Traditional farming methods best means to be safe: Naga Ratnam Naidu

Warangal Urban: Bala Vikasa has been improving farming through traditional practices in the region, said Naga Ratnam Naidu, a world record holder who produced 92 bags of paddy from one acre.

He was addressing the farmers convention, in which 1,300 organic farmers participated, held at Bala Vikasa Training centre at Kazipet in on Sunday.

Director General of Agriculture, National Institute of Agriculture, Extension Management V Usha Rani  said, “The land is turning infertile from past couple of years. The main reason for this is non-rotation of crops and excessive usage of chemical fertilizers in anticipation of high yields.”

“Farmers are also making use of high dose of chemical pesticides. The pesticide residue present in the produce is affecting the health of consumers. Few consumers who are aware of the situation prefer organic produce and it is right time for farmers to produce organic vegetables, rice, pulses, etc,” she added.

She said Indian culture was the corner stone of all other cultures and treated cow as a holy animal as it helped the mankind especially the farmers in many ways. Its milk, curd, ghee, even the dung and urine were useful in cultivation through traditional organic practices, she added.

“A country can be wealthy if the farmer is happy, but unfortunately the farmers are falling prey to chemical fertilizers. The pride of farmers can be restored only when they revert back to traditional practices. To achieve this every farmer should raise cows,” she said.

Bala Theresa Gingras, founder of Bala Vikasa, said she wanted to restore the dignity enjoyed by farmers earlier and this could be achieved only when the farmers stopped depending on external resources. “The farmers instead should depend on indigenous practices like their ancestors,” she added.

S Shoury Reddy, Bala Vikasa Executive Director, said Bala Vikasa started promoting organic farming 15 years ago with 40 farmers towards evergreen revolution. “The benefits accrued by these 40 farmers have motivated farmers to adopt organic farming. Slowly this movement has spread to 1,300 farmers who are proving that agriculture can be profitable,” Reddy said.

Raithu Vikasa president Kusama Rajamouli, Bala Vikasa president B Marreddy, Jana Vikasa president S Lourdu Marreddy, Bala Vikasa project managers D Latha and S Sunitha, program officers P Tirupathi and K Prathap Reddy were present.