The Hindu Business Line : Inhana Biotech develops rational farming technology

INHANA Biotech, a Kolkata-based bio-technological firm, has developed rational farming technology as a replacement of the age-old conventional farming which propagates rampant use of chemical pesticides and insecticides.

Dr P. Das Biswas, Proprietor of the company, feels that national problems like presence of pesticides in colas and soft drinks can be solved only if there is a complete stoppage in the use of chemicals in the agriculture sector.

In an effort to expand its activities, the company has also developed a couple of human drugs, one of which is haemostatic and the other can be used for haemophilic patients.

Dr P. Das Biswas, a Ph.D in human physiology, incorporated Inhana Biotech in 1998. He started off by developing problem-specific herbal products for the agro-sector but realised that individual solutions would not eradicate all the problems as chemicals are constantly applied on the plants for other reasons.

So, he developed the concept of rational farming. According to him, there are three areas of activity under rational farming. First is fertilisation. Second is crop protection, which takes care of pesticides, fungicides and insecticides. Third is weed management.

"I have called it rational farming as it eradicates agricultural problems after studying plant physiology and philosophy. The focus is on complete reduction in the usage of chemicals and fertilisers without affecting total production or increasing the cost of production," Dr Das Biswas told Business Line.

Rational farming was successfully introduced in the tea plantations. At present, Inhana Biotech manages over 1,500 hectares of tea cultivable land through this technology. It has also been applied on pulses, grapes and paddy.

Inhana Biotech's mission statement is: "Poison free food is the legitimate right of all citizens." The company has three targets for itself.

First is to establish rational farming as a successful alternative to conventional farming. Second is to create an institution, which will work on the theoretical and practical application of rational farming. Third is to develop a cheap laboratory, whose facilities can be used by the poor farmers also.

A few months back, Inhana Biotech formed KMI Biotech ,a 50:50 joint venture with the Kolkata-based tea company, K. Manibhai & Co Ltd. This company will market the herbal products of Inhana Biotech.

"Despite developing this technology, I feel that I am not the right person to market my product and technology. So, we have formed this company but we are yet to start our activities in a proper manner," he said.

K. Manibhai & Co has been successful in implementing rational farming in their Assam-based Jalinga tea estate. The company is currently relaunching its Jalinga-branded tea as an organic product in different forms of tea bags, sachets and packets.

Regarding the human drugs, Dr Das Biswas said that haemostatic drug (a blood clotting agent) has undergone successful tests on humans. Two Kolkata-based State Government-run hospitals had carried out this programme.

Dr Das Biswas claimed that it was the world's first topical haemostatic drug. "By topical, I mean it can be applied from outside. This drug will drastically reduce blood loss during surgical operations," he said.