Interactive Session - Thinnai
Event: Interactive Session on Organic
Farming organised by NATURAGROS & THINNAI
Date: 9th March, 2003
Resource Persons: Thiru. Nammazhvar, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Ismail
A diverse group of around
20 persons including organic cultivation experts, organic producers,
concerned organic food consumers and activists came together to talk
about Organic food production, distribution and consumption, the problems
faced by both producers and consumers, and what next.
Background
| Basics
| FAQs
| Consumers'
Needs | Problems faced by Cultivators
| Practical tips | CONCLUSION
Subjects of Discussion
Background, present conditions and relevance
of Organic farming - According to Thiru. Nammazhvar, the reason
there are more police stations (increasing criminals) and more hospitals
(increasing patients) than ever before in the city is that people eat
anything that comes their way! He went on to explain how traditionally
nothing (no part of the crop) in the process of cultivation was wasted.
The bottom part was left in the soil as manure, the middle (stem) was
used as cattle feed, and the top part of the crop (grain) was alone
taken by man. The situation now is that we put chemicals in the soil
that kill it ultimately, buy food from the market for the animals and
ourselves. Everything including ecological status, economical status
of the nation and health status of the people is in shambles. Hence
there is an urgent need to understand and create awareness that for
the world to live we need organic (traditional) methods of farming.
Organic
Cultivation Basics to be Followed - Thiru. Nammazhvar described
to the group, some basic practices so that even people in the city can
cultivate vegetables, greens etc at a smaller scale.
- Soil preparation: the soil and humus should be in equal parts
- Seeds: there is a misconception that hybrid seeds yield more;
any seed requires a particular amount of organic input.
- Use of Panchagavyam: a necessity
- Earthworms: worm activity in the soil increases the fertility
- Herbal pesticide: soaking herbs in cow urine for a certain
period and using the strained liquid as pesticide
- Monoculture: on NO account is monoculture to be followed
- Weeding: must be done with care and guidance, because some
plants that you remove as weeds may be important and necessary.
Practical
tips - The experts described some simple methods of organic
cultivation, used for vermicomposting, soil preparation and testing
etc. in answer to practical problems / questions put forward by some
of the farmers. For instance, Dr. Ismail explained few ways of testing
worm activity in soil, these being:
- Inserting a stick in the soil to check how easily it goes in; this
indicates how loose and porous the soil is and the airspace.
- Checking the density of worms in soil removed from an area of 25 X
25 X 25 cm pit, and the burrows in the interior walls of the pit
- The amount and condition of worm castings
FAQs
- Questions from the consumers' group like why is there an inconsistent
supply of organic food products were discussed in detail. To Harini's
question of why don't the products come in time and regularly to the
city, the unanimous answer from the farmers was transportation problem.
The expenses involved in transportation, crucial time considerations
(for perishable products like vegetables) along with a very unstable
Problems
faced by Cultivators - As mentioned, all the farmers stated
their immediate problems to be that of a need for market (or recognition
thereof) and establishing a process of distribution and supply that
is not expensive. At present, many farmers sell their products in the
local market along with chemical products at the same cost price or
let it rot because they cannot afford transportation costs. One of the
solutions discussed was a collective effort wherein many farmers pool together to take care of transportation.
Consumers'
Needs - The consumers stated their major problem to be inconsistent
supply because of which they need to look for alternatives. They wanted
the guarantee of a sure supply.
CONCLUSION
/ Immediate Needs:
- Urgent Need for a consumers' association, consisting of concerned
organic consumers who will help in the process of marketing (developing
a marketing strategy and help create a sustained market) instead of
simply blaming producers for inconsistent supply
- Programmes for creating awareness among more and more people
should happen simultaneously with marketing.
- Dr. Ismail spoke about solution packages that are necessary
for people interested in organic cultivation. For instance, booklets
explaining how to prepare and use panchagavyam, how to prepare vermicomposting
bins etc.
- There is a need to plan and work at the state level to create a strong
lobby group.