The Hindu Business Line : Campaign against pesticides gaining momentum

Hyderabad, July 22 What started as a small experiment three years ago during the agrarian crisis, the non-pesticidal movement, or popularly called NPM, has become a major campaign in Andhra Pradesh.

From 12 villages in Mahboobnagar district, the NPM campaign now covers 18 districts, including 15 districts that have been notified as ‘distress districts’ by the Union Government, covering a total of five lakh acres in 2007-08.

This includes more than one lakh acres in groundnut alone in Anantapur district.

According to Mr Ramanjaneyulu, Executive Director of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), the campaign had resulted in dramatic reduction in cost of production.

Joining hands with CSA is SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty), a society funded by the World Bank, in scaling up the programme across the State, using women self-help groups.

“Quality of life has gone up and most of the farmers who turned labourers toiling in their own fields are able to sustain themselves,” he said.

From one district, the NPM programme was expanded to 25,000 acres in nine districts, covering 450 villages. “Last year, the coverage was extended to two lakh acres in 17 districts spanning 1,250 villages,” he said.

Asked whether practising NPM would result in reduced production, Mr Ramanjaneyulu said there was no reduction in yield. Besides, farmers saved up to Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 an acre on average on pest management expenditure.

Nearly 30 neem seed powder units were established with the help of the SHGs.

Stating that management of pests constituted a major part in cost of cultivation, he said the NPM believed in maintaining the insect populations at levels far below than the levels at which they could cause economic damage to the crops. “It is not just super-imposition of two or more control techniques but the integration of all relevant management techniques in a harmonious manner.

It, in fact, involved making best use of natural resources locally available and making use of natural processes. “A natural ecological balance will ensure that pests do not reach a critical number in the field that harms the crop,” he said.

“The way ahead in the next two years is to consolidate the efforts in all the mandals where the NPM activity is taken up,” he summed up.

More Stories on : Pesticides | Cultivation | Andhra Pradesh

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