Times Agricultural Journal

Return to the Native

The Cuban experience paves the way for our regular column on organic farming, introduced by Sreeram Chellappa

To ensure self-sufficiency in agricultural production the Green Revolution introduced high yielding varieties of various crops and followed intensive cultivation practices with the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs. The intensive use of artificial inputs not only polluted soil, water and the environment; it also had a direct impact on human health. Extensive researches have proved that continuous use of inorganic fertilizers containing NPK (Nitrogen, phosphate and potassium) in large quantities paved the way for deterioration of soil health and in turn resulted in ill effects on plants, human beings and cattle. Excessive application of chemical fertilizers effects physical properties of soil such as infiltration, soil aeration, soil structure and bulk density. It also leads to malnutrition as these inputs bring about excessive digestion of carbohydrates and proteins. Pesticides contaminate air while being sprayed or through evaporation from soil or water. The entry of pesticides in water mainly occurs due to surface run off, sediment transport from treated soil, industrial wastes and direct application of pesticides to control aquatic pests. Soil receives pesticides when they are directly applied, besides runoff from plants, rains and dumping of empty containers of pesticides. Consistent use of pesticide has led to development of resistance among pests and vectors and results in an adverse effect on non-target organisms. Continuous use of pesticides also has an adverse effect on beneficial organisms like honeybees, and pollinators. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, a group of pesticides, can accumulate in the adipose tissues of human beings and given that it is very difficult to ascertain the extent of safety of residue in human beings, it can prove to be dangerous.

Organic farming on the other hand is a holistic process as it is blessed with characteristics that protect the long-term fertility of soils by maintaining the composition of natural elements. It fosters natural biological activity in soil, provides crop nutrients by the action of soil microorganisms and assures nitrogen self-sufficiency through the use of legumes and biological nitrogen fixation. Organic cultivation also facilitates effective recycling of crop residues and livestock wastes. It curtails weed, disease and pest control through crop rotations and organic manuring. It ensures extensive livestock management and pays full regard to their behavioral needs with respect to nutrition, housing, health, breeding and rearing. Organic farming on account of only utilising natural inputs has positive impact on the wider environment and the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats.

The Cuban experience
One of the biggest problems faced by proponents of organic agriculture is the firmly established agro industry, which claims that organic, small-scale, sustainable methods of food production are simply not economically viable.

Cuba is proving that perception to be a myth. It is the first nation to attempt to convert its entire system of food production to sustainable organic methods. This conversion does not mean a simple substitution of organic inputs for chemical ones; Cuba has changed the very structure of its agricultural system. The formerly monolithic state farms have been slowly parceled out to cooperatives and individual farmers, thereby increasing their efficiency and allowing the farmers greater food security. In the cities, unused land has been made available to its citizens for cultivation, creating a vast system of organic urban gardens. More than 8,000 gardens in Havana alone produce 541,000 tonnes of food in 1998 and account for as much as 30 per cent of the nutritional needs of certain areas.

Cuba has become a leader in the world of organic agriculture. Its research and development and its extension agencies have advanced organic methods in the urban and rural sectors. When Cuba's trade relations with the Soviet bloc crumbled in late 1989 and 1990, the economic situation turned desperate. Imports of wheat and other grains for human consumption dropped by more than 50 per cent, while other foodstuffs declined even more. Cuban agriculture was faced with a drop of more than 80 per cent in the availability of fertilisers and pesticides, and more than 50 per cent in fuel and other energy sources produced by petroleum. Suddenly, a country with an agricultural sector technologically similar to California's found itself almost without chemical inputs, with sharply reduced access to fuel and irrigation, and with a collapse in food imports.

Alternative Technologies
In response to this crisis the Cuban Government launched a national effort to convert the nation's agricultural sector from high input agriculture to low input, self-reliant farming practices on an unprecedented scale. Because of the drastically reduced availability of chemical inputs, the state hurried to replace them with locally produced biological substitutes. This ushered in the development of biopesticides, naturally resistant plant varieties, crop rotations and cover cropping to suppress weeds. Earthworms, compost, natural rock phosphate and animal and green manures replaced synthetic fertilisers. In place of tractors...

contd...

TO READ FURTHER... SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR COPY TODAY!!!