Use local seeds, shun chemical fertilisers: agriculturist

Subhash Palekar, an agriculturist from Maharashtra, believes that he has found a way out for the agrarian crisis afflicting the Indian economy.

Palekar, conducting a workshop here on Monday and Tuesday to familiarise farmers in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh with his methods, says, “After the so-called green revolution, the local base of agriculture has been destroyed, with hybrid seeds and overemphasis on use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to increase yields.”

External dependence Conceding that in the initial phase the green revolution had led to a dramatic spurt in yields, especially foodgrains such as paddy and wheat, he argues that in the later stages, it was found to be unsustainable. This was due to the ever-increasing cost of cultivation and dependence of the farmer on outside sources for all inputs from seeds to fertilisers to pesticides.

Palekar says, “Now is the time to go back to the basics. We can teach farmers to carry on cultivation, with minimal costs, using local seeds and shunning the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The cost of cultivation can be recouped through inter crops and the main crop will be a bonus to the farmer.”

Farmers’ verdict There are a few farmers practising the methods advocated by Palekar in Andhra Pradesh. Kranthi, an engineering graduate who has a 45-acre holding in Vizianagaram district, said, “I have stumbled on Palekar’s methods on the internet. I have bought six cows and am preparing ‘Jeevamrutham’ – a solution prepared with cow dung, urine, black jaggery and bengal gram. It is effective in increasing yields and containing pests. I am using only local seeds,” she said.

In a response to a query whether any studies have been conducted in her farm, Kranthi said that she has invited agricultural scientists to do so, but the response has not been encouraging.

Suryanarayana Raju, alias Fakir Raju from East Godavari, is equally enthusiastic. “I came to know of Palekar through one of my relatives in Maharashtra. I tried the methods tentatively in the first phase, but the results have been staggering,” he says.

Palekar says that his methods are suitable for all the agro-climatic zones in the country and “it is the responsibility of the farm scientists and policy-makers to give my way of farming a serious try.”

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