By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 29 Feb: “We are happy to hear that women are trained at the Navdanya farm. These trained women farmers will make agriculturists aware and train them to conserve food biodiversity in their respective areas of the country. This work is being done by the organisation in collaboration with women for biodiversity conservation and seed saving over the last 30 years and is a remarkable example,” said Madhu Chauhan, Chairperson, District Panchayat, while addressing women on the second day of the two-day “Biodiversity Conservation, Organic Farming Trainer Programme” at Navdanya Biodiversity Farm in Ramgarh, here.
A hundred women and 25 men farmers from Uttarakhand, Odisha and West Bengal participated in this programme. Renowned experts interacted with these trained farmers.
Dr Dheeraj Singh, former Director of Rapeseed and Mustard Research Directorate, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, held a session with the farmers. He called upon the farmers to promote the cultivation of mustard or other oilseed crops according to the season in their respective areas. He said that by selecting healthy seeds at the right time and adopting proper agricultural practices, abundant and quality production can be achieved. The farmers are getting good profits with mustard production in recent times and mustard oil is also the best from the health point of view.
Professor Dr Vir Singh from Pantnagar University shared his valuable experiences with farmers on biodiversity based organic farming and seed sovereignty. He has been with the Navdanya movement since 1985. “Sun is the main source of energy on our planet. Plants absorb this energy through photosynthesis. We get this energy from the Sun in the form of crops and food. Overall, the more diversity of trees, plants and crops flourishes in the world, the happier life will be on this Earth,” he emphasised.
On this occasion, environmentalist and director of Navdanya, Dr Vandana Shiva, spoke about the programme under which women farmers have been trained on ‘biodiversity conservation’ and ‘organic farming’ by the experts of the organisation over the last year. They were awarded certificates, here, today.
She emphasised that the health of the earth is deteriorating due to mono-cropping and chemical farming. Human health is continuously deteriorating and is falling prey to dreadful diseases like cancer.
Only “poison-free farming and food” would keep the earth, biodiversity and health in good condition, she declared.
On the first day of the programme, the trained women introduced themselves and pledged to reach out to as many farmers as possible within a period of one year so that organic farming can be promoted and biodiversity can be conserved. The coordinators of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal were also present. The programme was coordinated by members of the Navdanya family along with Dr MP Singh, Dr Preeti, Bhavana and Chandra Shekhar Bhatt.
