Nabha villages become ray of hope for organic farming

Saholi, Patiala, Mar 12 (UNI) Saholi and a few other villages in Nabha sub-division of Patiala district have become a hub of organic farming, as they set off a transition phase in which the chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides are replaced by bio-mass inputs.

Beginning at a micro level, a few farmers in Saholi, Kansuha Kalan, Mandaur and Khanaura villages have already begun reaping the fruits as they now get Rs 1500 per quintal for their organic-based wheat crop, almost double the market price of around Rs 750 per quintal for the chemically produced foodgrain.

''It was not an easy task, as my fellow villagers laughed and cracked jokes when I switched over to the organic concept, making use of the cow dung and urine to produce bio-based fertilizers for the crop four years back.'' said Inderjit Singh of Saholi village, who has now covered his entire five acres of agricultural land under organic farming.

The yield of wheat crop in the first year after switching over to organic farming was a mere five quintals per acre, then it came to ten, while it was 15 quintals in the last season, said Inderjit Singh. he expects 18-20 quintals per acre this ensuing Rabi harvest season.

Besides wheat, he said, he had grown vegetables and maize whose yield also came at par with the chemically produced crops. ''I sold maize-flour at Rs 15 per kg,'' he said.

The total input cost to produce wheat under the organic farming was nearly Rs 2,000, which was less than the input cost under chemical-based farm practice, he said.

''Ten kg of cow dung, ten liters of cow urine, two kg jaggery and two kg gram-flour mixed in 200 liters of water and then storing the mixture idle for three days gives you an efficient bio-fertilizer to be spread over an acre of land,'' he explained.

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