Natural farming catching up in Sri Lanka

Saturday, 26 February 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MYSORE: The zero-budget natural farming propounded by Subash Palekar has reached Sri Lanka. The natural farming technique that is fast-catching up with the farmers in South India has been taken up by farmers in the neighbouring nation.

Sharath Fernando from Sri Lanka, who partook in a meet of farmers from South Asia at Bangalore, said the Sri Lankan government is supporting the initiative. According to him, farmers in his homeland are facing agri crisis owing to overuse of fertilisers and seeds. This has pushed them to look at alternatives and Palekar’s methods are gaining currency, he told reporters on Thursday.

Meanwhile, noted farmers’ leader Chukki Nanjundaswamy, who led the deliberations at the Bangalore meet, said 170 farmers organisations attended the meet that focused on the agri crisis arising out of change of land use pattern. “But Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar don’t have time to meet the farmers’ representatives and discuss these issues. We had approached the PMO seeking time to discuss with him. We have not heard from them yet. Even when Palekar met the environment minister Jairam Ramesh, he expressed his helplessness to promote natural farming techniques. The governments are following corporate policies,” she said.

The farmers’ leaders announced a rally at Delhi on 9 March to press for their demands that includes ban on genetically modified seeds.