Organic Farming

Photo: Cultivation of vegetables on an organic farm in Capay in Yolo County in California, USA

Organic farming is a natural method of food production that uses only natural inputs and discourages the use of pesticides, fertilizers, etc.

Human beings started agriculture when they transformed from hunter-gatherers to permanent settlers many thousands of years ago. Till the middle of the 19th century, farmers used only natural methods developed over the years. In fact, it was organic farming, though not called so.

With the increase in population, food shortage became acute so that chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc. were invented in the 20th century. Though these increased yields, they also brought in harmful side effects, including serious health hazards due to toxic chemicals entering our body through food.

So, humans returned to the original farming methods, but with the help of modern science, in order to prevent toxic substances entering our food chain. The new system, organic farming, does not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful inputs.

Manure such as compost, green manure, and other natural inputs are used along with crop rotation and companion crop planting in the new method of agriculture.

Farming techniques involving pulses/leguminous plants help in nitrogen fixation through symbiosis with rhizobia (soil bacteria). Organic agriculture prohibits antibiotics, genetically modified plants and animals, growth hormones, chemical stimulants, etc. Weeds and insects are controlled using natural substances, without using chemical herbicides, weedicides, insecticides, etc.

In traditional farming activities such as raising poultry and livestock for meat, milk and eggs, only biological methods are used, rejecting hormones, harmful antibiotics and artificial stimulants. Raising cattle and poultry organically complements organic farming.

In India, the central government is promoting organic farming through various schemes, including the Paramapragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).

In 2001, the Indian government implemented the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), constituting norms for organic food production and related matters. In the last decade, the area under certified organic farming has increased about 17 fold.

The salient features of PKVY include financial assistance of Rs. 20,000 per acre per farmer in three years to support expenses from seed to harvesting and to transport produce to the market. Besides, the government promotes organic farming using traditional resources and links produce to the market.

Indian states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Sikkim have been promoting organic farming.

Sikkim, with 75,000 hectares of land certified as organic farms, is already the first fully organic state in India. Sikkim also joined hands with the organic food producing states such as California, Wisconsin and others.

World Toilet Day - WTD

The World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official UN day observed on November 19 every year. It is a global campaign to spread awareness globally on sanitation, hygiene and other related issues.

In 2015, globally, 2.4 billion people did not have access to sanitation facilities such as toilets. About 1 billion people practiced open defecation that leads to lack of safety and dignity for women and girls. It also leads to pollution of water resources such as rivers, lakes, ponds and drinking water wells.

Infection of diseases like Ebola, cholera, diarrhea, etc. is related to poor sanitation. Globally, one child dies every two minutes due to diarrhea.

According to the international charity organization WaterAid, 600 million urban people have to depend on crowded and filthy community toilets. About 100 million people in cities are forced to practice open defecation on railway tracks, roadsides open spaces because they do not have access to toilets.

According to WaterAid, the 10 countries with the most urban dwellers lacking access to safe toilets are India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Russia, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

India has 157 million urban dwellers with no access to safe toilets, 41 million of whom defecate in the open. The Indian government has launched a national campaign named Swachh Bharat Abhiyan -Clean India Mission to alleviate the problem.

The second worst is China with 104 million people not having safe sanitation, though China constructs toilets faster than the requirement of toilets due to the migration of people to cities.

Access to basic toilets by 2030 is one of the sustainable development goals of the UN. All the UN member countries are committed to achieving the goal.

Smog in Delhi, India

Smog has enveloped Delhi in the first week of November 2016. Nothing is visible beyond a few meters in the mornings.

The word smog was coined from smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog. It is highly toxic and can cause serious diseases and even death. It contains oxides of nitrogen, sulphur and carbon, besides ozone, dust, etc. These react with sunlight, moisture, methane, ammonia, etc. to form harmful vapors, and fine particles to form smog.

As the wind speed in Delhi is almost negligent as witnessed in the first week of November 2016, and as the sky is covered by a thick blanket of smog that also hovers over the ground, visibility is reduced to about 100 meters.

The air quality in the city has been become the worst in two decades, taking it to the severe zone. The government of Delhi blames it on crop stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, road dust and vehicular pollution.

It is estimated that over 600 million tons of agricultural wastes are burnt by farmers during the months of autumn and winter.

Various scientific research reports show that Delhi is the most polluted city in the world and air pollution alone causes about 10,500 deaths annually.

In recent years levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in Delhi increased alarmingly. The city has the highest level of airborne particulate matter, PM2.5, considered the most harmful to health. It has hugely increased the risks of lung cancer and asthma among the residents of Delhi.

The dense smog during winter causes major air and rail traffic disruptions too.

Since the 1990s, Delhi has undertaken several measures to reduce air pollution and smog. The city has the third highest number of trees among all Indian cities. The DTC runs largest fleet of environment-friendly CNG buses in the world. The Supreme Court of India ordered the conversion of the city’s buses and taxis to run on CNG and banned leaded petrol since 1998. The Delhi Metro Rail has helped significantly to reduce air pollutants.

But these gains have become insignificant due to large scale crop stubble burning, rise in the number of diesel automobiles, and similar harmful factors.

Delhi’s population is now estimated to be about 25 million, second only to Tokyo with about 38 million. That means the government has to enact strict rules immediately and implement them with an iron fist.