Kheti Virasat Mission Ends Stubble Burning, Farm by Farm

Umendra Dutt left journalism in 2005 to found Kheti Virasat Mission in Jaitu, Punjab, after documenting the health toll of the state's pesticide-heavy Green Revolution farming. KVM trains farmers to mulch and compost rice and wheat stubble instead of burning it, the single largest driver of North India's autumn smog crisis, while reviving traditional low-input crops like millets. Through farmer field schools, seed conservation programs, and its PGS organic certification scheme, the mission says it has helped more than 30,000 Punjab farmers transition to organic, stubble-burning-free methods, with over 1,000 acres now under PGS certification across 17 districts. The group also runs a dedicated women farmers' program and organic Kudrati Kisan Haat markets connecting growers directly with consumers.