Indian Organic Farming

[Guest guest]

Passionate about organic farming

 

Bala Chauhan

 

 

Amin Manjrekar, a graduate from the Institute of Hotel Management in

Bangalore, could have joined the hospitality industry and done very well

for himself. He could have also reaped the harvest his father had sown

on the 11-acre farm near Srirangapattana.

 

But Amin didn't do either. He, instead, decided to turn his father's farm

organic. It was an uphill task because it meant no immediate yields and

an unpredictable wait for the soil to free itself of the chemicals and

pesticides that it was filled with for years. This was in the early 90s.

 

Today, 80 per cent of the land is being used to grow organic crops,

including fruits, vegetables, herbs and salad leaves. "To begin with, we

stopped using chemicals on the coconut trees. Instead, we began using

cow manure, vermi compost and some Ayurvedic formulations to

improve the soil. It took us nearly three years to complete the process.

During this period, we grew some nitrogen-fixing plants like beans and

hurli. Once the soil was ready, we started growing coconuts and fruits

such as guava, cherries, mangoes etc. The first yield was not put in the

market. Later in 2000, we started growing vegetables.

 

 

There were some ups and downs but gradually things picked up," says

Amin. One of the pitfalls of organic farming is that there are no quick fix

remedies.

 

Besides being an organic farmer, Amin also thought of launching a

platform for others like him because Karnataka "did not have a market to

sell their produce, resulting in them ending up in the common market

thereby defeating the whole purpose."

 

Towards the end of 2000, Amin and some friends set up Green Fundas -

a brand and network of organic farmers in Mysore. "It represents the

farmers' interest, from growing to selling. The network today has 16

farmers from Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya and coastal Karnataka, up to

Gadag. It is growing with more farmers joining the movement. Now even

the State government has promised to provide technical and financial

support," he says.

 

Regarding the pricing, Amin says that he is trying to keep the prices on

par with other vegetables. "It is a misconcept that organic produce is

more expensive than other produce. The advantages of having organic

food outweigh the price factor. We lack awareness about organic food

and this is our greatest undoing," Amin rues. Passionate about

sustainable agriculture, Amin has gone through phases when people

thought he was insane to take such risks, but now the risks have paid

off.

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