Agriculture, apart from farming, also includes fishery, piggery, poultry, goatery and farming of sheep. This also provides cultivation of medical plants. The Indians have not yet adapt fully mechanized agricultural practice to local ways. Moreover, the agricultural lands are of smaller sizes, which are not ideal for mechanized farming.
But for faster growth, the agriculture of the nation has to be declared as an industry and cooperative farming in villages needs to be encouraged. Besides, alternative agriculture, traditional agriculture and agriculture-based cottage industries and horticultural practices should be carried out in a coordinated way.
Now modern agriculture is more dependent on inorganic farming than organic farming. The inorganic farming cannot be told as ecological agriculture or the biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture means every crop has to be raised through biological process. The crop raised through application of artificial manure cannot be called biodynamic agriculture.
On the contrary, organic agriculture is the true bio-dynamic agriculture. The sustainable development of mother soil and society can always be possible through biodynamic agriculture. This shows a strategy for the development of human society and for development of vitality of the earth. We can modify our ecological systems to maintain the soil fertility in a better manner. The conservation of the earth’s vitality and diversity of flora and fauna is most important. The building of sustainable society always depends on community individuals. For all such achievement, the conservation of the earth’s vitality and diversity is most important and vital. We have resources for everlasting life support systems which we should manage properly and efficiently so that the integrated development of society can be achieved.
A part of alternative agriculture is maintenance of cattle for production of dairy products. Goatery, poultry and fishery etc are the basic need for development of biodynamic agriculture. The mucks of animals and the excreta of birds produce excellent natural fertilizer.
The growing modern input of agriculture through chemical inorganic manuring certainly has adverse impact on health of man and the natural quality of food of man and animal world is wasted for the reasons.
Similarly, the natural and motherly quality of the soil is degraded day by day for regular application of unnatural fertilizers. The whole food chain of the animal world is contaminated and poisoned due to application of high chemical manure.
The natural quality of food is going down day by day. The magic of cow dung today is utilized for production garden vegetables and by the small peasants of the country and of Odisha. The bio-fertilizers are the nature’s creations, which not only support the bio-diversities of the land and climate, but also support the geo-climates of the lands.
Now, the Government of India is giving much more stress on Swatchha Bharat. Swachha Bharat means a clean India without any dirt or impurity, but the same Government advocates for use of chemical fertilizers, which are unnatural and a burden on the agriculturists for high cost of inputs. Needless to say, the traditional practices should be revived and put to use at a greater scale, when we have large scale resources for natural organic agriculture. Our country is a tropical country, where the production of organic fertilizer is very easy. The biodegradable products can be converted into organic fertilizers. Cow dung, buffalo dung, pig, goat and bird droppings can be used widely.
In every village or panchyat, organic fertilizer production centers should be established, which can convert the biodegradable garbage into organic fertilizer for use of the village community. Every person of rural as well as of urban India knows the conversion and the preparation of organic manners and their uses. But certain advanced scientific process should be applied for sufficient production and use of organic manures.
Every day we have a large collection of garbage which should be fruitfully utilized. Production of electricity for rural uses from solar system is very important. This is cheap and environment-friendly. If we take the case of Bhubaneswar, the huge tonnages of garbage spoil the environment without fruitful uses. Such garbage can be fruitfully utilized with advanced technology by the local Government. Similarly, the green manuring can be practiced very successfully.
The sea-weeds and all kinds of annual and biannual plants can be converted into green fertilizers for intensive agricultural practices, where due care of the mother soil can be taken up. We should know that the biological action of the soil is seized due to application of excess inorganic fertilizers. The mother soil becomes dead due to repeated application of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)