Establishing Ecological Agriculture in Faridkot district in Punjab Submitted by Kheti Virasat Mission A. Organizational Profile: 1. Name of the Organization : Kheti Virasat Mission 2. Address and contact details :Post Box No.- 1, Jaitu, Dist.- Faridkot- 151202(Punjab) Contact Person : Umendra Dutt, Executive Director Phone : 01635-503414 Residence : 9872682161 Fax : 01635-503415 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.khetivirasatmission.org th 3. Registration details : Registered as Trust on 4 March, 2005 (Please enclose relevant : Trust Deed enclosed Photocopies) 4. Details of Exemption : 12 A Copy enclosed (12A and 80G) , 5. Organization Profile Including Objectives And Major Activities: ● To improve the quality of life of farming communities by promoting environmentally safe and sustainable methods that would enhance the quality and quantity of crop yields in Punjab. ● To enhance the participation of farmers, both women and men, in all processes of problem analysis, technology development, evaluation, adoption and extension leading to food security and self reliance among farmers and rural communities. ● To facilitate community access and control over natural resources and to build institutions and coalitions at different levels for strengthening People’s Agriculture Movements, which focus on empowerment of marginalized sections like small and marginal farmers and particularly Women and Dalits. ● To develop a Sustainable Agriculture Resource Network that promotes sharing of knowledge, material and human resources. To serve as a repository for documenting, collecting, storing, collating and disseminating information/success stories from different sources on sustainable agriculture. KVM believes in promoting sustainable agricultural technologies that are based on 1 farmers’ knowledge and skills, their innovation based on local conditions and their use of nature’s products and processes to gain better control over the pre-production and production processes involved in agriculture. The objective is to increase farmer’s self reliance whether it is related to knowledge or resources required for sustainable agriculture. As part of this, KVM promotes Natural farming with special focus on NPM approach [Non Pesticidal Management] to pest management, sustainable soil fertility management, non-chemical disease management and Seed Production & Management as integral technologies of sustainable agriculture. These approaches are mostly based on management practices to be adopted by farmers in their farming and often are driven by social and political perspectives and realities. KVM is also engaged in policy advocacy work mainly on the impacts of chemical and GM technologies, their regulatory systems, public support systems to small and marginal farmers and revitalizing agriculture. There is critical call for a civil society movement with multiple approaches. One - there is urgent need to re-connect society with nature, to build empathy towards natural resources in society. Two- to establish a grass root initiative thoughtful of nature. Model forms for ecological agriculture are one of core intervention. Three – Building space for women participation in whole process with a thrust on re- establishing their role in agriculture. Male dominated agriculture is quite inhumane; it is violent, nature abusive with no scope of concern for life. This male view point in agriculture is a stumbling block in the holistic development of agriculture, environment and the society as a whole. Women are caring in her inherent nature she will take care of others even. So, bringing women in to ecological agriculture movement will ultimately give agriculture a human face. The Challenge It is multidimensional problem in Punjab causing severe damage to its natural resources and public health. Punjab is witnessing one of the most severe environmental health crises any where taken place in the world. This unprecedented crisis is looming around health, water, food, agriculture and ecological resources. Most of people call it environmental crisis, but KVM feels that it is more far beyond that. It is more of civilizational crisis which includes our relationship with eco-system and our ecological world view. This crisis created by humans themselves. Punjab is known as food bowl of India, but this fact is no more a thing of pride. Punjab has paid very heavy cost to get this status. Punjab has the highest pesticide consumption among the Indian states. Most unfortunate part is that food chain in Punjab is ruthlessly contaminated having residues of pesticides and agrochemicals. Punjab is consuming highest amount of pesticides among Indian states 18% of national consumption on mere 1.5 % geographical area and 2.4 agriculture area of India, that too with highest cropping intensity of 195 % on largest area under agriculture 87%. This equation is creating a pesticide loaded and highly toxic eco-system in Punjab. 2 Pesticides and Health Impacts: Pesticides are known to cause a variety of human health impacts in the long term, in addition to acute poisoning effects. These are effects that occur months or years after exposure and are also induced by repeated occupational exposure to low concentrations of pesticides. Chronic effects can occur even if there are no acute effects. Some of the major health impacts from chronic exposure are cancers, reproductive and endocrine disruption, neurological damage, immune system damages etc. Many widely used pesticides are known to cause reproductive health damage like birth defects, sterility, increased spontaneous abortions, stillbirths etc. Many pesticides are known to be toxic to the embryo and foetus in laboratory animals. Teratogenesis (deformities created in the foetus) is another form of chronic toxicity in foetuses of women exposed to chemicals during their pregnancy. Studies have shown a link between a variety of reproductive health impacts in women and pesticide exposure. Studies have documented increased incidence of miscarriages, stillbirths and delayed pregnancy among women agricultural workers and wives of men employed in pesticide mixing and spraying. Carbonate and organophosphate insecticides have been reported to increase birth prematurely and spontaneous abortion rates. If the husband did not normally wear protective equipment during pesticide application, the estimated risk of an early miscarriage was approximately five times higher, compared to pregnancies not exposed to any pesticides. Many early miscarriages (before 12 weeks' gestation) are found to have serious genetic defects. There are many possible reasons for these genetic defects, among them abnormalities or errors in the genetic information carried in the sperm. Exposure to toxic agents during the three months prior to conception could cause this type of damage to the sperm. Some earlier studies in India also pointed to similar effects on reproductive health. One such study focused on reproductive toxicity by analyzing reproductive performance of couples where the males were pesticide sprayers, compared to unexposed couples1. Analysis gave the following incidence rates: abortions – 26% for exposed couples and 15% for unexposed couples; stillbirths – 8.7% Vs 2.6%; Neonatal deaths were at 9.2% in the exposed couples and 2.2% in the case of unexposed couples. Another study in Jaipur in Rajasthan showed a very high incidence of still births and a high incidence of gross neural tube defects possibly associated with pesticides (Dr S G Kabra, 1997). Pesticide use in Punjab: Punjab is one of the highest-pesticide consuming states of India. It is reported that while other high-pesticide-using states are bringing down their consumption levels, Punjab continues to use high amounts of pesticides, with 923 gm/hectare in 1999-2000, as against 288 gm/ha at the national level . The herbicide consumption in the state is increasing. On top of that, it is probably one of the longest pesticide-consuming states of the country given that Green Revolution was initiated here in the late sixties. Certain parts of Punjab, due to their cotton and vegetable cultivation have higher intensity of pesticides being used. Health impacts of such pesticide use, in terms of cancer incidence 1 3 as well as on the adverse impacts on developmental abilities in children have been documented from Bathinda district, one of the higher pesticide using districts of the state. Similarly, there are informal reports from village Jajjal in Bathinda district which point to a high number of childless couples. 6. Organizational Structure: KVM Organizational Structure KVM is committed to build an all-inclusive strong civil society ecological movement in Punjab. As KVM is working on very broad canvas covering a vast arena of issues, problems and challenges; it is bound to have strong academic, intellectual, technical and social dimensions of its work. These dimensions will build a cross section grass root network of volunteers, organic farmers, physicians, agriculture experts, economists, environmentalists, heritage conservationists, experts of life sciences, academicians, literary and creative artists, poets and writers and community leaders. This networking also includes farmers’ groups, social activists, religious leaders and village panchyat members. Moreover to cover different aspects of ecological intervention with involvement of experienced and concerned persons KVM has formed subject specific action and working groups. The KVM Executive Committee Patrons ● Shri Anupam Mishra, Eminent Environmentalist,