Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture

Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture :

Perspective and Analysis by Sunderbans Farmers

Sustainability is one of the principal issues that we are faced with in the present times. With climate change concerns looming ominously over the fate of our dear planet, it has long been accepted that sustainability is the key word and it is almost imperative that we mend our ways to mould our lives, activities and practices towards becoming sustainable. In the Indian context, agriculture being the most important livelihood, it has huge implications on climate change, lives and livelihood. The need to shift over to sustainable agriculture has long been recognized, though the progress has been rather dubious. The hurdles are multi-layered - lack of awareness and know-how, policy vacuum and government inaction, lack of political will, etc. have ensured that the change process, though initiated, failed to gain steam. Development Research Communication and Services Centre (DRCSC) and Association for India’s Development (AID) has been working on issues of sustainable agriculture for quite some time and have had a fair amount of success working at the ground level.

As part of their agenda on promoting discourses on sustainable agriculture, DRCSC and AID Kolkata, Mukti and Baikanthapur Tarun Sagha had come together to organise a day long event on 8th June, 2013 involving the Sunderban farmers, experts and common consumers. The event had two distinct sessions. The first session was a technical session involving the farmers of Sunderbans who deliberated and share experiences from the ground level about the effects of climate change on agriculture and how farmers had dealt with the issues by shifting to sustainable organic agriculture. The discussion focussed on the problem of soil salinity after widespread flooding duringg Ailaa andd howw farmers hadd dealtt withh itt usingg sustainablee agricultural practices.. Thee ideaa wass to focus on the real change maker, viz. the farmers and bring them together to share their experiences, success stories and to create and strengthen an informal network amongst farmers practicing sustainable agriculture.

The second session aimed to initiate a dialogue between the farmers and the city consumers on organic produce. The idea was to sensitize the city consumer on the benefits of organic produce and also spread awareness on safe food. The dialogue was about end consumers getting to know about the food on their platter from the horse’s mouth, viz. the farmers while the farmers also got an idea about what drives consumer choice.

This producer-consumer dialogue was aimed at initiating a public discourse on organic farming and safe food.

The event aimed to be the first in a series of similar events that may be organised in future all across the state in both rural and urban areas.

The Sunderban farmers start arriving for the event. AID Kolkata volunteer Sutripta handing over the event kit to the farmers after registration.

Bishnu Patra, Kankandighi, Mathurapur, registering for the event. Bishnu-da is one of the leading farmers from the region working on organic sustainable agriculture and also the President of the Mukti Organic Farmers Association (MOFA).

The farmers team from Mukti were the first to arrive at the venue. Seen here is the entire team of coordinators and lead farmers from Mukti - the people who keep this initiative up and running, people who inspire us at the AID Kolkata team to go on.

Members of the DRCSC Team putting up the banner for the event. Something that looks simple enough, but actually took a whole of 15 minutes to get it right since the venue does not allow board pins/ nails to be used on the walls or panels.

DRCSC put up a wonderful collection of their publications on relating to agriculture, climate change, GM food, et al on display at the venue.

Flex banners were done for all the 12 farmers who formed part of the panel. The banners outlined the kind of land they have, the damage suffered during AILA, the steps and techniques they employed to deal with the salinity and their yield for the last financial year. The idea was to display their experiences as success stories for the participants of the workshop.

Participants going through the background note of the event that was distributed with the event kit. The note outlined the context and objectives of the workshop.

Farmers take a look around at the case studies and other display materials before the event starts.

An appreciable number of the participants were women farmers, which appropriately reflected the very important and significant part they have played in the journey so far with the sustainablee agriculture movement in the area.

Poli Rani Shau, Binodpur, Kultoli is seen here, amongst others, checking out the farmer case studies. She also happens to be one of our most resourceful and staunch proponent of organic sustainable agriculture from the region.

Balai Chand Ghorui, Purba Sridharpur, Raidighi, reading up on the case studies. Balai is one of our oldest farmer friends who helped us promote sustainable agriculture in the area and also formed part of the farmer panel who shared their experience of dealing with soil salinity post AILA.

DRCSC and AID Kolkata team members come together to devise a way to get the banner right. It was after employing a variety of measures and ideas that it was finally up the way we wanted it.

A cross-section of the participants catching up with each other, checking out the display before the start of the event.

DRCSC displayed a huge variety of traditional paddy and vegetable seeds at the venue. They also distributed complimentary seed packets amongst the farmers. Seen in this photo is Lakkhi Kanta Sardar, one of the panelist farmers, checking out the seed display.

DRCSC and AID Kolkata team members doing up the paddy seed display at the venue

A cross-section of the participants. Parimal Das, a farmer from K-plot, Patharpratima reads through the background note which was done in both English and Bangla.

Participants reading up the distribution material and brochures.

Sabina Yasmin, the director of the drama "Prokriti Maa" share a concern with one of the AID Kolkata team members.

The women in the team were a little apprehensive about changing clothes that they had to don for the drama. It was decided that the partition blocks used for displaying the farmer case studies (in the background) will be used as blocks to earmark a changing space for the drama team.

Sanjib Chatterjee and Chandrani Das of the DRCSC team discussing a point right before beginning with the event.

They compered most of the event together. Chandrani was also the overall coordinator for the entire event.

Participants checking out the farmer case studies. They were delighted to see their friends and acquaintances being feted for their efforts and success in dealing with soil salinity post AILA.

DRCSC included some very informative brochures and leaflets as part of the event kit. A participant is seen here going through one such brochure on salinity resistant paddy varieties.

A beautiful display of traditional paddy seeds at the event venue. Each of the strand of paddy were labelled with the names, characteristics and other important details about the seed variety.

Partha Dey, Aparna Das from DRCSC and Prithviraj Nath from AID Kolkata putting on the seed display.

Right before the start of the event- one of the participants looking at the agenda for the day.

The farmers of the Sunderbans know ‘climate change’ very well; sometimes from the direct observation of the changing seasons, from the news of some islands making their way to the bottom of the sea, from scientific predictions which put down a certain number of years left for the Sunderban, from the gradual breaking away of the boundary embankments of their islands and sometimes from cyclones like AILA. They know that they are often in the news, a lot of people are very ‘concerned’ about them, a lot of money is assigned for their ‘development’ and they know that a separate department in the Government exists for this purpose. They know that, in spite of so much ‘effort’ and ‘good-will’, there is no relevant policy, plan or even any coherent idea behind the execution.

The farmers of the Sunderban have experienced AILA, which many of them describe as the biggest storm that they have ever seen. Following the storm, when high walls of water lashed through their homes and their fields, they took shelter wherever shelter was available. On return, most of them found their homes in disarray, their animals dead, their fields and their ponds saline. Initially they battled for relief and soon enough, they started thinking about agriculture. They knew that there will be little help of any relevance, they had to listen and to learn, that the prospects of agriculture were bleak that year. Only somehow if they could rid the soil of its salinity!

Maybe from the next year onwards they can again grow paddy, and vegetables. It was at this time organisations such as DRCSC put forth various possibilities of farming and AID tried to bridge the gap between that kind of knowledge and Community Based Organisations.

Today we are 4 years past that time. What are the experiences of the farmers of the Sunderban? Are the farms and the ponds still saline? Are they being able to grow paddy as before? Are they making new improvisations to tackle their adversities? What are their current problems and queries?

The discussion comprised a panel of farmers who had used organic methods to tackle soil salinity and experts from DRCSC as well as audience farmers. The panel farmers were : Kalyani Barkandaj, Sumalee Roy, Sita Mali, Rabindranath Mridha, Balai Chand Gharui, Biswanath Sahoo, Gour Hari Patra, Harisadhan Haldar, Lakkhikanta Sardar, Pintu Kumar Purkayit, Sukdeb Mondol, and Gangadhar Gharui. The experts were Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee, Tapas Mondol, and Animesh Bera. Apart from members of DRCSC and AID, the meeting was attended by 60 farmers from Sunderban and some other individuals from Kolkata who were concerned about the issue.

A collection of traditional vegetable seeds and organically produced vegetables on display at the event venue.

Partha Dey and Anirban Roy of DRCSC team putting final touches to the display.

Somjita Chakraborty delivering the welcome address on DRCSC's behalf. She briefly touched upon the long association between DRCSC and sustainable agriculture and the work the organisation undertakes in this arena and spoke about the event and its objective.

Prithviraj Nath from AID Kolkata briefing the participants about the idea and objective of the event. He stressed that the event was by the farmers and for the farmers, a philosophy that is at the core of the sustainable agriculture initiative in the Sunderbans.

Sanjib Chatterjee setting the stage for the ensuing discussion and inviting the farmers and experts for the panel discussion.

Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee addressing the participants at the beginning of the panel discussion.

Farmers in the panel talk about their land pattern and the extent of damage they suffered during Aila. Rabindranath Mridha from Pargumti is seen sharing his experiece while AID Kolkata volunteer Samik is busy taking down notes.

The volunteers took turns to record the proceedings for the entire event.

AID Kolkata volunteer Kaushik Ghara was in charge of documenting the entire event.

Pintu Kumar Purkayit, Kankandighi, Mathurapur, shares his experience from the AILA days. Pintu happens to be one of the most progressive, resourceful and knowledgeable farmers in the area working on sustainable agriculture.

Excerpts from the experiences shared by the panelist farmers :

“When AILA came 4 years back, we had never seen so much water coming at us with such force that cows were being washed away! Somehow I climbed onto a tree and held on. After the storm, together with my family I reached the main road and noticed that nothing remained of our house. For two years the water in my pond was saline. For two years, nothing grew in my farmland. There was no fish and all the goats were washed away. Out of 6 cows only 2 had survived the storm”

“The river embankment is only 100 metre from my house. In one kilometer the embankment was breached at 100 places, Even the walkways were under water. The fish in the pond were dead and the farm was full of saline water. Most of the people lived on the road. The farmland was under water for 15 days. I let the rain water stand for 5-6 days and then pumped it out to remove the salinity. I used huge amounts of organic inputs like manure, compost, green manure, and planted Dhaincha in large quantities. I have benefitted a lot from the use of organic inputs”

“Following AILA, for two years I could not grow anything. Animals, ducks, chicken were all carried away by the storm”

The session continues with more inputs and experience sharing from the farmer panel.

Animesh Bera, one of the lead farmers of DRCSC's farmer groups shared his experience during the session.

Gour Hari Patra, K-Plot, Patharpratima, shares his experience of the AILA ravage. He is one of the few farmers from K-plot who have almost entirely shifted to organic agriculture. Interestingly, when he goes to sell his vegetable produce in the local market, buyers make a beeline for them since the word has gone around that he uses no chemicals for growing them.

Participants are all ears as farmers share their experience and stories.

Ardhendu Shekar Chatterjee taking notes of the farmers' experiences and issues.

Manira Khatun, Pargumti, shares her story and queries during the session.

Sukhdeb Mondal, Sagarmadhabpur, Patharpratima talks about the techniques he used to deal with soil salinity,

Harisadhan Halder, Ambikanagar, Kultoli, shares his story on AILA devastation and coping strategies that he employed.

“In the Sunderban there are two kinds of storms, a kind of storm which brings the sweet water and enriches our fields, andd thee otherr whichi bringss inn salinity.. AILAAI wass off thee latterr kind.. Itt destroyed fish,, farmland,, vegetables, crops, trees and everything in sight. Fortunately the cyclone came before the monsoon. The rain water was used to remove a large part of the saline water. I applied techniques that I learnt from DRCSC and were particularly useful. I used the bed system where I made a small canal around my field to drain out salt water and used a large amount of vermi-compost and brought some soil to grow some vegetables. Later on I grew Dhaincha and used other green manure. Now my field has returned to its original fertility”

“In my area, the Pan(beetle leaf ) cultivation was affected in addition to the fish and farmland. Following AILA, there was a lack of fodder in the area and due to this we were forced to sell off our cows and goats. For the first two years, yield in paddy cultivation was very low. The young migrated away from the village for employment in the cities”

“The fish in the pond were all killed by AILA. For two years, nothing grew on the land. Even today the pond is saline, now there are some salt-water fish there”

Each of the panelist farmers shared their experience during AILA and also shared what they had done to deal with the salinity of the soil post the storm to make their lands cultivable. Seen here is Somali Roy sharing details.

Women have been a very important part of the sustainable agriculture drive in the Sunderbans. Kalyani Barkandaj from Hingalgunj is seen sharing her story here.

The farmers asked a number of pertinent questions and asked guidance from the experts present.

Women farmers were very vocal and active through out the session.

“I have around 3 bigha land which includes a pond. AILA had destroyed both my land and all the fish in my pond.

I used the Dudheswar variety of paddy, and used rain water to wash out my land. I made the nursery at another area which was not affected by AILA. Instead of 15 kgs, I used 20 kg of seed, and in addition I applied large amounts of manure. Still I did not get the desired yield. In total I got around 7-8 Mon ( 1 Mon = 40 kg). In the next year I got around 12-13 Mon. It was only because I used a saline-resistant variety that there was any yield”

“My house is located at a distance from the river, so in comparison my losses are a little less. Yet I lost a lot of fish and fields were saline.. I have aroundd 1 bigha land, where I let rain water stand and then drainedd it away. I used a lot of compost and other organic inputs. Due to the application of plentiful organic inputs, the health of the paddy was good but the yield was very low especially the first two years after AILA”

“Our house is next to the Thakuran river. If AILA had come at night, none of us would have survived. Fish, trees, vegetables, crops were all lost. The land was so saline that it took a long time to grow anything.”

Most of the successful farmers benefitted from using salt-resistant varieties of seeds, used excessive organic inputs, planted Dhaincha, and applied compost and vermi-compost. Their success was mainly in the Amon season (July – December).

With so many questions and so little time, the participants were requested to write down their queries and submit the same, so that the experts could come back to them at a later stage with answers and solutions.

The farmers found the session to be extremely enriching and were seen taking notes through out the session.

The farmers and those in the audience put forward some issues and questions for the expert panelists : • Paddy cultivation in the Boro season (January – April) is proving to be particularly difficult.

• The “Paner Boroj” (Beetle leaf plants) has been destroyed by AILA. Even today when the tree is planted, it becomes yellow and withers away.

• In the Amon season, it is difficult to control weeds and insects.

• What is the most effective way of curing the land from salinity?

• In order to save the land from “Majhra Poka” pesticide is not necessary. Why is it not possible to explain this to other farmers?

• Why is there very little weed growth in the fields?

• The 1036 paddy seed did not grow very well, only 6 sacs per bigha yield was obtained. Earlier the yield was 12 sacs.

• Green chilies are not growing very well after AILA. The tree is drying up.

• Even organic inputs are not being enough to remove salinity from the land.

Resolution of queries by Tapash Mondol Once the soil is saline it is very difficult to totally remove it. In the monsoon, the rain water dissolves the salt and drives it to a lower level in the land, so plants grow well at this time. During the dry spell, the water evaporates, which brings the salt to the surface and leaves the deposit there. The Boro season cultivation especially with SRI techniques is very difficult to execute. If pond water is used for cultivation, special care is necessary to observe the salinity of the water. A suggestive method would be to keep the land covered by crops like Dhaincha so that the water does not evaporate. In this respect • It is good to apply abundant green manure.

• Keep the land covered with some kind of crop after the rains • Don't let the farmland dry under the sun • Avoid deep rooted crops like Moong • While applying organic inputs, take special care to ensure that the organic decomposition is complete. If the decomposition occurs after application to the crop then the crop will die out.

• Regarding Shoshok Poka, Majhra Poka – These insects harm at most 1000 strands per bigha. This is insignificant in comparison to the total crop. The use of pesticidee after an insect attack is of no use, so Integrated Pest Management system must be applied in advance to avoid such attacks.

Tapas Mondal, answering some of the queries posted by the farmers.

Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee explaining different techniques that can help in dealing with soil salinity.

An overview by Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee

Which are the trees that are dying? What are the trees that survive? We must keep a look at both these questions.

One can divide these into two kinds – Shallow rooted crops like paddy, spinach can grow in the season following the monsoon ; Deep rooted crops are very difficult to grow. When salinity increases in the soil, it becomes alkaline. One can grow crops that can tolerate alkalinity such as Beet.

Probably today we can say that cyclones such as Aila will recur many more times so we must prepare accordingly.

Therefore we need to understand : when the storm arrives where must we put our cows, goats, animals? Once the storm recedes what will be the fodder for these animals? How should the houses be constructed so that they don't yield easily? These answers are very necessary in these times of “climate change�.

For agriculture we need to think of what kind of trees can grow in which places : what can grow in the garden adjoining our own house, what can grow in the farmland, what fruit trees can grow and what kind can grow on the river banks. The river banks were all covered by mangroves in the past but now they are barren. We have seen that the islands where some of these mangroves still exist have fared better than the others during the cyclone.

The leaves of some of these trees are good fodder, while others are good to repel insects. They are good organic inputs in agriculture.

The home garden can be designed using the bed system which is constructed by alternate channels in the land making it into a high-low pattern. The vegetables are grown in the higher part, and the lower part is used to channel away excess water. It works even better if the lower part is first used to make compost. This construction also assists the rain water to seep into deeper layers of the soil so that it does not evaporate easily.

In the farmland, in addition to the techniques one must also realise what kind of weeds one must allow to grow, which trees must grow on the boundary so that it effectively complements the farming practices. For example, the Aparijita grows as a weed and its leaves are good fodder. They can perhaps be used along the boundary of the farmland.

A good farm needs to integrate all available inputs : the boundary can be lined with trees with a pond in a corner and overlooking it, a nest of ducks or chicken. These animals can be used effectively to consume unnecessary weeds and their excreta can serve as food for fish in the pond. Such an integrated farming system which brings together all natural inputs is the real essence of organic farming.

With regard to cultivation in the Boro season, the farmer must analyse its feasibility. The amount of water used to grow paddy in one hectare of land is the same as the annual consumption of a 100 families, and this water is not naturally available. This also makes us think of effective ways of storing rain water.

One must understand that organic farming is not just a rejection of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming is an ideology which also integrates various natural inputs together into an effective system . One tries to connect the question of which crops should grow on the farm with the question of which animals should be domesticated with the question of which trees should grow nearby. The connections between these builds together a system in which every aspect is put into its appropriate use. For example, chicken can be domesticated for eggs, and to sell its meat ; in addition, if the chicken eats off all the weeds in the farm before plantation, and the excreta also serves as an organic fertilizer it is even better. Organic agriculture appeals to us to consider these ideas.

Putting all this together, we realise that an effective system of agriculture consists of inputs, techniques, systemic knowledge and organisation. Inputs are seeds, organic fertilizers. Techniques involve the coherent application of these inputs in unison with the environment. Systemic knowledge involves an understanding of inputs so that one can motivate the correct techniques. For example, after Aila when it was realised that the nursery cannot be grown on the saline soil, it was suggested that the paddy seed had enough nutrients to support the plant for 10 days, so if the transplantation was done within that time the nursery can even be made on cement. It is in this way that the systemic knowledge can direct improvised techniques. Additionally, one must realise that organic agriculture prospers best as a culture where the adjoining farmers also get involved.

This requires the formation of an organisation or a farmer's collective.

In this way, Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee not only addressed the questions raised by the farmers but also suggested an effective agricultural system bringing an end to the discussion on soil salinity.

A section of the attentive and involved participants.

Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee graphically explaining the concept of two-storied beds for crops.

One of the participants checking out the display items during lunch break.

One of the panelist farmers in discussion with a member of the DRCSC team.

Farmers take the opportunity of the lunch break to interact with the experts.

An organic beetle leaf farmer from K-plot extolling the virtues of his "paan" to AID Kolkata volunteer Deepanwita Datta.

Shibranjan Maity, one of the coordinators from K-lpot helps us identify and segregate vegetables grown with organic and chemical inputs. Shibu, as he is popularly known as, has worked wonders in K-plot. There are entire paras (localities) that he has convinced and shifted towards organic sustainable agriculture, with help from other volunteers and field coordinators.

A pick of the publications, videos and booklets on display from DRCSC.

The second session started with a wonderful drama organized by the farmers of Sunderban. This drama has been written and directed by Sabina Das (Yasmin) and was performed to perfection the farmers . Drama was aimed to raise awareness on the perils of chemical agriculture and how it damages the eco-system and environment and also to highlight the importance of shifting to organic sustainable ways of farming.

Drama was full of songs and music. The BTS Gaaner Dawl (Music Team) rendered an excellent and apt musical accompaniment to the drama.

The drama is aimed at raising awareness amongst farmers and others. This was the first time that the team performed before an audience, something they intend to do a lot more in the days to come.

It depicted the poor condition of a family who had used chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds for their farming and also how that devastated the natural ecological balance by killing insects, birds, poisoning waterbodies and the land.

The audience stare spellbound at the performance going on.

The drama was executed so finely that a few from the audience were almost in tears in certain scenes and were really amazed by the acting skills of those farmers.

Next in line was a very informative and rather disturbing documentary designed and produced by DRCSC titled "Khabar Nie Bhabar Achhe" ( We Need to Ponder on What we are Eating). It talks about the adulteration, the chemical residues in our everyday food.

After the presentation by the farmers, DRCSC showed a video named “Khabar Niye Bhabar Ache”. This video was mainly targeted towards urban audience i.e. the consumers. It showed how use of chemical fertilizers, colours, insecticides are degrading the quality of vegetables and making it ‘poisonous’, not only limited to vegetables but also processed and packaged products such as sauce, jam, jelly etc. It also talked about the fishes; nowadays almost 38% of the total production of fish contains copper which is very harmful for our body. DRCSC is currently working on eight districts of West Bengal to raise awareness of organic farming and states a few points to come out of the prevailing situation like raising awareness among consumers about organic farming, creation of consumer forums, use of native variety seeds and arrangement of proper training of farmers about organic farming.

Next part of this session was basically a farmer-consumer interaction session. The main goal of the session was to assess level of awareness among the urban consumers about organic produce, discuss myths around organic and come out with certain indicators to help the urban consumer differentiate organically produced vegetables from chemically produced ones. The session was lead by two expert panelists, viz. Dr. Tushar Chakrabarty and Mr. Tapas Mondol. The session was in the form of a free-wheeling discussion where consumers asked questions, expressed their concerns and skepticism ad also got some of the queries answered by both experts and the farmers.

Following are a few points mentioned by Dr. Chakrabarty :

• India has very limited awareness about food security and quality control of food.

• Lack of awareness of among the consumers about organic vegetables.

• In shopping malls we generally found a separate section of organic vegetables. But those are very expensive. Common people are not generally interested in buying those. Mostly, people who had returned from abroad and have the awareness, buy this vegetables.

• The main theme of this year’s environmental day was food security.

• According to some statistical figure, one-third of the total produced food is wasted, but the actual figure may be more than that (70-80%).

• Indian government is trying to bring western food culture in India, but according to him it will completely destroy structure of our food system.

Dr. Tushar Chakraborty discussing organics and the traits to identify them to a group of urban consumers.

Mr. Tapas Mondol started his discussion with a briefing about organic farming. He mentioned that we generally think that organic farming is very costly and the reason being the price of organic vegetables are very high as compared to others. But actually, the cost incurred in organic farming is very less as we don’t have to purchase anything from outside except the seeds. Rest all materials are either home-made or cost very less. So, why the price of organic vegetables is so high? The reason being, to produce organic vegetables and sell them as an organic product, one requires a third party certification which costs around 1.5 Lac. Also, the process of certification is also very rigorous.. In every stage of farmingg you have to use organicc productss and methodology, which in many cases are not possible for the general farmers. Due to this, only big firms are able to invest in organic farming and results in higher prices.

He carried forward the discussions by discussing about Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). In PGS, a group of farmers jointly do the organic farming. Each one of the group monitors others if they are following proper procedure of organic farming or not. A third party agency helps them in all kind of assistances. The main advantage of PGS is that it doesn’t require any certification cost. He mentioned that this PGS system has become very popular in Orissa.

The discussion shifted to distinguishing between the organic and non-organic vegetables. He was of the opinion that, just by observing, one would not be able to distinguish between them. He agreed with the points mentioned by Dr. Chakrabarty that organic vegetables will differ in size, texture and color with their counterpart being more attractive visually.

One of the consumers present questioned the stance that hybrid varieties and chemical agriculture are all bad. He pointed out that the Green Revolution, which depended on chemical inputs and hybrid seeds actually helped the nation tide over food crisis, probably one of the most popular and strong reason that is usually sighted in favour of chemical agriculture. He also expressed skepticism over the portrayal in the Drama that all insects, birds, honey bees are dying because of chemical inputs. This resulted in a bit of debate in the house.

Dr. Chakraborty was also speaking on how even so called developed countries are also consuming high amount of toxins via their food. This again resulted in a debate wherein there were queries on whether there have been any significant studies to show that these toxins are affecting human health.

In the general interactive session, the urban consumers started questioning the panelist about their confusions on topics related to organic farming. Some of the questions and answers given by panelists are as below:

Question : Does the chemical fertilizers and insecticides always harm us ?

Answer : Generally chemical fertilizers and insecticides contain poisonous elements which if present in the vegetables will always be harmful to us. Most of the colours used by the farmers are made for industrial usage but are often used in colouring vegetables, so, it will be harmful if consumed.

Question : Are the hybrid vegetables always bad ?

Answer : Hybrid varieties are produced to meet certain objectives like fast growth of plant, increase in productivity, less vulnerability to the attacks of insects etc. but by doing so, the nutritional value of the vegetables get lost. Due to this, hybrid vegetables are always less in nutritional value as compared to organic.

Question : Is it possible to follow organic ways of farming by using hybrid seeds?

Answer : Yes, one can do organic farming using hybrid variety of seeds, but in that case the vegetables cannot be marketed as an organic produce. It’s a concern that native varieties of seeds are becoming rare these days.

Question : There are quality control mechanisms for vegetables in developed countries like USA. Why is the level of poison not caught during surplus export from India ?

Answer : Our perception about USA is not always true and we tend to think that whatever is there undoubtedly good. But the real scenario is not like that. Quality control of vegetables is not up to the mark and food producing companies rarely follow those rules and thus imported vegetables from India slip through the gaps.

The rate of cancer and cardio-vascular diseases are very high in USA.

The farmers also cited examples from their own experiences where the honeycomb within the house was ruined by the death of the bees post application of insecticides in their farmlands. This is crucial as bees play an important role in agriculture. Mr. Mondol spoke about bio-magnification and ecological balance and the effects of its imbalance on our health. One of the field coordinators. Poli Rani Shau, shared that though chemicals give slightly higher yields, it is limited to a small window in the crop season and that they also affect the land, environment and water resources adversely. Organic inputs actually helps in preserving the ecological balance and helps the farmers get yields for a longer duration. She claimed that if a proper estimation is done, people will realise that organic is actually better in all ways, even in terms of yield and production in the long run.

Subrata Kundu from the DRCSC team talks about the need to form consumer collectives to help promote organic produce and sustainable lifestyles.

A collection of organically and chemically produced vegetables were displayed on the table and some of the consumers were asked to choose between two varieties with reasons. Interestingly most of them indicated the organic variety. This probably goes on to prove that the urban consumer may just need to be educated slightly to be able to choose food that is safe and sustainable. However, as the consumer in this picture put forward, do we really have easy access to organic varieties?

Poli Rani Shau, Binodpur, Kultoli, explaining why organic inputs are better than chemical ones.

AID Kolkata volunteers Samik and Souvik exchange a few points after the conclusion of the formal event. They were in charge of capturing the proceedings for the entire event.

How did we do? A post event free wheeling discussion among the AID volunteers.

The discussion continues and plans are formed for taking this initiative forward.

We sincerely thank all our farmer friends from the Sunderbans for making this event so enriching, interesting and successful. A special thanks to Sabina Yasmin and her Drama Team of “Prokriti Maa� for their outstanding performance. We wish to thank our SAP partners Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS) and MUKTI for their support in taking forward our mission of sustainable agriculture and livelihood.

We convey our gratitude to our expert panel comprising of Dr. Ardhendu Shekhar Chatterjee, Mr. Tapas Mondal and Dr. Tushar Chakraborty for providing the much needed guidance, knowledge inputs and expert advice throughout the course of both the sessions.

We thank Somjita Chakraborty, Chandrani Das, Partha De, Anirban Roy, Sanjib Chatterjee, Soma Mondal, Kaustuv Roy, Partha Roy, Milan Panda, Subrata Kundu and the entire DRCSC Team for partnering us and organizing such a wonderful event. We certainly hope to take this effort forward and collaborate further in many more ways.

Special thanks to Somnath Mukherjee for encouraging and inspiring us to continue our endeavor.

Thanks to Deepanwita Dutta, Kaushik Ghara, Prithviraj Nath, Samik Basu, Souvik Chatterjee and Sutripta Sarkar from the AID Kolkata Team for putting in so much of their time and hard work in making this happen. We are sure that we will be able to move further ahead with such active and enthusiastic people around us.