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| Sunday, 21 November 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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All natural Sunday Observer Staffer Rohan Mathes participated in field tour on organic farming, sponsored by the National Forum of People's Organisations (NFPO), the local agency for ECO-SOLIDAR Sri Lanka. This article is based on observations and statistics collected 'at site' and a series of interviews with experts, on Organic Farming in Sri Lanka.
'Food Sovereignty' as opposed to 'Food Security', is a fundamental right of a country to determine its food and agricultural policy. It is the right to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods. It is also their right to access means of production including land, water, seeds and other resources. Prabath Kumara, Chief Co-ordinator of 'Future In Our Hands' (FIOH), a Badulla based NGO said, "we have to get back to our roots to come out of this morass. Food security alone is not sufficient. We should also have 'food sovereignty' if we are to be a fully independent nation. All of us are consumers and we have the right to seek whether we partake safe food". The presence of heterogenous agro-ecological conditions, including seasonal and inter-annual variation, socio-cultural and ethnic differences, application of different traditional farming practices including dry and wet land farming, deliberate and inadvertent selection of varieties and various systems of beliefs, allow to develop various indigenous and traditional cultivation practices and techniques for selection, conservation and utilisation of planting materials. Also, these traditional farmers represent centuries of accumulated experience and skills of peasants who often sustained yields under adverse farming conditions using locally available resources.
Indigenous knowledge has been brought down from generations and forms part of the information base of the society. However, the transfer of indigenous knowledge has now ended due to its replacement by modern scientific know-how, influx of high-yielding modern varieties and migration of people from villages to cities. The present generation which is already accustomed to modern technology, is reluctant to transfer the indigenous knowledge to the generations to come. According to Ulhitiya Mahiyangana Organic Farm, FIOH Co-ordinator H.M. Jayasekera, "It is the village 'Kade Mudalali' who determines and recommends the pesticide for the farmer. This system is not cost effective, as at the end of the day, production costs would exceed yield costs. This mindset of the farming community should inevitably change". Organic farming in practice Organic agriculture is more than simple agriculture with a new set of rules, and a list of dos and don'ts. It is a new, holistic approach and an adoption to an ecologically sound and environmentally friendly, sustainable farming system, involving traditional plant genetic resources and indigenous knowledge-based practices. "Organic farming is not only for large-scale farmers. It encompasses all those interested in conservation, production and utilisation of traditional seeds and agricultural plant species, including 90 per cent of our farming community who are small-time farmers working on small plots of land and those engaged in home-gardening. This is a pragmatic way to produce qualitatively healthy, 'wasa visa nethi' (free of chemical contamination) food at a comparatively economical cost and enhanced profits.
We are now working jointly with the Agricultural Department", Chief Coordinator of 'Isura Sanwardana Kendraya' Organic Farm in Kurunegala R.M. Jayasena said. In organic farming, farm manure such as cow-dung, poultry waste matter, decaying straw and the waste of goat farms among others are used. These could be prepared in the farm itself. 'Compost', which could be defined as organic residues or a mixture of organic residue and soil that has been piled, moistened and allowed to decompose, plays a vital role in traditional farming practices as a nutrient source, not only for the plants but also for the soil, by favourably changing the physical and biological properties of the soil. Weed-growth could be controlled by covering the ground with decomposed grass, straw, mana grass etc. The use of automation such as tractors is discouraged as it is believed that the displacement of the top-soil exceeding two inches is harmful. Prabath Kumara said, "the buffalo gives us milk and cow-dung as manure in addition to ploughing the fields". Traditional farming practices, some of which has proven scientific value are used by the farmers. Mixed and multi-storied cropping, crop rotation, mulching and kekulan cultivation are just a few of them. Traditional methods and rituals are also widely used in traditional organic agriculture. 'Kem' is believed to be an effective mechanism developed in folklore to protect man, crops and livestock using plants, amulets, talismans and medicinal plants. Chanting pirith was also a traditional ritual used by ancient farmers.
Some 'Kem' methods are used to protect crops from spiritual evils and envious look, affecting the field (evil eye). Farmers also practice the 'kem' and other rituals as a symbol of prosperity for the next season and also to respect nature, equipment and their ancestors. A closer examination of some 'Kem' methods reveal a rational scientific explanation of their effectiveness. Some of them are very simple and have the advantage of being harmonised with nature, making use of locally available materials. Soil protection and enrichment The protection and enrichment of life in the soil is of paramount importance as the absence of a healthy soil or dead hard soil would make cultivation futile. The top soil should be maintained, improved and nourished by actively encouraging the multitude of micro-organisms and earth-worms in the soil, to convert organic material into nutrients available for plant growth. It is their by-products that build up water-retentive, loamy, humus-rich soil which promotes healthy plant life. Chemical fertilisers and overcropping burn off this store of nutrients and destroys the very organisms that could create more, in return for very short-term gains. As the Director of 'Gemi Seva Sevana' Organic Farm in Galaha Kandy said, "initially the soil needs to be refurbished to bring life back into the soil. There should be living-beings in it, otherwise it is merely sand, clay and stone only". The enhanced life in an organic soil then supports many forms of life at the site and the surrounding environment. Natural methods of pest and disease control Pests and diseases are part of nature, and in the ideal system there is a natural balance between predators and pests. If the system is imbalanced, then one population could become dominant because it is not being preyed upon by another. In organic farming, the aim is to control naturally and not totally eradicate, by restoring a natural balance between pests and predators. Using natural pest and disease control is often more economical than applying chemical pesticides, as materials used in the natural methods need not be purchased from outside. They would be available in the home and in the farm. Shiranee Walpola and A.G. Siriyalatha who are members of the Al Quarish Development Society Akkaraipaththu and are two self-employed, small-scale organic farmers working on half acre plots in Damana, Nithagama said that they use simple, easy-to-find 'Lipe Alu' (ash from fire-place) and Khomba (margosa) seeds spray as pesticides in their up and coming micro farm yard in which they grow beans, mung eta and Bandakka (ladies fingers) among others. "We are doing well with organic farming practices. Our only problem is the lack of sufficient water", they said. Ranjith De Silva who is also a member of the Development Forum of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture said that they have 700 organisations in 100 odd countries. They set the standards and norms in organic agricultural production and processing in the world. Organic agriculture needs certification and marks, and they provide the same by an 'Internal Control System' (ICS), an accredition process in which the farm is assessed and guaranteed with certification where specific standards are maintained. Certificates are renewed annually. There is also an 'External Control System' (ECS) which evaluates the proper functioning of the ICS. "The idea was to build trust in the system", he opined. He further said that Europe is transferring rapidly to organic food, including baby food, especially in Germany where all baby food is organic. Switzerland, a major chemicals manufacturing country in the world, is paying the food manufacturers who are converting to organic manufacture. "Organic food is heavier and tastier as there is less water content in it. It is the ideal choice for the health-conscious who wish to extend their life-span", Ranjith De Silva added. |
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