ORGANIC FARMING, ZBNF, BEE KEEPING AND PGS

24./25.03.18 WORKSHOP ABOUT ORGANIC FARMING, ZBNF, BEE KEEPING AND PGS

Muskaan Jaivik SHG (Founded by Trustees of Gram Disha Trust) is partnering with Human Development Society and Kalasan Nursery Farm to conduct a one and half day workshop in Village Baag, VPO Pangna, District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh on 24th and 25th March 2018.

There will be theory and practical sessions on the following:
  1. Organic farming (farm setup, plant protection and pest control),
  2. Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF),
  3. Bee keeping & indigenous bees and the importance of pollination,
  4. Marketing and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)
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WORKSHOP ON ORGANIC, ZBNF AND APPLE CULTIVATION
Organizers:

Muskaan Jaivik Self Help Group
(https://muskaanjaivik.wordpress.com/)

Human Development Society
(http://www.hdsindia.org/)

Kalasan Nursery Farm
(https://kalasan.farm/)

Location:

Village Baag, VPO Pangna, District Mandi,
Himachal Pradesh

Facilitators:
  1. Som Krishan Gautam
  2. Dr. P. K Singh
  3. Rakesh Gupta
  4. Vikram Singh Rawat
  5. Ashish Gupta
  6. Nachiket Udupa

Introduction:

Muskaan Jaivik Self Help Group (SHG) is a group of organic farmers in and around Pangna, Himachal Pradesh under the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS-India). Currently the group consists of 15 farmers- one fully organic, and the others in the process of converting their farms into organic. Every year workshops and trainings are conducted for farmers in and around Pangna. The purpose is to promote organic farming practices in the area so that farmers produce vegetables, pulses, cereals etc. which are free from harmful chemical residues. These events provide both theoretical and practical learning to the participants with the help of videos, presentations, guest lectures and various group exercises. The farmers of Muskaan Jaivik SHG demonstrate different agro-ecological practices that include, inter alia, Biodynamic Farming, Zero Budget Natural Farming, Natueco Farming. 

The Participatory Guarantee System, under which Muskaan Jaivik SHG operates, enables a group of five or more farmers to register themselves as organic farmers for the purpose of certification. This is a type of process guarantee that enables farmers to sell their products in the organic market. It not only provides low cost certification but also helps farmers conform to the standards of quality and transparency in the process. The aim is to help the farmers grow the produce organically for long-term benefits including ecological and economic sustainability. The following sections contain details of discussions and group exercises that were conducted under the guidance of domain experts during the two-day Workshop. 

Session One:

Organic farming (farm setup, plant protection & pest control) followed by a lecture by Dr. P. K. Singh on bio-pesticides and their usage in organic farming

Session on theoretical aspects of ecological farming

The session started with members of Muskaan Jaivik SHG introducing themselves to the participants. This was followed by a discussion on the basics of organic/agro-ecological farming and the conditions necessary for certification under the PGS. The purpose was to explain the fundamentals of setting up an organic farm and the processes involved in preparation of various organic inputs. The practices followed by members of Muskaan Jaivik SHG viz. development of CPP pits, making in-situ compost and liquid manures, irrigation method, right type of plantation, equipment to be used etc. were explained to the participants with help of videos. To corroborate these presentations, demonstrations were held by the farmers of Muskaan Jaivik SHG later in the day. 

The second half of the session was utilized for addressing doubts of farmers regarding plant protection and pest control. Dr. P.K Singh, an expert on bio-control systems for organic farming, answered the queries in regard to the above. 

About the expert

About the expert Dr. P.K Singh is M.Sc. Agriculture, Ph.D. in Mycology and Plant Pathology, BHU with 20 years of experience on organic inputs and farming. He is also currently associated with the organic inputs company called Indore Biotech (http://www.indobioagri.in/) which producer low cost and high impact inputs for organic farmers, which are certified as per National Standard on Organic Production (NSOP).

Under the PGS, the farmers need to be cautious about the off-farm inputs. Most of the farmers are unaware of the right kind of products for pest control and enhancement of soil nutrients that are available in the market and their applications. Dr. P.K Singh, with his knowledge helped introduce these inputs to the farmers in a simple manner and explained the application of products like microbiological controls (such as antagonistic fungi, Bacillus Thuringiensis spp, Pseudomonas etc.), Azadirachtin, neem oil, bio enzymes etc. Some sample products from Indore-Biotech were used for the purpose of demonstration. Queries on the use of these off-farm inputs were addressed and the right amount to be used was specified to help the farmers make optimum use of the products. However, farmers were recommended to reduce cost of their inputs in the run by relying on in-situ inputs and focusing on health of soil, choice of seeds and good agronomic practices. The goal is to enhance health of the farmstead and ecology so as to enhance farmers’ income by reducing cost of inputs. However, those farmers in conversion who wish to use such products are made aware of the benefits of using suitable good quality products. The products displayed and discussed were NPOP certified and of low cost, making them suitable for use by smallholders. 

Session Two:

Demonstration of preparation of on-farm composts by the organic farmers of Muskaan Jaivik SHG (Post Lunch)

After the theoretical session of the day, the participants had a first-hand exposure to the methods of preparing on-farm inputs.. As a part of the process of explaining the concept of Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), demonstrations were given by the members of the group on how to prepare on-farm composts like CPP, BD-500 etc. The special inputs like Jeevamrut, Beejamrutha and Panchagavya were prepared by the organic farmers of the group to clearly explain the 

process for the same. The importance of all these preparations were touched upon along with the cycle time and application rates per bigha as practiced by farmers for each of these inputs. 

Session Three:

Beekeeping & indigenous bees and the importance of pollination

The session on beekeeping could not be conducted due to some last minute unavoidable reasons. The expert on beekeeping – Mr. Rakesh Gupta – had to cancel the session due to logistics issues on his side. The session will be conducted during the training to be held next year. 

Session Four:

Marketing and Participatory Guarantee System

The area of concern for organic farmers is the sale of their products at a sufficiently remunerative rate. Despite 25 to 30% growth of the organic market in recent years, marketing remains a major challenge for the practitioners of organic farming due to absence of bulk purchasers, lack of streamlined supply chain and other logistics. These and other related issues in the domain of marketing were discussed during the session. The farmers highlighted the problems faced by them in the local markets, and several solutions were proposed to address these challenges. 

Demonstration of methods to prepare ZBNF formulations viz. Jeevamruta, Beejamruta and Panchgavya, Biodynamic BD500 and CPP

Farmers discussing problems related to the markets

Apart from the marketing discussion, farmers not under PGS were given an overview about the same. The advantages of organic certification under PGS were explained to encourage maximum farmers to register under this low cost organic certification scheme. 

Consultation on forthcoming FSSAI regulations and “Jaivik Bharat” for small holders

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is currently considering a set of regulations for organic food marketed in India. The regulations are expected to be in-force from 1st July 2018. FSSAI has also launched a brand called “Jaivik Bharat” and a website https://jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in. With permission to hold a consultation with participants of this workshop on the promotion of “Jaivik Bharat” Logo and definition of smallholders impacted by the regulation, a discussion was held. It was explained to the participants that the primary purpose of the regulations is to check the products being sold in the market as organic, which do not adhere to the regulatory standards and in effect are fake organic products. While the participants expressed their acceptance of the need of quality regulations, they shared discontent with the obligation of obtaining additional food safety license under these regulations due to the very reason that their counterparts, i.e. the conventional farmers using chemicals, have no such obligation. 

Jaivik Bharat Logo – jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in

These farmers are already facing issues with marketing due to absence of any special markets / mandis for organic produce. Since there is no specific supply chain and infrastructure support for organic farmers, the additional burden of licensing would make matters worse for small and medium farmers. This may be a major obstacle for organic farmers and may hamper the promotion of organic farming in the country. In addition, as per Ministry of Agriculture and 1 National Sample Survey of India – 2013 , smallholders are typically identified as those farmers 2 who own less than 2 ha of land. However, in mountain regions those who own 2 ha (24 bighas) of land are typically medium size farmers. Thus the definition of smallholders is not consistent across India. 

The participants expressed the view that the FSSAI needs to devise a simple system to ensure that the farmers do not spend time in offices for paperwork. It should not propose anything that would require extra efforts without resulting in any value addition. Moreover the regulation should act in favor of the organic farmers and the body must rather consider that farmers who grow their produce with the use of manufactured chemicals should certify that their produce is safe for consumption. 

Summary of the Discussion:

1. Farmers suggested that small original producers, for the purpose of FSSAI’s regulations related to sale of organic produce, should be defined as per average land-holdings in their respective states/ regions. Special consideration should be accorded to smallholders in mountainous states and tribal areas. If this is, however, done on the basis of national average, it would cause several problems for the small farmers. 

 

2. Similarly, the turnover for producers’ organisations, which are also exempt from the aforementioned regulations, should be kept high enough so as not to discourage small producer organisations from having to face excessive compliances during their initial years of operation. 3. Ideally all farmers should be exempted from such regulations so long as traceability towards consumers is known. However, to prevent misuse of non-organic products being sold as organic, regulation may be placed on large traders and retailers to ensure sources for produce are known to consumers. 

Day 2

Session Five: Organic farming in Apple Orchards

Presentation and field visit at Kalasan Nursery Farm

A lot of farmers in Himachal Pradesh, especially Pangna and its vicinity have apple orchards. Kalasan Nursery Farm has done commendable work in growing apples through natural and organic farming practices. The farm has trained apple growers in Himachal Pradesh on seedling as well as rootstock-based cultivation techniques. The participants were introduced to methods used in organic farming, usage of various kinds of oils for spraying on the apple trees, such as tree oil and fish oil in addition to neem oil for wooly aphid control along with the ways to improve the quality of the produce. Cultural practices such as proper mulching, training and pruning practiced at KNF were also discussed. The idea was to grow quality organic produce without compromising the overall farm incomes even if there is any perceived initial drop in yield. There was discussion on different varieties of apples grown and marketed successfully in the past. The session was about knowledge transfer from the expert – Mr. V. S. Rawat and his family. The queries of the farmers and the problems faced in the process of organic farming of apples were addressed and discussed in detail in the session.

Session Six: Feedback

The feedback session marked the end of the workshop. While the participants found the sessions informative and useful for promotion of organic farming, the overwhelming concern that everyone had was in regard to appropriate markets for organic produce. Other issues highlighted during feedback session were the need of ensuring fair prices for the farmers and transparency in regard to quality for the consumers.