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| As World observes 'Soil Health day', J&K has no policy towards Organic farming | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Dec 4: As entire world observes Soil Health Day to ensure better soil quality for better agricultural productivity, Government of Jammu & Kashmir has been hit by policy paralysis for promotion of Organic farming in the state.
The department of Agriculture was caught on the wrong foot last year on December 5, when it observed world soil health day across different districts of J&K.
Several scientific studies show that without a diverse soil food web our gardens and agricultural fields gravitate toward being a desert. The soil food web refers to the organisms living in and on the soil, especially microorganisms.
Having a healthy, diverse soil food web is critical if we need a healthy agricultural yield. They create excellent soil structure, making nutrients available to plants and even protecting plants from predators. There are special bacteria that take nitrogen out of the air and convert it into a form plants can use.
"We definitely need these organisms in our vegetable gardens, apple orchards and paddy fields. This effect on soil is one important reason we want to avoid chemicals in our agriculture fields. Farmers need a healthy soil food web in order to have a healthy agriculture produce. This means no pesticides and no chemical fertilizers" explained an agriculture scientist.
"For fertilization it is better to add organic matter in the form of compost, mulch and plants, cow dung and occasional fertilizers and bio-stimulants to fill in the gaps. For pest control, it means creating plants which are so healthy that plant predators won't attack them in the first place" said Mohammad Saleem an organic farming expert. Researches done in recent years have shown that use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has damaged the soil health.
The vegetables grown with chemical fertilizers cause severe kidney and liver diseases and the increased instances of cancer are directly related to excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
"We appeal Agriculture Minister to make some drastic changes in the agriculture policy. If use of chemical fertilizers continues and officers of agriculture department propagate fungicides, and pesticides, we may head towards a disaster " said Farooq Ahmad a farmer from Kulgam.
As per details available with Early Times the department of agriculture has purchased chemical fertilizers worth crores during last few years and a politically backed mafia is involved in supplying substandard pesticides across state. According to sources 20 to 30 %of pesticides supplied to farmers are of substandard quality.
As per reliable information testing laboratories of Lal Mandi Srinagar which were washed away by Floods in 2014 are almost defunct and Kashmir Markets are likely to see Substandard pesticides and Fertilizers.
"Government has no policy towards development of organic farming in J&K. The Agriculture department continues to promote use of chemical fertilizers through its advertisements and gives certification to business enterprises involved in such trades. Organic basmati produced by farmers in RS Pura is not given better market rates and agriculture department is not coming forward to help such initiatives" says Sunil Kumar a farmer from R S Pura. |
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