by GUNTUR, India (AP) – Ratna Raju’s farm has a pungent smell that he says protects his crops from the increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather of man-made climate change.
The smell comes from compounds of cow urine, unrefined sugar called jaggery, and other organic materials that act as fertilizers, pesticides and bad weather barriers for his corn, rice, leafy greens and other vegetables on his farm in Guntur in southern India. state of Andhra Pradesh. The region is often hit by cyclones and extreme heat, and farmers say so-called natural farming protects their crops because the soil can hold more water, and their stronger roots help the plants withstand strong winds. standing.
Andhra Pradesh has become a positive example of the benefits of natural farming, and advocates say the active support of the government is the main driver of the state’s success. Experts say these methods should be extended across India’s vast agricultural lands as climate change has led to multiple farmer protests and reduced profits this year. But new government support across the country for these methods means most farmers still use chemical pesticides and fertilisers, leaving them more vulnerable when extreme weather hits. Many farmers are calling for more federal and state investment to help farms transition to more climate-proof practices.
For many, the benefits of greater investment in natural farming are already clear: In December, Cyclone Michaung, a storm of up to 110 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) brought heavy rain across the southeast coast of India, flooding towns and fields. A preliminary assessment made a few weeks later found that 600,000 acres of crops had been destroyed in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
However, on Raju’s natural farm, where he was growing without a pot at the time, “the rainwater on our farms went into the ground in one day,” he said. The soil can absorb more water because it is more porous than pesticide-laden soil that is crusty and dry. Planting different types of crops throughout the year – as opposed to the more standard single crop farms – helps keep the soil healthy, he said.
But neighboring farmer Srikanth Kanapala’s fields, who depend on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, were flooded for four days after the cyclone. He said that Raju’s crops were firm despite his failure to be curious about other methods of farming.
“I incurred huge losses,” said Kanapala, who estimates he lost up to $600 due to the cyclone, a substantial sum for a small farmer in India. “For the next planting season, I plan to use natural farming methods as well.”
Local and federal government initiatives have led to the transition of about 700,000 farmers to natural farming in the state according to Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a government-backed nonprofit launched in 2016 to promote natural farming. The state of Andhra Pradesh hopes to encourage its six million farmers to take up natural farming by the end of the decade.
India’s federal government’s agriculture ministry has spent up to $8 million to promote natural farming and says farmers filling nearly a million acres across the country have moved to the practice. In March last year, India’s junior agriculture minister said he hoped that at least 25% of farms across India would use organic and natural farming techniques.
But farmers like Meerabi Chunduru, one of the first in the region to switch to natural farming, said more government and political support is needed. Chunduru said she switched to the practice after her husband’s health deteriorated, which she believes was due to prolonged exposure to some harmful pesticides.
Although the health effects of various pesticides have not yet been studied in detail, farm workers around the world have long claimed that increased exposure is causing health problems. In February, a Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion in damages in a case where the weed killer Glyphosate – banned in India from just 2022 – was linked to a resident’s blood cancer. In India, 63 farmers died in the western state of Maharashtra in 2017, believed to be linked to a pesticide containing the chemical Diafenthiuron, which is currently banned in the European Union, but not in India.
“Right now, not many politicians are talking about natural farming. There is some support but we need more,” said Chunduru. She asked for more subsidy for seeds like groundnut, black gram, sorghum, vegetable crops and maize which will help farmers make the switch.
Farmers’ rights activists said skepticism about natural farming among political leaders, government bureaucrats and scientists remains pervasive because they still trust existing farming models that use fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides to achieve maximum productivity. In the short term, chemical alternatives can be cheaper and more effective, but in the long term they take a toll on soil health, meaning greater quantities of chemicals are needed to maintain crops, leading to a cycle of costs more and poorer soil, say natural farming advocates.
“Agro-ecological initiatives are not receiving adequate attention or budgetary outlays,” said Kavitha Kuruganti, an activist who has been advocating sustainable farming practices for nearly three decades. The Indian government spends less than three percent of its total budget on agriculture. It has earmarked nearly $20 billion in fertilizer subsidies this year, but the federal government has allocated only $55 million to encourage natural farming. Kuruganti said there are a handful of politicians who support the practice but scaling it up in India remains a challenge.
Natural farming is relatively niche, lacking national standards and guidelines or a viable supply chain through which farmers can sell their produce, said NS Suresh, a research scientist at the Bengaluru-based Center for the Study of Science, Technology and Policy. . think tank.
But because the practice helps keep plants and soil healthy across different soil types and all kinds of unpredictable weather conditions, it’s beneficial to farmers across India, from its mountains to its coasts, he says. experts. And the practice of planting different crops throughout the year means that farmers have produce to harvest at any given time, giving their soil and their wallets an extra boost.
Chunduru, who has been practicing natural farming for four years now, hopes that prioritizing natural farming in the country will bring benefits to both producers and consumers of crops, and that other farmers will avoid the types of harm that her husband is facing spouse
“We can provide nutrient rich food, soil and physical health for future generations, she said.
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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India.
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