Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | No Country For Organic: Why Punjab Finds It Hard To Quit Chemical Farming -Manu Moudgil

No Country For Organic: Why Punjab Finds It Hard To Quit Chemical Farming -Manu Moudgil

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Sep 3, 2022   modified Modified on Sep 4, 2022

-IndiaSpend.com

Punjab has amongst the highest use of fertilisers, pesticides and large machinery, including government support for chemical farming, making it difficult to transition to organic and natural farming.

Chandigarh: When Ashok Kumar, 63, started doing organic farming on three acres of his farm in Sohangarh Rattewala village in Punjab's western Ferozepur district in 2012, the benefits of good health and a cleaner environment were foremost on his mind. Besides growing food for his family, he was also able to sell the surplus to customers who sought organic produce. By 2016, he had decided to grow chemical-free fruit, vegetables, grains and oilseeds on his entire 16 acres, but the scaling up did not yield expected returns.

"I opened a shop in [nearby] Muktsar town in collaboration with six other organic farmers. We also took our produce to a weekend organic market in Jalandhar [three-and-a-half hours away by road], but despite putting in so much effort and money, we continued to make losses," he recalled. There just weren't enough customers, he told IndiaSpend.

"We had to shut down the shop and I eventually reduced the area under organic farming back to three acres, for my own family's consumption. The rest of the land is now given on lease to another farmer, who uses chemical fertilisers and pesticides."

Kumar's story is not reflective of all farmers who are trying to do chemical-free farming in Punjab, but many would relate to his predicament. Their passion for chemical-free, natural farming runs contrary to the longstanding farming culture of the state, our reporting found. The terms 'organic' and 'natural' farming are used interchangeably in India, with farmers using a mix of methods.

In natural farming, if defined strictly, the focus is on the use of bio-inputs prepared from farm and local ecosystems, instead of purchasing these. Organic farming is defined more from a perspective of product certification and marketing (read more in our July 2022 explainer on natural farming). On the ground, these terms are used more fluidly.

Please click here to read more. 


IndiaSpend.com, 3 September, 2022, https://www.indiaspend.com/agriculture/no-country-for-organic-why-punjab-finds-it-hard-to-quit-chemical-farming-833420


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close