Organic farming will have to be given priority to prevent climate crisis: Janak Palta McGilligan
Indore
The fourth day of the Environmental Discourse Week organized by Jimmy and Janak McGilligan Foundation began with the prayer of social entrepreneur Varun Raheja. Janak Palta McGilligan welcomed the organic farmers from 20 villages of Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Shajapur, Khargone districts at the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development and said, "Today's topic is organic farming, chemical free agriculture & food, saving biodiversity preserving indigenous seeds and conservation of water". She also said that organic farming will have to be given priority to save the Earth and all the creatures living on it from the climate crisis. Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Dharti Mata Ki Jai and Gaumata Ki Jai will have to be done together with mutual cooperation.
Ambrish Kela, founder and director of Organic Setu, said that according to a statement of the Government of India, "GDP will grow at the rate of 7% but with the loss of climate" This shows that they have recognized the huge impact of climate change on the economy. In our daily life, our health is subject to climate change and agriculture is also subject to climate change. He said that now the time has come to integrate all the aspects of the environment and protect them. He stressed on mainstreaming the organic farming . He also Emphasised that just reducing the amount of chemicals in the fields will not work, now we have to start producing and consuming pure organic food items.
He mainly stressed on two points, first, the amount of chemicals in our food items is very high and second, there is a lot of adulteration. Even our animal feed is not free from adulteration, poison is reaching our body through the consumption of milk and its products. If we talk about the environment, then due to increasing fluctuations in temperature, nature and vegetation are suffering huge losses. Man has become a mere consumer,s not giving anything back to nature except harm.
In today's time, we are using artificially raised and ripened fruits, vegetables and other food items, which lack vitamins, minerals and various types of nutrients. To fulfil these deficiencies, man uses artificially made vitamin pills. If we all adopt organic methods of farming, then we can reduce the damage to nature to some extent in 3-5 years. Keeping this in mind, initiated by Janak Didi, Jaivik Setu was started in 2014. We are providing the right price and market to the organic farmers for their products.
Ayurvedic Dr. Shefali Sangal told " when I first started my practice in Banaras, I used to prepare my medicinal herbs from the gardens and other plants around my house. It feels great to know that the medicine you are giving to your patients is chemical free. But here in Indore, it is very difficult to get organic herbs and I find it difficult to get them from my old sources. I request all you organic farmers to grow and raise medicinal plants as well, which will not only increase their income but also people in Indore and surrounding areas will get good Ayurvedic treatment. Various types of medicinal plants like Shatavari, Castor, Gokhru, Bariyari root and Desi Hibiscus etc.
Social entrepreneur Varun Raheja told that 6 years ago he did his internship with Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan where he learnt to make solar dryers made by her husband late Jimmy McGilligan and also took training how to to solar dry fruits and vegetables. Since then, in four years he established Raheja Food Processing Private Limited in many villages of India. Through which more than 40000 farmers in India have benefited. Ripe fruits and vegetables get wasted in large quantities in the fields because they get spoiled during transportation. Farmers do not get the profit they should get. Like in Gajapati district of Odisha, bananas are sold at Rs 1 per kg, whereas in big cities these bananas are sold at 20-30 times more than this price. Keeping this problem in mind, he made solar dryers according to the production capacity of both small and big farmers, so that they can keep it in their fields and solar dry any product and maintain its taste for a long time and so that the farmer can also get its fair price. Our business model is not to only sell solar dryers to farmers. We are also buying their dry products and taking them to the market.
Organic farmer Anand Thakur said that organic farmers can create a market for their produce only through trust. They should resolve the doubts in the minds of people. Planting trees on the boundary of the fields is very beneficial, they prevent soil erosion, birds live on the trees which are beneficial for the fields.
Organic farmer Mrs. Subhdra Kapadia said "I have 2 bighas of land in which I grow crops organically for my family and sell the excess to friends and relatives. I decide the prices of my produce myself. I also preserve and sell traditional and old seeds of many crops. Many women have joined me because women are better at preserving things."
Nanda, an associate of Janak Palta McGilligan, told about "various seasonal crops , lintels, vegitables, fruits, medicinal plants are grown organically at the Jimmy McGilligan Centre and she only buys Salt Tea leaves and Sugar from Market. She loves solar food processsing by drying , making Fruit drinks, Jams, Peanut butter and Pickles that sustains all of us here.
Vote of thanks was given by veteran social worker Mr Virendra Goyal ,Trustee of the Foundation
