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Sustainable agriculture, a way forward

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Sustainable agriculture refers to agricultural practices that meet society’s current food and textile needs without compromising current or future generations’ ability to meet those needs.

Surabhi Goraksha Seva Trust recently conducted a 2-day agriculture workshop. The workshop focused on comprehensive agriculture, sustainable agriculture practices, black pepper agriculture, soil fertility, drip irrigation, preparation of Jeevamruta, apiculture, animal husbandry, etc. It was H S Shree Harsha’s brainchild. The Workshop was held at Koppa taluk, Chikkamagaluru district.

Shree Harsha has a farm with betelnut trees, black pepper plants, coconut trees, an earthworm manure unit, apiculture, animal husbandry, a Jeevamruta preparation unit, among others.

Speaking to News Karnataka, Shree Harsha expressed, “After secondary education, I decided to be a farmer. Initially, I worked for 6 years in various farms to gain experience, after which with the help of my family I bought my own land and started agriculture in 1997. My Father H N Sadashiv Rao, Mother Suma Rao, wife Vani Shreeharsha, and brother Sugosh Nigale always supported me in my struggles.

He said “Agriculture is the backbone of the country. Today the youth are returning to agriculture, but they do not have proper guidance, so we planned to conduct a seminar on sustainable agriculture. Unfortunately, modern agriculturists are behind huge profits and want immediate and higher yield. They adopt inorganic methods and use chemical fertilizers for the same, which results in land degradation. The land gradually loses its fertility. Instead, we can adopt organic and sustainable agriculture.”

Sugosh Nigale, organizer of the workshop said, “Agriculture has a massive environmental effect, contributing to climate change, water scarcity, land degradation, deforestation, and other processes. It is both causing and being affected by environmental changes. Creating sustainable food systems based on a sustainable agriculture is one of the best ways to mitigate climate change. Sustainable agriculture can be the way forward for agricultural systems to feed an increasing population, while also adapting to changing environmental conditions,” he added.

In all, nine members from different parts of Karnataka participated in the agricultural workshop. Jain irrigation agriculture expert Niranjan Nandipura explained to the participants about conducting soil fertility tests and explained to them to maintain and improve the fertility of soil, scientifically.

Mixed crop farming, and Agri forest-agriculture too were explained during the session. Drip irrigation is a form of micro-irrigation system that allows water to drip slowly to the roots of plants from above the soil surface or buried below the surface, potentially saving water and nutrients. The objective is to get as much water as possible into the root zone while reducing evaporation. Different types of irrigation and benefits of irrigation were explained by irrigation engineer Himanshu Chaturvedi of Jain irrigation in the next session.

Earthworm manure center

Earthworms aid in the absorption of more air and water into the soil. They convert organic matter such as leaves and grass into plant-nutrients. They leave castings, which are a valuable form of fertilizer, behind when they feed. Earthworms are basically farmer friendly. Shree Harsha has an earthworm manure center in his farm. For many years, the manure and earthworms are being supplied to the surrounding farmers. The process of making an earthworm pit, procedures of preparing manure were explained step by step.

Apiculture

The art of keeping and preserving bees and their hives is known as apiculture. The apiarist is another term for a beekeeper, and the Apiary refers to the whole colony setup. Beekeeping has become increasingly popular in recent years, and raw honey, bee wax, and royal jelly are in high demand. KV Praveen explained the different types of honeybees such as Nasri bee, Tuduve bee, rock bee, little bee, Humblebee (hejjenu). The contribution of honeybees in pollination and the steps involved in the apiculture were explained to the participants.

Sugosh Nigale suggested that the use of social media for the promotion of agriculture is especially important. He said, modern mainstream media has somehow neglected agriculture and development-related programs. Except for a few government-owned channels, we rarely see agriculture-related programs. Farmer suicides strike the headlines, but not the success stories. So, we have planned to use social media, which is easily available and accessible to all these days to promote agriculture. There are various apps available, and we just need to create awareness about them to our farmers, he stressed.

Animal husbandry

Vani Shree Harsha addressed problems and solutions in animal husbandry. She spoke about protecting desi animal breeds and her struggles in the development and extension of goshala.

Organic farming

Narayan Seeturu said Organic farming is a technique that entails growing plants and raising animals in a natural environment. To preserve soil fertility and ecological balance while minimizing contamination and waste, this method employs biological materials avoiding synthetic substances.

Chairman of the Center for Agricultural and Horticultural Research Narayan Swamy said India is known for spice, black pepper, and it is called the King of Spices. He explained the ways to control diseases in betelnut and black pepper farming. He spoke on developments and the latest innovation in agriculture.

Veterinary Doctor Rakesh Rao spoke on diseases among the animals and explained the anti-cow slaughter bill and other measures to look after the animals.

The two-day agriculture workshop was successful in creating awareness about agricultural topics. And the professional experts shared scientific information which helped the participants to understand the techniques and methods, the importance of sustainable agriculture, thus encouraging them to adopt these in their farms.

Click here to watch the agriculture workshop video

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Preeti V Kamat, a young Postgraduate in Mass Communication and Journalism from Karnatak University, Dharwad utilises her considerable learned journalistic knowledge and inherent nose for news that matters to provide the media brands of the Spearhead Media group with a competitive edge. Her focus is on profiles and human-interest stories.

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