A.N.CHANNAPPAGOUDAR, Beloor Village, Post Kataraki, Koppal Taluk and District KARNATAKAPhone No : 5274076
The agricultural scientists have advanced beyond expectations in manipulating natural sciences to produce new varieties. The new technologies involved in the production of new seeds of high yielding varieties of crops are too complex to be understood by the ordinary farmers. It is being said that they are most useful and beneficial to the farmers in general.
As such, generally farmers can never be scientists using highly sensitive technologies to produce their own seeds they require year after year in their own fields. Thus, the farmers become totally dependent on multinationals that produce such seeds.
The vigour, of either nucleus seeds or the foundation seeds is bound to vary either positively or negatively depending on the environmental factors as well as the conditions of the soils. So the vigour of the new seeds cannot be maintained equally at all new seed production centres or in all farmers’ fields. Consequently the yields of the new seeds cannot be the same at all farmers’ fields. But, most importantly, the cost of production of such seeds will be the same for all the farmers. It is a reality that the farmers go in for purchase of new seeds every year. This process is not only burdensome but also a very expensive option to the farmers. On the other hand, the yields of such crops grown from such seeds may vary from year to year according to the variable environmental conditions of the localities.
Moreover, it is well known that the pollen grains of the new seed crops may spread around 5 to 6 kilometers around the new seed production farms even though the new seed crops are grown under perfectly controlled conditions of farming. In effect, the process destroys the diversities of the local varieties of similar crops very adversely in addition to promoting the low yields and loss of germination of the local seeds of the similar types of crops in the next season.
It is a known fact that very often the so called high yielding varieties perform badly as against the local varieties. The higher yields, even if obtained, would lead to higher cost of cultivation and timely technical supervision. With so many unknown factors and risks involved and technical supervision levels, the farmers are not in a position to spare time for such efforts.
Even if the farmers get some higher yields compared to that of the local varieties of the crops, the input and output ratio will not be satisfactory in case of the high yielding varieties of crops when compared with that of the local varieties so as to reject totally the use of local seeds.
On the other hand, presently, the health of our soils has deteriorated to a great extent serious soil erosion, excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. At the same time, there is no proper application of biological field practices and organic manures. This is the present situation of our agriculture. The use of the new seeds of high yielding varieties of crops with the above mentioned field practices is just like giving a very costly injection to a sick man sleeping on the death bed to make him able to get up and sit on the same deathbed. Just like this, we have accepted the use of the new seeds of the high yielding varieties of crops,
To achieve food security, there are many cheaper alternatives.
Firstly, we have to go back to the organic way of farming. By adopting the organic way of farming we can very easily improve the health of our cultivable land that is bound to give higher yield of good quality with a very low input and with less effort. The crops grown with healthy seeds sown in at an appropriate time in healthy soils, can also become resistant to pests and plant diseases, there by the farmers can avoid the use of pesticides and fungicides as well.
Secondly, farmers should prevent the loss of rainwater going out of their fields as run off water carrying the fertile soils leading to soil erosion. By controlling that, water can be recycled back to their fields whenever it is required to maintain the soil moisture at the required level to get better assured yields of their crops. By maintaining soil nutrients, the investments on inputs could be reduced.
Last but not the least, mutation in plants takes place in all crops every year in every farmer’s fields either positively or negatively during the period of the plant growth. This is nothing but a phenomenon that takes place in the growing plants only on account of modified genes. Much work has not been done to develop better quality seeds out of these positive mutant seeds. This can be done only by means of selections but not by hybridization. The good seeds (positive mutant seeds) of naturally modified gene, will never adversely affect the germinating embryo for the consequential germination of the seeds sown year after year, where as, the seeds (non mutant seeds) of artificially modified genes will affect the germinating embryo for consequential germination even in the next year.
So, the preference must be given for the multiplication of the positive and natural mutant seeds of all the crops in general. Much work has to be done in this regard in the interest of the farmers at large. These seeds are bound to give definitely higher yields, Therefore, only by means of selection of better seeds out of such multiplied positive mutant seeds every year we can sow the selected seeds without affecting our agricultural yields and without any kind of deterioration either in quantity or quality of the end product. This process is also acceptable to the farmers in general because of its easy as well as economical. In the case of positive mutant plant seeds there is no question of termination of gene product or their genetic value, no deterioration of embryo of the seeds for the consequential germination of seeds,. no poisoning of the end product to make the same, pest resistant, even if sown year after year. The farmers can go on selecting the seeds from their own field crop production year after year. They can also multiply the mutant seeds for their use in their own fields without much labour and much trouble. This process is very economical to the farmers in general. This process will also not affect either the diversity of the general crops or ecological balance of the nature as well.
When such things are available in our back yards there is no need for the farmers to go in for purchase of hybrid and genetically mutation seeds of high yielding varieties of crops which are not only very costly but also their productive integrity is doubtful.
The farmers are unknowingly losing so much energies, be it natural resources, physical and mental energy of humans as well as animals. There is a lot of soil energy, environmental energy and sun energy. If all these energies are properly utilised, the farmers can very well double their farm income only with the use of local seeds and all other local materials.
If these technologies were pursued, we would be promoting uncultured agriculture. Year after year the use of modern agricultural technology is rendering the agriculture occupation as an uneconomic profession, suicidal to the farmers.
Thus, if the farmers can economically handle their agriculture by conserving all the natural resources and using them properly and in a timely manner they can easily increase their agricultural output. with much cheaper inputs and lesser labor. The agricultural output so produced will be much better in quantity as well as quality. So we can very easily maintain our food security as required for our consumption and we can easily increase the productivity not only of our healthy lands but also of our human and animal health.
