Networking

DDS has pioneered and also participated in several networks over the past three decades facilitating an exchange of knowledge and a greater platform for small farmers at national and international arenas with the power of collectivization.

Millet Network of India [MINi] 2007:
Deeply convinced that millets hold the key to food sovereignty in rainfed India, DDS calls them God’s Own Crops. To showcase the extraordinary capacity of the millets to survive on the least fertile lands, to highlight their health and nutritional value for the poor and their ability to withstand the climate crisis, DDS initiated MINI, Millet Network of India. The only such network in the country, MINI has representations from almost all parts of India.

All India Millet Sisters Network (AIMSN) – 2016:
All India Millet Sisters Network, launched in November 2016, is a network of about 5000 small-scale women millet farmers across the country. It is a celebration of the women who infused life into the concept of millets by cultivating, consuming and conserving them. The core philosophy of the network is propagating the idea that Millet Rights are Women’s Rights. Through this network, small farmers have been able to gain space at a national level through their collective strength.

Vikalp Sangam – 2014:
DDS has been a core group member of Vikalp Sangam’, which is Hindi for ‘Alternatives Confluence’. Vikalp Sangam started in 2014, emerging out of a search for grounded alternatives to the current model of ‘development’ that is built on ecological destruction and rising inequalities. It is a network of over 70 movements and organizations across the country.

Participatory Guarantee System [PGS] Organic Council of India 2007: 
As one of the nine members of PGS Organic Council of India, DDS has been in the forefront of the fight for the small and marginal farmers’ right to be recognized as organic farmers. DDS has fought the inherent injustice in the rampant commercialization through organic certification systems which have deliberately kept millions of small and marginal farmers– organic for multiple generations– out of the organic certification. It was pure justice that DDS was the first to be officially accorded PGS organic label in 2008.

PAST ALLIANCES

National Environment Awareness Campaigns [NEAC] 1990:
As the Regional Resource Agency for the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, DDS networked with over 500 civil society groups in (united) AP on environmental issues. The Society coordinated a major annual campaign called the National Environment Awareness Campaign that used tools like seminars, workshops, lectures, exhibitions, science fairs, competitions, street and folk theatre, rallies, food marches to reach all sections of people on issues of environmental importance.

South Asia Network on Food, Ecology and Culture [SANFEC] 1996:
SANFEC is a major South Asian coalition of which DDS was the India Coordinator. As a member of this network, DDS has participated in /initiated a number of regional workshops, farmer exchanges, caravans, researches and publications. The 200+ members of SANFEC have brought a special perspective to the issues of food and ecology.

Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity [APCIDD] 1998:
DDS has been consistently working on the issue of agrobiodiversity with local, regional, national and international communities. It founded the APCIDD, a coalition of over 142 civil society organisations from all the 22 districts of Andhra Pradesh. APCID has carried out several biodiversity campaigns and has worked with local communities to prepare community biodiversity registers. The APCID has also published a compendium called Agrobiodiversity in Andhra Pradesh.

Southern Action on Genetic Engineering [SAGE] 2004:
SAGE, is a South India Alliance initiated by DDS to bring together farmers, scientists, consumers, civil society groups and media to combat the threat of genetic engineering in food and agriculture. The five year old Alliance has carried out multi location research on Bt cotton, campaigns against Terminator, many workshops on GE and Health, and is working towards cementing the collective efforts of civil societies to redeem the threat of GE technology

Genetic Resources International [GRAIN]:
GRAIN is one of the most prominent civil society organisations in the world that has built up a scholarly advocacy for biodiversity in agriculture, works against genetic engineering, TRIPS and other such issues.

Organic Farming Association of India [OFAI] 2002:
DDS is the National Steering Committee Member and the AP State Secretariat for the OFAI India’s only organization of grassroots organic farmers. OFAI is committed to promote organic farming in India through mobilization of farmers, training in organic techniques, workshops and policy advocacy. OFAI’s labeling scheme through Participatory Guarantee System provides an assurance of guarantee of organically grown produce exclusively for domestic consumers. OFAI rejects organic farming for export purposes.

Alliance for Democratising Agricultural Research in South Asia [ADARSA] 2008:
ADARSA is an exciting new collaborative initiative between DDS and the International Institute for Environment and Development. ADARSA aims to look at the trends of agricultural research in the region, organize farmer-scientist-civil society interactions and initiate processes to put the control over the governance of agricultural research in the hands of farmers through a set of Farmers’ Juries.