Objective:
The project has set the following objectives:

? To link biodiversity conservation with marketing.
? Conserve indigenous varieties of seeds in the tsunami prone coastal district of Nagapattinam through communities.
Reduce POPs in vegetable cultivation by conserving indigenous vegetables and organic farming.


Ouputs: The project would achieve the following outputs:

? It is expected that during the project period a total of 1,250 farmers would be direct beneficiaries. Besides this there will also be roughly about 25,000 farmers who are benefited through dissemination of this programme.
? A minimum of five value added products produced from biodiverse indigenous rice would be standardized, which contributes, to income generation and livelihoods of farmers. Trainings would be provided for 500 farmers belonging to 50 organic farmers sangams 10,000 farmers would be benefited indirectly from the programme.
? Indigenous varieties of rice would be conserved in at least 25 villages in the Nagapattinam district, which would provide a gene pool during times of natural disasters. This would benefit thousands of farmers in the coastal belt of Nagapattinam.
Besides this 500 farmers would be trained directly for POP reduction in the vegetable belt of Dindigul and they in turn would disseminate this information to 10,000 other farmers. The use of POPs in the vegetable belt would be reduced significantly.

Activities:


Standardization of value added biodiverse organic products
? This activity is mainly to see how value addition can be done to indigenous varieties of rice so that farmers are encouraged to cultivate the same. In the market we currently find several ready to use products like idly, dosa, pongal and uppuma mixes, nutritional supplements and also other value added products from rice such as pappads, fryums etc. Besides these there are also other products from rice such as aval (flattened rice) and pori (puffed rice). These are all currently made from the normal chemically cultivated rice.
? In this project we propose to identify specific products that can be made from the indigenous varieties of rice that are cultivated by the farmers of Tamilnadu. Farmers are currently cultivating more than 100 varieties of rice through a project, which has been supported by UNDP GEF ? SGP in an earlier phase. Through a participatory process and discussion with farmers we will decide on the products that could be made out of these indigenous varieties which would be better in taste and nutrition than the existing products available in the market. Special trainings would be provided for members of 50 organic farmers self help groups for preparation and standardization of these products in Kancheepuram and Tiruvannamalai districts. Consultants would be hired for this purpose. It is hoped that this would create a better demand for these varieties, which would encourage more farmers to cultivate the same. Besides this it will also be an income generating activity for the self-help groups, which is also constituted by the organic farmers who cultivate these varieties.

Setting up common facilities for manufacture
? It is important to have common facilities for manufacturing the above-mentioned products. A common facility in the form of a 200 sq.ft. structure with equipments for manufacturing like an aval making machine and other basic infrastructure would be established either in Kancheepuram or Tiruvannamalai district.

Providing marketing support for biodiverse products
? Proper labeling and packaging is key to creating a good market for a product. Besides this, it is also important to create awareness about the products amongst consumers. Above all it is also important to find a proper channel for marketing.
? CIKS has been in the process of establishing a marketing institution for marketing a variety of organic products produced by farmers. Proper linkages would establish between farmers who are manufacturing these value added products to this institution.
?
? Survey of indigenous varieties in Nagapattinam district
? A detailed survey of indigenous varieties of rice would be undertaken in the coastal areas of Nagapattinam. Their characteristics would be documented. The survey would be undertaken in at least 50 villages.

? Cultivation and preservation of indigenous rice varieties in the coastal area
? The varieties that have been identified during the survey would be cultivated in farmer?s fields and their characteristics would be evaluated. The cultivation and preservation of these would be taken up with support from farmers in that area. For this a common community seed bank would be created. This survey and preservation would take place in at least 50 villages. At least 10 farmer groups would be formed.

? POP reduction in Dindigul
? Under this project CIKS would work in the Ottanchathram taluk of Dindigul which is a vegetable belt. CIKS has already developed several techniques and organic packages for cultivation of vegetables. During the duration of the project 24 on farm trainings would be provided to farmers on non-chemical pest control and crop protection. These trainings would be provided to farmers and CBOs in that area. Farmers would also be encouraged to cultivate indigenous vegetable varieties, which would be provided from the existing collection of the farmers in Kancheepuram and also by surveying the Dindigul area for indigenous vegetables. Indigenous varieties are pest and disease resistant and hence they will also be promoted. Wherever possible we would try to introduce these and for others we would do with the existing varieties but however promote the use of non-chemical methods. During the course of the project at least 500 farmers cultivating vegetables would be provided training on these methods. These 500 farmers in turn would disseminate the message to 10,000 other farmers.