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of the Native The solutions to farmer indebtedness and suicides, rising input costs and declining yields lie not in Krishi Bhawan, the Food Corporation of India's godowns, Cargill's grain-ships or Monsanto's bio-technology labs. The solutions lie with organic farmers like Narayan Reddy and people's movements like the Beej Bachao Andolan which are retrieving and reviving traditional agricultural practices by Parshuram Ray
"The old varieties are the products of millions of years of evolution
and as much as 12,000 years of human selection and co-evolution.
They are the plants on which generations of people have survived,
the plants that have shown their ability to adapt to all the variability
of nature. Called land races or peasant varieties, they are the
work of sophisticated, capable people who walked their fields with
a keen eye for the best plants to be saved for the seed, the result
of intelligent, innovative minds and often the work of geniuses."
--
Fowler & Mooney According to Dr Richharia, the well-known rice scientist, four lakh varieties of rice existed in India during the Vedic period. His estimate is that even today two lakh varieties of rice continue to exist here. This means that even if a person were to eat a new rice variety every day of the year, he could go on for over 500 years without reusing a variety. Every variety has a specific purpose and utility. He has collected and identified 20,000 types of rice in the Chattisgarh area of Madhya Pradesh alone. Farmers in every part of the country have a deep knowledge of their own varieties of rice, of their environmental and nutritional requirements, properties and peculiarities. This enabled farmers to harvest a crop even under the most severe stress situation. What has been said of rice is also true of other crops such as pulses. However, this genetic diversity of our traditional varieties has been totally ignored and modern agricultural programmes have not taken into account this wealth of information. A peep into our traditional varieties can suggest so many ways to resist pests and drought. Unfortunately, in the last few decades, technocratic approaches to Indian agriculture have transformed a diverse food system into a homogenised and vulnerable one. The official strategy of building centralised buffer stocks and the public distribution system has privileged a few islands of intensive cultivation. What has been neglected in the process is the vast diversity of indigenous crops which have evolved in the unique ecosystems throughout the country. What is being sacrificed is the potential to build a more ecologically sustainable and equitable ownership of our diverse food system. The dominant processes have also resulted in the severe dislocation of millions of subsistence farmers and their sustainable livelihood practices. It is a matter of grave concern that despite elaborate state intervention, heavy financial investment and subsidies for the food management system, the actual gains experienced by a majority of the people do not even come close to the defined policy objective of ensuring acceptable minimum nutrition for the poor. Over half of the Indian people have cash incomes so low that they cannot even access the PDS. We now witness an increasing frequency of localised famine, soil degradation, acute scarcity of water, and rapid depletion of biodiversity. This reality clearly warrants a serious re-evaluation of the dominant food production and management policies which have been justified on the grounds of food security and positioned as the only available option for combating the endemic hunger and malnutrition of the Indian people. Besides these conventional threats to sustainable livelihood practices, the typhoon of globalisation, liberalisation and corporatisation of agriculture is also ravaging and decimating the remaining practices of sustainable livelihoods. The "gene revolution" is another cause for concern. There is a widespread realisation that we are approaching a major crisis. But this realisation need not make us cynical or inactive. There are Seeds of Hope sprouting across the country -- thousands of scattered strands, which can weave together a fabric of dynamic and sustainable livelihoods for increasing numbers of people. A growing number of farmers and farming communities are going back to their traditional farming practices or evolving creative convergences with the modern. In the space available here I can discuss only four examples amongst the innumerable efforts in the country to protect, promote and revive traditional agriculture. The first is the story of Narayan Reddy, an organic farmer from Karnataka. The second is about the Beej Bachao Andolan (Save Seed Movement) from Tehri-Garhwal of Uttarakhand. The third is the initiative of the Deccan Development Society, a community-based Organisation (CBO) from Andhra Pradesh. And the fourth is the Green Foundation, an NGO working at the grassroots in Karnataka. Narayan
Reddy
"I have six cows, 10 goats and 100 poultry birds. Animal husbandry is very profitable and it is also like bank savings for farmers. Whenever you need money, you can sell your cattle," says Reddy. What has made Reddy's organic farm hugely profitable is his innovative combination of inter-cropping and animal husbandry together. Nowadays, in his 10-acre plot of land, Reddy has 200 coconut trees, 200 guava trees and 30 chikoo trees. He also grows vegetables. Reddy is very happy with his organic farm. In the last 21 years of organic farming, Reddy has never used any chemical fertilisers or pesticides. He applies only poultry manure, green compost and tank silt. The produce from his land is very good and his annual income from this organic farm is Rs 2 lakh. Of this 2 lakh, 1.5 lakh is pure saving per year. Half of this profit comes from animal husbandry. Now farmers from neighbouring and far-flung areas come to see and learn Reddy's organic farming techniques. Students from agricultural universities and colleges come and stay at his farm for hands-on experience in organic farming. Reddy was first awarded by the Karnataka government in 1994. He has also been awarded for spreading awareness about organic farming. The Karnataka government's highest award, Rajat Seva, has also been conferred on Reddy. Beej
Bachao Andolan After realising the adverse impact of pesticides and chemical-dependent seeds, Vijay Jardhari along with his other Chipko friends from the region, decided not to grow the new chemical-dependent seeds on their farms. When Jardhari and his friends started visiting other villages in the region with a view to learn more about traditional seeds, they found very positive signs there. In the high-altitude valley of Ramasirain in Uttarkashi district, they found that farmers grew a very distinctive variety of red rice called Chardhan. This rice, apart from being very nutritious, met other local requirements so well that people there were quite determined to protect this variety of this region. They first visited places untouched by modern development. Seed diversity still existed there. Indigenous varieties like Thapachini, Jhumkiya, Rikhwa and Lal Basmati were giving good yields without any use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Their yield may be compared with Green Revolution varieties like Govind and Saket recommended officially for this region. The superiority of these traditional seeds had been confirmed by several experiments and observations in villages. When confronted with these claims, a visiting scientist said in anger, "If your Thapachini variety is so good why don't you grow it everywhere?" Vijay Jardhari replied that "each variety has its own role for specific farm conditions and so wide diversity of crops is needed, not monocultures. Every small field has been cultivated here traditionally on the basis of this concept of a wide diversity locally called Barahanza (literally meaning 12 grains). In practical terms, this means that a number of cereals and legumes were intercropped in a field so that the people can be self-reliant in obtaining a balanced diet, and at the same time the soil is also nourished by leguminous crops. Creepers of some of these plants can obtain the support of the stalks of other plants. For example the kidney bean, lobiya, and moong pulse creeper can obtain the support of the mandua. So what looks like a maddening range of too many plants in a small area is actually a very balanced way of meeting the needs of human beings, of the soil and also of plants themselves." The Beej Bachao Andolan is committed to protecting and promoting various traditional varieties of seeds. For this purpose, says Jardhari, "We organise foot marches and make people aware about the importance of protection of traditional seeds. The main vehicle of our campaign is talk and song. We also get good mass co-operation. We organise get-togethers and peoples' meet programmes. We give, through these programmes, information about various varieties of paddy and its benefits. Farmers don't want only grain from agriculture but also fodder for their animals. Animals are the backbone of agriculture. Animals are not only helpful in good agriculture but also in maintaining human health. Therefore, there is a close relation between agriculture and animal husbandry." Today, the Beej Bachao Andolan has over 150 varieties of paddy from which they still grow over 100 different varieties. Among these are varieties like Thapachini and Jhamcha which have capacity of upto 72 quintals/hectare. They have also collected 170 different varieties of Razama. The slogan of BBA is 'Don't tamper with our soil, water and trees.' Jardhari further adds: "Today pesticide is killing more farmers than pests. In the last few years, hundreds of farmers have committed suicide by consuming pesticide. Through food, people are unknowingly being slow-poisoned and many new diseases are coming up. But through our traditional knowledge we have learnt to control pests. We use various leaves such as walnut, neem etc, which we can get from our fields. Besides this, ash and cow's urine act as pest controllers. When we can get these free from our backyard why do we need to go to pesticide shops? The basic objective of modern agriculture is trade and its sole aim is to maximise profits -- this process does not understand the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Traditional farming has proved itself through time and experience. Modern science has to accept this. Millions of farmers are engaged in this sustainable agricultural system. Modern science and traditional farming knowledge together have to help us find the way ahead." Deccan
Development Society The Alternative PDS through Community Grain Fund was initiated in 1994 in 30 villages. The basic goal of this jowar-based PDS programme was to ensure local production, local storage and local distribution. This was operationalised by advancing financial assistance to the marginal farmers to reclaim their fallow lands through timely cultivation, application of farmyard manure and carrying out other timely farming practices. The money advanced would be returned in the form of grain which is stored in their own village and sold at cheap rates to the poorest families in the villages. All the decisions are made by the community and nothing is imposed from outside. This programme was carried out in 32 villages with about 1,600 families covering 1,000 ha of marginalised farmlands. Through this alternative PDS the women brought over 1,000 hectares of fallows under the plough. They produced an extra 800,000 kilograms of sorghum in their villages in the very first year of the project. This meant that they were able to produce nearly three million extra meals in 30 villages or 1,000 extra meals per family. The fodder provided by the newly-cultivated fields sustained over 6,000 head of cattle in 30 villages every year. The Community Gene Fund Programme of the DDS, on the other hand, has restored critical control of seeds in the hands of rural women in general and dalit women in particular. This programme has laid emphasis on biodiversity in agriculture and recovery of traditional landraces. Within a span of five years about 900 women who participated in this programme have recovered over 85 traditional landraces and have set up banks of traditional seeds in 50 villages. As a result of this initiative, says P V Satheesh, Director of DDS, "crop varieties have increased. Over 80 varieties have been under active cultivation now as against 25-30 varieties when we began the programme in 1996. Diverse cropping which was becoming an exception, has started becoming a rule. Extremely marginal lands have become productive. Lands which used to produce crops worth Rs 250-300 per acre have started producing crops worth over Rs 5,000. Seeds that can crop about 2,000 ha have been stored in villages within a span of five years. Safe food and a variety of options are on the women's menu. It is a much changed situation. Forgotten foods from the past like Korralu, Saamalu, Aargulu and Bailodlu are in the kitchen. More pulses have added more proteins, more vegetables and vitamins have become available. A rethink on the harmful effects of the new agricultural practices has begun. Tractor ploughing is no more the dream in many minds. Bullocks have come back to occupy centrestage. Deep ploughing through tractors upturns the fine and fertile topsoil and brings up the hard subsoil while people's traditional shallow ploughing with bullocks keeps the fine soil on the upper layers. Many people have started approaching the Sangham women for seeds. This process helps make people move away from the organised, externally controlled markets and helps build a self-reliant seed economy." Green
Foundation Some of the crucial issues and objectives that GF tries to focus on are -
Towards the larger goal of sustainable agriculture, GF promotes conservation of bio-genetic and cultural diversity through people's active participation and involvement, seed melas, periodic visits to villages and a system of instituting rewards and incentives. Meetings in villages involving farmers, village elders, local health practitioners and other resource people have served as useful participatory techniques in collecting information about recently acquired traditional seed varieties, assessing needs and requirements of villagers, changing agricultural patterns over the years, varietal performances of local crops, comparing performances of local vs HYVs, knowledge regarding utility of endangered plant species, their consumption and uses (eg, jowar and other minor millets such as little millets - Same -- and kodo millets -- Aaraka). Seed Melas are annual events that provide a forum for information-sharing and exchange of indigenous seeds amongst farmers. Conducting seed melas at regional levels also provides an opportunity for re-inculcating grassroots awareness and respect for our rich genetic heritage and the imperative need for its conservation. GF recognises the vital role of culture in the lives of rural folk and its inseparable links with agriculture in particular and nature as a whole. It lays adequate emphasis on revival and strengthening of a bio-genetic and cultural heritage which in essence constitute two sides of a single coin. These are attempted through documentation of and experimentation with, community-based agricultural rituals, festivals, beliefs, traditional technologies and practices, literature reviews, essay competitions involving school children etc. The foundation also uses puppetry, theatre, and drama as modes for educating people on the need to revive traditional agricultural systems. Conclusion
Parshuram Ray is an environmental activist, researcher and writer based in Delhi. He is currently Associate Director, Seeds of Hope, Lokayan. Published in Humanscape, January -2001. |
But after this record production, when at the end
of 1978 he calculated his gains and losses, he found that this agriculture
was not economically viable. He found that he was incurring heavy
losses. He decided to sell his land and get into the transportation
business. In the meantime he happened to meet an organic farmer
from California at the Sai Baba Ashram in Bangalore. That organic
farmer suggested that Reddy practise organic farming. And thus began
Reddy's experiment with organic farming. He stopped using chemical
fertilisers or pesticides. In 1979, the first year of this experiment,
he got only 8 quintals/acre of ragi from his field. This was a very
disappointing yield for Reddy. But he did not lose heart. He tried
again. This time his yield went up to 14 quintals/acre. It was very
encouraging. In 1981, it went up to 18 quintals/acre and the next
year 20 quintals/acre without any use of chemicals or fertilisers.
Reddy used only poultry manure and green compost. In comparison,
those who were using heavy doses of chemical fertiliser and pesticide
got only 16 quintals/acre of ragi. Reddy's farm was then fully dependent
on rain-fed irrigation. But now he has got some bore-wells also.
