Friday, January 24, 2014

WATCH : Marathi Streetplay for GMO-free food & environment awareness


A street play for creating awareness about the problems associated with GM crops. Produced by GM-free Maharashtra movement. Created by Nirgun Nirmitee
Cast : Shahir - Rishi Dabre, Pendyaa - Sachin Waghmode, Mavshi - Niranjan Kshirsagar, Gavlan - Sayali Tamane
Music Ensemble - Tanmay Bichu, Prathamesh Prabhudesai, Sanat and Sayali

To download the movie, simply right click on the following link and select "save link as" https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/81013527/GM%20video%20final%20720p.mp4

SPREAD FAR & WIDE for USE by interested groups to perform OR screen when actors not available to perform. 

Do leave a feedback on use in any of your events or chance for improvise for better understanding. 



WATCH : STREET PLAY FOR GMO-FREE




Published on 23 Jan 2014
A street play for creating awareness about the problems associated with GM crops. Produced by GM free Maharashtra movement. Created by Nirgun Nirmitee

Farmers Abandoning GMO Seeds and the Reason Will Surprise You

Off the Grid News
by Daniel Jennings | January 23rd, 2014


CI_FarmersGMOseedAbandonA growing number of farmers are abandoning genetically modified seeds, but it’s not because they are ideologically opposed to the industry.
Simply put, they say non-GMO crops are more productive and profitable.
Modern Farmer magazine discovered that there is a movement among farmers abandoning genetically modified organisms (GMO) because of simple economics.
“We get the same or better yields, and we save money up front,” crop consultant and farmer Aaron Bloom said of non-GMO seeds. Bloom has been experimenting with non-GMO seeds for five years and he has discovered that non-GMO is more profitable.
The re-converts to non-GMO seeds are not hippies but conservative Midwestern farmers who are making a business decision, Modern Farmer discovered. They are switching back to natural seed because it is more profitable — not because of any ideology.
“Five years ago the [GMO seeds] worked,” said farmer Christ Huegerich, who along with his father planted GMO seeds. “I didn’t have corn rootworm because of the Bt gene, and I used less pesticide. Now, the worms are adjusting, and the weeds are resistant. Mother Nature adapts.”
Farmers can get paid more for conventional corn than GMO corn. Plus, Huegerich discovered, convention corn can produce more per acre. Modern Farmer reported that two years ago, Huegerich planted 320 acres of conventional corn and 1,700 with GMO corn. The conventional fields “yielded 15 to 30 more bushels per acre than the GMO fields, with a profit margin of up to $100 more per acre.” Last year, he planted convention corn in 750 acres.
“I get a fifty-cent-per-bushel premium,” Huegerich said of the non-GMO corn he grows in Breda, Iowa.
Herbicide use increased by 26 percent between 2001 and 2010 because of the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds. Huegerich said he used herbicides on GMO corn and conventional corn, even though theoretically he shouldn’t have to use it on his genetically modified crop.
The group Farm & Water Watch reported that 61.2 million acres of cropland in the US are plagued by weeds that are resistant to the popular glyphosate herbicides.
Why Non-GMO Seeds Are More Profitable
The Modern Farmer article, called The Post GMO-Economy, makes an excellent case for farmers dumping GMO. Some of the interesting facts the magazine uncovered include:
  • The cost of growing one acre of non-GMO corn was $680.95, the cost of growing an acre of GMO corn was $761.80 according to Aaron Bloom. That means it costs $80.85 more an acre to raise GMO corn.
  • GMO seeds can cost up to $150 a bag more than regular seeds.
  • The market for non-GMO foods has grown from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $3.1 billion in 2013, partially because some Asian and European countries don’t want GMO seeds.
  • Grain dealer Clarkson Grain pays farmers an extra $2 a bushel for non-GMO soybeans and an additional $1 a bushel for non-GMO corn.
  • The market for non-GMO seed is growing. Sales at Spectrum Seed Solutions, which sells non-GMO seed, have doubled every year for the last four years. Sales at another company that markets non-GMO seeds, eMerge Genetics of West Des Moines, Iowa, have increased by 30 percent a year for five years.
  • Spectrum Seed Solutions president Scott Odle thinks that non-GMO corn could be 20 percent of the market in five years.
Bloom, the farm consultant, said planting convention corn can save farmers an average of $81 per acre per season. That’s a difference of $81,000 for a farm of 1,000 acres.
It looks like the past might be the future for farmers as more and more growers abandon GMO. The free market could very well spell the end of GMO seeds.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Farming Freedom

Lorna Howarth

17th January 2014

A simple agricultural technique could release farmers from the grip of agrochemical corporations. With no patents, no royalties and no licensing fees, this system just benefits the farmers.


Transplanting young seedlings in a wide-spaced grid system, India. Image copyright SRI-Rice

This system increases yields by 20–100%, reduces seed needed by 90% and use 50% less water
There is an agricultural revolution taking place in the global South that is confounding scientists and frustrating the business plans of corporations like Monsanto and Bayer, because this emerging System of Rice Intensification (SRI) uses no chemicals, no pesticides, no GM seeds or specific hybrids and needs no extra financial input. 

According to the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development, SRI has been shown to increase yields by 20–100%, reduce the amount of seed needed by 90%, and use up to 50% less water than current methods of cultivation. These miraculous results have been replicated time and again in India, Africa, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Latin America, and not just with rice, but also with wheat, sugar cane, teff, yams, millet and many other crops. 

Just another magic bullet innovation? 
So is this just another magic bullet innovation with unforeseen consequences? No! It is all down to the adoption of a simple husbandry technique whereby individual rice seedlings (rather than bunches of seedlings) are transplanted much earlier than usual, into a drier soil than a traditional paddy, in a widely spaced grid system to give room for the crops to grow and the roots to breathe. 

It requires no more than a healthy soil enriched with organic matter to start with, and a bit of weeding using a simple rotary hoe and aeration of the soil after planting has taken place. 

The simplicity of this system is almost counter-intuitive: how can such basic methods possibly produce up to a 100% increase in yield? As 
E.F. Schumacher once said: “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction,” and that certainly seems to be the case here. 

Daring to eschew post-Green Revolution agricultural methods and return full circle to the wisdom of their ancestors, farmers in India have cultivated their crops using SRI methods and have reaped the benefits many-fold. Indeed, a young farmer from Nalanda in India’s poorest state of Bihar broke the world record for rice yield using SRI by growing an incredible 22.4 tonnes on one hectare of land. 

21st Century Agriculture
SRI was first pioneered in the 1980s in Madagascar by a Jesuit priest and agronomist, Henri de Laulanié, who observed how villagers grew rice in the uplands. He developed the SRI model, which was then disseminated by Cornell professor Norman Uphoff, who said: “[SRI] is a set of ideas, the absolute opposite to the first green revolution [of the 1960s] which said that you had to change genes and soil nutrients to improve yields. That came at a tremendous ecological cost.
Agriculture in the 21st century must be practised differently. Land and water resources are becoming scarcer, of poorer quality, or less reliable. Climatic conditions are, in many places, more adverse. SRI offers millions of disadvantaged households far better opportunities. Nobody is benefiting from this except the farmers: there are no patents, royalties or licensing fees.” SRI isn’t about splicing genes: it’s about husbanding crops better. 

Benefits to marginalised farmers 
There has been criticism of SRI, saying that it is labour intensive and only suitable for small farms, as there is no machinery available that can plant single rice seedlings in the grid system used. But, as E.F. Schumacher would remind us, small is, and always has been, beautiful. 

The wonder of this system is that it benefits small farmers who are marginalised in every other respect. It gives them yields that corporations can only dream of. Because they are farming to feed their families, and not to make vast profits, they can afford the labour to weed the fields – it is their life’s work, not a factor in the equation of profit and loss. Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-winning economist, when visiting Nalanda, recognised the economies of scale in the SRI system, telling villagers that they were “better than scientists”, and that people from across the world could learn from and be inspired by their successes.




More information on SRI-rice

Lorna Howarth is founder of The Write Factor, www.thewritefactor.co.uk

This article was first published in Resurgence & Ecologist magazine
Source: http://www.theecologist.org/magazine/features/2241304/farming_freedom.html

Friday, January 17, 2014

America's GM backlash should give Britain food for thought

American consumers and farmers are rejecting a technology they once embraced. Let's not make the same mistakes
''Farmers find it difficult to return to non-GM cropping as the GM seeds persist in their soil.'
'Farmers find it difficult to return to non-GM cropping as the GM seeds persist in their soil.' Photograph: Seth Perlman/AP
The election of a leftwing mayor in New York is not the only thing changing in the US after decades of pro-big business policies. Genetically modified crops and food have had an easy ride in the US, with no official safety testing, thanks to the influence of GM companies on the George W Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Most US consumers say they want genetically modified food labelled (it isn't) and believe that they don't eat GM food (they do). November popular ballots to require GM food to be labelled were narrowly defeated in California (in 2012) and Washington state (2013).
But the furore created by these ballots, and the huge sums spent by chemical and large food businesses to defeat them ($46m in California) have ignited the first popular debate in the US about genetic modification since the technology was introduced in the late 1990s. Two states have passed, and about 20 others are considering, GM labelling laws.
Now, the first mainstream US food company has removed GM from a popular range. General Mills has started producing Cheerios free of GM. This makes the 73-year-old breakfast cereal one of the highest-profile American brands to drop GM ingredients. Overall, sales of certified non-GM products are growing, from $1.3bn to $3.2bn between 2001 and 2013.
American consumers are beginning to discover, as Europeans did back in the late 1990s, that most of their processed food contains GM ingredients. This coincides with US farmers starting to fall out of love with the technology. In the UK, we are constantly told that GM must work "because American farmers carry on growing GM crops". This has beena constant refrain of our strongly pro-GM secretary of state for environment, Owen Paterson. In fact, US farmers have faced problems with GM crops for nearly 15 years. Now the problems are so great that growers there are starting to desert GM.
Over 80% of all GM crops are grown in just four countries in North and Latin America, with over 40% coming from the US. Farmers who want to stop find it difficult to return to non-GM cropping because the GM seeds persist in their soil. Farmers that face that problem, or other GM contamination, risk being sued by seed companies for infringing GM patents. For years it has been easier to carry on with the modified crops than try and stop. But now, in the fields of Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Delaware and elsewhere, Owen Paterson's GM dreams are being confronted by 6ft-high, GM-resistant horse's tail – a weed of farmers' nightmares. These and other weeds have become resistant to all the usual weedkillers.
The most widely grown GM crops in America are genetically engineered to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup, a weedkiller that used to be sprayed in some fields just after harvest, to kill all plants, including any remaining crops, before reseeding. But as thousands of square miles were planted with crops engineered to resist Roundup, and Roundup was sprayed on all the crops to kill the weeds, often more than once, this provided an amazing opportunity to the small number of weed plants that were resistant. Within just a few years, GM farmers found that weeds that were resistant to Roundup were spreading everywhere – the area affected by resistant weeds has risen from 32.6 million acres in 2010 to 61.2 million in 2012. As a result, the use of weedkillers in the US increased by over 25% between 2001 and 2010. The only response that farmers have is to use several different weedkillers as well as Roundup, in the hope of finding something that will work.
To make matters worse, non-GM maize and soya crops are now starting to yield better crops, partly because new non-GM varieties can be developed faster than GM ones. US farmers are now also getting a premium for non-GM, because of the demand from countries like Japan, South Korea and the European Union.
Little wonder then that US farmers are starting to desert GM. A company selling non-GM maize seed in Indiana has seen business double every year for the past four years, and they expect non-GM maize to regain 20% of the market in the next five years – until now, 90% of US maize has been GM.
In the light of this backlash, will pro-GM campaigners now urge British farmers to avoid GM seeds and crops with the same enthusiasm that they have urged us to embrace the technology over the past 15 years? Don't hold your breath.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/16/america-gm-backlash-consumers-farmers-britain?commentpage=1

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Treading the sustainable path

Anitha Pailoor, Jan 14, 2014 | Deccan Herald

Farming Syed Ghani Khan’s farm stands unique with a verdant tapestry of 700 paddy varieties and 120 types of mango. This distinct ecosystem is the result of a farmer’s constant effort with constructive involvement of his family, writes Anitha Pailoor, against the backdrop of the United Nations declaring 2014 as the year of family farming
This is Nazar Bath collected from the tribal people of Maharashtra. They sow this unique rice variety in the middle of paddy field since it acts as a trap crop and weed controller. Black in colour, pockets of this variety in the field look like spots that protect the field. Dambar Sali is popular in North Karnataka for similar properties.”
“I have studied about 150 insects in this farm. More than 50 per cent support the crop. Those green twigs are resting places for birds. They are the natural pest controllers. Look here. I have recently come across this beetle in my farm. I am yet to figure out whether it is useful or not.” After a break, biodiversity conserver and farmer-scientist Syed Ghani Khan resumes to collecting seeds from 700 paddy strains cultivated in one acre while his 12-year-old daughter crosschecks her records and realises that few varieties are missing.

“Squirrels cherish the sweetness of paddy sprouts and do not let them grow.” We see a father passing on the knowledge of ecosystem.  Fragrance of jasmine attracts us to the other part of the farm where Ghani’s brothers are harvesting Thai Jasmine Black paddy grown in one-and-a-half acres.  
Paddy harvest in Bada Bagh, a unique farm in Kirugavalu near Malavalli Taluk of Mandya district, has intensified activities in their house a few kilometres away. 
Ghani’s wife Syeda Firdouse and other women are busy making arrangements to store the seeds and pack as per the demand. Ghani’s mother Haleema Begum is occupied in seed preservation for next year’s sowing. 
40 seeds that changed his life
Agriculture is something more than a livelihood activity to this family. It is a way to conserve biodiversity, a path to revive traditional practices. Syed Ghani Khan and his brother Syed Hasan are into agriculture while two brothers who are working in cities join hands when necessary. 
Ghani Khan (37) had an innate passion to tend plants since his childhood. “During his school days, Ghani spent more time in the kitchen garden than playing with friends,” recalls his mother. “When I was a teenager, my father fell ill and was bedridden for years. Being the eldest, my studies and experiments in the farm went parallel. 
By the time he could complete his graduation in archeology and museology, his father passed away. Ghani stood firm in his farm and anchored the future of his three brothers. “There are many turning points in my life. A fistful of native seeds tops among them,” Ghani narrates his journey from a chemical farmer to a native seed conserver. In the beginning, chemical farming looked comfortable. But when both personal and field’s health deteriorated, he decided to shift to organic farming. It was followed by his passion for paddy varieties.  
Ghani’s uncle had acquired a small quantity of seeds of unknown paddy variety in 2000. Though he was reluctant to share the seeds, Ghani managed to get 40 seeds. The variety yielded well in organic method. Ironically, for two years the variety could not be identified, until a visitor recognised it as Ratnachudi. In those two years, Ghani Khan had realised that native paddy varieties were on the verge of extinction. This awareness compelled him to focus on conservation. 
It was not an easy task considering the kind of work involved in conserving a variety. First six years saw only five additional varieties. Gradually, he came into contact with individuals and organisations with similar objectives. Save our Rice Campaign, anchored by Sahaja Samruddha in Karnataka, gave him opportunities to visit farms and research centres across the country. He interacted and exchanged seeds with other leading paddy conservers in the country. Paddy varieties of Thailand and Malaysia are gifted from his friends of Save Rice Campaign. “Every time he is back from a programme or field trip, I’m sure that Bada Bagh will get new members,” says Haleema Begum. 
Conservation process 
“I do not say that I’m doing it scientifically. But whatever I have done is systematic.” Wide diversity of wetland, dryland, medicinal, aromatic rices along with unique varieties like jugal, a twin-grained paddy, Narikel, which resembles coconut flower, Burma Black, Ramigali and Rajbhog, a weed suppressor, give the visitors a feel of plant museum. Each variety is evenly spaced in straight rows. A list of the varieties is hung in front of each row. 
A portion of the experimental plot is covered with high-yielding varieties that are planted for comparative study with traditional rice plants. After being able to revive the distinct paddy varieties of the region, Ghani Khan is trying to test the most feasible varieties for local climatic conditions. Growing plants in cement rings for conservation purpose is his latest experiment. It saves him space. 
About 99 per cent cross-pollination doesn’t happen in native paddy. But to rule out even one per cent, Ghani combines long and short duration crops. Direct sowing is done. Though there is sufficient water due to KRS Dam, Ghani takes care to use minimum water just to maintain moisture. 
He uses a concoction of selected medicinal leaves to check pests and diseases. Weeding is done using cono weeder. Slurry, green manure and mulching of 10 types of pulses ensure good fertility. 
Ghani was trained in seed production at Krishi Vijnana Kendra, Vishweshwaraiah Channel Farm, Mandya. In his early phase as a farmer, he had supplied seeds of high yielding varieties to Karnataka State Seed Corporation. He has applied the same knowledge to conserve native seeds. So far he has given seeds to more than 6,000 farmers across Karnataka and outside the state. Some farmers exchange the seeds, other return double the quantity after harvest. 
Once the crop is ready for harvest, he organises a field day so that farmers can choose the variety that best suits their requirement. Ghani selects the varieties based on yield, market demand and climatic conditions. Usually, consumers contact him directly for rice. Sahaja Organics is one of the major clients. He has even exported certain varieties to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 
“Farmers are the primary victims of climate change. Traditional varieties help us face unpredictable climatic and ecological conditions while high yielding varieties can’t.” Through his careful insight of selecting plants and developing varieties with suitable traits, Ghani has become a farmer breeder. He has been studying each variety and the ecosystem it builds. This year, he has cross-pollinated Salem Sanna and HMT to get a new race. 
“Ghani has a clear understanding of the significance of on-farm conservation. He has also cultivated a researcher’s outlook. Research centres and universities should join hands with him to systematically propagate the good work done. Scientists should help him in characterisation and experiment the varieties in a larger area. 

Even if five per cent of the varieties in his collection are found useful for their drought, flood, pest, disease-resistant properties or for high yield, it is remarkable for both researchers and farmers. Farmers can relate more when they observe the crop in another farmer’s field. Keeping this in mind, we are planning to conduct activities in his farm,” says Dr N Devakumar, co-ordinator, Research Institute on Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.
Hand in hand
When his brother is busy researching on paddy strains, Syed Hasan takes care of the vegetable plots, papaya, guava and sugar cane which make the farm diverse in terms of crops too. Casuarina is grown in 3 acres and teak in patches bordering the 20-acre farm. 
Bada Bagh is also known for its exotic mango collection. About 120 mango varieties which are 100 to 200 years old are registered with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.   
When the paddy variety crossed 100, Ghani’s mother thought of tasting all the varieties. So, once the seeds are distributed to those interested, she mixes all the varieties together and gets it milled to use it for their daily consumption. “It is tasty, colourful and nutritious,” she says. HMT, a farmer-developed variety, is the other one they prefer for consumption.  
Syeda Firdouse has started the novel activity of designing ornaments and decorative items from paddy seeds. 
Ghani was given the Plant Genome Savior Farmer Recognition by the Central Government in 2012. The family has launched the Ghani Agriculture and Rural Development Organisation to support their activities. 
“This family demonstrates the joy of farming. They are content in what they do and what they get in return. Ghani can locate paddy in the woods. The entire family is supportive of Ghani’s quest,” lauds Murthy, a fellow farmer, who is inspired by Ghani. 
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/380297/treading-sustainable-path.html

Treading the sustainable path

Anitha Pailoor, Jan 14, 2014:
Bio-diversity conserver and farmer-scientist Syed Ghani Khan in his farm. Photo by author
Farming Syed Ghani Khan’s farm stands unique with a verdant tapestry of 700 paddy varieties and 120 types of mango. This distinct ecosystem is the result of a farmer’s constant effort with constructive involvement of his family, writes Anitha Pailoor, against the backdrop of the United Nations declaring 2014 as the year of family farming
This is Nazar Bath collected from the tribal people of Maharashtra. They sow this unique rice variety in the middle of paddy field since it acts as a trap crop and weed controller. Black in colour, pockets of this variety in the field look like spots that protect the field. Dambar Sali is popular in North Karnataka for similar properties.”
“I have studied about 150 insects in this farm. More than 50 per cent support the crop. Those green twigs are resting places for birds. They are the natural pest controllers. Look here. I have recently come across this beetle in my farm. I am yet to figure out whether it is useful or not.” After a break, biodiversity conserver and farmer-scientist Syed Ghani Khan resumes to collecting seeds from 700 paddy strains cultivated in one acre while his 12-year-old daughter crosschecks her records and realises that few varieties are missing.

“Squirrels cherish the sweetness of paddy sprouts and do not let them grow.” We see a father passing on the knowledge of ecosystem.  Fragrance of jasmine attracts us to the other part of the farm where Ghani’s brothers are harvesting Thai Jasmine Black paddy grown in one-and-a-half acres.  
Paddy harvest in Bada Bagh, a unique farm in Kirugavalu near Malavalli Taluk of Mandya district, has intensified activities in their house a few kilometres away. 
Ghani’s wife Syeda Firdouse and other women are busy making arrangements to store the seeds and pack as per the demand. Ghani’s mother Haleema Begum is occupied in seed preservation for next year’s sowing. 
40 seeds that changed his life
Agriculture is something more than a livelihood activity to this family. It is a way to conserve biodiversity, a path to revive traditional practices. Syed Ghani Khan and his brother Syed Hasan are into agriculture while two brothers who are working in cities join hands when necessary. 
Ghani Khan (37) had an innate passion to tend plants since his childhood. “During his school days, Ghani spent more time in the kitchen garden than playing with friends,” recalls his mother. “When I was a teenager, my father fell ill and was bedridden for years. Being the eldest, my studies and experiments in the farm went parallel. 
By the time he could complete his graduation in archeology and museology, his father passed away. Ghani stood firm in his farm and anchored the future of his three brothers. “There are many turning points in my life. A fistful of native seeds tops among them,” Ghani narrates his journey from a chemical farmer to a native seed conserver. In the beginning, chemical farming looked comfortable. But when both personal and field’s health deteriorated, he decided to shift to organic farming. It was followed by his passion for paddy varieties.  
Ghani’s uncle had acquired a small quantity of seeds of unknown paddy variety in 2000. Though he was reluctant to share the seeds, Ghani managed to get 40 seeds. The variety yielded well in organic method. Ironically, for two years the variety could not be identified, until a visitor recognised it as Ratnachudi. In those two years, Ghani Khan had realised that native paddy varieties were on the verge of extinction. This awareness compelled him to focus on conservation. 
It was not an easy task considering the kind of work involved in conserving a variety. First six years saw only five additional varieties. Gradually, he came into contact with individuals and organisations with similar objectives. Save our Rice Campaign, anchored by Sahaja Samruddha in Karnataka, gave him opportunities to visit farms and research centres across the country. He interacted and exchanged seeds with other leading paddy conservers in the country. Paddy varieties of Thailand and Malaysia are gifted from his friends of Save Rice Campaign. “Every time he is back from a programme or field trip, I’m sure that Bada Bagh will get new members,” says Haleema Begum. 
Conservation process 
“I do not say that I’m doing it scientifically. But whatever I have done is systematic.” Wide diversity of wetland, dryland, medicinal, aromatic rices along with unique varieties like jugal, a twin-grained paddy, Narikel, which resembles coconut flower, Burma Black, Ramigali and Rajbhog, a weed suppressor, give the visitors a feel of plant museum. Each variety is evenly spaced in straight rows. A list of the varieties is hung in front of each row. 
A portion of the experimental plot is covered with high-yielding varieties that are planted for comparative study with traditional rice plants. After being able to revive the distinct paddy varieties of the region, Ghani Khan is trying to test the most feasible varieties for local climatic conditions. Growing plants in cement rings for conservation purpose is his latest experiment. It saves him space. 
About 99 per cent cross-pollination doesn’t happen in native paddy. But to rule out even one per cent, Ghani combines long and short duration crops. Direct sowing is done. Though there is sufficient water due to KRS Dam, Ghani takes care to use minimum water just to maintain moisture. 
He uses a concoction of selected medicinal leaves to check pests and diseases. Weeding is done using cono weeder. Slurry, green manure and mulching of 10 types of pulses ensure good fertility. 
Ghani was trained in seed production at Krishi Vijnana Kendra, Vishweshwaraiah Channel Farm, Mandya. In his early phase as a farmer, he had supplied seeds of high yielding varieties to Karnataka State Seed Corporation. He has applied the same knowledge to conserve native seeds. So far he has given seeds to more than 6,000 farmers across Karnataka and outside the state. Some farmers exchange the seeds, other return double the quantity after harvest. 
Once the crop is ready for harvest, he organises a field day so that farmers can choose the variety that best suits their requirement. Ghani selects the varieties based on yield, market demand and climatic conditions. Usually, consumers contact him directly for rice. Sahaja Organics is one of the major clients. He has even exported certain varieties to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 
“Farmers are the primary victims of climate change. Traditional varieties help us face unpredictable climatic and ecological conditions while high yielding varieties can’t.” Through his careful insight of selecting plants and developing varieties with suitable traits, Ghani has become a farmer breeder. He has been studying each variety and the ecosystem it builds. This year, he has cross-pollinated Salem Sanna and HMT to get a new race. 
“Ghani has a clear understanding of the significance of on-farm conservation. He has also cultivated a researcher’s outlook. Research centres and universities should join hands with him to systematically propagate the good work done. Scientists should help him in characterisation and experiment the varieties in a larger area. 

Even if five per cent of the varieties in his collection are found useful for their drought, flood, pest, disease-resistant properties or for high yield, it is remarkable for both researchers and farmers. Farmers can relate more when they observe the crop in another farmer’s field. Keeping this in mind, we are planning to conduct activities in his farm,” says Dr N Devakumar, co-ordinator, Research Institute on Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.
Hand in hand
When his brother is busy researching on paddy strains, Syed Hasan takes care of the vegetable plots, papaya, guava and sugar cane which make the farm diverse in terms of crops too. Casuarina is grown in 3 acres and teak in patches bordering the 20-acre farm. 
Bada Bagh is also known for its exotic mango collection. About 120 mango varieties which are 100 to 200 years old are registered with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.   
When the paddy variety crossed 100, Ghani’s mother thought of tasting all the varieties. So, once the seeds are distributed to those interested, she mixes all the varieties together and gets it milled to use it for their daily consumption. “It is tasty, colourful and nutritious,” she says. HMT, a farmer-developed variety, is the other one they prefer for consumption.  
Syeda Firdouse has started the novel activity of designing ornaments and decorative items from paddy seeds. 
Ghani was given the Plant Genome Savior Farmer Recognition by the Central Government in 2012. The family has launched the Ghani Agriculture and Rural Development Organisation to support their activities. 
“This family demonstrates the joy of farming. They are content in what they do and what they get in return. Ghani can locate paddy in the woods. The entire family is supportive of Ghani’s quest,” lauds Murthy, a fellow farmer, who is inspired by Ghani. 
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/380297/treading-sustainable-path.html

Monday, January 13, 2014

झिरो बजेट नैसर्गिक शेती - काळाची गरज (video)

CHECK  http://youtu.be/02tdKhNFt-A

Published on 13 Jan 2014
"झिरो बजेट नैसर्गिक शेती - काळाची गरज"
२०१३ च्या दिवाळीत साम TV वरील कृषी ऋषी श्री. सुभाष पाळेकर ह्यांची मुलाखत.

पाळेकर ह्यांची पुस्तकं पोस्टाने मिळविण्यासाठी संपर्क/पत्ता :
झिरो बजेट नैसर्गिक शेती शोध, विकास व प्रसार आंदोलन
१९, जया कॉलनी, टेलीकॉम कॉलनी जवळ,नवाथे चौक, बडनेरा रस्ता, अमरावती - ४४४६०७ (महाराष्ट्र)
अमित पाळेकर- ९४२३६०१००४ tejomit@gmail.com |
अमोल पाळेकर- ९६७३१६२२४० amolspalekar@gmail.com

धन्यवाद !
मिलिंद काळे
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Saturday, January 11, 2014

How central Indian tribes are coping with climate change impacts

Date:Jan 10, 2014
Faced with crop losses because of erratic rainfall and extreme weather, tribal farmers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh turn to bewar and penda forms of cultivation that keeps them nourished all times of the year, but government agencies are bent on rooting out these farm practices
Tribal farmers say penda and bewar involve no cost or loan, are less laborious, give an assured crop from land considered inferior, and yield more nutritious and varied food than conventional cultivation (photos by Aparna Pallavi)Tribal farmers say penda and bewar involve no cost or loan, are less laborious, give an assured crop from land considered inferior, and yield more nutritious and varied food than conventional cultivation (Photos by Aparna Pallavi)
Hariaro Bai Deoria should have been a worried person this year—an untimely spell of rain late last October flattened her paddy crop, and her family would have been facing the prospect of a year without food. Surprisingly, the matriarch aged 65 is not that worried. “I still have enough grain left from last year’s bewar to last us six months. And we got a good crop this year, too.”
Hariaro Bai is referring to a form of shift cultivation that has been outlawed under the Indian Forest Act of 1927, but continues to play an important role in providing food security to the Baiga tribals living in the Mandla and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh. A similar form of cultivation calledpenda is practised by the primitive Madia tribe in the hills of Bhamragadh in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Despite their illegal status, bewar andpenda cultivation practices continue to thrive among these tribes because they involve no cost or loan, are less laborious, give an assured crop from land considered inferior, and yield more nutritious and varied food than conventional cultivation. Bewar cultivation is also practised by a significant proportion of the tribal population in Chhattisgarh.
In recent years, tribal farmers who had converted to conventional agriculture are returning to bewar and penda cultivation in the face of increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and crop losses as climate change makes its presence felt. This cultivation is much more resilient to environmental stress, and gives an assured yield in both low and excess rainfall conditions.
Activists working with tribal communities say that government agencies are mostly either ignorant about these practices or are against them without any proper scientific evidence to support such censure. Madhya Pradesh’s State Climate Action Plan, for instance, calls for policies to manage climate risks for sustainable productivity; the state also has a millet cultivation project, but no government agency has taken steps to study or protect this singularly low-risk cultivation practice that has the potential to meet the food-security needs of  a large tribal population in the state. In Maharastra, which does not even have a climate plan, government agencies are not even aware that such a practice exists, says Ajay Dolke, of non-profit Srujan in Nagpur.
All weather, assured yields
This year, heavy spells of rains and a prolonged monsoon have caused crop damage across the country, but a visit to the bewar plots of the Baigas in Madhya Pradesh shows all signs of a bumper crop harvest. “This was a great year for kutki (little millet), our main bewar crop,” says Lamtibai Rathuria of village Chapwar in Dindori district who has a 2 acre (0.8 hectare) plot, pointing to the heavy heads of the plants bent with grain. “The paddy is gone, but the bewar is safe.”
The situation is the same in village Bhangadi in the Bhamragadh hills in Maharashtra. Mangru Karme Pungati, a Madia tribe farmer who grows both paddy and penda crops, informs that about half the village’s paddy crop was lost because of erratic rains. “It is our kohla (Madia term forkutki) that will keep us alive this year,” he says.
A mix of millets, corn, legumes and vegetables are grown in a single plot by tribal farmers practising shift cultivationA mix of millets, corn, legumes and vegetables are grown in a single plot by tribal farmers practising shift cultivationLamtibai explains how differently bewarand paddy respond to weather conditions: “If there is less rain, the paddy wilts, but the bewar gives a moderate yield. If there is excess rain, the paddy gets pests but the bewargives a bumper yield. If it rains at harvest time, water accumulates in the paddy farms and the grains rot. But since the bewar plots are on steep slopes, rainwater drains off and crop damage is very little.”
The only danger to bewar crops is sudden, heavy rainfall at the very start of the season because the seeds get washed away, explains Itwari Dewadia of village Talaidabra in Dindori district.  “But if there is gentle rain for the first week or so, the plants get properly rooted. After that rainfall is no worry.”
In recent years, there have been repeated instances of monsoons starting late with sudden heavy showers; many villages lost their bewaseeds. Communities have adapted by setting up stronger seed networks between villages. “A decade or so back, if all farmers in a village lost their seeds, they would give up. But now, we arrange to get seeds from other villages so that we can at least continue this cultivation the following year,” says Itwari. Non-profits like Mandla-based Nirmaan have also lent a helping hand in forming these seed networks.
Bewar crops avert starvation
Bewar comprises mixed cultivation. Baigas grow as many as eight to 10 varieties of millets, corn and five varieties of legumes in a single plot. Madias grow five to six millets, apart from three to four varieties of legumes. Indian sorrel, which provides greens as well as oilseeds, and several varieties of vegetables are also grown (see 'Security, variety, nutrition'). This mixed cultivation not only prevents pest attacks, but also protects against total crop loss.
It works in two ways. Baigas, who have highly developed methods of rainfall prediction (see 'Baiga weather science') alter the mix of crops according to expected rainfall. “This year we sowed more dongar kutkiand kaang (foxtail millet) rather than other millets, because these thrive in high rainfall,” says Tiharu Dhondia of village Garjan Beeja in Anuppur district, “When less rain is expected, we sow more mandia (finger millet),salhar (pearl millet variety) and jowar (sorghum).”
Madias do not have traditional knowledge of weather prediction, but they have arrived at a mix that works in all rainfall conditions. “We plant about 50 per cent kohla, and the remaining four millets make up the remaining 50 per cent,” says Pandu Samru Jetti of village Bhangadi. “With change in rainfall, the yields of individual crops rise and fall, but the overall yield remains stable.”
Tribals feel that bewar is vital for their survival.  Says Rama Chaitu Durwa of Binagunda village in the Bhamragadh hills where paddy cultivation was started only about four years back, “We are still only learning how to cultivate paddy. It will be years before we develop the skills. Also, we cannot eat paddy all year. We need our penda grain, which we like.”
“We can live without paddy, but without bewar we will starve,” says Lamtibai. “Paddy gives only grain—bewar gives grain, vegetables and legumes—everything we need.”
Absence of scientific research; fallacies abound
Surprisingly, while government agencies have gone to much trouble to root out this form of cultivation, no agency in either state has ever taken the trouble to actually undertake scientific study of its merits. Both O P Dube, principal scientist at the Regional Agriculture Research Station at Dindori, and G R Tidke, principal scientist at the Gadchiroli Krishi Vigyan Kendra, admit that while their organisations are opposed to this farming practice, there is no proper research work to back this stand. State policy on the subject appears to be driven by a predetermined mindset rather than facts. “There is no government decision and there are no projects undertaken to study this practice,” says Tidke. “Anyway we are concerned with the masses, not little pockets,” he adds. Dube says that his organisation does not approve the principle of leaving land fallow. “We need to maximise yields, and that can only be done by taking two crops on all agricultural land each year,” he says.
The result is that there is a huge amount of misleading information doing the rounds in official circles regarding bewar and penda cultivation. The most popular myth is that this cultivation destroys forests, borne out by the misnomer “slash and burn cultivation”.
Tribal farmers trash this myth. “We only fell and burn the undergrowth, not big trees,” says elderly Gunthia Dewadia of Talaidabra village. “Felling large trees is very hard work, and burning them also burns the soil and makes it unfit for cultivation,” he says. Also, there is no reason to fell large trees as most families have three designated plots of land for cultivation, which they cultivate in a cycle for three years at a time, says Naresh Biswas, Mandla-based researcher from the non-profit Nirman, who has researched bewar cultivation for more than a decade. “After six years of being left fallow, these land parcels only have shrubs and young saplings.”
A second myth is that bewar cultivation, which is carried out in steep slopes, causes soil damage through erosion, but the fact is that this cultivation is till free, and hence far less intrusive than conventional agriculture. “We do not plough the land because that will loosen the soil and the crops will collapse,” says Itwari of village Talaidabra in Dindori district. “We just burn the undergrowth and sow seeds in the fertile layer of ash.” This kind of cultivation, says he, requires very low labour and hardly any equipment. “We do not need even hal bail (bullocks and plough)—a sickle, an axe and a khanti (crow-bar like tool) are enough.”
Climate change, revival, innovation
Another important government-sponsored myth about shifting cultivation is that most tribals have given it up long ago as outdated. Farmers disagree. Not only are bewar and penda cultivation practice thriving in the hilly parts of Central India, there is an active process of innovation on to adapt to changing circumstances.
What is more, faced with repeated losses in conventional cultivation of paddy and soybean, and the high cost of labour and inputs, farmers are returning to these methods. In Bhamragadh, the cost of labour for paddy cultivation is eating into the Madias’ precious bamboo felling wages—their only source of cash. Raju Chimma in Laheri village, whose parents gave up penda cultivation after migrating from Chhattisgarh, is trying to learn these skills now. “In the past five years, I lost three paddy crops because of erratic rains,” he explains. His young neighbour, Suresh Kudami, whose father-in-law took a Rs 25,000 loan for paddy, is planning to resurrect his abandoned penda plot next year. “My brother has already started cultivation on his share of the plot,” says he.
Tribal people say bewar and penda grains can be stored for years without spoiling and that the surpluses in good years gives them a safety net for the lean onesTribal people say bewar and penda grains can be stored for years without spoiling and that the surpluses in good years gives them a safety net for the lean onesIn Mandla in Madhya Pradesh, Gond tribals, who have no recent history of practising bewar cultivation, now want to take it up says Hiralal Sarote of Nirman. “Farmers from several villages have requested for seeds and guidance for starting cultivation on about 50 acres (one acre equals 0.4 hectare) next year,” he says. Ramratan Kulaste, sarpanch of village Benitola village in Mandla district, said he will start bewarcultivation on five acres next year. “I was amazed at the production in bewarplots I visited,” says he. “My village has a lot of hill slopes without much forest cover which are lying fallow. I hope others will also want to start cultivation.”
This process is also intricately tied up with give-and-take of innovation between communities. In Bowna village in Dindori district, farmers had converted their bewar land to commercial pigeon-pea cultivation about a decade back. But in the last two years, they have switched back to bewarwith seeds from Nirman. “We plant a mix of arhar (pigeon pea) and bewarseeds for food and cash,” says Ramlal Rathuria, resident of Bowna village. “Our paddy crops are failing almost every alternate year, and market food is costly and inferior.” On the flip side, many villages are adopting Bowna’s technique to increase the pigeon-pea content of thebewars to earn some cash income without risking their food security.
Similarly, with shrinking land holdings, communities are innovating to reduce the phenomenon of land being left fallow. In Chapwar village in Dindori district, elderly Ramla Khohadia has just one bewar plot. Unable to shift, he cultivates high-biomass cash crops like ramteela (niger seed) on his land on alternate years. “In the next year, I burn the biomass and plantbewar crops,” says he. “The yield is good, and I get enough food for 18 months. Many people with less land are now resorting to this technique.”
“If government agencies had bothered to study this cultivation instead of turning away from it, they could have helped with the adaptation process,” says Biswas of non-profit Nirman. “Their apathy is forcing communities to struggle with their own limited resources.”
Insecure rights
Bewar and penda cultivation is carried out entirely in forests, and so the land do not have status of agricultural land. To complicate matters, no government department in either state has tried to get any estimate of the area of land involved or population dependent on it.
Non-profits, however, estimate that both could be considerable. Bewar is being practised in a major way by about 50-60 villages in Anuppur and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh and penda in about 30 villages in Bhamragadh in Maharashtra. “At least six villages in the Aboojh Maad area, part of which is in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, are totally dependent on penda, and the rest get most of their food from it,” says Ajay Dolke of non-profit Srujan, which works among Madias. “It is also practised on a smaller scale in nearly all 109 villages in Bhamragadh. It is very likely also practiced in Madia-dominated tehsils like Etpalli and Sironcha in Gadchiroli district.” Apart from this, the Pahadi Korwa tribe in Chhattisgarh also depends on bewar for most of their food needs, informs Biswas.
Meanwhile, lack of status and estimates contribute to land insecurity forbewar farmers. Forest Rights Act (FRA), which has had a limited success at best in giving land rights to forest dwellers in general, has not succeeded at all when it comes to these land parcels. In Dindori and Anuppur, applications under FRA for fallow land were rejected on grounds of there being no evidence of cultivation. In Bhamragadh, the administration on its own gave FRA claims on paddy land in several villages, with strict admonition to abandon penda cultivation. “They are not willing to hear of claims on penda land,” says Rama Chaitu Durwa of village Binagunda who got five acres (two hectare) under FRA.
Tribals have also faced persecution for practising bewar. In Talaidabra, people were beaten up and arrested for bewar cultivation in 2005, and live in fear ever since. In Chapwar, Lamtibai and her family have lived in fear the whole of this crop season. “Forest officials were threatening to destroy our crop,” says she.
Tribals are now turning to the habitat rights clause in the FRA to ensure rights on this land. In Bhamragadh, an application to this effect was filed collectively by all 109 villages in April this year. Says Dolke of Srujan who facilitated the process, “The livelihood process of the Madias is a complex one involving different cultivation techniques, hunting and gathering. They can’t survive without habitat rights which give communities a comprehensive right over the entire resource base, not just cultivated plots.” In Dindori, the non-profit National Institute for Women, Child and Youth Development (NIWCYD) is preparing the 55 Baiga villages known as Baiga Chak to apply for habitat rights.
As the world reels under the impact of climate change and increased food security concerns, cultivation practices like bewar and penda could very well hold the key to food security for the forest-dwelling poor of central India. Activists say it is time government agencies starts studying and supporting them instead of driving them to extinction.
 
Baiga weather science
 
Baiga tribals have quite a well-developed system for rainfall prediction, according to which they alter the timing and composition of their crops. In bewar cultivation, sowing has to be done just before the first gentle showers of early monsoon. This makes accurate prediction of these first showers crucial. Baigas in Dindori district do it with the help of a local tuber known as baichandi kanda. “We plant it in our badi(vegetable garden) in summer, and when it sends its first shoots up through the ground, we know that rains will be here in a week or 10 days,” says elderly Nankibai Dhondia of village Garjanbeeja. “That is the signal for us to start burning the undergrowth to prepare for sowing.”
Another signal for the coming monsoon is the peepul tree. “When the tree has shed all its old leaves and the process of sprouting new leaves is complete, we know that rains are about two-three weeks away,” says Nankibai. These two nature signals taken together usually give a sufficiently accurate estimate, says she.
The proportion of different millets to be sown in the bewar is decided through weather prediction too. “In late summer,” says Taini Sarjamia of Bhalu Khodra village in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, “A tiny insect called ghunghuti appears in droves in the open spaces. When there are too many of those, they get in our eyes. That is when we know that it will be a heavy rainfall year, and plant more kutki.”


Security, variety, nutrition
 
The Baigas of Madhya Pradesh sow a mixture of eight to 10 millet varieties in their bewar plots. These include several varieties of kutki(little millet), two of kaang (foxtail millet), salhar (pearl millet variety),jowar (sorghum), mandia (finger millet) and sama kodai (barnyard millet). Kodai (kodo millet) is sown separately on tilled land. Purpuri(amaranthus) serves for both grain and green vegetable, while amadi(Indian sorrel) provides green leaves, oilseeds and flowers for sherbet in summer. Legumes include arahar (pigeon pea) for both food and cash and moong (green gram), urad (black gram), kurthi (horse gram), and rawans and jhunjhru (cow pea varieties). A variety of vegetables including cucumber, beans, local tomatoes and brinjals are also sown as part of the mix.
Madias in Maharashtra sow lesser number of millets, but a larger variety of beans. They also grow pumpkins and other vines within thependa plot. This mixed crop not only gives them a varied and nutritious diet but also protects local agro-biodiversity. Bewar grain has added advantages, inform farmers. For one, they are more filling. “Six to seven quintals of bewar millets last my family for the whole year,” says Lamtibai Rathuria of village Chapwar. “But a similar quantity of dhaan (paddy) gets eaten up in four to five months.” Secondly, grains like kodo and kutki can be stored for many years without spoiling. Kodo, say farmers, stays good for more than 50 years, while kutki can last up to 30. “We can store our surpluses in good years for as long as we want, and they form a safety net for the lean ones,” says Lamtibai.
Source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/how-central-indian-tribes-are-coping-climate-change-impacts