Agri-Vision Coalition, a Civil Society and Farmer’s Representation on Agriculture has, in an online petition, asked the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of India for a paradigm shift in the XI plan, in order to secure livelihood for Small and Marginal Farmers and Regeneration of Natural Resources through Holistic Agriculture.
“Organic agriculture is defined as a holistic food production management system, which promises and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.”
Small and marginal farmers, whose land holdings are below 2 ha, constitute almost 80% of all Indian farmers, and more than 90% of them are dependant on rain for their crops. With Green Revolution Technology (GRT), their costs of cultivation and risks of crop failure are so high that often the farmers cannot recover even the money spent.
It is the experience of increasingly large numbers of farmers that holistic farming systems, based on scientifically proven techniques, are a very successful remedy to the economic and ecological crises engendered by GRT.
There is clear scientific empirical evidence that a holistic, organic approach to farming nurtures numerous effective microbes occurring in nature that make all the essential nutrients available to crops, and improve vital physical qualities of the soil, namely its porosity, aeration, moisture absorption, drainage, and resistance to erosion. Crop yields thus increase in a sustainable manner, input costs fall and farm incomes rise.
These and some more issues are identified and an 11 POINT AGENDA FOR THE 11TH PLAN has been prepared and posted on the petition page.
Click here to read the 11 Point Agenda and to sign the petition urging the Government of India to adopt a holistic approach towards agriculture in the XI Plan – favouring sustainability, national health and distributive justice.
