Organic farming is way forward

Tamil Nadu's agriculture sector is a victim of isolation. Many of its problems are caused by the heavy dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides on the one hand and the lack of an integrated approach to farming activity on the other. 

Despite having about 4% (130.33 lakh hectares) of the total land area of the country, Tamil Nadu's net cropped area is only 46 lakh hectares, about 35% of its land holding. Its vast stretches of dry land remain uncultivated for ages. One of the main handicaps is water scarcity. Against a national average of 2,200 cubic metres of per capita availability of water per year, Tamil Nadu's share is a meagre 750 cubic metres. Only about 33 lakh hectares of land is irrigated with available sources of water. The rest is left to the mercy of rain. Tamil Nadu agricultural engineering department says our water resources have been exploited up to 90% of the potential. As the water use efficiency of conventional irrigation methods is only about 35%-40%, the state needs to look at alternatives. 

Some farmers have already taken to cultivation of millets and pulses to tide over the water crisis. In Tamil Nadu, while paddy is cultivated in about 18 lakh hectares, millets are cultivated in 7 lakh hectares and pulses in 6.4 lakh hectares. The area under pulses and millets cultivation has been growing in recent years. "Many farmers in Cauvery delta made profits of close to Rs 1 lakh per hectare because of the rising pulse prices last year," said Tamil Nadu Agricultural University vice-chancellor K Ramasamy. The state government has set a target of producing close to 10 lakh metric tonnes of pulses this year.

Experts are of the opinion that instead of lamenting the non-availability of water and high cost of agricultural operations, the government should look at finding ways to judiciously use available water resources and encourage farmers to take to organic farming by integrating it with dairy and poultry farming, fish culture and high level of mechanization.

Ramasamy said the starting point for any farming activity was rearing cattle and cultivating fodder for livestock, because they would provide much of the input required for the farm.

If farmers are trained to enrich waste from dairy and poultry farms to produce their own organic manure and pesticide, the cost of agricultural operations could fall drastically. While fish culture will generate income, waste water from fish ponds can be used for irrigation. "Farmers who have shifted to micro-irrigation methods cannot afford the exorbitant cost of water soluble fertilizers, which are mostly imported from Israel and Belgium. Heavy use of chemical fertilizers has completely destroyed the life of soil. There are no micro-organisms left in our soil. Proper nutrient management is key to sustainable soil fertility. Farmers can be trained even to make their own micro-nutrients," opined S M C Pillai, a retired technocrat, who is into organic farming for the past few years. "Many farmers laughed at me when I did watermelon cultivation using drip irrigation. At the time of harvest, I had the last laugh as my produce was much better (and bigger in size) than those of other farmers, done through flood irrigation," said Pillai.

Source : Times of India