Reflections on organic farming
Reporting from the garden city of India, there’s good news and bad. Early last month I visited an organic fair organised for the second time by ICCOA (International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture) in Bangalore. On arrival at the airport, the signboard proclaiming the fair also advertised an ‘organic food court’. I was delighted because it meant some real thought had gone into it. I interpreted it to mean that the fair would be more than another business meet to cash in on the organic fad.
Unfortunately my interpretation proved too optimistic. ICCOA proved to be just another business meet with most participants out to make a quick buck. Not to say that money is a bad word. It is necessary for even the best causes. Ethically earned, it enables one to live with dignity, realise one’s dreams, and can work as an agent of positive economic change.
Back to the fair. The food served in the organic food court was far from organic, and not even nutritious. I was transported back to 1988 when I had attended a nutrition conference in Delhi, at which boxes of stale food were handed out as lunch. And when I raised the subject during my presentation, the organisers were livid and asked me to "hurry up and finish"!
Eighteen years later, I thank the Lord the food wasn’t stale. But there was white rice galore, fried food, oily vegetables and pulses. And surprisingly this professedly organic fare was cooked in refined oil, refined salt, and white sugar. The tea was regular and the coffee undrinkable. Imagine being lumped with terrible coffee in south India! The saving grace was fresh juice.
For the uninitiated, organic farming involves food grown without use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. However, the organic movement goes beyond this. It involves an approach to farming that is sustainable taking into consideration the well-being of animals, humans beings and the earth itself.
In the loudly advertised food court, obviously it wasn’t of any importance to the organisers to take the trouble to make organic food available to taste, one sure way of converting people. In the circumstances it was hardly surprisingly that the sales offtake was low. Quite evidently the ICCOA meet was designed as a marketplace for business people to meet farmer groups and companies selling organic produce.
Luckily some of the companies marketing herbal and green organic tea and coffee were selling cups full of these divine nectars in their stalls. One has to taste organic tea and coffee to realise that what one has been drinking all one’s life has been cups full of chemicals. Try it and you’ll know what I mean.
The good news from the meet is that there is so much competition between certifying agencies that the cost of certification has dropped drastically from lakhs of rupees to thousands. Plus a Personal Guarantee System (PGS) which is very Indian, local and very possible has been instituted. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the certification and PGS systems will remain immune to ubiquitous bribery and corruption.
And the best news is that a growing number of organic farmer groups are being formed and many have been certified. Through organic farmers clubs, the large number of small and remote farmers have been able to get organic certification and better prices for their produce. And because of joint certification, farmers and local groups are spreading the word and preaching the virtues of organic farming, forcing certification prices down further. In the process, more land is saved from the onslaught of chemicals. Moreover it was heartening to see farmers’ groups growing in number, and to note that some were invited to exhibit at the fair, without charge.
It was also uplifting to know that state governments are helping organic farmers exhibit their produce. The Sikkim counter was unbelievable, displaying an array of beautiful and unusual beans and cereals. It makes one aware how limited our diets have become thanks to the dictates and prejudices of food distributors and retailers. But thanks to certification, we can now access safe organic fare from a growing number of states in this potentially bountiful country.Yes, organic farming is here. But is the consumer ready to pay the inevitably higher prices of organic produce which will regenerate rural India and reduce farmers’ costs of production in the long run? Currently Bangalore’s supermarkets do not have separate organic counters. Mumbai is one up over the garden city in this regard.
People are reluctant to pay more for organic produce because they tend to compare prices with the readily available chemical-laden fare. They are unaware that our resources are being poisoned, the farmer is being marginalised, and our health is at risk. This is not apparent because the deadly pesticides and chemicals can’t be seen, but they kill people steadily, bit by bit.
As in all spheres of life, people need to make choices. My advice is to look for that organic outlet around the corner and patronise it pronto. Buy from local groups and people you trust. Ensure that the farmer is being paid his due. That’s the way to go, certificate or no certificate!
(Kavita Mukhi is a Mumbai-based eco-nutritionist and director of Conscious Food)