In Tamil Nadu, a model for participatory production & distribution of farm products

“There is still hesitation among some farmers to sit in a market and sell their products. Farmers generally are not used to the practice of selling. We have been trying to change that attitude,” said PT Rajendran during my first interaction with him at the Kalasapakkam natural farmers’ market organised by the Parampariya Vithaikal Maiyam (traditional seeds centre; PVM). Rajendran is a member of PVM.

A longer engagement with the farmers of the Tiruvannamalai district in northern Tamil Nadu made me realise that he was being modest about the level of willingness that they exhibit in directly engaging with fellow farmers and the public.

Based in Tiruvannamalai, PVM is an informal collective of farmers from the district who engage in various facets of the agroecological campaign like natural farming, seed saving and cultivating native crop varieties. Started in 1994 by late K Venkatachalam as an initiative to revive traditional rice varieties, the collective has been conducting seed festivals, seed-sharing sessions and campaigns on native seed varieties in the villages of Tiruvannamalai since its inception. 

Since 1998, they have been convening on the fifth of every month in Kalasapakkam. The meetings draw more than a hundred farmers on an average from the nearby villages. They discuss topics that are relatable to a large cross-section of farmers. These include the kind of crops to sow in the upcoming season, ways to market and get a fair price for their farm products, significance of the recurrent December floods in Tamil Nadu, among others. 

The general nature of these themes makes the interaction relatable even for those who do not necessarily engage in sustainable farming practices. This also firmly embeds the agroecological practices as an essential component within the broader agrarian discourse, rather than imparting it as an alternative school of thought. 

Despite being one of the earliest collectives to engage in the agroecological campaign within the state, PVM has never tried to transform itself into a non-governmental organisation, farmer producer organisation or trust. Nor does the collective have any formal membership system or a hierarchy of office bearers. 

The people who actively take part in PVM’s activities – mostly small farmers – include those who merely avoid using chemical fertilisers and pesticides to those who have developed advanced integrated farms using seeds sourced from within the farming community. Even though many use the term ‘iyarkai vivasayi’ (natural farmer) to give a distinguishing label to themselves and their practices, they draw from multiple alternative agricultural techniques like permaculture, zero budget natural farming and the techniques proposed by prominent agrarian thinkers like Nammalvar. 

They neither practice nor advocate any particular agroecological framework. The approaches to enhance the viability of non-toxic farming and heirloom crop cultivation are drawn from active deliberations among the farmers rather than a pre-defined set of principles. 

While one cannot deny the pivotal role played by PVM when it comes to promoting seed saving and sustainable farming within the district, the magnitude and spread of the agroecological campaign in Tiruvannamalai cannot be confined to the activities of PVM alone. Nevertheless, PVM continues to serve as a microcosm of the natural farmers’ modi operandi in the district. The informal assemblages and the diversity of the practices can be regarded as a general feature of agrarian environmentalism in Tiruvannamalai. 

The credibility and trust that the natural farmers in Tiruvannamalai have among their consumers, despite carrying out a diverse array of practices, are possible because of the extensive localised markets that they have managed to create in the district. This enables the buyers to develop familiarity with the farmers and their practices. 

R Chandrasekar, a multi-crop farmer, setting up his stall at Tiruvannamalai food festival. Photo: Author

A weekly market for natural farmers every Friday of the month was started by PVM at Kalasapakkam in September 2022. They have also recently started a monthly market in Tiruvannamalai town, which takes place every second Sunday of the month. In these markets, one can usually find farmers selling naturally grown fruits, vegetables, seeds, rice and other cereal varieties, along with snacks and confectionery made from those farm products. This has inspired similar markets in other taluks, towns and town panchayats within the district, of which the ones held at Kannamangalam and Arani have gained remarkable popularity. 

The rise of weekly and monthly markets is also accompanied by a spurt in food festivals across the district. Taking a cue from the seed festivals that are a significant aspect of the agroecological campaign in the state, food festivals are held in a similar fashion to monthly markets but on a relatively larger scale in prominent locations. Besides having more number of stalls than monthly markets, they also feature exhibitions, speeches and cultural programmes. More than 10 such festivals happened in and around Tiruvannamalai district between February and June in 2023, which is the post-harvest season in the state.

The natural farmers of Tiruvannamalai district have been creating a consumer base for their products individually through both online and offline means. The recent phenomena of food festivals and natural farmers’ markets act as bridges where the incipient-but-burgeoning demand for millets, traditional rice varieties and toxic-free foods are met with the urge for natural farmers to further expand their market and consumer base for their products at a collective level. 

Considering the difficulties in finding buyers, retailers and a fair price for their products, these markets and festivals that happen locally on a wide scale often help the farmers add new buyers within their district to whom they can sell their products directly. This also defies the trend towards corporatisation that marks the organic food market at the global level.

The studies that assess the impacts of the green revolution often restrict themselves to the environmental aspects of farming and farmers’ increasing dependency on external actors for agricultural inputs. They tend to overlook the ongoing parallel loss of support systems that help farmers make decisions and respond to contingencies through mutual sharing of wisdom and experience.

The non-hierarchical collectives, the horizontal networks and the creation of localised markets in Tiruvannamalai serve as models for farmers all over the world who seek to source their material and ideational inputs for their agriculture from within the farming community and for those who strive to lessen their dependence on retailers and middlemen by selling their products to buyers directly. 

Sabari Girisan M is a PhD candidate in sociology at South Asian University, New Delhi. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.