Maharashtra
and Karnataka are two of the 28 states in India
that are predominantly agriculture based. The main
agricultural products are cotton, sugarcane, rice,
wheat, pulses and vegetables like onion, tomatoes,
ginger etc. The green revolution reached India in
the early 1970s and has triggered a substantial
(but short-lived) increase in agricultural productivity
accompanied by a tremendous increase in the use
of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Unfortunately,
this short-term benefit of increased productivity
has clearly over-shadowed the long-term threats
to the environment and agriculture. The ever-increasing
and indiscriminate use of inorganic chemical fertilizers
and toxic agro-chemicals (pesticides) has seriously
threatened the traditional methods of sustainable
agriculture for which Indian subcontinent was once
well known throughout the world. The excessive use
of chemicals in agriculture has also resulted in
a serious degradation of the rich biodiversity in
the region.
Some
devastating signs are reduced soil fertility,
interalia due to increased salinity, and water
pollution due to seepage of toxic agro-chemicals
into the water used for agriculture, and alarming
reductions in groundwater levels due to excess
groundwater extraction for irrigation.
Time
is running out for the agricultural community
in India to reverse these environmentally damaging
trends. If appropriate measures are not taken
immediately, the farmers might permanently lose
their ability to prevent the downfall of their
social and economic survival base. The devastating
effects of agro-chemicals on human health and
the environment have already been evident in the
developed countries as well as India. Perpetual
poverty of farmers has been predicted in India
if farmers don’t adopt sustainable agricultural
practices.
There
is need to learn from the experience of the developed
countries as well as those of other developing
countries who have done well in promoting organic
agriculture. The disastrous long-term implications
of such non-sustainable practices need to be urgently
communicated to the Indian farm producers and
consumers. Alternative development models that
use sustainable agricultural practices and organic
methods need to be actively promoted and demonstrated
as a matter of urgency.
The
hurdles faced in the process of conversion from
non-organic into organic farming have to be addressed
and methods of transition to be established to
save farmers from financial break down. The domestic
market base has to be developed by promoting bio-food
in order to encourage producers. Standardization
of production methods, quality of fertilizers,
pesticides, seeds, final products, packaging and
marketing needs to be established and introduction
of a new branding method evolved for organic merchandise
to help find its way into international market.
Fortunately there are still many lands especially
in the hilltops, which are not touched by green
revolution. The work therefore would be:
Target
Audience:
Producers:
Organic and non-organic farmers and farmers in
transit. Members of Farmer’s Association
from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh and Private sector agencies involved in
the organic farming.
Promoters:
Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the
Agro Environment Sector of University of Turin
-Italy,
Maharashtra: Krishi Vidyan Kendra (KVK), Science
and Technology Park-Environment Cell, NGO-Gomukh,
NGO-Maharashta Organic Farming Federation (MOFF),
Leading Banks and Agriculture Financial Institutes,
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports
Development Authority (APEDA), Natural Organic
Certificate Association (NOCA) with Madhyam-NGO.
Karnataka: University of Agriculture and Science,
Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI),
Indian Farmers’ Movement (INFAM), Indian
Organic Certification Agency (INDOCERT).
Traders:
Representatives of food industries, bio-shop owners
and exporters of organic food, whole sellers and
extension workers.
Organizers:
UNEP Division of Technology,
Industry and Economics would support the organisation
of this seminar and would provide technical guidance
for developing project.
AGROINNOVA
Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the
Agro Environment Sector- University of Turin,
working in the field of sustainable agriculture
and agro-environmental issues. AGROINNOVA, active
in research as well as in education and technology
transfer, is implementing national and international
research and development projects related to integrated
pest management (IPM) and promotion of low impact
technologies, especially organic farming techniques.
Madhyam
(Movement for Alternative Development by Harnessing
Youths' Ability through Media) is an NGO based
in Pune –Maharashtra, India that is dedicated
to promote sustainable development including sustainable
agriculture among the youth by effective use of
Media.
Associate:
Department
of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra active
in promoting the efficient agricultural practices
among the farmers in Maharashtra. It has, over
last couple of years initiated number of activities
including the workshops of the farmers, booklets
and exhibitions on the organic farming by leveraging
the expertise of NGOs.
Description
of the Seminar:
The
three-days seminar will be organized in three
sessions:
Plantation
day: The first session, will include
presentations about the status of organic farming
in India with particular emphasis on Maharashtra
and Karnataka states. UNEP will share its experiences
of organic agriculture projects in East Africa
and AGROINNOVA will present its research activities
Cultivation
day: The second session will include
site visits to organic farms. The progress made
and the barriers related to knowledge, awareness,
technologies, policies, and markets will be discussed.
Harvesting
day: Presentations by financial organisations,
universities, research institutes and manufacturers.
Discussions on policy, marketing issues. The session
will end with a concluding round table on future
cooperation steps to initiate joint-activities
between India, Italy and possibly Pakistan in
this field.
Expected
Outputs:
