Helping farmers in the Sittilingi Valley weigh their organically grown cotton is a key part of the agriculture initiative of THI; previously, farmers would often get duped by traders to whom they sold their produce. But since THI purchased a weighing machine, farmers know exactly how much cotton they have produced before they go to the trader. Furthermore, thanks to negotiations carried out by THI, organically produced cotton is now sold at Rs. 7 above the market-price for inorganically grown cotton, to Co-optex, the Tamil Nadu government-owned handloom industry, making organic-cotton production lucrative in the valley. Increasing numbers of farmers in the valley are switching to organic farming, and many are looking to get certified as organic under the "group certification" scheme of the government, meant especially for small farmers. Picture: THI.
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