Ecological Agriculture
Basudha was originally established in a remote village in Bankura district of West Bengal, to conduct grassroots research in various methods of ecological agriculture. In 2010 the farm was relocated in Rayagada district of Odisha. A total of 1480 rice landraces are now being cultivated in the 1.7-acre farm of Basudha. In addition, different local varieties of 20 different species of non-cereal crops are grown, following agroecological principles, with zero-external input.
Novel methods of biodiversity-based pest control, enrichment of soil with biochar and PSM, and diversity-induced crop yield enhancement are taught to farmers after replicated field experiments conducted with local farmer volunteers as participant-researchers.
