The Hindu Business Line : Exporter develops biodynamic cashew

Mangalore, March 25 The domestic cashew sector is again in the forefront of delivering a niche product – biodynamic cashew – to the world market. The Mangalore-based cashew manufacturer and exporter Achal Industries, in association with 31 farmers in Goa, has become successful in producing world’s first biodynamic cashew and delivering the first shipment to an overseas buyer.

Mr G. Giridhar Prabhu, Proprietor, Achal Industries, told Business Line that the biodynamic project was initiated by Achal with a small group of farmers — numbering 31 in Goa region who were committed to organic agriculture since 12 years — on a 95- hectares of land two years ago.

Asked about the reasons for venturing into biodynamic project, he said biodynamic is a natural extension to organic farming and there was demand from consumers in Europe for biodynamic cashew.

Mr Prabhu said the project was offered for inspection and certification before the inspection agency — IMO Control Pvt Ltd — and the certifying agency — Demeter International e.V., Germany.

Stating that this is the first-ever biodynamic cashew project in the world, he said the product so produced by these farmers was processed and the first consignment of 3.19 tonnes was shipped out to Germany, via The Netherlands, last week from New Mangalore Port. The consignment carries the Demeter label. This will be marketed through the German buyer, Rapunzel Ag, he said. A few tea estates in India have been producing biodynamic tea.

Birth of the concept

Mr Prabhu said the concept of biodynamic agriculture is based on the agriculture lectures delivered by Mr Rudolf Steiner in 1924 to a small group of farmers in Koberwitz, East Germany. Biodynamic agriculture is a method of farming that aims to treat the farm as a living system that interacts with the environment, to build healthy living soil and to produce food that nourishes and helps to develop humanity. Mr Steiner introduced the practice of making preparations based on cow manure, silica, and various herbal plants, to be used in order to open up the soil to cosmic influences. Mr Steiner advocated discontinuing the use of chemical fertilisers altogether. Because of their inherent lack of life, he felt, chemicals could not maintain life or increase fertility in the soil.

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