Organic Farming and Food Security

Disclaimer: 

1. As always, "Organic Farming" here simply means farming without the use of chemicals, irrespective of the different approaches of chemical-free farming.

2. "Benefits" of Organic Farming shall be part of a different blog post.

Ever since the "food emergency" in Sri Lanka, there has been a renewed debate over organic farming and its capability to ensure food security. Howard G Buffet (son of Warren Buffet) in his 2013 book titled "40 Chances" had also advocated that Organic Farming cannot help eradicate global hunger. Here is my take on this. I am open to receive comments on this and make amendments to this blog.

First of all, let's take a relook at the "food emergency" in Sri Lanka. It is true that the situation is the result of switching to Organic Farming and there was a dip in the yield, increase in the pest attack, etc. But the root cause is because of the lack of preparedness for this switch. The farmers should be mentally prepared and rightly skilled towards this move and therefore it should be carefully planned. Almost an "overnight shift" to organic farming without proper planning and should be blamed. The government there decided to stop the import of all the chemicals used for farming from a certain date without giving sufficient time for the farmers to prepare themselves. We, at Chiguru Farm, have gone through a similar phase where we had to take a big hit on our farm output when we decided to stop using chemicals in our farm. This was way back in 2014. For example, our average weight of banana bunches used to be 35kgs before and it came  down to 10kgs without reducing the input cost proportionately, with frustration written large on our faces. However, our patience and perseverance paid off and the yield kept improving over the years while the input cost kept going down proportionately and we don't regret the switch any more! 

The lesson learnt is that a large-scale switch to Organic Farming should be well-planned, well-prepared, phased/staggered and with proper training to the stakeholders. Although the farmers in the Indian Subcontinent by-and-large were deploying organic farming techniques around 50 years ago, these techniques got lost and the soil quality degraded over the years. It takes many more years to regenerate the soil and the cost of transition was not considered.

One of the major allegations about Organic Farming is the low yield and therefore the need for increased amount of land required for farming. In my opinion, there is not much attention being given to the research with respect to Organic Farming and I am convinced, based on our own experience, that it is possible to get yield at par with chemical farming, if not more! Most of the farmers are left to experiment with their own land at their own expenses. The entire ecosystem is made suitable for chemical farming and reorient it to organic farming is the right way forward. There has been traction among the research community on this topic and there are studies proposing the ways to increase the productivity of organic farming, thus keeping the need for more land in control. One such strategy is reducing the global average demand for animal products and their share in human diets. More focused research on chemical-free farming can open up further avenues to address this issue.

One more allegation about Organic Food is its cost. I have already written earlier about this in my blog. Additionally, we are not taking a holistic approach to the costs associated with food, discounting the health benefits, quantity vs quality, reduced medical expenses, etc. associated with Organic Farming, We don't tend to notice the "externalised cost" associated with food grown in non-organic way. These costs include the expenses for the farmers as well as the tax payers.

In summary, it might be true in the current state of affairs, considering the degraded soil, unpreparedness, lack of knowledge, etc. the concerns related to Organic Farming might be justified. But they are not good enough reasons to reject Organic Farming itself. There is enough scope to make it work for the benefit of the entire world and focus should be on making that happen.

Postscript: Latest information as on 20th Oct 2021 is that Sri Lankan Govt has partially reversed the ban on importing agrochemicals, so that the farmers are prepared with organic alternatives. Although it is an after-thought, it's better late than never!

Farming, Cows, Gau Seva, Cow Slaughter, etc

Many of my friends and guests make interesting comments and observations related to cows. They are earnest and well-meaning while making those comments. Normally they are around the topics of holy cows, sending them to slaughter houses, unethical practices in dairy farming, etc.  They are shocked to hear that many farmers send the old/non-productive cows and male calves to slaughter houses. It is mainly because we have been brought up with the idea of "Gau Mata" and the sins of harming the cows. However, many people want to rest the responsibility of Gau Seva with farmers.

Disclaimer: I am not supporting these practices through this article.  I am simply trying to help people be non-judgemental and empathetic. 

It is true that "ethical" dairy farming is not financially viable as most of the customers are not willing to bear the cost of the "ethical" practices. That is why most of the dairy farmers adopt one or more of the following practices:

1) Artificial insemination of the cows, thus turning them into "milk machines". This helps them reduce the "non-productive" time of the cows, between two lactating periods.

2) Treating the cows with hormones and giving them artificial feed to increase the milk production.

3) Sending the male calves to slaughter houses as soon as they are born.

4) Sending the old cows to slaughter houses as they can't give milk any more.

5) Abandoning the old cows and male calves on the streets.

Many non-dairy farmers keep the cows for milk only, and not for farming. In this case, they once again adapt one or more of the above practices.

There are many other farmers (particularly organic) who keep cows primarily for farming purposes. They make their own fertilizers, pesticides, etc using cow dung and cow urine. Even among them, there are many who follow one or more of the above practices, mainly for economic reasons. For example, it will cost at least Rs. 1,000/- per month to keep the cows. Most of the marginal farmers won't be in a position to afford this. Another reason is that if you have two cows and you let them reproduce naturally, you will most likely be left with 8 cattle in 5 years. What can we expect a farmer to do with so many cattle? 

Next aspect is the concept of Gaushalas and Cow Rescue/Rehabilitation Centers. I have seen many Gaushalas opening with noble thoughts and sacred emotions, but they struggle to keep it going due to the economic aspects. As long as they have to buy the cowfeed, it becomes tough financially. There are few other Gaushalas who have started adapting one or more of the above mentioned practices, to stay afloat. There are a few Gaushalas who have made innovative products of good quality, but struggling to market them.

Now I am coming to the most important part. What is the way out? I am trying to put down a few thoughts below, without any specific implications for any of these points. (However you are free to think of your own implications).

1) Reducing the need for milk can definitely help to some extent, by reducing the need for more cows.

2) Integrating Farm and Gaushala. I repeatedly keep telling everyone that an organic farm without cows and a Gaushala without an organic farm are NOT sustainable. They have to be together in the same place. If that is not feasible for whatever reason, they should at least be close by, with an understanding to help each other. That is, the cows can graze in the farm and the manure is made available to the farm.

3) More and more people adapting organic farming (including those who are into terrace gardening). Of course, all these people cannot keep cows. This is where the Gaushalas can play an important role by making innovative and useful products. 

4) Innovate on products based on cow dung and cow urine. There are already few options like electricity generation, gobar gas, Vedic Plaster, mosquito coils, etc. Need to experiment and research, prove the claims and market them properly.  Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog of the Central Govt,  Gau Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra at Nagpur, promoted by RSS are some such initiatives in this direction. But they still need to take up the task more vigorously. And we need many more such initiatives by individuals,  institutes, industry/corporates and organizations.

5) The last, but not the best option is for the general public and society owning up "Gau Seva". At least those who really feel for the "Gau Mata" should start adapting/sponsoring the cows in farms and Gaushalas.

To conclude, it is easy to blame the farmers for the cruel and unethical practices related to cows, but try to understand their predicaments and help them solve it in whatever you can!

Economics of organic farming

I promised to write about the economics of organic farming.

And I know that many people are curiously waiting for it.

I also know that many people will be disappointed to read this and a few others will be (gleefully) delighted!

My standard disclaimer: For me, "organic farming" is an umbrella term for organic/natural/forest/biodynamic/permaculture etc. I consider all of them different ways of organic farming. After all, it is about not using chemicals for farming. I don't believe in being a "militant" in pushing any particular kind of organic farming and being judgmental. Each of them have their own advantages and it should be left to the discretion and convenience of the individual farmer based on several parameters. I follow a mix of all of the above organic farming methods. (I have also written earlier about Organic v/s Natural farming).

First thing first. I will keep the emotional/philosophical/intangible aspects aside while busting the myth. There is no money in organic farming, much like any other kind of farming. I have already written in detail earlier about why organic food is expensive. Obviously it doesn't lead to more money in the farmer's pocket. There could be some spikes some time due to unexpected reasons and that most probably gets wiped out in the next season before you finish your celebrations. However in the long run (which is not less than 10 years) there are several benefits (and money), provided you are in a position to sustain that long and put in your efforts to "productize" your produce and sell it directly to the end customer. There are quite a few people known to me who have demonstrated this possibility and they have literally taken decades and slogged it out to reach there. There are also some "community farming" approaches and collaborating with other similar farmers to make it work for our own better, which again is a long drawn process.

Note: The above statement is applicable only if you are starting on empty land or in a farm which was following conventional farming which needs to be converted to organic. The durations can be shortened if you start off with an organic farm.

Then what is it that drives people like us and keeps us motivated to start/continue organic farming? It is purely the lure of growing our own healthy food. It may or may not lead to "better life", depending on your perspective on better life and your reference point for the same. This is one of the intangible aspects of organic farming. It is also based on the hope that there will be a day when there will be more people doing organic farming, which can lead to synergy with the nature and ecosystem. You can also have the satisfaction of leaving the land in a better shape that what it was a few years before.

The biggest, yet somewhat intangible benefit of organic farming comes only if you are carrying it out in a land owned by you (not in a leased/rented land). That is the appreciation of the land price, which for sure will continue to happen as long as you take care of your land properly and make it more fertile over the years through organic means. In the worst case if you want to run away from all the struggle, you will be able to sell the land off for a handsome money.

To summarize, organic farming is a long-term game and you should be prepared to play it for the rest of your life to make its economics work for you. Till then, keep digging into your savings!

Six years as full-time farmer

As on Dec 2020, I have completed six "glorious" years as a full-time farmer. Of course, completing six years in this itself makes it "glorious", having known quite a few people who had moved to farming, only to get back to corporate life after a few years of struggle.

Before starting this article, let me state this clearly one more time. For me, "organic farming" is an umbrella term for organic/natural/forest/biodynamic/permaculture etc. I consider all of them different ways of organic farming. After all, it is about not using chemicals for farming. I don't believe in being a "militant" in pushing any particular kind of organic farming and being judgmental. Each of them have their own advantages and it should be left to the discretion and convenience of the individual farmer based on several parameters. I follow a mix of all of the above organic farming methods.

When I set off to do organic farming, there were very few inspiring examples to look up to. There were many people who kept on conducting classroom trainings/lectures on organic farming, including those wanted to sell their "organic" products. Unfortunately many of them were not hands-on and they didn't have any successful ventures to show in organic farming. There were other successful farms, which were not open to outsiders. For most of the farmers, seeing is believing, irrespective of any amount of powerpoint slides you show. This is when I decided that we should setup a farm which other farmers can see and emulate. I visited different farms to understand and emulate (if possible) their good practices over the past few year in the quest to adjust our farming practices. Even now I make it a point to regularly visit farms across the state and the country to see their practices and interact with the practitioners. 

What do we have now to show and explain to other farmers based on our experiments and experiences? All there may not be visible throughout the year, but we do have these systems working in the farm.

Transition from chemical farming was the toughest part of the journey. It took us more than four years to complete the transition. We suffered significant losses due to reduced yield in the first three years. But we persisted and able to see the impact now. Classic example is with banana. From average 35kgs bunch (G9 variety) to we went down to 15kgs and now back to 25kgs average, with significant reduction in the input cost.

A full-fledged "Food Forest" spread across two acres, with more than 40 varieties of fruit trees, many of them already fruiting.

Interestingly we are now able to demonstrate the impact of Food Forest on the overall scheme of things. Less pest attack on our commercial crops noticed this year, despite excess and unseasonal rains.

Cow based Natural Farming with Desi cows. Jeevamrutha and vermicompost used extensively.

Multi cropping, Inter cropping, companion planting, agro-forestry

Multi-layer farming (three to six layers)

Mulching - green and dry mulch, resulting in less water requirement and less tilling.

Different types of traps - pheromone, solar and sticky - to control pests naturally.

Rain water harvesting mainly focused on ground water recharging. Ponds and percolation pits. We already saw one borewell becoming functional after being defunct for four years.

Rain-fed field crops. Varieties of crops like ragi, foxtail millet, mustard, sesame, niger seeds, jowar, toordal, green gram/moong dal, black gram/urad dal, alasande/karamani/lobia, avarekai/hyacinth beans, horse gram. This has resulted in less amount of Parthenium weeds.

Bio diversity improving over the years. Now we can see many more birds and many more varieties. Also more butterflies and honeybees and fireflies. And many more insects like ladybugs, spiders, etc and reptiles like lizards and snakes.

Visible improvement in the soil carbon/humus. Confirmed with soil testing. 0.3% in 2016 to 1.2% in 2019.

Very minimal inputs from outside. (Only neem cake is brought from outside). No outside feed for cows too. We grow our own feed - dry grass/hay from ragi and green grass

I know that I am painting a very rosy picture and it doesn't reflect reality. For most of the people, the only indicator of this "rosy picture" is whether we are able to make money. I will write more about that in another post. All I can say now is that it is a very long journey, which you should be able to sustain and pursue with passion and dedication and the efforts will start yielding better result and money in the long run. But the progress we have made confirms that we are in the right direction and situation is improving over the years, both for ourselves and for the surroundings. There are many other non-tangible benefits (like health) and some virtual benefits (like appreciating land price, etc).

When is the "Best Time" to visit Chiguru Farm?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions and I find it quite amusing!

There are different kind of visitors to Chiguru Farm.

1. Those who want to understand and/or learn about organic farming.

2. Those who want to know how their food is grown

3. Those who want to pluck and taste fresh seasonal fruits/vegetables directly from the trees/plants

4. Those who want to experience authentic, local, farm-fresh food

5. Those who just want to get away from the city and breath fresh air

6. Those who want to enjoy and explore the night sky without light pollution.

7. Those who want to spend time with the farm animals/pets and observe the flora and fauna in the surroundings

8. Those who want to get outdoors exploring unknown hikes or go on long cycling trails.

9. Those who want to get hands-on experience with farming

10. School children who want to see and experience whatever they have studied in the school as part of their syllabus.

11. Families who want to relive their childhood memories and also expose their children to rural experiences.

12. People who want to get away from the hustle-bustle of the city life, get away from their gadgets and soak into the nature.

13. Get together with their loved ones simply chit-chatting, gossiping and giggling over homely food!

14. Those who want to learn cooking local food.

15. Those who want to do whatever they feel like OR just do NOTHING!

Many of our guests fall into one or more of the above categories. With this, the answer to this frequently asked question is quite obvious!

Nevertheless, let me try to elaborate a bit.

Being a Natural Farm with a thriving "Food Forest" in the middle of the farm, we will always have some or the other fruit/vegetable to pluck and eat directly from the trees/plants. Of course most of the crops are seasonal although the seasons can keep changing. (For example, jackfruits season starts in May in this area, but we have them almost ready in Feb 2021!). 

Summers (Apr-Jun) generally will have more fruits like mangoes, water apple, cashew, etc, but the outdoors can be quite sunny and hot. And the dryness is noticeable. There will be occasional rain cooling down the earth for couple of days.

Monsoons (Jun-Sep) will have less number of fruits and veggies, but there will be more greenery all around. Nature will be at its best during this time. This is also the time of preparing the soil and sowing seeds of our staple food. It is also fun to just sit and watch the rain!

Autumn/Winter (Oct-Jan) is the season for staple/field crops like grains (ragi/millets) and pulses (toordal, avarekayi, grams, etc). Apart from experiencing the fresh produce directly from the plants, this is also a good time to watch how they are harvested and processed. Days remain pleasant and nights quite cold, with mostly clear, magical skies.

Spring (Feb-Mar) is the flowering season for many summer fruits and the aroma in the air can be intoxicating! Day starts to get hotter and sky continues to be clear and suitable for star gazing at night.

In summary, it all depends on what is your objective of visiting Chiguru Farm and what interests you. My opinion is that each season/month is different and there is always something new/interesting to explore.