Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of Wayanad, for example, received about $30,000 for organic farming
in three block panchayats: Kanyambeta, Nenmeni, and Edavaka. Each
area was expected to convert forty-
five contiguous acres of rice and/or
vegetables to organic agriculture by the end of 2011, in collaboration and
discussion with local farmers' groups. In alignment with principles of de-
centralization, the local agriculture officers and farmers' groups could use
the funds as they saw fit within these areas.19
For instance, the Kanyambeta block panchayat dispersed its funds to
subsidize organic paddy cultivation alone, by providing organic inputs to
135 farmers. These inputs included neem (the byproduct of neem trees)
and pseudomonas (a naturally occurring soil bacteria that is regularly
used for biological pest control). According to the panchayat's agriculture
officer, when the Organic Farming Programme's funds became available,
officials from the Agriculture Department's local office facilitated meet-
ings of the padakshera samithis; at the gatherings, farmers decided what
inputs were necessary for organic rice farming. The department then sup-
plied these inputs to a nearby warehouse. The department also selected a
farmer to preside over and monitor the other farmers participating in the
scheme. In contrast, after holding five meetings in the Nenmeni block
panchayat, the local agriculture office and the padakshera samithi decided
to use their funds from the Organic Farming Programme in another man-
ner. They gave both cash (about 6,000 rupees per hectare) and inputs to
about 250 farmers, to support organic rice and vegetable cultivation. Nen-
meni also held organic farming training sessions, so that farmers could
learn to create their own inputs with cow manure and vermicompost.20
For ongoing training and advice, agricultural officials in each block
panchayat are relying upon two manuals from the Agriculture Depart-
ment and K AU:
Jaiva Krishi Sahai
(2010), which translates into “organic
farming help,” and
Ad-Hoc Package of Practices, Recommendations for
Organic Farming
(2009). These advisory materials, which detail best
practices for organic farming production in Kerala, are completely new
resources coming from the historically pesticide-friendly agricultural bu-
reaucracy, the result of changing norms within K AU and the Agriculture
Department, initiated by the debate and discussions around the organic
farming policy.21
