One of the books that I had long wanted to read was “The one straw Revolution” by Masanobu Fukuoka  and I did that recently while travelling back by train  from my hometown Kannur to Delhi.

        Fukuoka, who had been trained as an agricultural scientist, left his job to take up traditional farming in his village, minus all the modern techniques of agriculture, the chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Following a method of farming that was as close to the way in which natural vegetation thrived, he has been able to make a convincing case of how Man’s departure from the natural state of being has in fact been detrimental in more ways than just leeching of the soil and failure of crops.

      Says Fukuoka, ”The reason that man’s improved techniques seem to be necessary is that the natural balance has been so upset beforehand by those same techniques that the land has become dependent on them…..

    Human beings with their tampering do something wrong,leave the damage unrepaired and when the adverse results accumulate, work with all their might to correct them. When the corrective actions appear to be successful, they come to view these measures as splendid accomplishments. People do this over and over again. It is as if a fool were to stomp and break the tiles on his roof. Then when it starts to rain and the ceiling begins to rot away, he hastily climbs up to mend the damage, rejoicing in the end that he has accomplished a miraculous solution”.

     Fukuoka explains his philosophy thus…”People find something out, learn how it works and put nature to use; thinking this will be for the good of humankind. The result of all this ,up to now, is that the planet has become polluted, people have become confused and we have invited in the chaos of modern times. At this farm we practice “do-nothing” farming and eat wholesome and delicious grains, vegetables and citrus. There is meaning and basic satisfaction just in living close to the source of things. Life is song and poetry.

    The farmer became too busy when people  began to investigate the world and decided that it would be “good” if we did this or did that. All my research has been in the direction of not doing this or that . These thirty years have taught me that farmers would have been better off  doing almost nothing at all. “

     He goes on to say ..”The more people do, the more society develops, the more problems arise. The increasing desolation of nature, the exhaustion of resources, the uneasiness and disintegration of the human spirit, all have been brought about by humanity’s trying to accomplish something. Originally there was no reason to progress and nothing that had to be done. We have come to the point at which there is no other way than to bring about a “movement” not to bring anything about.”

     I wonder how many will agree with that and yet there is an increasing acceptance of the view that in our arrogance , the human race has perhaps  really  over estimated  our control over nature. The long term dangers of chemical farming, the adverse effects of global warming and the threat of global food shortage looming large have all been responsible for a  renewed interest in the traditional methods of natural and organic farming .

     Please read the following reports in  “The Hindu” in its Science and Technology/ Agriculture section

http://www.thehindu.com/seta/2008/07/03/stories/2008070350781600.htm

http://www.hindu.com/seta/2008/07/10/stories/2008071050171800.htm

    “Slowly but steadily during the last 10-15 years, several farmers have chosen to adopt practices such as ecological and natural farming methods, which are more profitable and environmentally friendly contributing to long term sustainability”, says the article.

     Most of the time, we are not even aware of the subtle ways in which the chemical toxicity of pesticides and fertilizers affect our health.But sometimes, the consequences are too obvious to ignore. How the usage of endosulfan in cashew plantations of North Kerala caused major health problems for  the people there, particularly the children, is one such sad story.

  Those interested  to know more about changing agricultural trends may find some material here: http://journeytoforever.org/farm.html

The above link also carries this report:

UN world agriculture report damns industrial agriculture, calls for small-scale organic farming, April 2008 -- Sixty countries backed by the UN and the World Bank called for radical changes in world farming when they signed the final report of the UN's International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). The work of more than 400 scientists over four years, the 2,500-page report is a sobering account of the failure of industrial farming. It reflects a growing consensus among the global scientific community and most governments that the old paradigm of industrial, energy-intensive and toxic agriculture is a concept of the past. It calls for a fundamental change in the way we do farming, to address soaring food prices, world hunger, social inequities and environmental disaster. The key message of the report is that small-scale farmers and organic, agro-ecological methods are the way forward to solve the current food crisis and meet the needs of local communities. The IAASTD is the biggest study of its kind ever conducted and will guide world agriculture development and food production in the coming decades.

    So the slogan for this millennium should perhaps be “Back to Nature”. What do you say folks?