Published on February 8th, 2013 | by admin

M Revathy – School teacher turned organic farmer

Sunday Feb 10, 2013 @ 9.30 PM India Time, 8 AM PST, 11 AM EST, 4 PM London Time

Revathi is a school teacher turned organic farmer who has done pioneering work in organic farming and in reclaiming agricultural lands destroyed by natural disasters.

1) Instilled belief in the overall farming community that organic agriculture can infact ensure food and income security by reducing costs and larger environmental impacts by using traditional seeds and local inputs like bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides.
2) After Tsunami she reclaimed 3000 acres of land saving the livelihoods of the farmers.
3) Has successfully revived more productive and healthier local grain varieties, whose usage had been reduced through incorrect policies.
4) Able to increase yield (medium-term and long-term) by eliminating damage and promoting beneficial bio-mechanisms in the environment.
5) The practices she advocates have also significantly improved physical health of the farmer by eliminating harmful chemicals in the environment where farmers and their families operate.
6) Trained the farmers of Sunderbans after Aila in organic methods of reclaiming land as well as long term agriculture. From 2009 to 2012, 1000 farmers have taken up organic farming on 550 acres of land.
7) Has impacted policy leading to wirdespread adoption of organic farming in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
8) She is respected as a leading exponent of organic farming in India and has trained lot of other organizations working in this area.