Dr.Ashok Kumar Panigrahi asked: ACTUAL STATE OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES Dr.Ashok K. Panigrahi and Mrs.Kusum Misra
Organic agriculture is about more than just growing crops without using either chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, rather it a holistic approach to the very system of farming that restores, maintains and enhances economical sustainability and ecological balance generating non toxic, healthy and tasty food or medicine or dye with natural fragrance and colour.
In today’s world most organic growers since believe in biodiversity, they avoid GM varieties, whether crops or seeds or plants or animals. They use no chemical either for soil fertility or for pest control, no chemical either for their growth or for their protection except the medicines that too only when the situation is very bad and beyond control.
AN OVERVIEW
Organic agriculture is currently being practiced in more than 100 countries the world over. The ill effects of agrochemicals used for last several decades have changed the minds of consumers in different countries who are now buying or willing to bye organic food stuffs with high premium.
Policy makers are now promoting organic agriculture for several different reasons such as soil health, sustaining rural economy and creating better environment. The global organic area is estimated at 26 million hectare with 61 standards and 364
certification bodies.
The world organic market is estimated at 26 billion US $.
The certified organic area in India is estimated at 2.5 million hectare but non-certified area is much more.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Organic agriculture is being practiced in India since the beginning of agriculture in this country and it continued as such till Green Revolution was introduced in this country in the mid sixties.
There is a brief mention of organic agriculture in ancient literatures like the Rigveda, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Kautilya Arthshastra etc.
Sir Albert Howard was the first industrial agriculturist who was brought in to India by the British to teach the Indian farmers the use of agrochemicals but he ended up in learning the organic agriculture from Indian farmers, developed the Indore process and went on to establish the symbiotic fungal bridge between the humus in the soil and the sap of the plants through the mycorrhizal associations. He wrote in his, An Agricultural Testament, “Since industrial revolution, agriculture has become unbalance, the land is in revolt, diseases of all kinds are on the increase, the nature is removing the worn out soil by erosion.”
AGRICULTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA 1. Oldest practice 10,000 years ago dating back to Neolithic age by ancient
civilization like Mesopotamia, Hwang Ho basin etc.
2. Ramayana All dead things returned to earth that in nourish soil and life 3. Mahabharata 5500 B.C., Kamadhenu – the sacred cow, had role in not
only in human life but also in soil fertility
4. Kautilya Arthshastra 300 B.C., use of several manures made of the excreta of
domesticated animals and oil cake
5. Brihad Sanhita Methods of choosing manures for crops and manuring
6. Rigveda 2,500-1,500 B.C., green manure, use of dung of goat, sheep,
cow etc.
LARGE SCALE USE OF CHEMICALS IN AGRICULTURE IN INDIA US Noble laureate Norman Borlaug, the creator of the famous dwarf wheat variety in Mexico, visited India in 1957. In a press conference he said, “Were I been a member of the Indian Parliament I would leapt from my seat every fifteen minutes and yell at the top of my voice, fertilizers, give farmers more fertilizers.” The fact is that, between the fifties and sixties, in the independent India, there was a gap between the demand and production of food. To meet this, the Indian planners under the influence of the US institutions like the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and the US food specialist Norman Borlaug, conceived the idea of paradigm shift in agriculture, from natural to chemical, from natives to high brids and high yields, the seeds of which gained popularity under the global brand name of “miracle seeds,” having the ability to soak up agrochemicals developed at that point of time. This was a global phenomenon and it helped in the global increases in food out puts instantly. To day the world food grain production is estimated at 2100 million tones and it is mostly based on use of agrochemicals, artificial chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. However, the impacts of these agro chemicals, the artificial chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides are well observable. No data have been published by any the Indian agency like the US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA). The USEPA revealed in 1991 that the projected estimate of methane emission from the Indian paddy fields amounted to 37.8 metric tones per year, thus accusing Indian paddy cultivators in adding to the global green house gas accumulation as methane is also considered as a green house gas. Consequently in India more emphasis was attached to shift to non conventional agriculture and keep paddy cultivation limited to 47% of total arable land (National Agriculture Policy, 2000). Use of artificial chemical fertilizers especially N- fertilizers always invite the agricultural pests leading to applications of pesticides, especially synthetic pesticides and both of these pollute the environment substantially.
The global fertilizer use (in Kg/ha)Korea - 357 kg Japan - 247 kg
Netherlands - 172 kg Bangladesh - 158 kg
Germany - 153 kg India - 89 kg
The sinister logic of recommendation of the use of chemical fertilizers:Plant requires 17 essential nutrients divided under two groups:
1. Macro nutrients- those required by plants in large amounts and
2. Micro nutrients-those required by plants in small amounts
Regardless of the sources, plants absorb all nutrients in inorganic forms only. The 3 Macro or major primary nutrients are absorbed as under -
Nitrogen (N) as Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite
Phosphorus (P) as P2O5 (available phosphorus)
Potash (K) as K2O (available potash)
The 3 macro secondary nutrients include such substances as Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Sulphur (S) which are naturally available in the soil and manures.
Micronutrients or minor plant nutrients are in fact trace elements as Iron(Fe), Manganese(Mn), Zinc(Zn), Copper(Cu), Boron(B), Molybdenum(Mo) and Cobalt(Co) and like the secondary macro nutrients, are supposed to be available in the soil and manures. Although there is nothing organic in the nutrient absorption by plants but plant up take is surely influenced by the source of origin of the said nutrients, it is better if it is from the organic source, as the availability is modest and release is delayed but prolonged and the nutrients do not influence each other’s up take. In the chemical process, excessive applications of nitrogenous fertilizers prevent phosphorus and potash up take by plants.
Average nutrient uptake by crops per tones of economic yield Nutrient Crops Paddy (Kg) Wheat (Kg)N
20
25
P2O5
11
9
K2O
30
33
S
3
4.7
Ca
7
5.3
Mg
3
4.7
B
0.015
0.048
Cu
0.018
0.024
Fe
0.153
0.624
Mn
0.675
0.700
Mo
0.002
0.002
Zn
0004
0.056
State of factsIntensive farming, said to be required to meet the increasing food demand of the growing population, exhaust natural soil fertility and distort soil’s natural balance.
It is suggested, inorganics have to be selectively added to the soil to maintain the required plant nutrition. But their ills are never assessed nor taken care of.
In the green revolution era throughout the world, the crop plants were basically protected through the use of biocides, pesticides, fungicides etc.and its impacts were never assessed.
Use of synthetic pesticide (in kg/ ha.) in USA, Japan, Korea, China and India are 1.5, 10.8, 6.6, 2.25 and 0.38 kg, respectively.
The uses of synthetic pesticides in the last few decades have become one of the essential inputs of modern farming, but consequences are evidently disastrous.
WHY SHOULD WE EMBRACE ORGANIC FARMING?Because food safety is as important as food security
DO WE KNOW HOW THE ARTIFICIAL CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS HARM US! They—-v Interfere and eliminate nutrition producing microbes (bacteria fungi and worms) from soil.
v Impede and set in imbalance the entire mineral and micronutrient pattern in crop plants.
v Excess of N- fertilizer in soil impair K uptake by crop plants and they lack K component in their tissues.
v Excess of K applications decrease the amount of Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) and carotene (pre Vitamin A) in crop plants.
v Super phosphate applications cause deficiency of Cu and Zn in crop plants.
v Their applications reduce the natural resistance to disease and pest in crop plants
v N-fertilizer applications though enhance crop yield, it is in terms of carbohydrates. There occurs a deficiency in protein content by 20-25% w/w and the amino acid balance is greatly impaired, thus lowering the protein quality.
v N- fertilizers (NO3,NO2 and NH3+) act as toxins in soil, percolated into underground water tables,NO3
and NO2 cause Methaemoglobinaemia (Methaemoglobin occurring in excess of normal 0.8%) which at 20% cause headache and giddiness, at 60% loss of consciousness and around 80%, death in adult human beings. Affected new borne turn blue and die (blue baby syndrome).
v N- Fertilizers (NOx) reduce O3 by 3.5% by reducing NO (NO+O3 NO2+O2). A one percent of O3 depletion cause increase 2% of U-V radiation, 10% decreases of O
3 in stratosphere increase Melanoma (skin cancer) by 20-30% besides causing high occurrence of cataracts, destruction of immunity, vegetation and sea-life.
v Concentration of NO2
at 6.0mg/kg in excess of 2mg/kg of air cause leaf damage, impaired photosynthetic activity in many plants. At a higher concentration, causes burning sensation of mucous membranes. NO3
at 800mg/ltr.of water caused cattle deaths in epidemic form in Rajasthan in 1976.
THIS IS HOW THE SYNTHETIC PESTICIDES HARM US -
v These are generally bionondegradables, introduced into the ecosystem, they play havoc, either as hazardous or toxicants or both.
v Aimed at eliminating the pests, they end up in increasing their pesticide-resistance as most of the pests have as many as 10-30 life cycles in a year.
v The table given below shows changes in cotton insecticide use(in mln.pounds),from USDA chemical use survey( It is to note that Bt cotton was introduced in US in 1996)
19641966197119761982199219982000Organochlorines54.645.43318.61.21.20.30.5Organophosphates15.614.328.631.412.913.411.336.1Carbamates6.24.510.312.23.542.73.5Synthetic pyrethroids 0 0 0 0 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.3Others1.60.71.5210.30.10.1Total pounds applied7864.973.464.219.419.814.840.5 v Percolated into the underground water tables, cause pesticide pollution, the recent Coca cola- Pepsi and bottled water episodes are the glaring examples. Once consumed, they have one way traffic in the human (animal) vital tissues.
v According to Pearson (1985) pesticide related deaths in developing countries are estimated at 10,000/yr. nearly 1.5-2 million persons in these countries suffer from acute poisoning related to pesticide use and consumption, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Pesticide residue reported to be present in agricultural produce (from HAU)Commodities 2001 Sample (No.) Contamination 2002 Sample (No.) ContaminationVegetables(17 crops)712
61
12% above MRL
529
63
8.5% above MRL
Fruits(12 crops)378
53
less than MRL
329
47
approaches MRL
Pesticide residue in animal feed, fodder, product and irrigation water in year 2001-2002. Commodities
Sample No.
Contamination (%)
Major residue recorded
Feed and fodder
125
81
HCH, DDT, Chloropyriphos, indosulphan
Milk
537
52
94% HCH, 9% indosulphan and DDT residue
Butter
184
67.4
- do -
Irrigation Water
Surface water
258
60
HCH, DDT
Canal water
251
73
Indosulphan, Chloropyriphos
4 above MRL
Pond water
10
11
All
All
- do -
Maximum residue limit (MRL) of pesticide on food commodities (prevention of food adulteration acts- 1954)Name of pesticide Food MRL (Mg/kg)AldrineFood grains, milk, vegetables
0.01, 0.15, 0.10
CaptanFood and vegetables
15.0
CarbendazimFood grains, vegetable and milk
0.5, 0.5, 0.1
CarbofuranFood grains, fruit/vegetables, milk
0.10, 0.10, 0.05
ChloropyriphosFood grains, fruits, Cauliflowers
0.05, 0.50, 0.01
DDTMilk/milk product, fruits/vegetables
1.25, 3.5
IndosulphanFruits/vegetables
2.00
HeptachlorFood grains, vegetables
0.01, 0.055
Do the plants actually require mineral fertilizers?Facts regarding evolution 1. Creation of earth - 5 billion years ago
2. First life started - 2 billion years ago
3. Initiation of plants - 500 million years ago
4. Appearance of man - 2 million years ago
5. Pre-historic man started cultivation - 10000 years ago
6 Concept of fertilizers use - J B Boussingault (French chemist) and Justus Von Liebig (German chemist) in 1840.
7. First global fertilizer industry- Roth Amsted Experimental station, London, 1842.
(Single Super Phosphate or SSP)
8. First fertilizer industry in India-SSP (Parry), Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India, in1906.
9. History of fertilizer - 100 to 160 years only
10. Principal source of Global Fertilizer supply – American II war surplus materials,
Nitrogenous and Phosphatic fertilizers.
FACTS FAVOURING ORGANIC FARMINGOrganic proponents are against fertilizer inputs due to the following reasons.
Fertilizer use is only 100-160 years old.
Not willing to accept the claim that fertilizers enhanced global food production.
Lot of plants on road sides, hills and deserts are surviving with humus from biomass years after years, without any fertilizers being ever applied.
Fertilizer is from the brain of the industrial lobby only, and is neither for the advantage of the farmer-consumer nor the environment.
Crop produced with chemicals contains heavy metals and other contaminants, hence, not well for health.
Agrochemicals cause disease and death due to excess nitrate and pesticide residues.
The so called food produced through the use of agrochemicals is devoid of vital minerals and vitamins which, in turn, incapacitate the enzyme systems so vital for proper body functions necessitating their additions to food and medicines.
Fertilizers like Urea and DAP contain heavy metals like lead and cadmium.
Concentration of heavy metals (PPM) on dry weight basis. SourceArsenicCadmiumLeadNickelUrea
< 0.04
< 0.2
< 0.4
< 0.2
DAP
9.9 – 16.2
4.6 – 35.5
2.1 – 3.7
7.4 – 22.2
MOP
< 0.4
< 0.2
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