Women members of Biseswar Self Help Group of Budukunia village under Mahanga block have exemplified how using vermicompost and organic manure can work wonders for crops in agriculture.
The locals of the area say that they have been harvesting rich paddy crops by using organic farming practices for the last 12 years.
Urmila Sahu, a SHG member explained the reason behind their organic push.
“There is little chance of our farms to suffer from pests and insects as we have adopted organic farming. We don’t feel any need to apply chemical-laced pesticide when we have been successfully harvesting crops through organic farming for more than a decade. This year, we have cultivated crops on 10 acre of land and we are expecting good yield in return. At the same time, we can live a healthy life if we adopt organic farming in our daily life.”
Bismita Barik, another women farmer said “Apart from Dalua Dhana, we have cultivated different vegetables in organic way.
Vermicomposting is a process in which earthworms are used to convert organic materials into humus. Farming involving vermicomposting actually worked wonder for us.”
Similarly, Kulamani Sahu, a local, says, "The woman farmers have been able to earn well by adopting organic farming. They have literally set an example for their other farmers.”
Bhubaneswar: With Odisha government seeking cooperation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for promoting organic farming and other activities, the UN body today formed a joint committee to identify specific areas of collaboration between the two.
The joint committee was formed under chairmanship of Satya S Tripahy, senior advisor of the 2030-Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Joint Committee would give a formal shape to the possible collaboration and would carry forward the negotiations between UNEP and Odisha government.
From the state government side, it was decided to constitute the team under chairmanship of Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan with Principal Secretary Agriculture Monoj Ahuja and Principal Secretary Finance Tuhin Kanta Pandy as members.
This was decided at a meeting between the UNEP team and the state government officials under chairmanship of chief secretary A P Padhi.
A ten member delegation team of UNEP led by its Executive Director, Erik Solheim held elaborate discussions with senior officers of the state government on possible areas of collaboration.
Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had sought the UNEP's cooperation for resource conservation, reduce impact of climate change and promote organic farming in the state.
The state government officials and the UNEP team members discussed on achieving sustainable development through application of green technology, scaling up of solar energy, organic farming, and traditional agricultural potential.
The traditional horticultural products of Odisha like turmeric, ginger, and maize also figured in the discussion.
The agriculture department mentioned that this year organic farming of millets has been introduced among 14,000 farmers in the State.
"The experience of maize cultivation in Odisha under green revolution initiatives was shared in the meeting. It was pointed out that maize alone had around Rs 1000 crore of market worth," said agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja.
Chief Secretary Padhi emphasised upon creating appropriate marketing mechanism for farmers so that they would take interest in production of the defined food grains and millets.
Radhamohan was admitted to the hospital following complains in respiratory system as he was suffering from bronchial asthma along with other co-morbidities. He breathed his last at around 12 midnight, hospital authorities said.
Radhamohan and his daughter Sabarmatee were conferred with prestigious Padma Shri Award, the fourth highest civilian honour of the country, in 2020 for their contribution to agriculture sector.
The father-daughter duo was credited to have transformed a piece of wasteland into a fruit forest through organic farming technique. They had been enabling farmers across the country to take to sustainable organic farming.
The retired professor had also opened a social organisation-‘Samvab’ aiming at educating farmers regarding organic farming and exchange of seeds.
Odisha Government had also awarded him with Utkal Seva Samman for his outstanding social service. Similarly, UNEP had conferred ‘The Global Roll of Honour’ for his distinguished work for environment.
Born in 1943 at a small village in Nayagarh district, Radhamohan had graduated with economics from SCS College in Puri and completed his post-graduation in Applied Economics from Utkal University in 1965.
Odisha government had appointed him as State Information Commissioner. He had also served as a lecturer in different colleges in Odisha.
Radhamohan had also worked as member of State Planning Board, Advisory Committee, State Watershed Mission, Task Force on Education, State Wildlife Advisory Committee, NSS Advisory Committee, Steering Committee on Joint Forest Management. He was also a member of State Pollution Control Board.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharemdnra Pradhan, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, Odisha Law Minister Pratap Jena and BJP National Vice-President Baijayant Panda among others expressed condolences over the demise of the noted environmentalist.
ପଦ୍ମଶ୍ରୀ ପ୍ରଫେସର ରାଧାମୋହନଙ୍କ ବିୟୋଗ ଖବର ଶୁଣି ମୁଁ ଦୁଃଖିତ ଓ ମର୍ମାହତ । ବିଶେଷ ଭାବରେ ଜୈବିକ ଚାଷ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ତାଙ୍କ ଦ୍ୱାରା ଅଣାଯାଇଥିବା ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତନ ତଥା ପରିବେଶ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ପାଇଁ ତାଙ୍କର ପ୍ରତିବଦ୍ଧତା ସବୁ ଦିନ ପାଇଁ ସ୍ମରଣୀୟ ହୋଇ ରହିବ ।
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) June 11, 2021
Deeply saddened to know the passing away of Gandhian and Padma Shri awardee Prof Radhamohan. An economist turned environmentalist had distinguished contribution to sustainable organic farming. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family members and well-wishers.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 11, 2021
ପଦ୍ମଶ୍ରୀ ପ୍ରଫେସର ରାଧାମୋହନଙ୍କ ବିୟୋଗଜନିତ ଖବର ଶୁଣି ମୁଁ ଅତ୍ୟନ୍ତ ମର୍ମାହତ । ରାଧାମୋହନଙ୍କ ବିୟୋଗ ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ଜୈବିକ କୃଷିକ୍ଷେତ୍ରରେ ଅପୁରଣୀୟ କ୍ଷତି । ସେ ଜଣେ ବିଶିଷ୍ଟ ଗାନ୍ଧୀବାଦୀ ନେତା, ସମାଜସେବୀ, ସ୍ତମ୍ବକାର ଓ ବୈପ୍ଳବିକ ଚାଷି ।
— Biswa Bhusan Harichandan (@BiswabhusanHC) June 11, 2021
Saddened to learn of the passing of eminent environmentalist, noted economist & former Odisha Information Commissioner Padma Shri Prof. Radhamohan.
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) June 11, 2021
My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family.
Om Shanti 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/Jftl89vE8V
In Odisha, some farmers of Liligada and Merapalli panchayats under Mohana block of Gajapati district are now leading such a change to show how with its increased nutritional quality to even a better taste and from maintaining health of the soil to more earnings, organic farming is the only sustainable way forward.
From growing vegetables like- cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, coriander and onion in aplenty, the farmers have also cultivated sunflower, maize and millet with the use of only environment-friendly manures and not any chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
The farmers prepare manures by using animal wastes like cow dung, and composts with lemon and karanja leaves. They say that demand for organic grown products is more and the quality of yield is also better than the products grown using fertilizers.
Narrating about the conventional method of farming, a farmer Balaram Mallick said, “We use traditional agricultural equipment for ploughing our fields. We use only manures to grow crops and avoid application of chemical pesticides."
“We initially practiced agriculture using chemicals but later, we thought of adopting organic farming which is in fact good for health as well as tastes better,” noted another farmer, Rabi Mallik.
Despite all this, the farmers seem to have a grief, the lack of water for irrigation and other purposes which have stood as a hindrance for good farming in the region. They believe that if they are provided with water facilities, they can yield more organic produce.
A farmer Bishnu Prasad Mahapatra narrated how he faced lot of difficulties in making his farmland agriculture worthy only because of scanty water supply for irrigation.
“We have cultivated around 5 acres of land but faced a lot of problem due to lack of irrigation facilities. If we are given proper facilities to water the field, it would boost our yield,” said Mahapatra.
Asked about the situation, Additional Agriculture Officer of Mohana, Bhabendra Murmu accepted the lack of water facilities in the region but he assured to take necessary steps from his end to alleviate the issues hitting the farming community in the block.
“There is shortage of water in Mohana block. Despite the hardship to avail water for irrigation, some people in the block have adopted organic farming. We will try to provide them with whatever facilities available with us."
https://youtu.be/cPPhhQC78eU
Setting example for farmers in Odisha, 77-year-old, Uday Chandra Patra from Rourkela, a retired mechanic, is now scripting his success story in growing bananas through organic farming on several acres of land inside the campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) in the steel city.
“We have grown worms in open pits which are used in the banana plants. Besides, we add an organic compost made up of a mixture of cow dung, curd, jaggery, chilly, ginger, neem and karanja leaves and many other medicinal plants which helps the trees to be healthy,” said Patra.
“Bananas do not grow in hilly terrain. The land here is hilly but we successfully grew bananas here. It was only possible because of the organic procedures,” added Patra.
Patra started banana farming around six months back. He is also supplying the self-prepared organic fertilizers at Rs 10 per kilogram to other farmers in Paralakhemundi of Gajapati district, Berhampur, Aska and Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district, Nayagarh, Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district and Rayagada.
“We are producing around 1500 tonnes of organic fertilizers in a year,” informed Patra.
Patra who has imparted training on organic farming to farmers in Hyderabad and several places of Odisha has appealed people to opt for organic farming which can be instrumental in reducing pollution.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
https://youtu.be/xEvHyy_ndio
Read More:
Organic Farming Is The Only Way Forward In Long Run: Odisha Farmers Show How
Harichandan Urges Odisha Farmers To Go For Organic Farming
Kailashnagar is today completely free of alcohol and is setting new records in SRI — a low-water farming methodology aimed at increasing the yield of rice, and organic farming. Their farming methods have been so successful that farmers from different parts of the country and even the UN Development Programme have dropped by to understand their techniques. More recently, American students studying public health visited Kailashnagar to understand how their model of agriculture is meeting the nutritional requirements of its villagers. Two farmers from this village have also received awards from the state government for excellence in farming.
Overcoming Addiction
The villagers of Kailashnagar have come a long way. For decades, the occupants of this tiny forest village were known for being alcoholics. Out of the 350 villagers, 57 men, 40 women and 40 children had some degree of alcohol dependence. Very few people had jobs, and most of them made ends meet by cutting trees and selling timber.
About a decade ago, members of the Development Association for Human Advancement (DEHAT), an NGO that works with vulnerable communities, saw a huge crowd at a liquor shop in the Bichhiya market close to Kailashnagar. They filed an RTI to find out how much alcohol is consumed in the area and were shocked to find that every year people from the five surrounding villages spend close to Rs 22 lakhs. This figure did not take into account the illicit liquor being made and sold here.
Jitendra Chaturvedi, Chief Executive at DEHAT, informed the villagers of the amount spent on alcohol. He told them that the money that should be used for irrigation, education, medicines and weddings is being spent on liquor consumption. The villagers were appalled by the figures and vowed to never touch alcohol again. The first one to give up alcohol was Geeta Prasad, who was infamous for his love of liquor. Inspired by him, many of the other villagers followed suit. Liquor producers in the village voluntarily disbanded their facilities and to ensure that no one takes to liquor again, the villagers organised a religious ceremony and wore kanthis (special necklaces) to symbolise their resolve.
Focus On Farming
Now that liquor consumption had stopped, the villages began to look for better means of livelihood. But the options were limited since Kailashnagar was in forest land and there were many restrictions in place. The villagers looked to NREGA for jobs. But soon, they wondered why they could not use their own land for farming. Members of DEHAT came in and helped the locals understand the basics of agriculture. DEHAT also organised training for the farmers from different institutes in new methods. They also learnt to improve yield without the use of chemicals. Over the next few years, they grew a variety of crops and the once poverty-stricken village began to prosper. They were now able to meet the food needs of the villagers and also make some profit.
Prasad, who is today a prosperous farmer, recalls: “My only job was to drink all day and trouble my family in the evening. Thanks to farming, our lives have changed. The income of the entire village has increased manyfold. Due to the increased income, now, one child from our village is in Lucknow for higher education, two girls and three boys are studying in Kisan Degree College, Bahraich and five girls and nine boys are studying in Bappa Ji Inter College, Chafariya.”
Babu Ram of Kailashnagar says that the vegetables grown in his village sell the fastest at the local market, even though they are priced 25 per cent more than their counterparts.
“This is because we do not use any insecticide or English manure in our crops. We make our own fertilizer with cow urine and insecticide with garlic, tobacco and curd. Due to this, our crops are healthy and tasty and hence, get sold fast. Nowadays, people from all over the country visit our village to learn our methods of farming,” he says with pride.
In 2014, Geeta Prasad won an award from the state government for cultivating 118 quintals of organic rice through SRI farming in one hectare and in 2017, Dwarika Prasad got government recognition for setting a new record in the cultivation of organic bananas.
Striving For Status Of Revenue Village
The villagers have won one battle against alcohol and poverty, but they are still striving to win their decades-long battle to give Kailashnagar the status of a revenue village. Situated near the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division, Kailashnagar is not a revenue village but rather falls under the category of Vanatangiya (a community that was first hired by the British for afforestation). Hence, no pucca construction is allowed here. If you walk into this tiny village, you can neither see a pucca house nor a pucca toilet. There is no school, water tank, panchayat building or hospital in this village. Without the status of a revenue village, members of the village do not have complete rights on the land, making them ineligible for government schemes and bank loans. Despite the many hurdles, the villagers are happy that they managed to put Kailashnagar on the map as a model of successful farming and they are hopeful for their revenue status, soon.
To encourage the farmers who will be doing organic farming, the government will provide a grant of Rs 10 lakh to each cluster in every three years. Out of the amount, Rs 3.30 lakh will be paid twice in first and the last year while in the remaining middle year the cluster will get Rs 3.40 lakh. A total of 38 per cent of the total outstanding will be spent on formation of the cluster, increase the capacity of the farmers, value addition, branding and packaging etc.
The farmers, included in the organic farming, will be provided a thorough knowledge about it including the tools and other investments, and they will also be made to visit the areas where it is already being done. After the visit, the knowledge about farming, green compost, preparing nursery, Panchagavya, Jeevamrit, vermi compost, managing diseases and pests through organic methods will be imparted to farmers. Moreover, training for product cleaning, grading, packaging and levelling will also be given to them. The government is also planning to start organic market in all divisional headquarters.
Demand for organic products has increased due to growing awareness of health along with income. People are ready to pay good prices for them. The customer has confidence that what he is buying is best to the quality. For this, the government will also get certification of these products from PGS India, Ghaziabad.
Anand Tripathi, Additional Director (Extension), Department of Agriculture, said that the government is working fast to promote organic and natural farming. Keeping this in mind, all the 1,038 gram panchayats along the banks of the Ganga river that passes through Uttar Pradesh will have organic farming. Of this, the Department of Agriculture and UP DSP will conduct organic farming in 16 and 11 districts respectively.
It is known that Ganga has mother status in Indian tradition. The oldest civilization of the world flourished in the Ganga's catchment area. The Indo-Gangetic Belt ranks among the most fertile lands in the world. Chief Minister Yogi often mentions this in his private conversations and public meetings. He says that the land of the Indo-Gangetic Belt can become the granary of the world.
Districts included in the traditional agricultural scheme include
Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur, Banda, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Chitrakoot, Mirjapur, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit, Gonda, Agra, Mathura, Varanasi, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Deoria, Farukhabad, Unnao, Raebareli, Bahraich, Barabanki, Shravasti, Faizabad, Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Kanpur Nagar, Firozabad, Badaun, Amroha, Bijnor, Chandauli, Sonbhadra, Balrampur and Siddhanthanagar.
Districts included in Namami Gange Scheme include Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh, Raebareli, Kanupar Nagar, Kannauj, Aligarh, Amroha, Sambhal, Hapur, Meerut, Muzaffanagar, Ballia, Ghazipur, Kaushambi, Unnao, Farukhwar, Harukharaj, Kasganj, Bulandshahr and Bijnor.
(With IANS Inputs)