what is organic farming in India and why is it so expensive?

In India, organic farming has many definitions and we have ours too. and we are trying to be as authentic as possible.

with the pesticides and pollution all over the air, I even doubt if we can call anything in the world today as organic.

so I like to say we are growing everything using natural and traditional methods.

the first thing that we did as soon as we bought the land was, got all the stones removed manually.

bought loads and loads of cow dung and covered the entire land. left it to the sun for 3 months

then planted the trees, all native varieities. the reason to buy native ones are; one it will have a good drought resisting capability plus its local so will have its medicinal qualities.

we did experiment on a hybrid model for tomatoes. the yield was good, but I did not like the taste so much. native varieties were juicy.

we bought all native variety vegetable and fruit trees. you will be amazed to see that the parrots ate only the native sunflower seeds and the birds ate only the native corns, even though the American corns also we planted. they always are intelligent and win hands down.

we ourselves prepared natural fertilizers like Panchakavyam, fish enzymes, bio enzymes, rice flour solutions, curd buttermilk solutions, groundnut cake solutions, asthram for pesticides.

preparing each itself is a nightmare, you need space and containers for everything to ferment.

to apply you need to hand spray on each leaf. imagine how many sprayers we must be having and how our backs and hands would ache spraying these on tiny plants to big trees.

we only handpick the weeds. when we employ them monthly once three to four ladies come and dig and pick out each weed. each person wages are around 400 rs a day. so for three to Four days it will go on. 4*400=1600*3=4800 rs.

the chemical weed killer or controller is only around rs.60 and its so easy to apply it. just pour it on the soil.

the farmers themselves suggest to us to use it, because they all use that. I asked them if I use that then what will happen to the vegetables. they say that without spraying on the vegetables just pour it on the soil. how many times do I need to tell them that soil is everything. they think soil and plants are two different entities.

they have given up on us, we have also given up on them. they say get the government selling ureas and other fertilizers for the plants. we said no. everytime there is an argument.

last month I called a labourer to Dig 1 depth feet 1 feet height square pit in the land to store rain water. he said why waste money why can’t we dig a trench on all the periphery of the land. how do I explain that soil erosion needs to be controlled at many points, than all the soil eroding and getting dumped at the end of the land. it is not just soil, it is our treated soil. we don’t want all our soil nutrients getting washed away in the rains. since our land is also in a slope, one rain and all the soil runs down. we got it for the view, but we did not envisage this. see how many factors you need to see before buying.

and harvesting is another big back breaking job. you need to bend down or most instances I just sit flat on the ground. and pluck green chillies, tomatoes. we do not have so much flexibility nor the stamina after sitting at the desk in an AC room for 20 years.

the only thought that keeps motivating us is we should give good quality unadulterated fruits, vegetables, millets and greens. we don’t freeze anything, neither we spray anything on the produce to maintain its freshness. we are responsible because there are a lot of young mothers who wait for our products to give their children. so money is not the focus. “Dharmam” is the focus. we need to do something from our part to this world.

so after all this, yes forgot, travelling to the farmhouse weekly twice spending on petrol and spending so much there on the labourers and our efforts what we get is nothing. but there is a lot of job satisfaction and happiness.

when someone says that our products are expensive, now I don’t care. I only feel sad because you are not blessed to eat our produce. we are doing it for your health and as a policy we do not adulterate. so much money all spend on vacations, expensive clothes, restaurant food, education, and we compromise on good quality product that will help us be healthy.

I always say, everything is a blessing. to grow and then to harvest and eat good food.

In villages they say that soil is God, and they always pray to it. I know the meaning behind it. Profound.