Does endosulfan have an alternative?: non pesticidal management - a large-scale success story from Andhra Pradesh, India
Over 1.7 million acres of land in Andhra Pradesh are now farmed under Non Pesticidal Management. Almost all the important crops in Andra Pradesh grow in these villages. Villagers are developing, with institutional mechanisms of their own, as service providers and cooperatives, showing that NPM is economically sustainable and well accepted by farmers. Their major achievement is that they are able to avoid the use of pesticides that ate into their income, ruined their crops and soil, and destroyed their health and environment. Farmers realised from their own experiences that pesticides were increasing pest infestations. They realised that maintaining ecological balance is important to managing pests. The farmers in 3,000 villages in Andra Pradesh are no longer dependent on external agencies for pesticides, other agriculture inputs, money, or decisions. They are confident about what they are doing and have proven that farming without pesticides is ecologically and economically sustainable, and that endosulfan is not necessary for managing pests. Like farmers in Enabavi village, many farmers in the other villages are also moving into organic farming. NPM has proven not only to be an alternative to pesticides like endosulfan, but also to be a low-risk stepping stone towards a total cost-effective organic farming system. NPM is also opening up more economic and social opportunities for farmers to rebuild their agriculture and livelihood.