Organic Farming

Organic farming is an alternative agricultural approach that grows crops using natural, biological inputs to maintain soil fertility and ecological balance, deliberately minimising pollution and waste — in effect, a conscious 'Back to Nature' movement, even though most Indian farmers were organic by default until the Green Revolution changed farming practice. Biofertilizers, built from microorganisms and their natural associations with crop plants, are one of the cost-effective, renewable components of this integrated approach, supplementing rather than fully replacing chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture. Two hands-on preparations illustrate the approach in practice. An organic pesticide can be made at home to control pests such as aphids, spiders and mites, which otherwise damage flowers, fruit and vegetables and can invite disease, without resorting to chemical pesticides that are often unsafe for both people and the environment and can leave produce unsafe to eat — the accompanying seven-step figure walks through chopping and blending hot chillies and garlic/onion into a paste, mixing it with warm water, letting it stand for 24 hours, straining it and spraying the resulting liquid on infected plants every 4-5 days. A neem-based bio-pest repellent is made by chopping fresh neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves, soaking them in water in a covered container for three days, straining the brew through a fine mesh sieve, and mixing in cooking oil and soap water (the soap helps break down the oil so it sticks to the leaves when sprayed) — with the spent leaves afterward reused in compost or worked around the base of plants. Both preparations should be sprayed avoiding the hottest, sunniest part of the day, since that can burn the plants. A relat …