Disability rights activist Pavan Muntha bats for an inclusive rural society centred around natural farming

Born into an upper middle-class family, Pavan Kumar Muntha faced an internal battle accepting his visual disability. 

“I was always trying to prove myself, competing with others, and yet grappling with the stigma attached to being disabled,” recalls Muntha, who lives in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. 

This perspective shifted when he participated in a groundbreaking World Bank-funded study on the lives of disabled people in rural Andhra Pradesh.

During the course of this study, an incident in Warangal (now part of Telangana) changed his outlook forever. While meeting a young woman with a severe disability, Muntha was struck by the systemic neglect she had endured all her life. 

Muntha says, “She was so malnourished that she crawled around the house and looked like she was 14 years old, when in fact her grandmother revealed to us later that she was 24. Burdened as the sole caregiver for this young woman, her grandmother told us why she delayed eating or ate less. 

“She said, ‘If she eats and drinks, she’ll need to use the toilet, and I must carry her there. Without a ramp or water nearby, this becomes impossible.’” 

This experience catalysed his resolve to address disability not merely as an individual struggle but also as a systemic failure rooted in socioeconomic inequities. Muntha began to understand disability from the point of view of structural barriers, and not just as an individual impairment. 

This experience marked the beginning of his journey into advocacy, integrating personal insight with a systemic critique that addressed barriers holistically, encompassing education, employment, and infrastructure for people with disabilities in rural areas.

Fighting resistance and building alliances

As Muntha began advocating for disability inclusion, resistance from society was inevitable. In rural Andhra Pradesh, he encountered communities that were hesitant to embrace disabled individuals as equal participants in society. 

“We had to strategically address this resistance by building alliances with policy makers, community and civil society organisations, families of persons with disabilities, and disability organisations.”  

Muntha reached a milestone in his journey when he persuaded the Andhra Pradesh government to integrate disabled individuals into the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) programme. Through persistent dialogue and innovative recommendations, he convinced authorities to hire programme officers dedicated to assigning suitable work to disabled individuals. 

“We created disability self-help groups and demonstrated that marginalised individuals could work effectively in agriculture and infrastructure projects,” Muntha shares. 

Between 2007 and 2009, this initiative employed over 2.5 lakh people with varying disabilities across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, setting a precedent for inclusive employment policies in the country. 

A call for systemic change

Along with disability advocacy, Muntha also worked towards a broader push for social reform.

“We proved that people with disabilities could contribute significantly to infrastructure and agriculture projects,” he says.

Muntha’s interactions with rural grassroots communities brought him face-to-face with the alarming issue of farmer suicides. 

Farmer suicides were not isolated but symptomatic of systemic exploitation. Private moneylenders charged exorbitant interest rates, leaving farmers unable to recover from failed crops. During the 1990s, when discussions around globalisation and privatisation were intensifying, governments started advocating for industrialisation and reduced reliance on agriculture. 

This shift, compounded by the introduction of Bt cotton and genetically modified seeds, impacted small farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, says Muntha.

“Monocropping promoted during the Green Revolution and corporate agriculture exacerbated vulnerabilities, eroding biodiversity and making farmers dependent on costly inputs,” he adds. 

Muntha campaigned for employing people with disabilities in the farming sector as part of rural employment schemes. He also pushed for policies addressing debt and land rights. 

By engaging with policymakers and grassroots organisations, he highlighted the need to rethink agriculture and not look at it as a failing profession but as a cornerstone of rural livelihoods.

The turn to natural farming

The intersection of the issues of disability, poverty, and environmental degradation led Muntha to venture into natural farming. 

In 2011, he relocated to a Dalit-majority village in Andhra Pradesh, where he began experimenting with sustainable farming practices. 

His goal was not only to address the agricultural crisis—exacerbated by monocropping and heavy use of chemicals—but also to empower marginalised Dalit and tribal communities, including those with disabilities.

Natural farming, as pioneered by agriculturist Subhash Palekar, offered solutions. Muntha adopted techniques such as using cow dung and urine for fertilisation, line sowing, and multi-cropping to promote biodiversity. 

His efforts culminated in a landmark three-day workshop in Visakhapatnam in 2015, which brought together over 8,000 farmers and policymakers. Muntha, with the support of state officials, showcased the potential of natural farming as an alternative to conventional methods.

Muntha has always recognised the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability, disability rights, and rural development. 

“Farming is not just a profession; it’s a culture and a way of life, especially for rural communities,” he explains. 

By including disabled individuals in agricultural practices, Muntha envisions an inclusive future where marginalised groups can achieve economic independence, self-sufficiency, and dignity. 

Muntha redefined agriculture in Andhra Pradesh by roping in farmers with disabilities into the practice of natural farming. He believes that many disabled people in rural areas possess agricultural knowledge inherited from their families, which can be complemented with modern sustainable techniques. 

Recognising the value of indigenous farming practices and the people’s potential, he highlighted their ability to contribute significantly to sustainable agriculture.

The agricultural practices adopted by Muntha are designed to minimise physical strain, thus making the work more accessible to farmers with disabilities. 

By promoting crop architecture and relay sowing, Muntha’s system ensures continuous harvest and income, with minimal disruption to the soil, making it easier for people with disabilities to participate actively in farming. 

Muntha began to engage not only farmers with disabilities but also their families, using their skills and understanding of agriculture. 

He also introduced the multi-cropping model, where five main crops are planted alongside 20 biodiversity crops, ensuring sustainability and biodiversity. 

According to Muntha, this method creates a natural ecosystem with plants that rely on each other for nutrient intake and encourages the use of animals, birds, and insects to maintain soil health and pest control. 

“Additionally, methods like pre-monsoon dry sowing and relay cropping enable continuous farming without soil tilling, thus ensuring year-round productivity,” he says. 

Muntha emphasises on hands-on training, equipping farmers with disabilities with practical skills to manage irrigation, pest control, and crop architecture. 

Integrating with the ecosystem

Involving people with disabilities in farming not only provides them a livelihood but also integrates their skills into the agricultural ecosystem. 

From seed palletisation to creating nutrient-rich soil through natural processes, these farmers are active participants in many areas of sustainable farming, contributing to yields that generate incomes of ₹50,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per month, even in low-rainfall regions like Anantapur.

Additionally, visually impaired individuals are trained in sensory farming techniques, such as recognising soil quality and crop health through touch and smell, enabling them to play active roles in farm maintenance.

Encouraging collective farming among disabled individuals ensures responsibilities are shared and physical strain is reduced. These groups produce organic crops that fetch premium prices in the markets, bypassing exploitative middlemen.

A vision for the future

Today, Muntha works as the senior programme manager at Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a community-managed natural farming programme run by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is also the executive secretary of Swadhikaar Center for Disabilities Information, Research and Resource Development, which focuses on grassroots advocacy and sustainable development. 

By bringing together disability advocacy, rural development, and natural farming, Muntha has created a model of resilience and inclusion. His work underscores the power of systemic change driven by lived experience and grassroots action. 

Muntha’s journey, from documenting the harrowing realities of rural India to transforming agricultural practices, offers a blueprint for a more equitable and sustainable future centred around natural farming.

Muntha sums it up well. 

“Natural farming is more of a practice than theory. So we tell our farmers to practise and learn and learn by practising. This isn’t just about farming; it is a holistic approach that connects them to the market, and gives them knowledge of market forces. 

“We train them to first have enough produce for their own household and then establish their primary market in their villages. The entire system gets stabilised this way.”