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The Hindu Times: Green Revolution Turned the Soil Infertile

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    The Hindu Times: Green Revolution Turned the Soil Infertile

    Interesting article...

    [URL="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/lsquoGreen-revolution-turned-soil-infertilersquo/article16883597.ece"]http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/lsquoGreen-revolution-turned-soil-infertilersquo/article16883597.ece[/URL]



    Experts at a workshop on climate change and sustainable agriculture have opined that the Green Revolution has done more harm than good to the agriculture sector in the country from a long term perspective. They suggested that farmers return to traditional practices in farming in order to make the vocation sustainable in future.

    Representatives of non-governmental organisations working on poverty alleviation and sustainable agriculture and experts in the field of agriculture and related areas gathered here from four southern States to deliberate upon the subject.

    The two-day consultation meet was inaugurated in the RDT-Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre near here on Friday.

    In the key note address on “Impact of climate change on agriculture and food security : Challenges and way forward”, activist on climate change and sustainable agriculture Dr. Nammalwar remarked that the present farm sector scenario could be better explained as ruining of all farmers and flourishing of all merchants.

    It was most important for sustainable agriculture that everything should be available from within and nothing should come from outside. Explaining the philosophy, he stated that all farm and home needs in villages be made available from within. Seed and other inputs should be mobilised locally with organic farming.

    All farm needs like making of traditional agriculture implements should be possible in the village itself.

    The very idea of Green Revolution including the name and technology were borrowed from America. Inputs for GR like seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were imported from the West.

    The impact left over the half a century was that half of the country’s cultivable lands had become saline with excessive use of chemicals and the productivity was coming down drastically.

    This was predicted by none other than M.S. Swaminathan, the father of GR in the country, himself in 1966. He had also gone on to say in one of his reports that the country had no agriculture policy for 60 years.

    We could overcome the problem only by going back to our traditional practices of farming. Organic farming meant not just putting organic manure in the soil but understanding the natural cycle of growing crops. Striking ecological balance with environment-friendly practices was the need of the hour as climate change was affecting agriculture and agriculture was contributing to climate change, he stressed.

    #2
    Well at least this explains why they can't grow enough food themselves and don't need to import all these peas from Canada.... It is always amusing how the media storie sand the market realities can be so far apart. I tend to believe what the market is telling us.

    Comment


      #3
      Interesting yes.
      Interesting how ‘experts’ and climate change experts no less can develop a hypothesis and prescribe a solution with no basis in fact whatsoever.
      Some portion of the population may read an article like this and agree that yes, that’s why we don’t have enough food; our soil has been ruined by western technology and it used to be so much better a half century ago.
      When there was a third of the 1.4 billion people now alive on the Indian sub-continent.
      Yes, the green revolution must be the problem...
      Maybe, with the right amount of erroneous information and a healthy dose of poor public policy, the population will get back to the good old days level as well.

      Comment


        #4
        Seems to bring up a common complaint aired on Agriville and throughout western agriculture.

        "Dr. Nammalwar remarked that the present farm sector scenario could be better explained as ruining of all farmers and flourishing of all merchants."

        Comment


          #5
          Is this not at least a 7 or 8 year old article partially about a now dead, honorary doctor, organically motivated, environmental activist, who apparently didn't like the first Green Revolution that prevented the starvation of 1 billion people, many in India?

          Comment


            #6
            There may be better ways of farming as is explained by Howard Buffet in this video. Buffet explains his projects in Africa and rejects the agribusiness model that Bill Gates is promoting in third world countries. Howard Buffet is a farmer and son of billionaire Warren Buffet.
            This was on agriville several years ago


            https://www.agriville.com/threads/15029-60-minutes-story-farmer-howard-buffet-son-of-warren-and-helping-feed-the-hungry

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Integrity_Farmer View Post
              There may be better ways of farming as is explained by Howard Buffet in this video. Buffet explains his projects in Africa and rejects the agribusiness model that Bill Gates is promoting in third world countries. Howard Buffet is a farmer and son of billionaire Warren Buffet.
              This was on agriville several years ago


              https://www.agriville.com/threads/15029-60-minutes-story-farmer-howard-buffet-son-of-warren-and-helping-feed-the-hungry
              And another article from the Atlantic times and and interview with Howard Buffet

              https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/how-warren-buffetts-son-would-feed-the-world/476385/
              Last edited by Integrity_Farmer; Dec 10, 2017, 14:48. Reason: to add info

              Comment


                #8
                What these articles highlight for me is the effect of govt intervention in the economy can have consequences . The bureaucratic Indian govt solved one problem of starvation in India but have created another one of farmers business's being unprofitable. Here in Saskatchewan we were bitching about the Indian duty that had a quick effect on us but the Indian govt has been manipulating these markets for years. Export bans, Import duty, subsidize one area of production to the detriment of another area. The list goes on. The idea of the article , if implemented would have great value for pea and lentil production in Sask. If India were to adopt large scale organic production, the domestic food production IMO would not come close to filling the demand of the urban areas of India which would have to be supplied by imports. High prices will then have people rioting in the streets. The govt reacts and the pendulum swings the other way.

                the Africa question is another sad thing. The production potential of the African continent is huge, but with the enormous political instability that plagues much of the continent will continue to limit the production ability. As the same time as well intentioned groups seek to improve the lives of people, foreign entities from places like China are looking for control vast agricultural tracts. the push back is starting .

                Comment


                  #9
                  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/how-policy-changes-may-not-get-the-pulse-right/article9969935.ece

                  Comment

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