How a city-farmer partnership is revolutionising solid waste management in Chickballapur

A unique solid waste management Project at Chickballapur, a town near Bengaluru, has proved a win-win model for both farmers and civic administration

G.V. Suresh, a 27-year-old farmer who grows roses and potatoes in his farmland at Gundlagurki, in Chickballapur district abutting Bengaluru, has now switched to organic compost. This has hugely helped him cut down costs, while making farming more sustainable.

He is one of the many farmers who are part of the City-Farmer Partnership for Solid Waste Management project launched in Chickballapur, with the support of Chickballapur City Municipal Council (CCMC) and Godrej Properties Limited (GPL), by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), Bengaluru.

This initiative transforms organic wet waste into compost for farmers, assists self-help groups (SHGs) in managing textile waste, and provides guidance for transporting and disposing of non-recyclable plastic. The key goals include ensuring farmers have access to organic compost, encouraging sustainable agricultural practices, and offering education and training on sustainable waste management.  

Under this project, wet waste is collected from the municipal council, transferred to compost pits at farmlands, turned into compost, and given to farmers for free. This project, planned for three years, is expected to benefit more than 200 farmers and process roughly 33,000 tonnes of solid waste. Started in March this year, so far, the project identified 251 farmers in 21 villages around Chickballapur, out of which 121 farmers were involved in wet waste segregation, and a total of 109 farmers received compost. A total of 1,008 tonnes of waste was supplied to farmers out of which 759 tonnes were processed to compost. 

Challenge in small towns

The project gains significance in a context where SWM is often perceived as a challenge confined to larger cities, but is increasingly posing problems in towns and rural areas too. Despite having smaller populations, these regions often lack the necessary infrastructure, resources, and regulatory frameworks to handle waste effectively. Poor waste disposal practices, open dumping, and limited recycling options are common, leading to significant environmental and public health risks.

The Chickballapur project of City-Farmer Partnership for Solid Waste Management of IIHS has won praise for addressing this challenge by promoting scientific approaches to handling different types of solid waste.

Speaking to The Hindu, Pushkara S.V., a senior manager at IIHS and one of the initiators of the project, said that it is important to implicate projects like these across small cities in the country.

“We have around 5,000 cities in India, apart from the huge cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Out of these, there are about 500 cities that have a population over a lakh like Tumakuru, Mysuru, and Mangaluru. The remaining 4,500 cities have a smaller population. Most SWM projects by urban local bodies in big cities focus on waste management techniques that require the local bodies to spend extra money. But it can not be implemented in smaller cities due to the lack of capital and for many other reasons. In smaller cities like Chickballapur, collecting waste and dumping it in a landfill has been the only solution,” he says.

But the project wanted to change this module. “We spoke to the local urban body here and asked if they were willing to give their wet waste to farmers, who could use it for compost in their farms. We knew that farmers are very knowledgeable when it comes to topics like composting, so we went to them without hesitation. We spoke to more than 250 farmers, and we convinced them to set up compost pits in their own farmlands, trained a few of them on how to make compost, and educated the farmers on the benefits of using organic compost over chemical options. We are giving the compost to the farmers for free, which is benefiting the farmers and also cutting down on the processing cost for the municipal council,” Pushakara added.

Uma Shankar, the municipality commissioner of Chickballapur says that initially the municipal body was concerned if the farmers would agree to process wet waste in their farmlands, but it is now a success. “As a city‘s municipal council, disposing of waste was one of our major concerns. We would collect wet and dry waste separately, but it would not be segregated to the fullest. On average we would get 3-3.5 tonnes of wet waste every day, but again our processing techniques were not the best. When IIHS came to us with this idea, we were not sure if this was practical, we were not sure if farmers were okay receiving wet waste from us, as they feared it would be mixed with plastic or other dry waste. But we along with IIHS gave it a try, and the farmers were also supportive,” he says. 

They have arranged for wet waste to be transported to the pits in the farmlands, and IIHS adds their in-house culture to the pits for better compost. Now the municipal council focuses majorly on dry waste collection, as half the burden has been reduced, Shankar added.

Chemical to organic fertilizer

Suresh, meanwhile, is happy with how the new method has changed his farming for the better. “We used to use only dung and chemical fertilizers in our farms. But people from IIHS introduced us to organic compost. I started using the compost and I saw improvement and good results immediately. We have seen growth in the size of potatoes and roses are also flowering well,” said the young farmer.

“Getting fertilizers and compost from vendors would also cost us around ₹6,000 per tractor load. We do not spend any more money on tractor loads as the compost pits are right in our farmlands,” Suresh explained.

Similarly, K. Gangappa, a 56-year-old florist and a grape farmer from Anakanur, in Chickballapur, said he was one of the first farmers to take up this initiative. “We have got our first load of compost through this project, and it has been very fruitful. Making the compost pits on our farms has made a huge difference for all the farmers who are part of this project. We spend anywhere between ₹6,000-₹7,000 every month or for every yield on transportation of fertilisers and compost, but now, everything is available at our own farms. Even the transportation of wet waste from the landfill to our farm is taken care of.”

Gangappa is very happy since the yield is healthier and is selling well. “The quality and quantity of our produce has improved,“ he said, adding that he plans to stick to this new-found method of fertilising his land.

Published - September 23, 2024 09:00 am IST