हाशिया की तस्वीरें / OLD FILE : RENEWED RELEVANCE
Friends of farmers : Earthworms
श्रिस्टी का पहला हरवाहा कौन ? कहते हैं ' धर्मराज ' युधिष्ठिर से तीसरा और अंतिम यक्ष प्रश्न यही था.
Lucknow, Dec 23 (UNI) The earthworm should be turning in its groove as the disappearing 'friend of the farmer' is to be given a new lease of life in the fields across the country. The earthworm is now hardly seen in the fields where it used to do the natural tilling of the soil. Its population decreased very fast due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
Earthworm could prove to be the greatest loss of the millennium if immediate steps are not undertaken to recognise its utility, according to Mewalal, an advocate of the worm's existence. Recognising the value of the earthworm and the utility of their vermicompost manure, Mewalal and members of his group have chalked out an ambitious plan to carry it to the next millennium, at least in India. Muskan Jyoti, the non-governmental organisation run by Mewalal here has helped grow roses with organic vibrance, thanks to the earthworm.
Impressed by its efforts under a project named 'Krishi Mitra', Nitish Kumar, the then Union minister for agriculture, invited the NGO to also run it on a pilot basis in his home district of Badh in Bihar. The project, says Mewalal, is an attempt to mobilise and train farmers for adopting an earthworm-based vermicomposting system. If successfully employed, the project would not only be able to contribute in producing quality organic products improving land fertility but also save about Rs 900,000 (including government subsidy) per year in 1000 acres, claims Mewalal.
Muskan Jyoti has developed its vermi-compost production and research centre at a ten-acre land in Lucknow and is producing ten tonnes of vermi-compost per day. It also trains farmers to make them self-reliant in the use of vermi-compost fertiliser and vermi-wash. The utility and importance of earthworms in sustainable agriculture can not be ignored if we wish to save ourselves as well as the national economy, says Mewalal. According to him the basic objective of the project is to popularise production of vermicompost, vermiwash, its utilisation for bio-remediation of the soil and promotion of
sustainable agriculture/organic farming to protect land quality and also to reduce other multiple investments.
He says though the subsidies are good enough to help the farmers increase productivity at controlled cost, it involved high share of government revenue. The subsidies keep increasing with time and become a burden. Initially the cost increases slowly but are compounded at later stages, he says. The modern practices succeeded in giving higher production but due to the rapid use of Urea and DAP, the quality of land deteriorates, affecting the entire ecosystem and health of human beings. ''The deterioration of land increases our dependency on chemical fertiliser leading to the fall in the population of the earthworm,''he says.
He says volumetrically increased dependency on chemical fertiliser completely traps people in a circle of poverty. In the context of the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Seattle, it becomes more imperative if we consider the pressure of WTO for globalisation of labour component and withdrawal of subsidy, he argues. This would again enhance the cost of agricultural production and brng more poverty to the farmers, he adds. ''It has become necessary to revive the alternative system of sustainable agriculture or organic farming by reducing of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.''
The chemical fertilisers and pesticides are not only deteriorating the soil strength but lead towards a barren and infertile land. As the fertiliser become soluble, they may leach down into the soil and force the earthworm to seek refuge elsewhere. Mewalal says greater efforts are required to produce living soil by using vermi-compost to increase bacterial/microbial population and organic matter in the soil. The living soil can, in turn, provide healthy and balanced nutrition to the plants which result in healthy plant growth.Vermicompost is the limelight in this direction to save human and animal life to maintain the balance of the eco-system, he says. It is an eco-friendly fertilizer which is made of the organic waste such as farm and organic residue with the help of earthworm and helps the soil retain its natural value and texture without harming the production level.
The Government needs to introduce scientific and sustainable research to the agriculture, failing which, it would not be able to face the consequences of the increasing population in the 21st century, Mewalal says. Earthworm adds organic matter to the soil and is a good manufacturer of fertilizer. Its casting has a nutrient and organic matter level much higher than of the surrounding soil. Everyday, it produces nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and many micro-nutrients in a form that all plants can use. It produce the fertilizer and also spread it thoroughly within the top 12 inches of thed soil.
Earthworm also contribute by adding calcium carbonate, a compound which helps moderate soil pH. It can help change acid or alkaline soil toward a more neutral pH. The earthworm activity in the soil is beneficial and should be encouraged, Mewalal says.The worm helps improve the soil structure, water movement, improves plant root growth and minimizes thatch buildup in fields.
* A UNI news story as published in The Hindu ( link not available)
Friends of farmers : Earthworms
श्रिस्टी का पहला हरवाहा कौन ? कहते हैं ' धर्मराज ' युधिष्ठिर से तीसरा और अंतिम यक्ष प्रश्न यही था.
Lucknow, Dec 23 (UNI) The earthworm should be turning in its groove as the disappearing 'friend of the farmer' is to be given a new lease of life in the fields across the country. The earthworm is now hardly seen in the fields where it used to do the natural tilling of the soil. Its population decreased very fast due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
Earthworm could prove to be the greatest loss of the millennium if immediate steps are not undertaken to recognise its utility, according to Mewalal, an advocate of the worm's existence. Recognising the value of the earthworm and the utility of their vermicompost manure, Mewalal and members of his group have chalked out an ambitious plan to carry it to the next millennium, at least in India. Muskan Jyoti, the non-governmental organisation run by Mewalal here has helped grow roses with organic vibrance, thanks to the earthworm.
Impressed by its efforts under a project named 'Krishi Mitra', Nitish Kumar, the then Union minister for agriculture, invited the NGO to also run it on a pilot basis in his home district of Badh in Bihar. The project, says Mewalal, is an attempt to mobilise and train farmers for adopting an earthworm-based vermicomposting system. If successfully employed, the project would not only be able to contribute in producing quality organic products improving land fertility but also save about Rs 900,000 (including government subsidy) per year in 1000 acres, claims Mewalal.
Muskan Jyoti has developed its vermi-compost production and research centre at a ten-acre land in Lucknow and is producing ten tonnes of vermi-compost per day. It also trains farmers to make them self-reliant in the use of vermi-compost fertiliser and vermi-wash. The utility and importance of earthworms in sustainable agriculture can not be ignored if we wish to save ourselves as well as the national economy, says Mewalal. According to him the basic objective of the project is to popularise production of vermicompost, vermiwash, its utilisation for bio-remediation of the soil and promotion of
sustainable agriculture/organic farming to protect land quality and also to reduce other multiple investments.
He says though the subsidies are good enough to help the farmers increase productivity at controlled cost, it involved high share of government revenue. The subsidies keep increasing with time and become a burden. Initially the cost increases slowly but are compounded at later stages, he says. The modern practices succeeded in giving higher production but due to the rapid use of Urea and DAP, the quality of land deteriorates, affecting the entire ecosystem and health of human beings. ''The deterioration of land increases our dependency on chemical fertiliser leading to the fall in the population of the earthworm,''he says.
He says volumetrically increased dependency on chemical fertiliser completely traps people in a circle of poverty. In the context of the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Seattle, it becomes more imperative if we consider the pressure of WTO for globalisation of labour component and withdrawal of subsidy, he argues. This would again enhance the cost of agricultural production and brng more poverty to the farmers, he adds. ''It has become necessary to revive the alternative system of sustainable agriculture or organic farming by reducing of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.''
The chemical fertilisers and pesticides are not only deteriorating the soil strength but lead towards a barren and infertile land. As the fertiliser become soluble, they may leach down into the soil and force the earthworm to seek refuge elsewhere. Mewalal says greater efforts are required to produce living soil by using vermi-compost to increase bacterial/microbial population and organic matter in the soil. The living soil can, in turn, provide healthy and balanced nutrition to the plants which result in healthy plant growth.Vermicompost is the limelight in this direction to save human and animal life to maintain the balance of the eco-system, he says. It is an eco-friendly fertilizer which is made of the organic waste such as farm and organic residue with the help of earthworm and helps the soil retain its natural value and texture without harming the production level.
The Government needs to introduce scientific and sustainable research to the agriculture, failing which, it would not be able to face the consequences of the increasing population in the 21st century, Mewalal says. Earthworm adds organic matter to the soil and is a good manufacturer of fertilizer. Its casting has a nutrient and organic matter level much higher than of the surrounding soil. Everyday, it produces nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and many micro-nutrients in a form that all plants can use. It produce the fertilizer and also spread it thoroughly within the top 12 inches of thed soil.
Earthworm also contribute by adding calcium carbonate, a compound which helps moderate soil pH. It can help change acid or alkaline soil toward a more neutral pH. The earthworm activity in the soil is beneficial and should be encouraged, Mewalal says.The worm helps improve the soil structure, water movement, improves plant root growth and minimizes thatch buildup in fields.
* A UNI news story as published in The Hindu ( link not available)
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