Bioregional COE – RYSS Collaboration (Deoria & Kushinagar)
August 2025 – June 2026
The Natural Farming initiative in Deoria and Kushinagar was launched through a collaboration between Jagriti and RYSS (Rythu Sadhikara Samstha), Andhra Pradesh. The initiative aims to promote low-cost, chemical-free farming while establishing a community-led extension system that enables farmers to adopt and sustain Natural Farming practices.
The initiative began with an exposure visit of 8 farmers to Andhra Pradesh, where they interacted with experienced Natural Farming practitioners and visited successful field models. The visit gave farmers first-hand exposure to Natural Farming techniques and inspired them to introduce these practices in their own villages.
Following the exposure visit, 4 Experienced Community Resource Persons (ECRPs) from Andhra Pradesh are deployed in Uttar Pradesh. They work closely with farmers through village meetings, field demonstrations, farm visits, and regular technical guidance, helping build awareness and confidence among the farming community.
The project was initially implemented in four villages:
Bodhichhaper (Khadda)
Laxmipur (Kasaya)
Chatangawa (Dudhahi)
Badhya Buzurg (Deoria)
At present, the project is being implemented through two Natural Farming clusters, each covering six villages.
Kushinagar and Deoria
Sargatiya
Jatwaliya
Ghurpati
Prithvipur
Basgav
Chatangawa
Badhya Buzurg
Parsa Jungle
Jungle Thakurahi
Mishrauliya
Banki
Khoraram
The cluster approach is expected to improve farmer-to-farmer learning, strengthen community participation, and provide more effective technical support.
Local Capacity Building
To ensure long-term sustainability, the project has initiated the recruitment of Natural Farming Facilitators (NFFs) from the local communities. The recruitment process is currently underway. Once selected, the NFFs will receive training and gradually take responsibility for farmer mobilization, technical support, and coordination of village-level Natural Farming activities.
Progress until now
Four ECRPs have been providing continuous technical support across Deoria and Kushinagar.
Regular farmer meetings, awareness programmes, and field demonstrations have been conducted.
Natural Farming practices have been introduced and demonstrated on farmers’ fields.
Farmer groups have been mobilized and strengthened.
A cluster-based implementation model has been successfully established.
79 farmers have been mobilized under various Natural Farming interventions.
16.08 acres have been brought under Natural Farming.
25 farmers have established Kitchen Gardens (KG).
9 farmers have adopted Any Time Money interventions.
39 farmers are practicing A-Grade Natural Farming.
39 farmers have been covered under the PMDS initiative.
Way Forward
The next phase of the initiative will focus on:
Strengthening the two Natural Farming clusters.
Expanding the number of farmers practicing Natural Farming.
Strengthening farmer groups and linking SHGs with Natural Farming initiatives.
Promoting farmer-to-farmer learning and local leadership.
Improving market linkages and value addition to enhance farmers’ income.
The collaboration between Jagriti and RYSS has laid a strong foundation for promoting Natural Farming in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The shift from pilot villages to a cluster-based approach, combined with the development of local facilitators, is expected to strengthen community ownership and ensure the long-term sustainability of the progra
mme. While the project is still in its early stages, it has created encouraging momentum and provides a strong platform for scaling Natural Farming across the region.