In 2015, after growing Bt cotton for 15 years, around 7,000 Bhil, Bhilala, Korku and Gond tribal farmers of the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh switched to organic farming. Every year they find their cotton yields improving along with their income.
When the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) stepped into Niwali block of Barwani district in Nimar region with its development package in 2006, cotton farming had become risky with extensive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Farmers were not earning enough from their harvests, debt was increasing and the health of the farmers and their families. . .
