Organic Farming, with special reference to Gurez valley

Organic Farming, with special reference to Gurez valley

Organic agriculture has become the most popular type of alternative farming, not only in India but globally. Assam in India managed to go 100% organic in 2016. The gradual shift towards organic farming has been mainly because we as consumers have become increasingly concerned about the health impacts of accidentally consuming pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Organic farming is widely considered to be a far more sustainable alternative when it comes to food production. The lack of pesticides and wider variety of plants enhances biodiversity and results in better soil quality and reduced pollution from fertiliser or pesticide run-off. Environmental scientists have warned us of soil degradation and its effects on our lives.
We are now living in the “danger zone” for four of the nine planetary boundaries: climate change, biodiversity, land-use change, and biogeochemical flows. All four are intimately linked to soil health. Soils hold 80% of all the carbon stored on land. Deteriorating soil health is already gravely impacting lives and livelihoods. Land degradation due to human activities costs around 10% of global gross product. When combined with climate change effects, soil degradation could reduce crop yields by 10% globally by 2050.
According to researchers, one of the causes of soil degradation is the excessive and disproportionate use of chemicals. In order to meet increasing public needs and to promote crop products, there is use of high inputs of chemicals in the soil in the form of fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, nematicides and weedicides, along with intensive irrigation practices. The toxic chemicals influence the life of beneficial soil microorganisms, which are responsible for maintaining soil fertility. Moreover, groundwater, air, and human and animal health have also been adversely affected by these chemicals directly and indirectly.
Soil health is a multi-dimensional and holistically vital soil characteristic, and forms the basis for healthy food production, thereby contributing to local and global food security. By 2050, a 60 percent rise in global food production and related ecosystem services needs to be accomplished. But, through soil erosion, nutrient loss, salinity, sealing and pollution, one-third of global soils are currently facing moderate to extreme degradation. Chemical fertilisers increase the growth and vigour of the plant, so it helps meets the world’s need for food security, but the plants grown in this way do not develop good plant characteristics such as good root system, shoot system, nutritional characteristics and will not have time to grow and mature properly.
The deleterious effect of chemical fertilisers begins with the processing of chemicals whose products and by-products are certain harmful chemicals or gases that cause air pollution, such as NH4, CO2, CH4, etc. It also causes water pollution when the waste from industries is disposed of untreated in nearby water bodies. It results in the most damaging impact of accumulation of chemical waste in water bodies, i.e., water eutrophication. It is therefore high time to realise that our climate and biodiversity are depleted by this crop production input. Its continuous use without taking any remedial action to reduce or adopt judicious use will one day deplete all natural resources and threaten the entire life of the earth.
A large number of microbes gather around plant roots, which results in a distinction between the state of soil nutrients and the composition of the soil microbial population. The region with the greatest contact between plant roots, soil and microorganisms is the rhizosphere. Microbes of the rhizosphere play an important role in the cycling of soil material and the transfer of energy. Fertiliser application negatively influences the soil microorganisms as well. The widespread use of chemical fertilisers leads to a decline in soil fertility and a number of environmental problems, while bioorganic fertiliser not only improves soil fertility through the contribution of beneficial microorganisms and organic materials, but also eliminates many of the environmental problems caused by chemical fertilisers. Studies have shown that various fertilisation treatments have a significant effect on the structure of soil microbial biomass and the community. Different applications of fertilisers change the physical and chemical properties of the soil, which in turn affects the structure of the soil bacterial community.
Previous studies have found that pH, nitrate, and available phosphate and potassium are significant soil factors that influence the structure of the microbial community. Repeated overuse of chemical fertiliser may have a detrimental impact on the quality of soil and the composition of the soil microbial population. The adverse effects of these synthetic chemicals on human health and the environment can be reduced or eliminated by adopting new agricultural technological practises, including the use of organic inputs such as manure, biofertilisers, biopesticides, slow-release fertilisers and nanofertilizers, etc., and moving away from chemical intensive cultivation.
After going through all these bad effects of conventional farming, it is very easy to understand the question, why should we prefer organic farming? Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticide, fertiliser, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones. India is majorly into the development of agriculture and the environment. Organic farming concludes both of them together. In organic farming, there is a use of bio products which is safe for the soil as well as the environment so both the objectives are achieved. It boosts the nutritional quality of food
Organic crops are grown in biologically healthy and safe active soils. Crops on organic farms take a longer time to grow and tend to yield less per acre than crops on industrial agriculture. Also, plants nourished by soil on organic farms produce crops that are most likely to consist of more important minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins.
There are so many problems everyone is facing in the conventional food system, like water pollution, birth defects, farm animals suffering and so much more. I will support this fact by an example: in the past there were no medical facilities in Gurez-Tulail, but people were very strong, healthy and fit, the women were giving birth to children normally in their own home without any medical problems. 95% children born were healthy and medically fit. People used to eat the foods grown in their own land and were dependent fully on the crops grown in their own fields. The crops grown were maize, wheat, different types of lentils, green vegetables, potatoes, etc. Nowadays people have been using the food from markets which is mostly grown by using conventional farming, as the products produced from conventional farming are very cheap but of low quality. The effect of conventional products is that now people are not as healthy and fit as they were in the past. People often fall sick, and 95% children are born in hospitals via C-sections or surgeries.
Many farmers in Gurez of north Kashmir have started growing crops using organic farming. The farmers use composted manure to maintain soil organic matter and fertility. The crops produced have a different taste and better quality than the ones available in the market. The organic peas, maize, wheat, lentils grown in Gurez are very much nutritious and tasty. People prefer to buy Gurezi maize, potatoes and kidney beans grown by organic farming. The green vegetables grown in Gurez have a different flavor and many health benefits. Manure is commonly applied to the field as raw manure (fresh or dried). Often the manure is used after drying it, kept collected somewhere nearby the fields. It is then applied to the field during the autumn or spring season. Major sources of manures are the cattle shed wastes-dung, urine, poultry jitter , droppings of sheep and goat, cow dung etc.
Gurez is being developed for tourism and is doing well on that front. If the local farmers get support, if they are taught different ways of organic farming to improve the crop yield, the local economy can also be boosted. The crops grown in the valley are already very famous among the people of Kashmir but the crops are still not available in markets. The organic products are expensive as they are of best quality, but they can do wonders in the agricultural market.
On the one hand the world is moving towards organic farming but on the other hand Gurez’s organic farming is decreasing day by day. The departments of agriculture, horticulture, and social forestry can help and support the local farmers in developing their farming ways. People even have started to grow apples and walnuts in their orchards and if supported by the departments, these can also be improved. Organic farming is 35% more profitable than conventional farming. A large number of investors are looking to invest in organic farming as there are many people out there going vegan.
There is a very bright future for organic farming in the coming years. To boost the local economy of Gurez, it is the need of the hour to teach the local farmers new ways and techniques of organic farming, so that there are healthier food products available in the market.

The writer is a student of Earth Sciences at Indra Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

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