PLUGGING THE PITFALLS OF ORGANIC FARMING

The nascent organic farming sector has seen some changes but real-life issues faced by farmers regarding yield and sale of crops hold back an organic revolution

-  Anilesh S. Mahajan

JAITU, A SLEEPY TOWN IN FARIDKOT DISTRICT, is in the heart of Punjab’s cancer belt, where experts believe the extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides has impacted the health of generations. One person waging a personal war against this man-made nightmare is Umendra Dutt, founder member and the executive director of Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM). In the past two decades, Dutt has motivated 20,000-odd small and marginal landholders, landless labourers, and even kitchen gardeners to shift to organic farming—about 15,000 acres in all. Running his fingers through his flowing beard, Dutt walks us through an organic millet farm with lush-green crops on the verge of harvest and acquaints us with the issues farmers face as they contemplate the shift. The first two queries he receives in his workshops are fairly existential for a small farmer: how much will the yield be? Who will buy the crop? Those who hope to make quick money quit instantly, he says. Only those shaken by the health nightmare of Jaitu stay committed, but even they can’t shrug off the basic economics.

Dutt was part of the National Task Force on Organic Farming & Chemical-Free Farming that the Union agriculture ministry constituted soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his first term. The panel recommended that at least Rs 12,500 crore a year be allocated to expand the sector, laying the foundation for the push in organic farming. But amid all the real-world exigencies, the money—and the sowing—haven’t kept pace with the intentions. In the last fiscal, for instance, the Narendra Tomarled agriculture ministry couldn’t even spend the Rs 687 crore earmarked for organic farming.