Farming happens through community in different parts and different agroclimatic regions. The most important area is the plains where major staple food crops including but not limited to millets, paddy, vegetables and other cash crops are grown. There are hilly areas where cash crops including Coffee, Tea, Vegetables are grown and along with this there are pockets in hilly tracts where tribal population depend mostly on the non timber forest products like honey, medicinal plants collection etc. Their habitation is scattered and their life reflects the socio-cultural and religious characteristics of that particular locality. There are small holding farming community practicing traditional agricultural activities who prefers to work with nature. However, the areas ploughed by them are mostly prone for drought during off season and severe soil erosion during monsoon season. With small land holding, the income earned through the agricultural is marginal and not enough for their livelihood.
Eco-Conscious Farming approach is devised to help the subsistence small holding communities to leverage their activities by helping them in improving their agricultural operations, providing market linkages and thereby improve their livelihood and make their attempts sustainable, environmentally safe, help them conserve their resources. The baby step taken today, is believed to help achieve the goals of coping with the climate change and prepare the people towards climate smart agricultural practices and economically positive and help them garner social support for betterment.
IFTR aims to provide solutions based on the cropping pattern followed by the local people but help them understand the nuances of the modern developments so that they follow better crop production practices. In this process, IFTR promote regenerative agricultural practices where the farmers with small land holdings always work with cows and their products to fertilize their soils organically and generate income out of both. The kind of crops grown include millets, green gram, black gram, Sesame, small onion, vegetable gourds, Farmers are exposed to the input preparation like panchakavya, jeevamrit, fish emulsion, leaf extracts as insect repellant for use in the day to day agriculture. Also they were taught on the vermicomposting, ordinary composting practices, soil quality analysis, spraying techniques for protecting the crop plants. There are plants identified as wind breaks to help farmers to fence their lands. They both act as protectants as well as long term income generation activity.