Action on the ground
Connecting with communities and making a difference
Our Commitment to Excellence
Key Intervention Areas
Farmer Collectivization
Strengthening farmer groups and cooperatives to enhance collective decision-making, market access, and long-term sustainability.
Soil and Water Conservation
Restoring soil health and conserving water through practices that improve productivity, resilience, and moisture retention.
Integrated Pest Management & Good Agricultural Practices
Promoting balanced, eco-friendly crop management to reduce chemical dependence and improve farm profitability.
Promoting Natural Farming Practices
Encouraging the use of bio-inputs and regenerative methods that nurture soil life and lower input costs.
Enabling Livelihoods and Skills
Supporting income diversification and skill development to reduce risk and strengthen household economic security.
Promoting Agro-Forestry
Integrating trees with agriculture to enhance biodiversity, improve soil quality, and create additional income streams.
Our Programs
From Strategy to Action
Responsible Sourcing Program is a unique partnership between Nestle Global, Paras Spices Private Limited, Pasidi Panta Foundation to promote various sustainability initiatives benefiting about 5000 spice farmers and 15,000 community members across four clusters with Chilli farmers in Parkal, Hanamkonda, Telangana, Bommanahal, Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Devadurga in Raichur, Karnataka and Kamudhi in Tamilnadu and one cluster with Turmeric farmers at Loha, Nanded, Maharashtra. All the geographies are drought prone and primarily involved in dry land farming with limited irrigation facilities. https://www.responsiblesourcingprogram.info/home
RSP enables smallholder chilli and turmeric farmers to conserve soil and water, reduce chemical usage by promoting good agricultural practices, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and regenerative farming practices and improve the soil health. Reduced cost of cultivation and ensuring the final produce to be residue free complying with the Maximum Residue Level-MRL standards are two important outcomes of the program. The programme is implemented in partnership with RYSS, Raichur Agricultural University (RAU), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), the Spices Board of India, and State Agriculture Departments.
Farmer mobilisation and Behaviour change Communication
Building strong farmer collectives, with active participation of women, is central to this approach. Farmer mobilization continued to be the backbone of the program. Organized more than 150 events in one year such as village level meetings and farmer training sessions, exposure visits to create awareness and facilitate discussions, sharing of experiences and mutual learning.
Soil health and water Conservation
More than 600 soil tests were conducted on 15 key parameters and supported farmers with specific recommendations to improve the soil health. Renovation of village tanks was undertaken benefitting more than 500 farmers. Improved soil health due to silt application and increased water availability for the agriculture were observed. Pre Monsoon dry Sowing, a practice to grow cover crops with more than 600 farmers has shown significant improvements in soil health and quality.
Promoting IPM and natural farming Practices
Implementation of intercrops, trap crops and border crops coupled with introduction of sticky traps, pheromone traps and solar traps have substantially reduced the number of pesticide sprays. Established more than 120 demo farms with established IPM and natural farming practices in the field facilitated transfer knowledge and best practices to other farmers. Supported more than 300 farmers to prepare bio inputs and use for improving the soil health, pest and disease control and improve the nutrition by establishing bio inputs centres using cow dung and cow urine.
Synthetic Gramodaya ProgramSustainable turmeric farming
The Gramodaya Program is a long-term initiative promoting sustainable turmeric farming among 3000 farmers in Kollegala Taluk in Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka with CSR support from Synthite Private Limited. The program responds to key challenges faced by turmeric farmers, including declining soil health, rising input costs, water stress, and limited access to reliable advisory services. The project, focuses on introducing Good and Sustainable Agricultural Practices (GAP), Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and natural farming demonstrations and soil and water conservation.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Natural Farming:
Farmers were introduced to eco-friendly approaches to pest control, encouraging the use of bio-inputs instead of chemicals. These practices helped reduce crop damage while maintaining soil and environmental health. Twenty Community-level bio resource centres were created to produce and distribute bio-inputs such as Jeevamrutham, Panchagavya, and Agniastra. PMDS was introduced as a practice to improve soil fertility, reduce weeds, and promote timely sowing with about 100 farmers. ermination, and enhancing soil organic matter. By integrating PMDS with the IPM package, farmers witnessed a reduction in external input dependency.
Demonstration Plots:
About 100 demo Model fields were established to showcase improved farming practices. These plots acted as live classrooms where farmers could see the results of sustainable techniques in real conditions. Through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) practical, season-long trainings were organized, enabling farmers to learn by doing. These schools became platforms for experimenting with organic inputs, pest management, and soil health practices.
Community Seed Bank:
Turmeric seed bank has provided high-quality PRATIBHA variety seed to 83 farmers in 55 acres on pilot basis. Each supported farmer is expected to repay 1.5 times of the seed received to support other farmers in future.
Water Harvesting and Farm-Level Infrastructure:
Seven Farm ponds and two community tank desilting was undertaken enhancing water storage and groundwater recharge, ensuring reliable moisture availability for crops and improving resilience to dry spells benefitting about 514 acres.
In-Situ Water Conservation and Soil Erosion Control:
Farm bunding, grass planting, and compost pits activities were carried out in 514 farms resulting in reduced soil erosion, retained moisture, and improved soil fertility, supporting sustainable crop production with reduced reliance on chemical inputs.
Agroforestry and Tree Plantation:
About 2150 saplings of Timber, green manure, and fruit trees were planted to diversify farmer income, improve soil health, moderate local microclimates, and strengthen long-term ecological resilience. 9 farmers were supported with compost pits and better management of crop residue.
National Sustainable Spice Program
The National Sustainable Spice Program (NSSP) is a collaborative initiative supported by the World Spice Organisation (WSO) to promote sustainable spice cultivation, with a primary focus on chilli-growing regions of Telangana.
Through this partnership, PPF has conducted 50 Training of Trainers (TOT) programmes on sustainable farming and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). These efforts have reached over 3,000 farmers through structured trainings and village-level awareness campaigns, strengthening local capacity for sustainable crop management. The program has also enabled chilli farmers and FPO representatives to participate in National Spice Conferences, helping them build exposure and market linkages for their produce.