The Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) organised its 7th National Biennial Convention on Organic Farming – Organic Mahotsav, 2019 – at Shipgram, Udaipur from 29th November, 2019 to 1st December 2019. The event brought together over 3000 farmers from 25 Indian states as well as numerous organisations, groups, government departments, researchers, academicians’, singers, actors and activists with a shared passion for promoting and strengthening the organic movement.
Rohit Jain, OFAI Secretary and Conference convenor, shared that the main objective of the Organic Mahotsav was to create a positive and energising environment where people can discuss organic agriculture, food culture and its importance at all levels – local, state and national. He emphasised that the event was aimed at providing a platform to farmers from across the country to share their experiences and stories associated with organic agriculture. Building on the concept of the traditional village chaupal (community spaces in villages used for discussions on various issues), 6 chaupals had been set up to promote and facilitate discussions and sharing of experiences and ideas between farmers and all those attending the event.
The Mahotsav also included an exhibition comprising hundreds of stalls. The diverse and varied stalls had been set up by numerous farmers, farmers groups, NGOs, cooperatives, institutions, start-ups, companies, publishers and government departments.
A rich diversity of organic and traditional seeds and crops, wild foods, organic cloth and garments, organic fertilisers and other inputs, new innovations in the field of organic agriculture, technology related to organic farming, books and publications, organic food items and preparations; recycled and sustainable products, organic cloth and garments were on display. The exhibition promoted cross learning and exchange of ideas between farmers, researchers, organisations, consumers and other participants. It also provided participants an excellent opportunity to showcase their products, ideas and technologies as well as explore and build new collaborations, partnerships and contacts.
Alongside the exhibition there were also several parallel specialised sessions on a variety of subjects and thematic areas which included Seed conservation, organic farms, water, biodiversity and its importance for organic farming, weed management, Biodynamic farming, importance of millets, tubers, community supported agriculture, advocacy, farmers rights and several others. Theatre, song and art were also some mediums used to highlight and discuss different issues pertaining to organic agriculture as well as broader environmental concerns. The speakers who chaired sessions on different thematic raised several critical points giving the participants food for thought and encouraging debate and discussion in an effort to raise awareness about critical challenges facing agriculture in India and the environment as a whole, and explore alternative methods and strategies to combat and address the multitude of challenges being faced today.
Clade Alvares while sharing lessons from 40 years of organic farming in India pointed out that all farming in India prior to the Green Revolution was what we currently describe as organic as no chemical inputs were used. He illustrated that while prior to 1966, which marked the launch of the Green Revolution, there were no chemicals in our food currently even the Prime Minister, President and Judiciary don’t have access to safe chemical free food. The green revolution also took a massive toll on India’s rich crop diversity. While prior to 1966 India had 300000 rice varieties, after only a decade of the Green Revolution most states only hade 5 to varieties remaining. The Organic farming movement in India which can trace its roots to a meeting in Sewa Gram in 1977 has been striving to safeguard and promote indigenous/desi seeds and stand up for the rights of farmers to seeds.
Sabramatee shared the findings of her research on women’s drudgery in agriculture with a focus on paddy cultivation. She highlighted the severe adverse impacts on the health and well-being of women involved in paddy cultivation both in India and in Laos through a presentation of findings as well as a short fill. She said that some tribal women told her that they have a saying that the life of men is like that of monkeys while that of women is like that of pigs which speaks volumes of the disproportionate burden of work that women across rural societies have to bear.
Bharat Mansata through his session “Holistic understanding of water” hailed forests as the mother of rivers – “Jungle nadi ka maa hain”. He described the water crisis currently facing India. Less than 10% of our population now consumes more water the entire population in 1950. We are putting tremendous strain on our ground water sources to the extent that in some areas like Mehsana, North Gujrat fossil water is being extracted from great depths of 1400 feet and more. Forests play a vital role in water conservation, recharging ground water and ensuring water security. However, we have been losing our tree and forest cover at unprecedented rates. There is an urgent need for a change in approach and a focus on decentralised community based water management and conservation strategies.
On Sunday, the final day of the Mahotsav, the participants and visitors were treated to a mouth-watering food festival through which they got to sample a variety of delicious local delicacies prepared using organic ingredients from various parts of India like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala. The food festival also involved a hands-on workshop on Satvik Cooking by Heena Chowksi from Mumbai and a Masterclass on Millet recipes by Shalini Rajni.
The Using Diversity Network and its partners participated whole heartedly in the event displaying a variety of traditional seeds and wild foods in the exhibition and sharing experiences and ideas through expert sessions.
The UD partners who participated in the event included –
- PRERAK – UD fellows Basant Soni (Kamar project area in Gariaband District of Chhattisgarh) and Ramakant Jaiswal (Birhor project area in Korba District of Chhattisgarh) displayed a variety of traditional seeds and uncultivated foods of the Kamar and Birhor communities. Komal Ram Sahu displayed a variety of indigenous rice varieties.
- Nirman – Heeralal Sarote (Fellow for Baiga project area in Dindori District, MP) and Ram Singh (Community Fellow for Baiga project area in Anupur District, MP) displayed a variety of millets like kodo millet, pearl millet, sikiya, little millet, barnyard millet, sorghum, finger and foxtail millet, and traditional varieties of beans and pulses. Naresh Biswas (Chief Functionary of Nirman) conducted a session titled ‘Bewar Swarj’ through which he provided his insights into Bewar the traditional agricultural practice of the Baigas.
- Surja Paharia (Community Fellow from the Paharia project area in Sundar Pahari, Godda District, Jharkhand) who works with UD partner Soumik Banerjee brought a variety of traditional seeds and uncultivated tubers, leafy vegetables, fruits and mushrooms of the Paharias for display.
- Vijay Jardari (Senior UD Fellow) conducted a session on the Beej Bachao Andolan with which he has been closely associated for many years.
- Sahaja Samrudha – had a stall where they displayed the rich variety of seeds that they work with. Poovi (Community Fellow) also displayed a variety of traditional seeds and tubers.
- Keystone Foundation – Rohan Mukerjee (Programme Coordinator). UD fellows Sunilkumar N (Nilambur) and Chandran R (Irula project area in Pillur, Tamil Nadu) displayed traditional seeds and wild food from their areas.
