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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] The Organic Revolution
  • Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:28:51 -0700

The Organic Revolution
http://www.navdanya.org/organic/index.htm

Chemical agriculture and genetic engineering are threatening public health
and leading to nutrition decline. Costs of production, which includes
hybrid and genetically engieered, seeds, chemicals and irrigation, are
increasing with every season pushing farmers into the debt trap and also to
suicides.

Thousands of farmers have given their life in India in the last two decades
because of the debt. As an insurnace against such vulnerability, Navdanya
pioneered the conservtion of biodiversity in India and built a movement for
the protection of small farmers through promotion of ecological farming and
fair trade to ensure the healthy, diverse and safe food. The movement is
now spread throughout India through our partner organisaitons and farmer's
networks.

Navdanya's pioneering reearch on the hazards of chemical farming, the costs
of industrial agriculture and the risks of genetic engineering have led to
a paradigm shift. Our research has proved that contrary to the dominant
assumptions, ecological agriculture is highly productive and is the only
lasting solution to hunger and poverty.

Navdanya have so far trained above 2,00,000 men and women farmers,
students, government officials, representatives of national as well as
international NGO's, Voluntary organisations on biodiversity conservation
and organic farming. We have also trained several large groups like
Yuvacharya of Art of Living, NGO led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The group is
presently working in about 5000 villages of India. Navdanya trained
secretaries and Extension Officers of the Tibetan govt. in exile and now
theri settlements across the country are in conversion to organic.
Biodiversity based farming has changed the economic status of the member
farmers across the country.

Organic agriculture is not just a source of safer, healthier, tastier food.
It is an answer to rural poverty.

High cost corporate agriculture is having adverse impact on livelihood of
farmers. The increasing cost of production and the falling price combined
with the decline in farm credit is putting great burden on farmers, which
is pushing him to suicide. Since 1997, more than 25,000 farmers from Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab have taken thier lives. Since
then, RFSTE has been monitoring the impact of trade liberalisation policies
on Indian farmer and Indian agriculture since the New Economic Policy
(1991) and WTO rules of the agreement on agriculture (1995) came into
force.

In celebration of non-violent organic agriculture, every year Navdanya
organizes Albert Howard Memorial Lecture on 2nd October, initiated in the
year 2000 to tribute to the two messiahs of sustainability and
non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi and Sir Albert Howard.

Organic agriculture is saving the Earth and farmers' lives.






  • [Livingontheland] The Organic Revolution, TradingPostPaul, 02/08/2007

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