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ePaper created 2015-12-01, 11:30:18 | version 1.43.00
42 akzente 1/15 still represents less than one per cent of total sales in India, a growing number of Indians, particularly those from more prosperous back- grounds, now want to eat organic food. ‘We can only satisfy about ten per cent of the de- mand,’ says Shetty, who is strongly committed to organic farming. ‘I’m a farmer’s son. We used organic methods when I was a child,’ he says. ‘The food we eat today is not healthy.’ Worse still, he continues, with artificial ferti- lisers destroying the soils, farmers need to use more and more fertiliser and water. The harmful effect of chemicals on the en- vironment and health is one of the principal ar- guments against their use. Others include inad- equate pesticide legislation and improper use. In the summer of 2013, 23 children in the state of Bihar died as a result of eating a school din- ner, because the cooking oil had been stored in an old pesticide container. And yet India be- lieves it cannot feed its population of 1.2 billion without pesticides. Half of all children under the age of five are considered malnourished, and every day hundreds die of starvation and its consequences. But the politicians responsible in New Delhi continue to give assurances that pes- ticides are safe when used correctly. Organic farmers like Ramaiah HG prove that success can be achieved without pesticides – in fact sometimes the outcome is even better. Like many southern Indians, the 60-year-old unchanged, he earns 30 per cent more for or- ganic produce. According to his calculations, his bottom line is around 60 per cent more as a result of the switch to organic farming. He has a mobile phone, a refrigerator, a television – and a year ago he built himself a nice new house. ‘I am happy with my life,’ he says. And he is not alone: other organic farmers in the Bangalore region have similar stories to tell. Yet many farmers are still reluctant to make the switch to organic farming. One rea- son is the difficult conversion phase: soil that is accustomed to fertilisers takes several years to recover, and farmers face losses during this period. ‘Profits are down during this transi- tion phase, which lasts three to four years,’ says Hansjörg Neun, a GIZ expert in New Delhi. That’s why KfW Development Bank provides small loans to help farmers make ends meet. Not just in Bangalore in Karnataka state, but also elsewhere in India, the country’s farmers are rethinking their ideas and turning to natural farming methods. The small state of Sikkim has particularly ambitious plans: it aims to switch completely to organic farming by 2015. does not have a family name as is common in western countries. H stands for his village, Halehalli, in the south of Bangalore, G for the name of his father, Gundappa. Ramaiah HG has lived from agriculture for 30 years. He has converted half of his farmland to organic crops and now grows beans, cauliflowers, potatoes and tomatoes in compliance with organic standards. Instead of artificial fertilisers he uses compost made from cow manure that is wriggling with earth- worms. He substitutes pesticides with a mix- ture of cow urine, Neem leaves and other nat- ural substances. Lower costs means more money for a happier life It works just as well, he says. More impor- tantly, he only needs half the volume of water, now an increasingly scarce resource in India. In addition, instead of farming monocultures, he produces a wider range of fruit and vegeta- ble varieties. And he has shifted milk produc- tion from ‘turbo’ cattle back to the traditional breeds, which are much better suited to the climate. Ramaiah HG is happy. He used to spend 30,000 rupees per season on fertilisers, pesti- cides and seeds. Today he gets by on just 15,000 rupees. While yields have remained > CONTACT GIZ India > giz-indien@giz.de Left: Organic produce ready for shipping to Bangalore, India’s third largest city. Right: Former engineer N. R. Shetty is today an enthusiastic organic farmer.