Like I have been repeatedly saying, though all educated tend to believe the scientific backed reports of various GMOs and other companies whose only interest is money and for money will do anything without a care to the world population health and that is the reason why US and other European Countries, you find autoimmune disease rampant and cancer also at its peak and now they are out there to get the developing nations.
It is a fact that is in the open now that the democratically elected governments of the world, whom we have elected are hand in hand with multinational companies to ensure that the people who have elected them are paid back by disease and starvation that the multinational and big companies bring in the name of getting rid of starvation and more produce, this needs to stop. Few years back I have come to realise that democracy is equivalent to capitilism because we give power to few who hardly knows their ABC and with money involved, it takes a massive scale and get away with approving disease causing foods, purportedly backed by scientific research which are purchased through money power. True power lies with the people, with internet, every common man should be able to decide what is good for them and they should be a party to the Rules and Laws framed by the Governments of the World.
See the below farming after ditching of chemicals, this is possible and there is no scientific backings to it and moreover, the scientific authority behind approving the GMOs will never agree and will try to find some drawbacks to this organic farming.
By ditching chemicals, an arid village in Telangana turned lush green
By switching to organic farming, Enabavi village overcame the
scourge of farmer suicides and health problems.
There
was a time when Enabavi was just another impoverished village in the arid
plains of Warangal in Telangana, full of frustrated farmers, some of whom committed
suicide to escape indebtedness and penury. But the tiny village of 52
households refused to give up and banded together to change their fate.
In 2006, Enabavi created agrarian history by
becoming the first village in Telangana to be fully organic and entirely free
of pesticides, fertilisers and genetically modified crops. Since then,
thousands have visited Enabavi to draw inspiration from its sustainable
lifestyle, which was crowned by an appearance on Satyamev
Jayate, a popular TV talk show hosted by film star Aamir Khan.
Crossing barren lands, huge cotton ginning mills and
crowded cotton markets on dusty roads, one can see grazing sheep and cows,
green fields and bullock carts that depict the picture of a typical village.
The villagers were grappling with many problems before they started on their
journey to become an organic oasis. Increasing farm input costs and low yields,
increasing farm suicides and health issues sent the villagers of Enabavi on a
retrospective mode. They decided to shun chemicals and embrace organic
cultivation. The move has brought about many positive changes.
Many problems, one solution
Skin diseases were common among men and women
farmers who handled chemical farm inputs. “Women in their early stage of
pregnancy, who worked when chemical pesticides and fertilisers were applied in
the fields, suffered miscarriages,” Ponnam Padma, who had suffered three
miscarriages, told VillageSquare.in. Besides these, farmers complained of
respiratory problems, headache and drowsiness.
More than that, what affected the villagers the most
were the suicides. Crop loss leading to increasing debts pushed many farmers to
suicide. This compounded the financial problems of the deceased farmers’
families.
Ponnam
Mallayya, the village chief, held consultations in the village. The villagers
already had a feeling of unity, with no divisions among them along community
lines. They came together in finding a solution for their problems.
Organisations such as Centre for Sustainable
Agriculture and Centre
for Rural Operations and Programs Society or CROPS encouraged
them to turn Enabavi into a chemical-free village. The villagers decided to go
organic.
The decision was not taken in a single day. The
villagers were hesitant. It took a long time for them to accept the idea. A
farmer recalled the questions that ran through their minds. “Would organic
farming be profitable? Would it solve our health problems? Would it reduce
debts?” When experts from Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and CROPS
clarified the doubts of the villagers, they agreed to give up chemical farm
inputs.
Multiple rewards
With the majority of villagers being farmers, each
owning a few acres, the 52 farmer families worked hard in their 272 acres of
land. They switched to traditional seeds, natural pesticides and manure.
Livestock regained their importance in farming. With each household having
about five cows, a private dairy has been collecting the surplus milk. This
augmented farm incomes.
The farmers now compost organic waste and prepare
manure using cow dung. They make pesticides from garlic, green chili, neem and
other organic materials. An organic fencing with marigold and strong-smelling
flowers keep harmful insects away. Even the washed slurry from cowsheds is used
as manure. “Earlier, chemical fertilisers cost us Rs 3,500 per acre, but now
organic manure costs only Rs 500,” Ponnam Padma told VillageSquare.in.
Earlier the village had a single pond. The farmers
cultivated when water was available. Most grew a single crop of cotton. The
land was left fallow the rest of the time. While turning organic, they sought
expert opinion to manage their water resources better. Accordingly, they
drilled 26 tube wells and 11 open wells. They started harvesting rainwater.
Using water wisely
Judicious use of water resulted in their arid land
becoming green with cotton, vegetables and pulses. They started multi-crop and
crop rotation methods. They gave up growing BT cotton. With the soil being best
suited for cotton, the villagers find that organic cotton has good demand.
“Buyers come here to ensure that they get the required quantity,” Mallayya told VillageSquare.in.
“Even
the cows eating BT cotton leaves had illnesses,” said a villager. Now the
village is almost free from health issues. Now there are no complaints of
dryness of skin, itching and skin lesions.
The farmers have formed self-help groups to share
seeds and to bargain collectively for their produce. They sell the produce
through a marketing channel in the brand name Sahaja Ahara, meaning natural
food. “From 2006 Enabavi holds the position of a complete organic village in
terms of agriculture and farming,” GV Ramanjaneyalu, executive director of
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, told VillageSquare.in. Enabavi’s produce is in high demand in
the market as they are organic.
Chithra Ajith is a
journalist based in Kozkikode, Kerala.
