Our Story
The year was 2001…
Sahaja Samrudha, meaning ‘Bountiful Nature’, an organic farmers association of Karnataka initiated to exchange ideas, seeds and knowledge on sustainable agriculture. Sahaja Samrudha, as a non profit organisation we are safeguarding agro-biodiversity, building sustainable villages, and ensuring food futures the organic way. The organization began with a vision of making farming more productive, protect the environment, preserve traditional knowledge, revive and preserve our landraces, while using fewer inputs and making farmer self-reliant.
Sahaja Samrudha in its quest to conserve the agrobiodiveristy has been able to collect different crop varieties of rice, finger millet, minor millet, pulses, vegetables, tubers, neglected crops from different regions of South India and these are being conserved on farmers’ fields and in seed banks.
Our Objectives
To promote sustainable agriculture and create awareness on the need to conserve natural resources and traditional knowledge systems
To conduct on-farm research and standardize sustainable agriculture practices
To capacitate Farmers, Panchayat representatives, Non government organisations, Government Officials and Policy planners on sustainable agriculture and natural resource management
To assist in implementation of sustainable farming techniques to farmers and grassroots organizations, in the process of converting their land into organic farms
To disseminate information, research outcome, knowledge and thought on sustainable agriculture and natural resource management through publications and audio/visual materials
To facilitate procurement, marketing and sales of organically produced products
Reachouts
We have networked with 250 NGOs, Farmer groups, Research institutions, Media, consumer councils and schools to instilling biodiversity based ecological agriculture systems across India. Nearly 37,000 Acres, 15,000 organic farmers, 6340 farmer breeders and seed savers from 20 districts of Karnataka strive to conserve more than 800 varieties of rice,120 millets, 23 Indian cotton, 32 wheat, 56 eggplant, 52 pulses, 182 vegetables and many traditional fruit varieties.
Our Team
Board of Trustees
N R Shetty
President
Anitha Reddy
Vice President
Krishna Prasad
Secretary – Founder
Members
Nagest Hegde
Dr. Devakumar
Shivanapur Ramesh
T D Ramakrishna
Dr. H R Prakash
Krishne Gowda
H A Prakash
Founding Members
Ananda Theertha Pyati
Shantha Kumar
Seema
Shivarudra
Manju K S
Project Co-Ordinators & Field Managers
Ishwar Angadi
Komal Kumar
Suryakanth
Sridevi
Mruthyunjaya Y Ramaji
Mehaboob
Awards and Recognition
- ‘Kirloskar Vasundhara Mitra Honor’ (Organisation Category), 2023 award granted to Sahaja Samrudha, for safeguarding agrobiodiversity, building sustainable villages and ensuring food futures with millets.
- ‘Parisara Prashasti’ 2018-19 to Sahaja Samrudha by Government of Karnataka
- Sahaja Samrudha Organic Producers Company Limited has won the 2022 Jaivik India Award for Best Farmer Producer Organization (FPO).
- Government of India, in partnership with UNDP India, initiated the India Biodiversity Awards – ‘India Biodiversity Awards’, 2018 recognizes the work of local communities committed towards biodiversity conservation. Sahaja Samrudha has got a special mention under Conservation of Domesticated Species category.
- Sahaja Samrudha had the distinction of being selected as one of the finalist of ‘The Equator Initiative Award’, United Nations Development Programme.
- TV 9 ‘Nava Naksatra’ award was honored to Sahaja Samrudha for achievements in the field of agriculture.
- Sahaja Samrudha was honored with the ‘Social Impact Award’, 2022 by SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, in Agriculture & Livelihood category. The award was bestowed for the organisation’s exemplary work in community seed systems and building social enterprises.
- Cummins- DoCC Social Impact award 2017-18 by SPJIMR, Mumbai
- Best NGO award by Indian Institute of Millets, Hyderabad
Farmers Recognition
Krishna Prasad
- Plant Breeding and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Delhi appointed Krishna Prasad, Director as Member of Biological Resources Sharing Committee.
- Best writer award from center for alternative agriculture media, Dharwad
- ‘Sristi Sanman’ award from Honey bee Network, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad
- Civil society magazine featured as New leaders to look out for in the year 2007
- Best Environmental journalist award 2008 from Government of Karnataka
- Ashoka Innovators for the Public (India) Fellow
- Bibi Jan received Deccan Herald Change Maker award for her effort establishing a seed bank, which has preserved and propagated traditional millet varieties and made millet farming sustainable in the Thirtha, Kundugola region – 2023
- Prestigious Rajyotsava award, 2018 for our Guli Ragi farmer Mukappa Poojar
- M Shankar Guru -Plant Genome Saviour, Farmers Recognition-2014
- Syed Ghani Khan-`Jai Ho Raita’ by TV-9 Kannada Channel- 2016 ‘Asamanya Kannadiga’ (Extraordinary Kannadiga) by Suvarna Kannada Channel- 2016
Plant Genome Saviour Farmers Recognition-2012
- C.P. Krishna, Krishi Pandit Award- 2017
- S.R.Sreenivas Murthy, Plant Genome Saviour, Farmers Recognition- 2018
- Prof. HL Keshavamurthy Psychic Award has been given to Bheebi Fatima Mahila Sangh of Tirtha village.
- Shrenik Raj – ‘Raitha Rathna’ award by Kannada Prabha – 2024
- Praveen Hebballi- Pioneer Millet Farmer’ by the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR), Hyderabad- 2023