Treat farming is a way of life, not a business venture, says Subhash Palekar

Subhash Palekar, Zero Budget Natural Farming campaigner, held a workshop for farmers in Hukkeri in Belagavi district on Friday.

The Padmasri Award winner asked farmers to look at agriculture as a way of life and not as a business venture.

“Our ancestors used to grow abundantly and live without any debt. But now, with the rising cost of seeds and other inputs like fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, and machinery, the debt of farmers is also increasing. No matter what crop is grown, farmers are sure to suffer losses. Farming is becoming more expensive and less remunerative day by day, and more and more young people are turning away from it. The youth is leaving agriculture and moving to cities. Those engaged in farming are unable to find brides. All of us need to realise that the techniques introduced by the Green Revolution have made Indian farming a high cost venture. So, what should we do? In this context, we need to keep ourselves open to many changes in order to build a dignified life on the land that our elders have left to us. We need to reduce costs and aim at finding markets for our crops. Farming will then become sustainable and profitable,’’ he said.

Mr. Palekar suggested several measures like changes in cropping systems, use of native crop varieties and native livestock, use of cow dung-based natural farming, and each farmer striving to create his own market.

“First of all, we need to move away from the mono-cropping system and return to the multi-cropping system that was practised for centuries by our elders. We need to protect and grow crops that are adapted to the respective regions, engage in seed saving practices, and distribute the seeds to other farmers. We need to realise the importance of cow dung and manure. We should stop buying inputs from outside and instead prepare everything in situ, on the farm,’’ he said.

He told them about his inventions — Jeevamruta (fermented manure), Beejamruta (seed treatment), and some herbicide-based insecticides and other products that could be made using the byproducts of native cows, leguminous plants, and herbs.

He said his experiments on his farm, of over 40 years, had proved that the ZBNF method reduced the cost of cultivation, increased yields, and ensured remunerative prices that were 10-50% more than market prices. “Such practices could be adopted for all types of agricultural and horticultural crops, including sugarcane and plantation crops,’’ he said.

Mr. Palekar advised farmers not to fall prey to the marketing tactics of some organic farming companies that were trying to sell factory-made materials as non-chemical inputs.

Chukki Nanjundaswamy, leader of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said that the main objective of Mr. Palekar’s workshops was to help farmers get out of debt, become self-reliant, and live dignified lives. “Innumerable farmers have gained self-reliance in their lives by saving seeds, increasing soil fertility, growing disease-free crops, and getting fair prices,” she said.

Farmer’s leaders like Vishal Kalasannavar, Basavaraj Mokshi, and others were present.