Organic farming, one devoid of use of fossil fertilizers, pesticides and fuels has been around for quite some time in India as well.
But, the concept is more at the stage of either a hobby or at the stage of ’elite’ society’s ‘awareness’ of health.
The fact that NYT has thought fit to carry the story, should be utilized to leverage the concept of ‘small farmers [which is the category in which most of the real farmers of India would fall into] into a viable long term business model. This should be part of an efficient supply chain as well, with or without the {so called] large scale Retail, which in turn can be with or without FDI.
Small-Scale Farmers Creating a New Profit Model – NYTimes.com.
Jul 03, 2012 @ 18:57:12
We in India know what damage the much-hyped fertilizer based so-called Green Revolution has caused to the land. It s after effects are now becoming evident.
Jul 04, 2012 @ 02:30:11
Here in NW Alabama, we are seeing a great increase in Farmers’ Markets and in Produce Markets and licensed organic meat processors! And PLEASE check out the famous (and HUGE) Dekalb Farmer’s Market in Atlanta, GA metro area!
Jul 04, 2012 @ 10:48:03
Famers markets are ordinary people’s response to the prevailing ideas of big corporations handling the retail trade.
Jul 04, 2012 @ 09:16:46
Indeed, this certainly seems to be a very heartening trend. Of course, the kinds of damage that fossil manures etc. and GM seeds would have caused to the present generation has to be borne by them only.
Remember the [so called] Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1984 caused by the leakage of a highly poisonous gas from a storage tank from Union Carbide Plant, that was probably producing some insecticide or so! Thousands of people suffered in that direct fall out. But how many have paid for the lapse?
Not that these would be willing actions of delinquency of the – natural or moral or certainly legal – responsibility, but those who suffer on that count have hardly any remedial measure.
Striking that fine balance between short term gains vs. long term costs or short term costs vs. long term gains is, indeed, as much a technical as a moral issue for the individual concerned.
Jul 07, 2012 @ 09:16:57
We have an interesting video on Karma Tube – “Restoring the Diversity of Indigenous Agriculture“.
“n an age where multinational agribusiness has casually stripped India of seed diversity, while creating dependence on its GMO seed products, Natabar Sarangi is on a mission to revitalize organic agriculture and reintroduce native rice varieties through seed banking. His fight is not only to repair the damage done to India’s agricultural sector since the so-called “green revolution”, it is to restore an ethic of sustainability and economic justice to farming. It is a struggle for the overall wellbeing of of the nation.
A film by Jason Taylor. More at The Source Project.Video from KarmaTube
Jul 15, 2012 @ 13:26:42
“Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?” on NYT is a welcome ‘other side’ of the story of the culture of organic food.