The problem

In India, poor farmers often work many small, non-contiguous patches of land which are of low agricultural productivity. Unfavorable weather conditions such as the delayed monsoon, floods, frequent soil erosion, and mismanagement of irrigation – as well as excessive application of fertilizer or insecticide – has led to the degradation of these landholdings. Meanwhile, population growth is exacerbating this problem of land fragmentation and degradation. But the small and marginal farmers who work the lands are mostly illiterate, and lack the capacity to benefit from global mechanisms such as carbon credit schemes.

The solution

This activity identifies degraded land and mobilizes small and marginal farmers to reforest it in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, and East Godavari districts of the Eastern Ghats region. Geographical Information Services systems are used to identify the lands, and the seedlings are provided to the farmers through ongoing government antipoverty programs. The farmers are facilitated in taking proper care of the plantations until they are mature, and also have the prospect of regular additional revenue from carbon credits. The project thus enables farmers to generate additional revenue from non-timber forest products.

Helping the planet

Trees that have been planted are long-rotation species that include teak, pongamia, mango, cashew, neem, and casuarina. The diversity of species enables the formation of a mosaic forest on the degraded lands. These forests provide many environmental services such as cleansing the air and water, as well as sequestering carbon thus mitigating climate change.

Helping people

Through this scheme, farmers are able to diversify their livelihoods, giving the largely poor communities the potential of improved socioeconomic conditions. Activities such as nursery operation, planting and post-planting, and ongoing protection of the trees are providing employment opportunities. Restoring degraded lands and bringing them to productive use could help improve the quality of life of resource-poor farmers in these underprivileged, tribal regions of the country.

Scaling up

The model was tested and previously verified and achieved its intended results, demonstrating a capacity for growth and replication. As part of the current project’s growth and replication, project proponents have entered into a memorandum of understanding with a private company and an Indian government agency on a corporate responsibility program. Working with diverse land fields spread across different areas with a focus on small farmers could bring long-horizon, transformative change in addressing climate change mitigation efforts.

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