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Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Idéfix Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:19 pm
A new green revolution is taking shape in the village of Darveshpura in Nalanda district of Bihar. Farmers there have smashed world records in per-hectare yields of rice, and significantly improved yields of potatoes, wheat and other crops, without using genetically modified seeds, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. This amazing development is the result of the efforts of a Bihar state government employee who was trained by a small NGO.
What happened in Darveshpura has divided scientists and is exciting governments and development experts. Tests on the soil show it is particularly rich in silicon but the reason for the "super yields" is entirely down to a method of growing crops called System of Rice (or root) Intensification (SRI). It has dramatically increased yields with wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, yams, tomatoes, garlic, aubergine and many other crops and is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world's 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them.
Instead of planting three-week-old rice seedlings in clumps of three or four in waterlogged fields, as rice farmers around the world traditionally do, the Darveshpura farmers carefully nurture only half as many seeds, and then transplant the young plants into fields, one by one, when much younger. Additionally, they space them at 25cm intervals in a grid pattern, keep the soil much drier and carefully weed around the plants to allow air to their roots. The premise that "less is more" was taught by Rajiv Kumar, a young Bihar state government extension worker who had been trained in turn by Anil Verma of a small Indian NGO called Pran (Preservation and
Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature), which has introduced the SRI method to hundreds of villages in the past three years.
The results in Bihar have exceeded Chaurassa's hopes. Sudama Mahto, an agriculture officer in Nalanda, says a small investment in training a few hundred people to teach SRI methods has resulted in a 45% increase in the region's yields. Veerapandi Arumugam, the former agriculture minister of Tamil Nadu state, hailed the system as "revolutionising" farming.
Last month Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz visited Nalanda district and recognised the potential of this kind of organic farming, telling the villagers they were "better than scientists". "It was amazing to see their success in organic farming," said Stiglitz, who called for more research. "Agriculture scientists from across the world should visit and learn and be inspired by them."
"If any scientist or a company came up with a technology that almost guaranteed a 50% increase in yields at no extra cost they would get a Nobel prize. But when young Biharian farmers do that they get nothing. I only want to see the poor farmers have enough to eat."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/16/india-rice-farmers-revolution
What happened in Darveshpura has divided scientists and is exciting governments and development experts. Tests on the soil show it is particularly rich in silicon but the reason for the "super yields" is entirely down to a method of growing crops called System of Rice (or root) Intensification (SRI). It has dramatically increased yields with wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, yams, tomatoes, garlic, aubergine and many other crops and is being hailed as one of the most significant developments of the past 50 years for the world's 500 million small-scale farmers and the two billion people who depend on them.
Instead of planting three-week-old rice seedlings in clumps of three or four in waterlogged fields, as rice farmers around the world traditionally do, the Darveshpura farmers carefully nurture only half as many seeds, and then transplant the young plants into fields, one by one, when much younger. Additionally, they space them at 25cm intervals in a grid pattern, keep the soil much drier and carefully weed around the plants to allow air to their roots. The premise that "less is more" was taught by Rajiv Kumar, a young Bihar state government extension worker who had been trained in turn by Anil Verma of a small Indian NGO called Pran (Preservation and
Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature), which has introduced the SRI method to hundreds of villages in the past three years.
The results in Bihar have exceeded Chaurassa's hopes. Sudama Mahto, an agriculture officer in Nalanda, says a small investment in training a few hundred people to teach SRI methods has resulted in a 45% increase in the region's yields. Veerapandi Arumugam, the former agriculture minister of Tamil Nadu state, hailed the system as "revolutionising" farming.
Last month Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz visited Nalanda district and recognised the potential of this kind of organic farming, telling the villagers they were "better than scientists". "It was amazing to see their success in organic farming," said Stiglitz, who called for more research. "Agriculture scientists from across the world should visit and learn and be inspired by them."
"If any scientist or a company came up with a technology that almost guaranteed a 50% increase in yields at no extra cost they would get a Nobel prize. But when young Biharian farmers do that they get nothing. I only want to see the poor farmers have enough to eat."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/16/india-rice-farmers-revolution
Idéfix- Posts : 8808
Join date : 2012-04-26
Location : Berkeley, CA
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Guest Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:31 am
remarkable news for green revolution 2. chemical fertilizers are what ruin the soil for future yields.
Guest- Guest
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Guest Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:05 am
nalanda was a centre of buddhist and hindu learning. was this unique knowledge of fortifying crop yields passed through the vedas? dr. sharma should investigate.
on another note, every time i drive though nalanda (en route to patna), all i can smell in the air is the fragrance of cannabis sativa. it's a weed.
on another note, every time i drive though nalanda (en route to patna), all i can smell in the air is the fragrance of cannabis sativa. it's a weed.
Guest- Guest
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:07 am
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
on another note, every time i drive though nalanda (en route to patna), all i can smell in the air is the fragrance of cannabis sativa. it's a weed.
I have heard that cannabis sativa seeds given to birds regularly make them sing beautifully!
goodcitizn- Posts : 3263
Join date : 2011-05-03
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Seva Lamberdar Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:23 am
"Instead of planting three-week-old rice seedlings in clumps of three or four in waterlogged fields, as rice farmers around the world traditionally do, the Darveshpura farmers carefully nurture only half as many seeds, and then transplant the young plants into fields, one by one, when much younger. Additionally, they space them at 25cm intervals in a grid pattern, keep the soil much drier and carefully weed around the plants to allow air to their roots. The premise that "less is more" was taught by Rajiv Kumar, a young Bihar state government extension worker who had been trained in turn by Anil Verma of a small Indian NGO called Pran (Preservation and
Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature), which has introduced the SRI method to hundreds of villages in the past three years."
>>> Let's see what the farmers in Himachal, including in village Ansoli, were doing on their own (without being trained by the specialists) more than 50 years ago (when I was still in school),
(1) transplan the seedlings singly (one by one) instead of in bunches (2, 3 or 4), because one by one (separate) planting leads to better growth and more produce from the plant;
(2) keep enough spacing between the seedlings while transplanting so that the maturing plants don't interfere with each other and impede growth;
(3) use this method of single / separate transplanting of seedlings for several kinds of plants / crops,
(a) rice (paddy),
(b) potato, (in this case potato tuber buds are planted instead of seedlings)
(c) tomato,
(d) onions,
(e) cauliflower,
(f) eggplants,
(g) marigolds,
etc. etc.
I am sure many other places and countries have been doing the same for ages (transplanting riceand other seedlings young, singly and with enough spacing). It's nice to see this knowledge finally reach Bihar.
Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature), which has introduced the SRI method to hundreds of villages in the past three years."
>>> Let's see what the farmers in Himachal, including in village Ansoli, were doing on their own (without being trained by the specialists) more than 50 years ago (when I was still in school),
(1) transplan the seedlings singly (one by one) instead of in bunches (2, 3 or 4), because one by one (separate) planting leads to better growth and more produce from the plant;
(2) keep enough spacing between the seedlings while transplanting so that the maturing plants don't interfere with each other and impede growth;
(3) use this method of single / separate transplanting of seedlings for several kinds of plants / crops,
(a) rice (paddy),
(b) potato, (in this case potato tuber buds are planted instead of seedlings)
(c) tomato,
(d) onions,
(e) cauliflower,
(f) eggplants,
(g) marigolds,
etc. etc.
I am sure many other places and countries have been doing the same for ages (transplanting riceand other seedlings young, singly and with enough spacing). It's nice to see this knowledge finally reach Bihar.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6572
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Idéfix Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:40 am
I am curious, Sevaji. What kind of per-hectare yields were the Ansoli rice farmers getting?
Idéfix- Posts : 8808
Join date : 2012-04-26
Location : Berkeley, CA
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Seva Lamberdar Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:12 am
Paniniji, I don't remember the rice yield / acre or hectare now. It was quite a while back for me to deal with such figures. I just recall people transplanting the rice seedlings,
(a) singly (one by one instead of bunches, for better growth and spread),
(b) very young (to avoid damage to seedling roots during transplanting), and
(c) with enough / wide spacing (to enhance the foliage and produce).
(a) singly (one by one instead of bunches, for better growth and spread),
(b) very young (to avoid damage to seedling roots during transplanting), and
(c) with enough / wide spacing (to enhance the foliage and produce).
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6572
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Guest Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:43 am
is this really true? i know that elephants snack on cannabis sativa once in a while and go masth/musth.goodcitizn wrote:Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
on another note, every time i drive though nalanda (en route to patna), all i can smell in the air is the fragrance of cannabis sativa. it's a weed.
I have heard that cannabis sativa seeds given to birds regularly make them sing beautifully!
Guest- Guest
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by goodcitizn Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:16 pm
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:is this really true? i know that elephants snack on cannabis sativa once in a while and go masth/musth.goodcitizn wrote:Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
on another note, every time i drive though nalanda (en route to patna), all i can smell in the air is the fragrance of cannabis sativa. it's a weed.
I have heard that cannabis sativa seeds given to birds regularly make them sing beautifully!
I'm told canaries are given cannabis sativa seeds. I haven't googled to see if there are bird seed brands to that effect.
goodcitizn- Posts : 3263
Join date : 2011-05-03
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Seva Lamberdar Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:49 pm
btw transplanting young seedlings (in the case of rice) naturally requires less water to intially grow the plant than that (water) needed if the seedlings were "older" or more mature. That is extra benefit (less water required for very young seedlings during transplanting) which I forgot to mention earlier.Seva Lamberdar wrote:Paniniji, I don't remember the rice yield / acre or hectare now. It was quite a while back for me to deal with such figures. I just recall people transplanting the rice seedlings,
(a) singly (one by one instead of bunches, for better growth and spread),
(b) very young (to avoid damage to seedling roots during transplanting), and
(c) with enough / wide spacing (to enhance the foliage and produce).
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6572
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Bihar farmers smash world records for crop yields
by Seva Lamberdar Thu Feb 21, 2013 3:03 pm
Patent on Turmeric.
The war began thus: In May, 1995 the US Patent Office granted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center a patent [#5,401,504] for "Use of Turmeric in Wound Healing."
http://www.google.com/patents/US5401504
Well, well, well. Some discovery, that. Indians grow up with a constant awareness of turmeric. It permeates their life. It is an easy and generous plant [curcurma longa] that grows throughout the sub-continent. The tuber when dried keeps
practically forever. Its decoction is a stubborn dye. It is a condiment that adds character to Indian food and helps digestion. Turmeric powder heals open wounds. Drunk with warm milk, it stems coughs, cures colds and comforts throats. Indians paint doorways with turmeric paste as an insecticide. Women in the south make a depilatory skin cream with it. Add the juice of fresh lime to dry turmeric, let it marinate for three days, dry it in the sun and grind it to a fine powder and voila, you have the brilliant red kunkum that 'dots' Indian women's foreheads and surrounds the gods in the temples.Roots are exchanged between people as a formal symbol of goodwill. Indians place freshly uprooted plants at the altar during Pongal and offer worship .
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/traditions/turmeric.html
The war began thus: In May, 1995 the US Patent Office granted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center a patent [#5,401,504] for "Use of Turmeric in Wound Healing."
http://www.google.com/patents/US5401504
Well, well, well. Some discovery, that. Indians grow up with a constant awareness of turmeric. It permeates their life. It is an easy and generous plant [curcurma longa] that grows throughout the sub-continent. The tuber when dried keeps
practically forever. Its decoction is a stubborn dye. It is a condiment that adds character to Indian food and helps digestion. Turmeric powder heals open wounds. Drunk with warm milk, it stems coughs, cures colds and comforts throats. Indians paint doorways with turmeric paste as an insecticide. Women in the south make a depilatory skin cream with it. Add the juice of fresh lime to dry turmeric, let it marinate for three days, dry it in the sun and grind it to a fine powder and voila, you have the brilliant red kunkum that 'dots' Indian women's foreheads and surrounds the gods in the temples.Roots are exchanged between people as a formal symbol of goodwill. Indians place freshly uprooted plants at the altar during Pongal and offer worship .
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/traditions/turmeric.html
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6572
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
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