ORGANIC FARMING- A FOREIGN RETURN INDIAN CONCEPT!
With the COVID-19 necessitated social distancing norms in place coupled with people avoiding to visit crowded market places, Online platforms for selling of vegetables have become vogue. Most of the online platforms selling fruits and vegetables have Organic Produce separately marked with higher prices than their non-organic counterpart. One can only contemplate as to what is Organic Produce and how can it be a new concept for India?
HISTORY
A little google search on the history of Organic Farming in the world, throws up web pages claiming that Organic Farming was invented in European Union in 1920’s to 1940’s by Lord Northbourne and Sir Albert Howard, particularly process of humus enrichment of soil!
Now, anyone coming from even remotely agrarian background would know that enrichment of soil with humus (of the non-edible parts of vegetables/fruits and flowers) is practised widely in agricultural farms in India. It is a standard practice to dig up small portions in the farm and fill it with left over raw vegetables/leaves/ flowers or fruits etc on rotational basis. In fact, humus is also prepared from dried leaves of various trees.
Not only by way of practice, but the evidence of highly advanced agricultural system based on only Organic components being practiced in India is also available in Upvanvinod. Upavanviond- an ancient treatise on agriculture written in Sanskrit has detailed description of use of bio-insecticides made of various plant components such as NEEM, Chiraita etc. which were used against specific pest. Further, Cow dung as used to prepare vermicompost, organic composts, and many other organic insecticides. Further, cow dung along with neem leaves, soil, jaggery, gram flour, leaves of peepal tree was used to prepare insecticides. This method has been recently used in a village in Kevadia in Bihar and the results are astonishing. [1] The knowledge of soil, its quality and methods employed for farming and harvesting was part of traditional knowledge and was passed on generations to generation by farmers, often in the form of couplets, folk-songs etc.
The question arises over here is what went wrong that India had to shift to Chemical laced farming system?
INDIGO-CULTIVATION.
18th Century onwards, the East India Company had established itself in India. Driven by the demand for Indigo for the rapidly growing Industrialised Europe, they insisted that Indigo be cultivated on the most fertile land of India. Further, they insisted that indigo be cultivated on the best soils wherein farmers preferred to cultivate their main food grain, rice. As Indigo had deep roots, it depleted the nourishment content of the soil making the soil unfit for cultivation of rice in the next season. This had the devastating effect of eroding the soil of its nutrient content and depriving the farmers of rotational crop. To add to this, Britishers insisted on using fertiliser for enrichment of soil, discouraging organic manure prepared by farmers as primal method devoid of any scientific backing.
British botanist Sir Albert Howard in his famous book "An Agricultural Testament." documented traditional practices of farmers in India. The book provides insight into nature-driven principles such as soil fertility and composting prevalent in India, instead of the chemical methods that were becoming standard at the time. Interestingly, the process of "the manufacture of humus from vegetable and animal wastes" to improve soil fertility was called by him the Indore Method detailing how humus farming used a combination of composting, crop rotation, and soil additions — such as manure, lime and other natural rocks — to manage the pH of soil.
ORGANIC FARMING- BIGGEST BIO-PIRACY GONE UNDETECTED.
Though, years of servitude under colonial masters, made the Indian farmers dependent on Chemical based farming, which is costly (as all the ingredients have to be bought, contrary to organic farming, where most of the ingredients are locally available to farmers, without any additional cost) and yields lesser crops per hectare (compared to Organic Farming) over the years. However, European Union gradually shifted towards organic compost based farming and USA followed the suit. Thus, to the western world, Organic farming was invented in Europe. And for India, in the year 2006 Food Safety Standards Act, was enacted which regulates manufacturing, distribution, selling or importing “organic foods” as per the provisions laid under Section 22 of the Act.
The biggest bio-piracy of the traditional knowledge of chemical free agriculture, soil nourishment and environmental balance was done by Britishers, without Indians realising it. The effect is so deep-rooted that under Western influence we brand our produce as Organic, rather than branding non-Organic Produce as Chemical Products. Its time we brand Organic Produce as Products of traditional farming and non-organic produce as Chemical products. Only then can we re-claim legacy of our traditional knowledge.
[1] https://www.gaonconnection.com/read/many-villages-inbihar-are-switching-to-organic-farming-46636
The Author of this article is Tanya Shree ,
you can connect with her for legal help on T S Associates.The Author is an Advocate-On-Record, Supreme Court of India.
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