welcome all
The event finally concluded with the vote of thanks by Mr. S.C.Jain,
the dignitaries and participants and emphasized the need of big-
Programme Coordinator, AFPRO, Delhi.
ger role for small and marginal farmers with appropriate support
systems towards India’s transition from India incorporated into “India
inclusive”.
In the key note address, HE Philippe Welti, Ambassador of Switzer-
land to India, highlighted the three decades of strategic coopera-
tion between the AFPRO and SDC in promoting interventions that
are contextually relevant which would result in improving quality of
life of the deprived communities. After his address, the partnership
document “Winged Seeds” was released by him and handed over
to the chief guest. This followed by address of Mr K.P.Fabian, Presi-
dent, AFPRO, Governing Body and expressed the need for part-
nerships such as the SDC-AFPRO partnership and raised the need
“to plan for another 30 years”
Col. (Retd) B.L.Verma, Former Head, Water Resource Department,
AFPRO shared reminiscence regarding the inaugural phase of the
partnership. The field experiences from the field were shared by
representative of two NGO partners under the AFPRO-SDC part- Members on the Dias during Panel Discussion : (L-R) Prof. Kundu,
nership viz. Mr. Heera Lal Sharma, Sahyog Sansthan, Rajasthan Dr. Sharma, Mr. Jaitely, Ms. Suter and Mr. Sanyal

"Indian economy lives in rural villages.” - Mahatma Gandhi 2

 Discussion “The art of life is a constant readjustment to our
surroundings” - Kakuzo Okakaura

Livelihood Security among Tribals

through Soil and Water Conservation
Measures
- Dr. S. Srivastava, Unit Manager, ATF-Raipur

In India, livelihood of most of the rural population is directly

or indirectly connected with the agriculture. It is our pride to
have the maximum cultivable land in the world, favorable
weather conditions for agriculture almost 9- 10 month in a
year, but our yield in comparison with other countries stands
far behind. Why?

We all know the important components of the agriculture are

favorable weather, soil and water. We are having all the
three components easily available in most parts of the coun-
try. As our average annual rainfall is about 1200 mm and
potential availability of water is around 17000 cumpa per
rural household which is almost double of the requirement of
about 10000 cumpa per household. We are having almost
300 sunny days except in Himalayan ridge areas. All these
facts show most favorable conditions for our agricultural ac-
tivities. Then, where is the problem lies?
The problem is lying with the rainfall pattern; we receive our
most of the precipitation in about 50 – 60 rainy days and
100 – 150 rain hours. Most of the surface runoff is flowing
off to the river and from there to sea. This runoff is not only
taking the valuable water but also the productive top soil.
Impact of climate change over the rainfall pattern is making
the problem more serious by increasing the frequency and
intensity of droughts and floods.
There is a need to check this runoff either by harvesting on
the surface or below the surface in the form of soil moisture
or ground water.
Promoting Livelihood Security for Marginalized Communi-
ties in Chhattisgarh
View of farm Pond, recently renovated,
in one of the Project Village under LWR supported Project
increase the crop yield through water and land development,
enhance skill of farmers in improved agriculture methods,
increase the capacity of to access and manage the credit
and improve the capacity of NGOs to manage SHGs and
facilitate income generation.
Overall, the project is addressing the issue of livelihood by
increased cultivable area through land treatment measures,
and enhanced yield due to secured irrigation in the monsoon
gaps. Ultimately these interventions supported the financial
status of the community and improved their life standards.
It is well observed fact that tribal farmers are open to new
technologies, need of the hour is to transfer the technology
from researchers to farmers at grass root level with proper
hand holding support. The progamme has shown ways to the
tribal community in enhancing their livelihoods. But, still the
learning and experiences need to be disseminated among
the larger population and organizations, whether it is
Government or Non-Government, for replication of the
programme’s learnings among the other needy areas.

Most of the tribal populations in Chhattisgarh reside in re-

mote pockets of rainfed regions, where the benefit of devel-
opment activities have not yet reached. The lands inhabited
by these sections of population usually have poor soils and
very low yield as compared to more fertile areas in other
parts of the country. Majority of these areas are vacated by
deforestation and having undulating, semi hillock topography
with thin and poor soils. Due to the undulations and poor soils
the runoff is high to very high resulting in poor ground water
scenario.

AFPRO is implementing a project with the support of Lutheran

World Relief and 6 grassroots NGOs in tribal areas of
Chhattisgarh. Sustainable low-cost interventions based on
land and water resource management under the watershed
approach are being promoted. Decentralized water har-
vesting structures are being developed to improve the yield
by securing moisture. The key objectives of the project are Well is being dug with the community participation
in Village Mawlipadar, Chattisgarh under LWR supported Project

“The earth has enough resources to meet people's needs, but will never have enough to satisfy people's greed” - Mahatma Gandhi 3
 Discussion “Improved farming has been shown to provide major bene-
fits for wildlife and the wider environment.” - Prince Charles

Climate Variability and Water & Food
Security in Jharkhand
- Ajit Kumar, Unit Manager AFU-IV, Ranchi
Jharkhand is facing drought for the second year in succession.
The 2010 drought is worse than the previous years. After the
formation of the state, the lowest net sown area has been
observed this year. Sowing of paddy is only to the extent of
29% and the rainfall is less than 50% of normal. Jharkhand
is most vulnerable to climate change because of heavy reli-
ance on rain-fed agriculture, poor level of water control and
the poor replenishment of reservoirs.
Recent climate variability is witnessed in terms of marked
decline in rainfall, leading to an observed average decline
in discharge of most of the watercourses across the state. As
per newspaper reports, the rivers and streams in the district
of Khunti, neighboring Ranchi are dry even during the mon-
soon period. The ground water level is going down. The con-
dition in the other districts is not different from that of Khunti.
The farmers are migrating on a larger scale in search of their
livelihood. The changing pattern of the temperature, the
varying nature of rainfall, decline in the forest cover and trees
are all adversely contributing to the loss of food production
across the state.
Health risks can be linked to changes in diseases from both
increased or decreased precipitation, lowering people’s food
security and often resulting in the need for improved nutri-
tional intake. Impacts on food production and nutrition can
lead to higher rates of malnutrition and susceptibility to other
diseases. This affects agriculture through loss of labour and
this further increases the food insecurity.
Climate change triggers a new pattern of pests and diseases,
affecting plants, animals and humans, and posing new risks for
food security, food safety and human health. The yields of
some major crops may be reduced with climate change. It is
predicted that the rise in temperature would adversely affect
the quality of wheat. This is equally applicable to other crops
also. This raises the need for development of improved varie-
ties of crops that are more tolerant to drought and disease.
Research and extension institutions should play a major role to
decreasing the vulnerability to food security in the state. An
adaptation mechanism is also required at local level to cope
up with the climate variability, which has been experienced by
the State since last five years.

Excerpts from the Event “Commemorating 30 Years of AFPRO-SDC Partnership”

Prof K. V. Thomas : There is need to increase food production from 300 Million tones per annum from the present 200 plus
million tones, which has to be managed in a more regionally balanced and participatory manner. It has to be provided for by
water resources, without damaging the resource base. Fertilizers have to be adopted without polluting the water resources,
sustainable and improving farm mechanization without a huge draw on fossil fuels. This is a major development challenge
which we cannot overcome without high degree of participation and technological breakthroughs.
Degree of subsidization should not render farming unproductive, where the farmer is denied a competitive reasonable price.
Mechanism of delivery of subsidies should not result in large grain diversions from subsidized to non-subsidized regions or in
the open market where it commands higher prices.
Ms. Sybille Suter, Country Director, SDC: India has the potential to achieve food and water security and the larger millen-
nium development goals as it has the required financial, human, physical, intellectual as well as institutional capacities. There is
a need to accelerate progress continuing with time tested policies, strategies and interventions while making a clean break
with those approaches that do not work.
Prof. Amitabh Kundu: Food Security achieved till date over the past three decades is at the Macro level. There is a serious
food insecurity issue at the micro level, based on marginalization, religion and other social barriers such as Scheduled castes
and tribes. Further, based on growth trends of Indian labour force, and the impact of climate change on agriculture, it can be
concluded that agriculture cannot absorb any more workforce and India will have to shift workforce out of agriculture to non-
agricultural activities. These issues of food security and livelihoods need to be addressed in policy. At present, most of the cli-
mate change mitigation approaches in policy documents deal with consumptions in urban areas.
Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal: Targets of food production need to be reviewed and overall sustainability of natural resources required
for food security of present and future generations should be ensured. Rationalization of government policies need to be un-
dertaken: at present, the impact of policies on food procurement prices, subsidized inputs, and schemes such as NREGA mess
up the local incentive structure.
Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma: Increased incidence of cancer, kindey failure, poisoning of groundwater has been reported in Pun-
jab on account of groundwater extraction overdraft. Further, soil structure and soil organic matter play a very critical role in
groundwater recharge. There is need to produce more food, but not at the cost of making farmers more vulnerable in Eastern
India as we have done north-west India.
Dr. Ashok Jaitly, IAS (Retd): Information regarding water resources is not available on public domain and is extremely diffi-
cult to access. Governance, institutions and legal framework for sustainable management of water resources have become
critical and need to be addressed both at the central and state levels.

"Farmers are the only indispensable people on the face of the earth." - Li Zhaoxing 4
 From the Field
On Going Projects
Partnership for Innovation and Knowledge in Agriculture
World Vision India, ACDI/VOCA, (enterprise development
specialists), Rice-Wheat Consortium (an extended arm of
IRRI) and AFPRO are currently implementing a community
based project, Partnership for Innovation and Knowledge in
Agriculture (PIKA) in the five districts of Uttar Pradesh with
the financial support of USAID.
AFPRO is promoting soil and water conservation measures
such as farm bunding, check dams, ponds, drainage devel-
opment etc. The key interventions include renovation of ex-
isting dry ponds, promotion of improved farming practices
such as SRI – System of Rice Intensification through trainings
and monitoring of water level as well as water quality test-
ing at regular intervals. PIKA project is unique that links
smallholder farmer organizations to major regional markets
by conserving the natural resources needed for agriculture.
Sustainable Livelihoods for Tribal Communities
AFPRO and LWR have been implementing the project
“Sustainable Livelihoods for Tribal Communities” in villages
across Chhattisgarh which is based on the objectives of em-
powerment of farmers, women and local NGOs on con-
cepts and practice of soil and water conservation and im-
proved agricultural techniques.
Under the project, farmers were made aware about the
benefits of soil and water conservation and improved agri-
cultural practices. As a result, farmers has been adopting
sustainable farming techniques such as System of Rice Inten-
sification, Vermi-composting, Nadep composting, usage of
improved and treated seeds, line sowing with controlled
plant population, among others. These adopted practices
by the communities have resulted in increases of yield from
20% to 50%.
Diversion Based Irrigation Systems (DBIS)
AFPRO and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust have initiated DBIS pro-
ject to enable tribal communities in 145 villages in Eastern
and North-eastern India. Hilly regions in 6 districts Hazari-
bagh, Jharkhand, Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya, South Tripura in
Tripura, Karbi Anglong in Assam, and Ganjam and Gaja-
pati in Orissa have been identified for support under the
project.
Diversion-based irrigation systems are much simpler to op-
erate and maintain than other systems such as Lift Irrigation
Systems. Identifying the right water sources and connecting
these to the farmers fields through distribution channels us-
ing the pull of gravity to enable irrigation, both kharif and
paddy crops can be provided protective irrigation. The
structures constructed under this project, an leading to the
increase in the irrigated area that result in overall increase
in crop production.
"Water is life for food and need to manage our natural resources." - C. Maxhill
"We-Human beings - are part of 'biodiversity.' We are de-
pendent on the whole food chain down below us." - Darrell
Learnings
Pond Renovation: Facilitating Recharge
Ponds are traditional sources of water and reduced storage in pond
is a serious problem. For the rural community, it means less or no wa-
ter for irrigation, cattle and aquaculture that impact their livelihoods
and food security. Small-scale pond farming can provide additional
nutrition and income to the village communities. Ponds contribute in a
significant manner to local ecosystems. The ignorance of ponds is
resulting in dying of such traditional sources and lowering of water
table of the area.
Under PIKA project, focus has been given by AFPRO to renovate
and rejuvenate the dying ponds so to ensure food security and re-
charge of groundwater aquifers. It is experienced, with renovation of
ponds the groundwater levels have started increasing and small
farmers are once more able to access these through pre-existing
tubewells that are sunk near these ponds. Thus renovation of ponds
increased agricultural productivity in these villages.
Nadep Compost Manure: Enhancing Productivity
Use of organic manure has always been essential for better crop
productivity and maintaining the fertility of soil to ensure sustainable
production. In dryland conditions, organic manure play a great role
as they not only supply balanced nutrients but also retain substantial
amount of moisture. NADEP method of composting was developed
by Shri N.D. Pandhari Pande from Maharashtra is one such proc-
esses facilitating aerobic decomposition of organic matter. The
Nadep method of making compost is unique and its real secret lies in
the large quantities of compost the process can deliver with minimal
human effort within a specific period of time.
AFPRO has promoted, Nadep method of compost manures among
the tribal farmers in the project villages. The interventions under LWR
project, include capacity building of the farmers on developing and
using Nadep manures. The poor and marginalized farmers, who are
using the manures, are achieving better crop yields from their field
leading towards food security.
DBIS: Ensuring Cultivation Round the Year
A Diversion Based Irrigation System (DBIS) is a system of diverting a
portion of water from natural sources (stream/ river/ any water har-
vesting structure) that can be used for the purpose of irrigating crops
and for other human needs. There are there categories of DBIS -
Diversion providing gravity flow irrigation with and without arrang-
ing any storage and surface flow having lifting device through gravi-
tational flow.
AFPRO promotes DBIS, in project village, providing gravity flow irri-
gation with and without storage arrangement. The objective of pro-
moting DBIS is to tap the potential of the irrigation system for ena-
bling poor communities living on difficult hilly terrains by increasing
access to water source so that they can take up second crops. DBIS is
proving to be a lower investment for irrigation with minimal mainte-
nance cost, and at the same time able to address the issue of food
security of small and marginal land holders.
5
 Case Study “Agriculture is the noblest of all alchemy; for it turns
earth, and even manure, into gold.” - Paul Chatfield

Fud Irrigation System - An Innovative Low-Cost Irrigation Approach

- S.G. Salunke, Unit Manager AFU-I, Ahmednagar
The project on Fud irrigation, a low cost innovative approach of irriga-
tion was implemented in villages Dhangarwadi and Mahadapur,
Maharastra during the year 2006-2007. The main implementing
agency of the project was DILASA, an NGO based at Ghatanji, district
Yavatmal. The project was implemented in close consultation with the
community and AFPRO provided time to time technical support to the
project.
The Fud technology is basically an innovative utilization of the Water
harvested through Natural Resource Management (NRM). This innova-
tiveness focused on efficient use of surface water flowing through
stream by the construction of an embankment along with the diversion
channels so that, the water can be diverted to the barren and rain fed
lands. Seepage water from the storage tanks has been harvested by
constructing a basin on downstream side of the tank along with the di-
version channels or through pipes. Thus seepage waste water has been Fud Irrigation Model developed in one of the Project Village
efficiently utilized for irrigation of the rain fed and barren lands. with the technical support from AFPRO

In the area of Dhangarwadi where no irrigation facility was available, today, total 206 acres of land belonging to 70 farmers has been brought
under irrigation with the help of the Fud irrigation Scheme. In the first crop season that ended in 2007 summer, grain production shot up by 45
tonnes and onion production by 25 tonnes. Villagers were able to diversify into ‘tur’, the popular local pulse crop, wheat, onions, bajra and black
gram.
This resulted in a great drop in the rate of migration among the community. Only one representative of the family went out with the sheep after
harvesting Kharif. As a result of this, these then migrant families started to become permanent residents of the village and consequently followed
the process of getting title for their houses, which were built on the Government land. The consistent follow up by the community, Dilasa sanstha
and AFPRO made it possible and now all the 103 families residing at Dhangarwadi have got title for their land where they have built ‘kaccha’
houses. As children started staying back in the village throughout the year, Government has also decided to start Primary School under Zilla
Parishad, Yavatmal.

Program Visit of IKEA Officials

to Project on Better Management Practices at Yavatmal district, Maharastra
On 15th September 2010 the officials of IKEA from Sweden and New Delhi, Mr. Gregg Mow-
ins, Regional Purchase Manager, TASA; Ms. Susanne Bergstrand; Trading Area Manager
Operations, TASA; Ms. Marianne Barner, Social Initiative Manager, IOS; Mr. Pramit Chanda,
Project Manager, Mr. Pramod Singh and Dr. Ritesh Singh, IKEA, New Delhi together with docu-
mentation team from UNICEF along with Mr. D.K. Manavalan, Executive Director, AFPRO, Mr.
S.C. Jain, Programme Coordinator, AFPRO visited the project area and villages under BMP
Project to review its progress as well as impact. After initial briefing, the team visited the vil-
lage Awalgaon and interacted with BMP farmers observing the impact of BMP on their liveli-
hoods. Mr. Mikael Ohlsson, Chief Executive of IKEA appreciated the excellent work carried out
by AFPRO with the hoped to scale its success. In a mail to AFPRO, Mr. Ohlsson said “it is en-
couraging to see the changes and that the time seems to be right to take a significant step in
transforming the Cotton Framing Practices for the benefit of the Earth”

We invite your comments and suggestion.

Please write to: The Executive Director, AFPRO
25-1/A, Institutional Area, D-Block, Pankha Road, Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058
Email: ed@afpro.org/pd@afpro.org

Action For Food production (AFPRO) is a non-governmental , socio-technical development organization that has been working to
reduce rural poverty in India since 1966. We provide technical guidance and back-up support to grass-root level NGOs in
implementing environmentally sound food production, livelihood generation and related projects. Our core competencies are in
land and water management, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, renewable energy and forestry. AFPRO reaches out to poor
communities through 6 field units and 3 task forces, strategically located in 9 different states in India.

Executive Editor: DK Manavalan, Editor: Ashish Kumar, Editorial Team: SC Jain, Thomas Sunil Augustine, Dr. Anis Chatterjee, Shatarupa Kashyap
Contributions: AFU-1, AFU-3, AFU-4, AFU-5 & ATF-R
Published by Action For Food Production, 25-1/A, Institutional Area, D-Block, Pankha Road, Janakpuri, New Delhi-110058 for Private Circulation Only.