Rally for Rivers, launched last year as a movement to rejuvenate India’s rivers through riverside plantation, has entered the implementation phase with two states, Maharashtra and Karnataka , coming on board by taking multiple measures and creating a template for similar action elsewhere.Since the support of farmers will be an integral part of saving rivers, the Sadhguruled Isha Foundation is now preparing a separate proposal on agriculture, with detailed solutions to address the farm crisis.Speaking to TOI, Sadhguru said the proposal would be “revolutionary” and emphasised the need for farmers to move away from a ‘subsistence farming mindset’ to a ‘professional approach’ by joining hands—an aim that can be achieved by empowering farmer producer organisations (FPOs).“There will be no market competence of any kind without scale. Scale is needed and that’s why FPO is most important. It can get farmers better price for their produce and even help them get inputs (water for irrigation, fertilisers, seeds) at lower prices,” said Sadhguru.Elaborating on specific points, he said, “We want the government to have a nodal agency to handle and empower FPOs like we have the National Dairy Development Board.“Besides, we will list out the things that do not allow farmers to organise. There are too many rules which have become obstructions and prevent farmers from becoming a collective force.”Since irrigation needs heavy investment, he emphasised on how it would be a boon for farmers if they cooperated to hire professionals for managing irrigation and marketing in the manner of private companies.The Isha Foundation has already made plans to have one FPO each with 25,000 farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka. “We will appoint a chief executive officer (CEO) kind of person who will manage the entire 25,000 farmers as FPO. Land will belong to farmers. There is no question of aggregating land. There should just be a consensus on what to grow on their land,” said Sadhguru.Asked about the controversy around arriving at cost of production for fixing minimum support prices (MSPs), Sadhguru said it was unfortunate that MSPs were largely fixed by those who don’t know farming. He, therefore, sought “larger representations of farmers” in the body which fixes the MSPs.Since agriculture consumes over 80% of the country’s fresh water, efficiency in its use is key to achieving the objectives of the Rally for Rivers. Switching from crop-based farming to tree-based agriculture, focus on micro (drip) irrigation and massive plantation along rivers are the key components of the movement which has caught international attention.“It caught everybody’s imagination as the Rally for Rivers’ recommendations are valid for all tropical regions. It would be valid even for temperate regions with some modification,” he said.