Diary of an Organic Farmer
Why take to organic farming? Do you think organic farming could help farmers become independent of external inputs? Yes argues renowned author Dr Gautam Vohra in his yet to be released book "Diary of An Organic Farmer", based on the field worksdone by DRAG among the tribal community in Maharashtra and the farmers of Manger village.
|
About Author
Dr. Vohra is associated with NGO networks including those seeking to make international trade less inequitous, evolving norms for the voluntary sector, and fighting communalisation of politics. He is on the governing board of NGOs such as Credibility Alliance, Sandesh and Going to School. Currently he is engaged in community politics as opposed to mainstream politics. His book of verse was published in 1972.
|
In his 325-page book, the author not going into the various organic farming techniques, for which the reader has many other sources, focuses to show what it takes to initiate and sustain an organic farming project.
Adopting a narrative approach, the author touches upon the realism that vividly reflect the frustrations and the perseverance needed to set up a project by one whose aspirations are to work on the ground in every sense of the word and slowly develop projects together with the villagers.
With 80% of the farms in India are two acres and less, the author through project-based narrative approach tries to demonstrate that if such a plot can be made sustainable, a major dent will have been made on hunger in the countryside.
This is all the more relevant within a scenario where the land is poor, which is true of the vast stretches of un-irrigated land in India. "Organic farming should be supported because it makes the farmer independent of external inputs. For it is his inability to pay for fertilizers and pesticides, including the higher dosage of water, and power to lift the water that is required, that has led to his indebtedness. The inability of some to pay their debts has led to suicides," argues Dr Vohra deviating from the "higher return on yield" theory of the National Commission on Farmers.
Pointing out that government's poverty reduction effort and free play to liberalisation and trade have not benefited the small and marginal farmers and that malnourishment in that segment has only increased post reforms, Dr Vohra asserts that the solutions lie not in producing more cereals in the productive farm regions of the country, regions whose potential has begun to be exhausted, but in promoting its production in - 1) the dry land, monsoon fed areas and 2) wastelands - fallow land, pasture and grazing land, degraded forests, cultivable wastelands.
All in all a no holds barred account through a recording of the regular visits to the farm to get the project going, acquiring kabza (possession), digging a tube-well, fencing the land, security saplings, ensuring that they survive the scorching summer month - all form part of a detailed narrative told with candour that will captivate the reader. This book that brings out the travels and travails of a Wannabe Organic Farmer would be useful for researchers, policy makers and most importantly common reader, who are keen to have an insight on the long-term benefits of Organic Farming.
S Satyanarayanan
