SEDS, the Social Education and Development Society, was founded in 1980 by Rajen Joshua and Manil Jayasena as a grassroots development NGO, motivated by the desire to help the poorest of the poor in the drought-prone area of Anantapur District in Andhra Pradesh. In the early days, the main focus of the work was on community development by way of non-formal education and small loans to skilled target communities like cobblers, basket weavers, blanket weavers and others. As Anantapur is the second most drought prone area in India and much of its natural resources are depleted, it soon became clear that environmental problems would have to be tackled first, if peoples’ livelihoods were to be made sustainable. Starting in 10 villages near the small town of Penukonda a scheme of pioneering work was developed which aimed to empower local communities and improve their environment. Initially small nurseries were started for homestead plantations and planting of avenue trees along village roads. Re-a-forestation and more sustainable agricultural practices were introduced. From 1990, SEDS started using a more participatory approach, through the formation of Community Based Organizations. Involving the communities more in the effort made them actual stakeholders in the development process of the region. Throughout the years the scope and area of the work increased and the fruits of the sustained efforts became visible in the greener environment and the enthusiasm of the communities. Today, SEDS is working through an integrated rural development approach with an emphasis on women’s empowerment, watersheds, re-a-forestation and natural resource management. This is within five Mandals in the southern part of Anantapur District, in south western Andhra Pradesh namely, Penukonda, Roddam, Gorantla, Somandepalli and Chilamathur. In these 5 mandals SEDS currently supports 125 villages, being some 12000 women and their families, 980 SHGs, 120 VOs & 5 MMSs . Through its sustained efforts SEDS has made a significant impact on the lives of the people in the area and the local environment. The SEDS slogan “Towards a greener tomorrow” has become a reality.

Anantapur District is one of the most economically backward regions in Andhra Pradesh. It is historically known as the ‘stalking grounds of famine’ and this is partly due to the harsh climatic conditions, with an average annual rainfall of only 550mm, which comes in a very erratic way. One year in three is a drought year. Only one year in three has sufficient rains at the right time. Summers are extremely hot, with temperatures rising easily above 40°C. The scarce organic matter that feeds the soil is burnt during this hot period. Climate change has in recent years begun to show its effects with rains becoming more untimely and erratic. On top of that the soil itself is poor, red, Zinc deficient soil, there are no perennial rivers, there is little vegetation cover and no high mountains. Approximately 4 million people live in the district, which is high, as resources are scarce and most people get their income from agriculture. The main crop is groundnut (occupies 83% of arable land), a monocrop that requires little effort and is drought resistant.

The collapse of the joint family has resulted in unviable farm holdings. No other sector beside agriculture has been able to absorb large number of people. All this puts a lot of pressure on the land, resulting in decreasing forest/vegetation coverage, lowering water tables, soil erosion and salinisation. There is a huge lack of irrigation facilities: only 13.3 % of the cultivated area enjoys irrigation in Anantapur district as compared to 18.9 % in Rayalaseema region, 33.6 % for Andhra and 27.66 % for India as a whole. The main irrigation sources are tanks and wells, which are also rainfed and thus unreliable. Green Revolution techniques that were introduced after Independence in Anantapur are designed around irrigated farming and are thus not suited for the kind of rainfed agriculture practiced in Anantapur. Little effort has been done in the past to address the problems of rainfed farming. The spread of Green Revolution techniques and the inflation of local knowledge due to this external oriented way of agriculture have further depleted resources over the years. Because of this background, yields and outputs vary greatly per year and are not always profitable. Hence farmers rely on credit and are forced to borrow from different sources.

Data indicate that the combination of limited natural resources and external input based farming result in agriculture being a non-profitable livelihood option. Little alternatives are available locally for illiterate farmers as no other sector provides employment for large quantities of people. This in turn results in high migration rates, farmer suicides due to debts, lands left fallow or sold to big farmers or real estate agencies (especially along the new highway Hyderabad-Bangalore where land prices have multiplied in recent years), high unemployment, loss of indigenous knowledge and sovereignty and further natural degradation. The only stakeholders benefiting from this are the dealers in inputs, who keep on pushing farmers in this vicious circle of what one could call modern slavery. Not surprisingly, Anantapur District scores very bad on HDI indicators.