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.  

Public Statement, put out on Jan.1st 2015 With reference to recent media reports about pesticide residues in food sold as organic, we – Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) and Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) – note foremost that there is no dispute regarding the growing domestic demand for safe food by the [...]

An appeal for a new consciousness of empathy and wise governance – to protect our rich natural heritage, culture, and harmonious collective future We, from numerous Adivasi and forest-dependent communities in India, along with people from different streams of society, gathered at the “Forest Foods & Ecology” Festival, December 12 to 14, 2014 at Sri [...]

Celebrating International Year of Soils for Sustaining Food & Farming Announcing 5TH NATIONAL ORGANIC FARMING CONVENTION On MAINSTREAMING ORGANIC FARMING 28th February to 2nd March 2015, in NITTTR, Sector 26, Chandigarh Jointly Organised By: Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI), National Institute of Technical Teachers Training & Research (NITTTR), Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture [...]

Today in a letter to Hon’ble Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Indian farmers organizations and civil society groups expressed serious concern over India – US agreement over public stockholding issue at the WTO negotiation. The letter also argued that the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) needs to be rejected not only as a strategy [...]

Press Release: 23rd July, 2014 Indian farmers’ organizations call upon the Government to stand firm on food security issue at the WTO   New Delhi: In a statement released ahead of the WTO General Council meeting tomorrow, farmers’ organizations in India called upon the Indian Government to stand firm on linking the Food Security proposal [...]

Reacting to the budget announcements made by the Finance Minister today, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) expressed its deep disappointment that the government has not come up with anything substantive in terms of decisive shifts in policy directions, to address the crisis in farm livelihoods in India. In many ways, this belies the [...]

IB’S REPORT ON “IMPACT OF NGOs ON DEVELOPMENT” (dated June 3rd 2014) and THE GMO-FREE MOVEMENT IN INDIA: Statement from ASHA   An Intelligence Bureau report dated June 3rd 2014 that is seen by many to have been deliberately leaked to select media houses, is creating a public sentiment in India at this point of [...]

To:                                                                                                                   May 28, 2014 Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, Government of India.   Dear Sir, Sub: Fulfilling the BJP promise of according highest priority to agricultural growth, increase in farmers’ income and rural development – reg.   Greetings! ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture) is a large, nation-wide informal network of more than 400 [...]

Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch (India Seed Sovereignty Alliance) – a nationwide network for conserving and regenerating seed diversity and self-reliance – celebrates the International Seed Day on 26th April.  Newly formed, with about 100 present members from 17 states, including many outstanding seed-savers and farmer-breeders of thousands of crop varieties, it urges the great need [...]

लोक सभा चुनाव से पहले सभी राजनीतिक दलों को सौंपी मांगों की सूची कहा, “जल, जंगल, बीज और जमीन से छीने जा रहे किसानों के हक को तुरंत रोका जाए” पार्टियों को चेतावनी दी गई कि खेती और किसानों की नीतियों के आधार पर ही मिलेंगे वोट नई दिल्ली, 6 मार्च 2014: लोक सभा चुनाव [...]