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Appendix Some minor edits to spelling and grammar have been made to improve the readability of this legal document; these are unmarked. Where deletions have been made, ellipses appear; where words have been added, they appear in brackets. 2010 Kerala State Organic Farming Policy, Strategy and Action Plan Vision Make Kerala’s farming sustainable, rewarding, and competitive, ensuring poison-­free water, soil, and food to every citizen. Background India has a glorious history of farming, starting probably from the 6th millennium BC in the Indus Valley [with the] harnessing [of] annual floods and the subsequent alluvial deposits. The Indus Valley Civilization was founded on sustainable farming practices. Subsequently, our culture and ethos became reflections of the agricultural practices and it became mutually inseparable until recently. Harvest of the main crops is celebrated throughout the country. [Farmers] in Kerala . . . went to the extent of identifying the farmland with Mother God or a female. Just as the female has to take rest after delivery, the farm land has also to be given rest for three months after the harvest; tilling is strictly prohibited during this period. Although [this practice] may look [merely] superstitious, the ecological reason behind this ritual is that tilling during monsoon leads to severe soil erosion, and thus is an unsustainable practice .Therefore,sustainabilityhasbeenthehallmarkofourfarmingsystemfrom time immemorial, growing the time-­ tested, weather-­ suited, traditional crops with or without additional organic input, but deeply interwoven with the ecological systems and climatic conditions. 158 Appendix The once flourishing Pokkali cultivation in the coastal districts and the Kaipad farming system in the Kannur district are testimonials to man’s ingenuity in harnessing the natural events for farming [ . . . ] without affecting the natural ecological processes and without even any external input. However, the so-­ called modern agriculture—unmindful of the ecosystem principles so revered and practiced for centuries—led to seemingly irrevocable ecological and environmental catastrophes in the country. The [so-­ called] Green Revolution essentially replaced the traditional [crop] varieties with high-­ yielding ones. These high-­yielding varieties, now recognized as “high input varieties ,” needed tons of fertilizers to achieve the target growth. The crops and varieties alien to the soil attracted new pests and diseases and also outbreaks of existing pests. To combat them . . . huge quantities of pesticides [were brought in]. Input of these “exotic” elements into the traditional farming led to [a] multitude of environmental issues. The microorganisms declined; the soil lost its fertility and vitality; water demand increased and the time-­tested traditional varieties disappeared. In short, the centuries-­old practices came to a halt. The eternal relationship between the farmer and farmland was lost. More importantly, sustainability of the agriculture systems collapsed, the cost of cultivation soared, the income of farmers stagnated, and food security and food safety became daunting challenges. Biodiversity in the agricultural fields has now become [only a memory]. The farmland became silent, devoid of the croak of frogs, chattering of warblers, whistling of Whistling Ducks. The long tubular straw . . . nests of the Baya weaver bird hanging on the fronds of palm—a once spectacular sight—have disappeared from most localities. The insectivorous birds such as drongo, bee-­ eater, even the house sparrow became rare or locally extinct, indicating the collapse of the entire food webs of the farmland. In the forestry sector, fortunately, the use of pesticides has been much less [frequent]. However, the aerial spraying of pesticides in India was first tried in Kerala in 1965 to control the teak defoliators in the Konni forest division. It was noted that within 48 hours nearly 162 non-­ target species of arthropods were knocked down. The mentally and physically retarded and handicapped children in Padri village in Kasergod tell the world in unequivocal terms the tragedies and disasters that aerial spraying of pesticides could inflict on human life. As a result of all these “modern” techniques, the air, water, and soil were polluted ; most food grains and farm products were contaminated by pesticides. The run-­ off from the farmland contaminated the wetlands—rivers, tanks, ponds, reservoirs, lakes, and all water bodies—and the life in them. Fish carried Appendix 159 high levels of pesticides and also heavy metals, the latter as a result of the many chemical industries that sprang up to provide chemical fertilizers. Health hazards became unimaginably high. Incidence of fatal diseases rose. Hospitals with modern amenities came up in the cities as profitmaking industries . Pharmaceuticals flourished. Food crops became non-­ attractive, while cash crops became more remunerative . Rice fields have been filled up for nonagricultural...

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