Organic farming will help farmers get out of the debt trap, said Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Dr Mohan ji Bhagwat. Organic farming takes farmers towards self-reliance, he said speaking, in an awareness programme on organic farming, organised by Ekalavya Foundation in Gudihatnur mandal of Adilabad district in Telangana. When compared with modern farming, organic farming costs less and there is no need to buy fertilisers at a high cost, he pointed out. Though modern farming gets minimum support price, there is still scope for a margin of loss, he said, and added that farmers can grow through adopting organic agricultural methods.
Farmers will also be liberated from the oppression of seed companies, Dr Bhagwat ji reminded that extensive use of fertilisers during agriculture is not only making the soil degrade but it is also causing serious health ailments such as cancer. Organic farming is nothing but growing crops that are healthy for the soil as well as for the human consumer.
An agricultural field is a laboratory and a farmer is a scientist, Dr Bhagwat ji described, and said that when farmers turn into scientists, costs of agriculture come down and agriculture becomes financially lucrative. With organic farming, it is not only possible to reduce input costs but also there is scope for employment in marketing and self-reliance in seed production.
Even those who have high paying jobs abroad are now coming back to their native place to take up organic farming, he said. In this context, he cited his experience that when he visited a farm in Bihar. A higher official left his job to come home and take up organic farming. When they saw the way he cultivated the land, his son and daughter-in law also gave up their high-paying jobs and joined him. As there was water scarcity in that area, they dug a reservoir and stored water that came from higher reaches. They also set up an irrigation system with bamboo sticks and a wheel and diverted the water naturally to the field. More people should try to take up organic farming this way, Sarsanghchalak ji suggested.
“Farmers should unite to protect their interests, not to become protesters,” Dr Bhagwat ji remarked. He called upon farmers to turn to nature-friendly farming and take India forward in the agriculture sector.
Ekalavya Foundation was founded by Shri Venugopal Reddy in the erstwhile Adilabad district in 2006. Many programmes are being organised by the Foundation for the economic prosperity and social development of vanavisis in the district, As part of this, a project entitled Sendriya Mitra is being implemented in the district to promote organic farming. Under this project, about 1800 farmers in Adilabad district are cultivating around 3000 acres in organic farming methods.
On Feb 26, a meeting was held with 2500 farmer families, entitles Sendriya Raithu Mitra Sammelanam and Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan ji Bhagwat and Bhagawat Katha Avatar from Maharashtra Shri Narayan Maharaj attended and addressed the gathering. RSS Kshetra sah sanghchalak Shri Doosi Ramakrishna, Kshetra Pracharak Shri Sudheera, RSS Telangana Prantha Sanghchalak Shree Boorla Dakshina Murthy, sah sanghachalak Sri Sundar Reddy, Prantha Karyavah Shri Kacham Ramesh, Indur Vibhag sanghchalak Shri J Narendar Reddy, Ekalavya Foundation members and others participated in the meeting.
