ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture) is a large, nation-wide informal network of more than 400 organisations drawn from 20 states of India, that have come together in 2010 to organise a Kisan Swaraj Yatra, a nation-wide mobilisation to draw attention to issues pertaining to our FOOD, FARMERS, FREEDOM. The network consists of farmers’ organisations, consumer groups, women’s organisations, environmental organisations, individual citizens and experts who are committed to the cause of sustainable and viable farm livelihoods in rural India including by ensuring that productive resources are in the control of farming communities and thereby, safe, nutritious, diverse and adequate food for all Indians. From the dialogues that emerged during the Kisan Swaraj Yatra and subsequent work, ASHA articulates a 4-pillared Kisan Swaraj Neeti and calls on governments to adopt the same. This policy articulation provides a framework for a forward-looking agricultural policy approach for India. The four pillars of Kisan Swaraj are (1) income security for farm households; (2) ecological sustainability of agriculture; (3) people’s control over agricultural resources like land, water and seed; and (4) access to safe, healthy, nutritious and sufficient food for all. The work of ASHA is centred around (1) setting up ecological farming alternatives, building related capacities, working on marketing avenues for organic produce and campaigning for replicating support to ecological farming on a large scale, (2) to ensure seed diversity revival and secure seed self reliance and campaign for large scale scaling up of the efforts including through consumer awareness and empowerment, (3) watching out for any negative unsustainable approaches in Government of India’s BGREI programme (Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India) related to corporatisation of seed resources, chemicalisation of eastern Indian agriculture, water use intensification etc., (4) making a clear case for ensuring minimum living incomes for farm households and campaigning to achieve the same, (5) understanding and advocating a different dispensation to adivasi agriculture and food security, and (6) campaigning against hazardous agri-chemicals including pesticides and fertilisers through the India For Safe Food platform. A recent initiative has been to join hands with other like-minded groups to ensure women’s rights and visibility as farmers.  

कार्यक्रम का वर्तमान प्रारूप: पूरा कार्यक्रम यहां उपलब्ध है पंजीकृत प्रतिभागियों की पहली सूची यहां उपलब्ध : http://www.kisanswaraj.in/wp-content/uploads/REGISTRATION-CONFIRMATION-LIST-1-KSS-2018-OCT-17TH.pdf प्रिय मित्रवर, ‘आशा’- किसान स्वराज और गुजरात विद्यापीठ के तत्वधान में और जतन की मेजबानी में अहमदाबाद में 2-4 नवंबर, 2018 को आयोजित किये जा रहे चौथे किसान स्वराज सम्मेलन में आप का स्वागत है। आशा है [...]

ASHA-Kisan Swaraj and Gujarat Vidyapith are happy to put out the first List of Confirmed Registrations for the 4th Kisan Swaraj Sammelan, Nov.2-4 2018, Ahmedabad, hosted by Jatan. We request those of you who have registered, to go through the following letter carefully, in addition to checking if your name does appear in the First [...]

PRESS RELEASE: New Delhi, October 18, 2018 ASHA Stands In Solidarity with Greenpeace India In the first week of October, the Enforcement Directorate of the Ministry of Finance raided the office of Greenpeace India in Bangalore, without any warrant, and confiscated documents. During the past week, we learnt that Greenpeace India’s bank accounts were frozen [...]

आशा-किसान स्वराज नेटवर्क और गुजरात विद्यापिथ द्वारा आयोजित किसान स्वराज सम्मेलन 2018 के लिए पंजीकरण समय खिड़की 10 अक्टूबर 2018 तक बढ़ा दी गई है। हम 2-कदम ऑनलाइन दान और पंजीकरण स्थापित करने की प्रणाली जिसमें आप पहले प्रतिभागी लागत के लिए दान करके, इसके बाद अन्य विवरणों के साथ पंजीकरण की आवश्यकता होगी। इला [...]

Registration time window for Kisan Swaraj Sammelan 2018 (between Nov.2nd and 4th 2018, in Ahmedabad) organised by ASHA-Kisan Swaraj Network and Gujarat Vidyapith has been extended till Oct.10th 2018. We have also been able to set up a 2-step online donation and registration system wherein you will get to donate for the per-participant cost first, [...]

MSPs better than last 4 years – but far from the historic increase demanded by Farmers Less than 20% margin over Comprehensive Production Cost Government should ensure MSPs actually reach farmers by enacting MSP Guarantee Act As the much-delayed announcement of Minimum Support Prices has come from the government, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture [...]

AMENDMENTS THAT ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE & HOLISTIC AGRICULTURE (ASHA) SEEKS ON NITI AYOG’S MODEL AGRICULTURAL LAND LEASING ACT 2016   This note has been prepared based on ASHA’s affiliate Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV)’s work on the rights of tenant farmers in the states of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. Together with other farmers’ organizations, RSV has [...]

—– Forwarded message —– From: Kavitha Kuruganti <kavitha_kuruganti@yahoo.com> To: digfpolicy-mef@nic.in <digfpolicy-mef@nic.in>; jitesh.kumar@nic.in <jitesh.kumar@nic.in>; toforestpolicy@gmail.com <toforestpolicy@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, 14 April 2018, 14:06:39 GMT+5:30 Subject: “Draft National Forest Policy 2018″ To:                                                                                        Shri Noyal Thomas, DIGF, Forest Policy, Shri Jitesh Kumar, Technical Officer, Forest Policy, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, 6th Floor, Vayu Wing, Indira Paryavaran [...]

The following is the text of the letter sent on March 19th 2018 to the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), with copies to the Union Health and Agriculture Ministers by ASHA, on the recently notified standards with regard to organic foods. ======================================================== ———- Forwarded message ———- [...]

March 5, 2018 To: The Joint Secretary (Plant Protection), (Room # 238), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi 110 001. Email: jspp-dac@gov.in Phone: 011-23382937 Ext. 4965 Dear Sir, Sub: Comments/Suggestions on the Pesticides Management Bill 2017, as per F.No.13028/01/2017/PP-I, dated 19/02/2018 on Ministry of [...]