Farming has become a luxury these days. The small and marginal farmers are unable to face the modern conditions. Increased urbanization has denied them the access to the markets. There was a time when the farmer and trader used to collaborate for the sake of mutual profit.
Farming has become a luxury these days. The small and marginal farmers are unable to face the modern conditions. Increased urbanization has denied them the access to the markets. There was a time when the farmer and trader used to collaborate for the sake of mutual profit.
Alas ! things have changed and life has become difficult for the farmer. In order to see a surplus, a farmer has to stay in his farm and take care of the produce before directly marketing the same. Such a situation is not possible. Storage and processing are a luxury for the small cultivator. Rajaji had requested the newly freed nation to ensure that the skills of the old big landlords be harvested in the interest of food security. He felt that the landlord could have stood more as a guardian than being the owner of the huge tract of land in the interest of the farmhand.
Unfortunately co operatives were unable to deliver fully. The visionary Rajaji started the Swatantra Party in the year 1959 in the interest of the nation. He used it as a tool to propagate the idea of economic liberty for the people. Rajaji had been wise enough to propagate holistic liberty. Our country had to pay the price for not paying heed to the words of wisdom. The farmer and the citizen began to suffer. A quick rethink had to be done in the interest of the hungry millions. Therefore the fertilizer led green revolution had to be ushered into our country.
Bharat Ratna awardee Dr.C.Subramaniam, Scientist Dr. M.S.Swaminathan and B.Sivaraman were largely responsible for the increase in wheat production. The wheat had to brought in Boeing planes in order to be sown in India and it was largely introduced in the north.
Unfortunately the methods used to ensure that people get food quickly was continued even after attaining better production. Increased use of pesticides poisoned the grains and people began to suffer. The agricultural land was also losing its health. It was finally left to environmentalists to create awareness among the people. Change is underway and hopefully our country will begin to produce healthy food hereafter.
A number of green NGOs and natural farmers are doing a wonderful job. Subash Palekar has been propagating Zero Budget Farming for some years now. The NGO Siruthuli had once organized a 4 day seminar for about 2500 farmers who took the inputs from Subash Palekar.
Quite a few farmers from the Kongu region took to natural farming and the concept caught on with the rural populace. However it has been taking time with the urban population. The entry of urban farmers like Geetha Sridhar has been a gift to the cause.
Geetha Sridhar is an urban farmer who lives in Sathyamurthy Road in Ramnagar. Her husband N.Sridhar is a leading advocate in Coimbatore. Geetha has been an environmentalist and columnist for a long time now. She is an Apex Member of Siruthuli and is fully aware of the problems faced by our environment. Geetha belongs to an agrarian family based out of Appakoodal in Erode district. Her great grand father Sitarama Iyer had been a generous and kind landlord all his life.
People still remember his charitable acts. He had once given away his ring to a needy person who owed him money while returning from Erode on a bullock cart. The grandfather Sesha Iyer had been an advocate and he was married to Thangammal, the first daughter of Banker Duraiswamy Iyer of Udumalpet. Duraiswamy Iyer had been the banker for a large number of textile magnets those days.
The urban farmer Geetha began her education in Appakoodal and completed her schooling from Rishi Valley. Her father Sitaraman happens to be a post graduate from Vivekananda College and was a journalist with Reuters for a short period of time.
He left Delhi and settled down in Appakoodal in order to pursue his calling - agriculture. Sitaraman and his wife Vidya began to look after their farm interests by staying put in Appakoodal. Sitaraman used to cultivate sugarcane while staying in his farm home. Erode district was known for plantain, turmeric and sugarcane.
A large number of farmers in the region began to see lesser returns due to various reasons. The role of intermediaries, lack of storage and processing facilities caused havoc. The only way was to be involved directly and farm. Therefore Geetha decided to take the plunge. This graduate had done her B.A in Economics from Avinashilingam and this was followed by an M.A in the same field from Stella Maris in Chennai. She settled down in Coimbatore after her marriage with Sridhar and has been a columnist too. Geetha has done a programme with CEE ( Centre for Environment Education ) and has been active with Siruthuli for the past 16 years. Her experiences in life have impelled her to take to organic farming these days.
Geetha Sridhar has been cultivating turmeric, yam, narthangai and other vegetables in the family farm at Appakoodal. She visits her farm regularly and was happy to show the organic turmeric from her farm. " Turmeric is a cash crop. Erode is popular for the same.
The cultivation is labour intensive. It takes about a year and is a cash crop. The prices are subject to vagaries and the farmers do not get a good deal. While we pay about Rs.250 at the shops for a kilo of turmeric powder, the farmer gets a pittance. The selling price ( for the farmer ) if processed may just be around Rs.90. If the farmer does not have the holding capacity, returns will be poor. I decided to cultivate organic turmeric and sell it after processing it. Of course we have to have a higher level of involvement but it is worth the trouble. I am now trying to market it directly in Coimbatore, " stated Geetha while inspecting the produce from her family farm.
The processing of turmeric takes time. First of all it has to be steamed and sundried. The process of sun drying takes not less than 15 days. It is then double ground into a fine powder. Thereafter it is ready for consumption. " We have cultivated the native variety which is known as ' Naatturagam '. It is possible to get 20 quintals per acre in a best case scenario. We use gomiyam, panchagavyam as inputs.
Our ' Samba Ragam ' has come out well this year and I am gratified to see the results. I have begun taking orders and hope sell most of my produce in Coimbatore. We are also paying more for the farm hand. Let them also be happy along with us. Turmeric is a good anti inflammatory product and is good for health. It keeps us away from disease. The ' Manjal ' ( turmeric ) from our farm has been sent to Ramanashramam for making kumkumam. Organic turmeric will do wonders. It can be packed well and made into a nice return gift or it can be nice corporate gift too. This can take the place of some items which are not good for health. We can give it instead of sweets and it is also auspicious. I hope to expand my activities over time. Farming is giving me immense satisfaction, " added the urban farmer, Geetha Sridhar.
Thanks to Urban Farmers like Geetha Sridhar, the natural farming boom will make our region ecologically healthy. The land and its people will not only become wealthier but also healthier.