Farmers in HP switching over to organic farming

Shimla, Sep 16: Organic farming is gaining ground in Himachal Pradesh with farmers shunning pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

Farmers of Kakhrola village in this district have started using herbal sprays and vermin compost for increasing productivity.

The organic farming, being practiced in the village, is a part of the Rs 15 million-model project initiated in 2003 by Rajasthan-based NGO, M R Morarka Foundation, which is working with the State Agricultural Department, urging farmers to switch over to organic farming.

Foundation Project Coordinator Divender Chaudhary said the farmers of the village were a part of 5,657 farmers registered under its organic farming scheme, which was being implemented in nine blocks of the district naming Narkanda, Jibbal, Rorhu, Chirgaon, Chaupal, Mashobra, Vasantpur, Theog and Rampur.

He said the organic farming methods initiated by them had worked well, especially in Khakrola village with people lapping up to the scheme whole-heartedly. ''Largely because the women farmers here took to it with a missionary zeal.'' Women farmers, who are in a majority in this region, on the other hand, say they are happy to use this method and save money.

The Foundation has a tie-up with OneCert Asia, which would issue certificates to farmers whose organic produce measures up to international ISO standards, he said.

So far, about 1,300 farmers in the nine blocks have become eligible for the OneCert ISO certificates, he said. According to experts of the foundation, the material required for this kind of farming could be easily made available at home using locally-sourced ingredients. Earlier, the villagers had to trudge to the city market to buy chemical fertilisers, whose spiraling cost and lack of availability had even impacted productivity in the area.

The Morarka Project Coordinator said since majority of the women farmers were literate it was easy to motivate them to switch over to organic farming.

All that the foundation had to do was distribute literature on the subject and follow it up with a few sessions to clarify the farmers' doubts, he abserved.

Mr Chaudhary said once the benefits were evident, like improved taste of the crops, bigger sized vegetables and fruits and a better price in the market, more and more farmers will take it up.

The Foundation also plans to arrange marketing tie-ups for farmers to sell their crops through an organised distribution system, he said.

According to the state's agricultural department, the sale of pesticides in this district has come down to Rs 140 million in 2006 from Rs 240 million in 2002.

UNI