See this news in red below)
Hidden hunger exposed
Jayalakshmi K
How do we address the poor health of our soils, still reeling under the onslaught of fertilizers and pesticides? Is organic farming the problem? If so, why has it taken so long to go mainstream?
Decades of intensive farming has led to a 'hidden hunger' in the soil. The NPK (in fertilizers) as dominant macronutrient has driven out most vital micro nutrients like boron, zinc, manganese, sulphur, calcium, etc from the soil. Heavy metal contamination in the soil has added damage. The soil plant symbiosis has broken down, says researcher L C Nagaraj of Svaraj.
All these can be traced to the doors of the much-flaunted Green Revolution. It addressed only the question of how to increase yields, irrespective of how it was done. Productivity was increased at the cost of the environment. High doses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were deployed. The groundwater was squeezed out as irrigation became the mantra, whether the crop needed so much water or not.
From a modest 25 kgs of fertilizers in 1960 to 400-600 kgs per crop in 2007, irrigation pattern of once in 12 days then to once in four days is an example of how things have deteriorated.
Now, as Nagaraj showed, was the urgent need to revive the soil. That is where chemical-free farming that is sustainable steps in. As Vanaja Ramprasad, director, Green Foundation puts it, this is something our farmers have been doing since ages. "Farmers know the plant species that can enrich plant species that enrich the soil, protect the crops from pests and diseases, enhance nutrient and use them successfully."
Organic farming, as Svaraj (formerly Oxfam India) believes, not only protects soil and groundwater from pollution but also increases the biological diversity of flora and fauna. "It can address the nutrition deficiency in food and soil," says Nagaraj. He notes how simply by having bird perches put up in the field, boll worm was controlled.
The worm is a delicacy sought out by some bird species. "This was done in half an acre but can easily done in larger holdings too. In this way we can do away with pollution and costs. In Gulbarga alone, endosulfan application costs Rs 65 crore."
A workshop organized by the two organizations last week sought to explore the many problems besetting agriculture in the country today, and if it was possible food sovereignty a reality for India.
Loss of diversity
The other damage that Green Revolution caused was cutting down diversity. There are said to be 4500 crop species in nature but only 18-20 of these are used by humans. "Even in this, few varieties cover 90 percent of the land," says Srikanth of Green Foundation.
The monoculture advocated by Green revolution and still adhered to a large extent can have many macro and micro level implications. Like the potato famine in Europe or paddy ecosystem wreckage in Indonesia last decade or the recent coconut mite devastation in India. At the farmer's level it means crop failures and high costs.
Basically when diversity is lost, any disease attack on a crop could mean the loss of the species. With a rich diversity, this does not happen. Survival is a game between the varieties.
Seed conservation
What Green Foundation has done is to initiate conservation of agricultural diversity by farmers through a network of seed banks across the state and other parts. Over 34 seed banks have been established in nine of Karnataka's ten agro-climactic zones in 200 villages. The varieties include 382 of millets, cereals, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, etc. Some 2000 farmers took part in seed conservation programmes.
But as observed by many groups, farmers are under the belief that high yielding variety always perform better than local varieties. The Green Foundation has demonstrated that this is not so. Recently, at Maralavadi, they proved this by growing a high yielding variety like MTU1001 and a traditional variety of paddy called Chinnaponni. The latter was grown using only farm yard manure and the other using chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Chinnaponni showed more productive tillers than the high yielding variety, had no blast attack through the cropping season while the other suffered many. While yield of the traditional variety was slightly lower, the cost of cultivation was very less.
State initiative
The state agriculture department too has decided to encourage organic farming. Dr Rajanna, director of agriculture, points to the initiative of the Karnataka government under its organic farm policy 2004 to reduce cost of production. Around 176 bio-villages have been converted to organic farming from conventional practices and it has begun to bear fruits already. "Farmer's attitude have become better and productivity is improving."
Individuals like Rudra Aradhya, scientist from UAS, Bangalore have been doing their bit in spreading the message of sustainable farming that uses locally available resources. In an experimental plot of 100 x 40 metre he has shown how Rs 3500 worth of pulses can be obtained for any small farmer. Dividing the land into segments, creating water ways to carry the water to a pond, using vertically growing plants as the live fence, and bunds that grow green fodder, the plot can be made productive.
New Zealander David Hogg who has been in India from the 70s and practising the biodynamic method (see box) believes that making all food come from sustainable farming a reality, management strategies have to be in place.
"There is need to build a brand associated with safe to eat food. In Uttarakhand the farmers have got their act together. They have a production system in place. By end of this decade, there will be over 50,000 farmers practicing organic farming. In neighbouring places, people are buying the produce not because it is organic but because they have developed a trust in the group." [/b]
Ironically, while there are no questions asked for food available on market shelves grown using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, it is organic farming that has an associated certification system, both for exports and domestic market!
As to why organic or natural farming is only seen as sporadic attempts and not mainstream, some believe it is the lack of dedication. To begin with organic farming is not easy with yields being moderate and high organic inputs required. A lot of labour could also be involved. But eventually, optimum yield can be had without wrecking the ecosystem.
Others believe it is the politicization and influence of lobbies like the fertilizer one, etc that does not allow these alternate streams to become popular. Hogg who has observed the system for some time believes there is need for linkages of small farmers.
Over 8 million hectares have been diverted to meet export demands while the total arable land has been stagnant and fast degrading. Cropland in India has declined from 0.22 hectares per person in 1950 to 0.10 hectares in 2000 and projected to fall further. The recent UNEP global environment outlook talks of how humans are living beyond their means and has called for sustainable development. Do we act or do we need to wait till the hidden hunger seeps out?
Pesticide damage
A recent study done in India has established the links between pesticide and reduction of fertility in men. The study reported in the Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology in March this year found this to be true for a large percentage of men exposed to pesticides.
An earlier study done on exposure when in the uterus has shown that pesticides can affect children's verbal abilities, memory, attention span, etc. The emerging links show endocrine disruption, cancer, subtle neurological disorders, fetal effects, etc.
"These have to be conclusively established. However we have seen many such links in the studies. There is need to act on early warnings even if nature of the harm is not fully understood," says Rakhal Gaitonde, a medical doctor working with pollution impacted communities in Tamil Nadu.
The more dangerous aspect is that most studies only look at individual chemicals while exposure is usually to a cocktail of pesticides, he adds.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute study done last decade had shown dangerous levels of above 50 percent of pesticide residues in food grains and milk, he notes.
While less than 30 percent of pesticides are used in developing nations, over 90 percent of the reported adverse effects is here. Not only residues, but people living near pesticide factories are also affected. "Children have been found to develop bad handwriting as motor movements are affected. The toxicity increases by 25 percent for malnourished people."
Farm as an organism
The methods can be as simple as that. Or go even simpler like what permaculture advocates. This is a design system that believes in simple ideas that harvest big results. The least change for greatest effect, as Vasudeva, a practitioner says. It supports all life systems, provides access to all and limits consumption.
A keyhole concept for growing vegetables where the circular design is adopted from nature for allowing maximum surface area. Using sunflowers at the fringe (for oil), and tomatoes, chillis, etc inside. In his home, a 12 sq metre plot was used to deliver 19 species of vegetables. (Send queries to iaskindia@gmail.com)
An even more idealistic method advocated by a German Rudolf Steiner in early part of last century was biodynamic farming. Influenced by the Vedas, this method considers the farm as one living organism and the whole activity viewed holistically.
It encourages mixed farming with animal husbandry as an important component. It advocates green manuring, crop rotation, compost making and natural ways of controlling insects and pests.
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov62007/snt2007110634435.asp
