Consultant for Organic Farming in Commercial Scale Polyhouse Setup in India

Improvement of the sustainability and long-term productivity of farmland

is essential for the future prosperity of India. Protection of the natural

environment and its resources is also a key to sustainability. These two goals can be

achieved together if good plans and techniques are used.

Good plans and techniques follow Permaculture Ethics and Principles and include concepts

such as integration, diversity, following natural patterns, recycling and reusing energy

and waste management.

The key issues  we aim to prioritize are:

Maximizing production on agricultural land already in use, in a sustainable and

affordable way

Forming community cooperatives and farmers’ groups that can share resources,

costs, techniques and knowledge

Improving storage, marketing and transportation systems for produce

Many current farming practices use chemical pesticides and fertilizers,

monoculture crops and hybrid seeds. Farmland where these techniques are

practiced often experience serious problems with poor soil conditions and

serious pest and plant disease problems.

As well as experiencing these problems, many farmers are now very poor because they

are required to purchase a great deal of their inputs for farming from commercial outlets.

The chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides, chemical herbicides, tractors, hybrid seeds,

and even plastic mulch that is used can cost most of a farmers hard-earned profits.

Farming techniques which promote independence instead of dependence are much

better for farmers and their families, and are much more sustainable for the environment.

Techniques which promote independence include:

Using local resources as much as possible

Using organic methods of farm management, including compost, liquid compost

and mulch, and recycling of all farm wastes

Catching and storing rainfall and preventing erosion and soil loss by using

terracing and swales

Using legume trees grown in rows along terraces and swales to divide the land

for crop rotation and allow for integration with animal systems

Improving productivity by integrating several varieties of crops and integrating

different systems

Using organic weed control methods

Using efficient systems of irrigation and water use

Using living fences to protect crops from animals and grow mulch and animal

fodder

Using crop rotation, companion planting and other integrated pest management

techniques to reduce pest attacks, and natural pesticides to control any

problems

Using animals to plough the soil

Using organic fertilizer and reduce pest problems

Using non-hybrid, open-pollinated seeds that can be self-propagated

Step-by-step short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies -

Sometimes to try new techniques and implement major changes, a long-term

approach and plan is needed. This long-term plan can then be divided up into

mid-term and short-term plans to practice and develop new techniques and

make gradual and long lasting improvements. A long-term approach is also more

affordable, less risky and allows for adaptations and new ideas.

Organic certification – Means that the land and water must be chemical free

and all farming practices must be organic. If land is organically certified then any

crop growing on it can use an organic label. This will increase the selling value of

the harvest and open up new markets. To gain organic certification is usually a 3

year process.