Organic Farming

The Confederation of Tiruvannamalai District Farmers Association has urged the Government to promote organic farming by creating avenues for export.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the confederation held at Tiruvannamalai recently. It also urged the Government to take steps to protect land resources from getting eroded by the use of chemical fertilizers and to give training to farmers in producing and using natural alternatives like vermi-compost (worm compost) manure and Panchakavya*.

Another resolution urged the Government to open natural fertilizer sales centres. It was suggested that the Government should give farmers valuable tree saplings like Sandal and Pathimukam (Caesalpinia sapans) to enhance their livelihood and that bankers should be sensitized to give loans to farmers. It was also decided at the meeting to institute an award to honour farmers practising organic farming.



* Panchakavya is a traditional method, used to safeguard plants and soil micro-organisms and to increase plant production.

In Sanskrit, Panchakavya means the blend of five products obtained from cow. It contains ghee, milk, curd, cow dung and urine. Based on detailed discussions with organic growers of Tamil Nadu, experiencing indigenous technical knowledge, the following ingredients were used to prepare approximately 20 litres of Panchakavya stock solution for scientific evaluation. BGS/cow dung (5 kg), cow's urine (3 litres), cow's milk (2 litres), cow's curd (2 litres) and cow's ghee (1 litre).