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[SANET-MG] return to organic cotton
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ROC.phpISIS Press Release 05/01/06
Return to Organic Cotton & Avoid the Bt-Cotton Trap
No more debt, pesticides and suicides for Indian cotton farmers who
avoid Bt-cotton and regain livelihood, health, independence and peace of
mind with organic methods
Rhea Gala reports from Andhra Pradesh
The green revolution turning full circle
In the fertile regions of Andhra Pradesh (AP) ‘white gold’ monocultures
of the high yielding hybrids of ‘Green Revolution’ cotton had turned the
state into the pesticide capital of the world even before the advent of
genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton. Now, however, the revolution is
turning full circle as more and more farmers are opting for low input
organic methods that are healthier and economically far more rewarding.
Non-governmental organisations such as the Centre for Sustainable
Agriculture, Modern Architects of Rural India, the Permaculture
Association of India, the Sarvodaya Youth Organisation and Oxfam are
working in many villages to promote and train small and marginal farmers
in non-pesticide management (NPM) of cotton leading to organic
production in the third year of uptake.
This initiative comes against a historical backdrop of government
support for high chemical input cotton production at national and at
state level that has sent the wrong messages to farmers. GM cotton is
now falsely promoted as the answer to reducing the scourge of
proliferating pesticide use, and is one of many reasons farmers are
succumbing to the pressure to grow GM cotton.
How AP became the ‘Pesticide Capital of the World’
Many of the cotton varieties once grown with a diversity of food crops
were swept aside and lost during the 1970s and 80s when the high
yielding varieties (HYVs) of the Green Revolution arrived, and the
irrigation infrastructure developed. These HYVs are expensive hybrids
that have to be purchased every year from seed dealers and nurtured with
further expensive inputs of fertiliser and pesticide, being far more
vulnerable to pests and the vagaries of the weather than the hardy local
varieties that they had replaced.
Farmers initially saw the system of industrial production as timesaving
and requiring far less knowledge of soils and pests; however it soon
proved to be a relentless treadmill. It degraded the soil, depleted
scarce water resources and proliferated cotton pests beyond the farmers’
worst nightmares, as both yield and profit progressively diminished.
Pest resistance and distortion of natural predator communities
necessitated galloping applications of the most toxic chemicals. Some 55
percent of all pesticides used globally are on cotton, more in AP than
anywhere else in the world. GM cotton hybrids, far from being the
solution to proliferating pesticide use, will actually accelerate this
trend.
Indeed, many poor farmers and labourers can be seen with their pesticide
back-packs moving backward and forwards along the rows of cotton through
a haze of spray, with no protective mask or clothing. These farmers are
very aware of the problems of pesticides, and many thousands of them are
killed either passively through poisoning or actively through suicide
when their crops fail.
Why organic cotton farming makes sense
Mr MD Amzad Ali of Sarvodaya Youth Organisation, Mr G Raja Shekar of the
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad, and Mr Y Kambaram of
Modern Architects of Rural India introduced me to farmers who have been
practising NPM cotton production and had moved on to organic cotton
production after two years. By making and applying their own natural
fertiliser they were able to access a high quality premium of 200 rupees
per quintal (1 quintal = 100kg) at a price of around Rs1900/q.
The NPM system was started in 1997 by MARI and attracted farmers because
of microcredit available to them and the low investment needed for seed
and other natural inputs such as cow dung and urine mixture and neem
seed that were available locally. The farmers and NGOs organised four
local cooperatives of between 100 and 500 farmers that soon became
self-sufficient and able to pay their way in the local market, adding
substantially to the local economy. Farmers who complete the five year
programme - of two NPM years followed by three organic years - become
trainers and role models for new entrants.
Tookya Niak knew farmers who planted GM Bt cotton that failed and
committed suicide, and decided to try the NPM method himself. Now in his
second year, he stressed that the low investment required will almost
certainly lead to a profit, and that farming had become virtually free
from stress as his debt was minimal.
He was confident that his variety was hardy and dependable and that he
could remove most pests during the early immobile stages in their life
cycle through his skill in selecting an effective deterrent. He also no
longer worried about the health of his young family, and expected that
his yield would rise as his soil improved and insect communities reached
a natural balance. He was still expecting about seven quintals per acre
on his poor red soil.
Indeed Niak had become such a beacon in his community that the village
has been renamed after him and the NPM credo written on the walls in the
village square to counter the pro Bt cotton posters found everywhere.
His positive appraisal of the NPM method and its advantages were
confirmed by all the other farmers that we questioned.
Recreating the natural balance of predators and pests
The skill of managing pests without recourse to synthetic pesticide
requires knowledge of life cycle and behaviour, vigilance, an armoury of
pest specific deterrents, and a healthy community of natural predators
of pests. To control pests such as the spotted bollworm, American
bollworm, tobacco caterpillar, pink bollworm, aphids, jassids, thrips,
white fly and mites, each of which is capable of causing between 30 and
50 percent damage to a crop, natural predators are the most effective
year after year.
For example trichogramma, a tiny parasitic wasp, lays its eggs in the
eggs of the American bollworm that soon die; bracon, another parasitic
wasp, lays its eggs in bollworm larvae. Hoverfly larvae feed on aphids;
pirate bugs feed on bollworm larvae, and big eyed bugs feed on bollworm
larvae and white fly. Chrysopa, a lacewing, feeds on bollworm
caterpillars and sucking pests; ladybird beetles and larvae feed on
aphids and deter Spodoptera. Ground beetles and dragonflies feed
generally on crop pests, and robber flies, predatory wasps and red tree
ants steal bollworm larvae for the young in their nests. Preying mantis
and spiders are also predators of cotton pests; as are many
insectivorous birds for which perches are erected throughout the crop.
Mechanical and chemical aids to pest reduction include pheromone, light,
kerosene, water, and yellow and white coated grease traps that are laid
within the crop as a particular pest proliferates. Castor plants are
grown that capture tobacco caterpillar eggs and marigolds that capture
American bollworm allow these pests to be ‘nipped in the bud’. Specific
pests may be sprayed with a mixture of fermented cattle dung and urine
that also add micronutrients that help wilt and other diseases. Neem
seed kernel extract, chilli/ ginger/ garlic extract, a tobacco decoction
and jaggari solution, made from the residue of sugar cane, are used to
deter a variety of destructive insects. Unlike the use of pesticides,
none of these biological/organic control methods will lead to pest
resistance or harm the environment; instead, they serve to restore the
ecological balance and to increase the farmers’ health, profit,
knowledge and independence.
Organic farmers regain full independence
The third year of the NPM programme is the organic stage of cotton
production, and is run by Oxfam. Oxfam has accessed a traditional Tamil
Nadu non-hybrid variety called surabhi from the Central Institute of
Cotton Research in Coimbatore. This variety has an excellent staple
length and is therefore popular with buyers. It also has resistance to
both pests and diseases such as bacterial leaf blight, and grows well in
conditions similar to those in AP.
Moreover, the surabhi seed costs Rs130 per acre, as opposed to Rs450 per
acre for hybrid cotton and Rs1600+ per acre for GM Bt cotton. It will
give a standard yield of 3 to 4 quintals per acre in poor conditions,
though in good conditions last year, it yielded 8 quintals per acre.
More importantly, it yields viable seed that puts seed control back in
the farmers’ hands, allowing them to retain and propagate the line; an
unusual benefit in this age of hybrids.
So with freely available local fertilisers such as tank silt,
vermicompost and green manure, and cheap natural pest control inputs, a
profit from the crop is almost inevitable, giving peace of mind to the
farmer, who can repay any debt to the cooperative for lending to new
members.
Research backs up the case for NPM and organic cotton
A report entitled Bt cotton vs. Non Pesticidal Management of cotton:
Findings of a study by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 2004-05
compares Bt and NPM cotton in AP. It reports conclusively that Bt cotton
is more prone to pests and diseases and that beneficial insects are more
prevalent on NPM cotton. It also reports that the cost of pest
management of Bt cotton is 690 percent higher than in NPM farming
systems and that seed cost of Bt cotton is 355 percent higher than
conventional varieties (‘Organic cotton beats Bt Cotton in India’ SiS 27).
Madhavi, who works for Oxfam on this programme, told me that in
Maharashtra, Karnataka and other Indian states, there is a culture of
organic agriculture, and she is currently talking to local officials to
promote organic production in colleges and research institutes in AP and
to familiarise local farmers with this lost tradition.
The greatest triumph for organic cotton happened when the AP Minister of
Agriculture Mr Raghuveera Reddy got the failed Monsanto cotton hybrids -
Mech-12 Bt, Mech-162 Bt and Mech-184 Bt - banned in the state in May
2005, and is now supporting the expansion of the NPM programme since
witnessing its success in the village of Punukula (‘Organic Cotton Beats
Bt Cotton in India’ SiS 27).
Madhavi added that the multinational companies have corrupted seed
dealers who gain a much larger profit on each drum of Bt seed sold than
non-Bt seed, and although the Bt crop looks destined to fail again this
year, most illiterate farmers, through wishful thinking, have believed
the hype of the profiteers. They remain caught in a cycle of debt,
pesticide and despair.
But the transition to organic cotton has been very successful where
implemented and Oxfam is seeking to give more farmers this sustainable
option and will expand its programme to other crops, including rice, in
the near future. This is the opportunity that small farmers need to
avoid falling into the Bt cotton trap, and return to autonomy and
financial independence.
.
The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097, London NW1 OXR
telephone: [44 20 8452 2729] [44 20 7272 5636]
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