Karnataka launches pilot on organic farming

The Karnataka government is making steady progress in encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming practices. As envisaged in its organic agriculture policy (Karnataka is the first state to announce one), the state agriculture department has taken up a pilot project to convert 3,000 hectare spread over 27 districts to organic farming.

According to department officials, about 2,100 farmers have been encouraged to adopt organic farming in these districts. About 100 hectare in each of the districts has been identified in association with 21 non-government organisations (NGOs), which are involved in the promotion of organic farming and allied activities, to implement the project.

The department officials said based on the success of the three-year project (2004-07), it will be expanded to the taluk level in the coming years.

The NGOs had conducted a baseline survey in each district and identified the target area and inputs required for taking up organic farming during the first year (2004-05) of the project. Selected farmers have been trained and cultivation taken up in the chosen areas.

The government has allocated Rs 6.35 crore for the project during the present year. Farmers will be provided with inputs at 50-75 per cent subsidy and technical assistance will be given to the NGOs involved.

An empowered committee headed by the development commissioner and a working committee headed by the principal secretary of the horticulture department have been formed to implement the project.

Besides officials of the agriculture and horticulture departments, experts and representatives of NGOs have been included on the panels. A separate cell for organic farming has already been been set up at the directorate of agriculture to oversee the implementation of the project.

The officials said: "Farmers are convinced about the ill effects of chemical fertilisers. They are now engaged in building a living soil. In organic farming, the soil is fed and not the crop. The soil has to hold the organic matter and create conditions for the micro-organisms to work on it to release the nutrient."

To sustain life in the soil, several techniques are used such as conservation of soil and moisture and maintenance of a minimum soil organic matter. Farmers are encouraged to practice green manuring, compost making, vermicomposting, and use of bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides. "Our aim is to provide chemical-free foodgrains to the next generation," they said.

Organic farming is not just replacing chemical fertilisers with organic manure, nor it is going back to traditional agriculture. It is converting soil from non-living to living and sustaining it. The conversion process normally takes three to four years.

"We are also encouraging farmers to generate their basic needs such as food, fodder, and fuel within the farm. Nutritional security of the cultivating family must be ensured by growing enough vegetables and fruits needed by the household round the year," they said.