Agriculture Module

Agriculture

Introduction:
On Thursday the 12th of March, there was great excitement because it was the day the agriculture module started. Since I was unfamiliar with the field of agriculture, I was so curious to learn about agriculture. The most interesting part to me was the complexity of agriculture and the question of what would be taught to us in the classroom in between four walls. The three day module focused on sustainable agriculture using organic farming, indigenous technology, low external input sustainable agriculture methods and practices that are environment friendly.

Module description:
The session began at exact official time and the facilitators were from the Agriculture Man and Ecology (AME) foundation. On the first day four resource people from the foundation came to share their views and cover the topics of the module. The facilitators were as follows:
1. Mr. Srikanth
2. Mr. Pattanshetty
3. Mr. Desai
4. Ms. Sangeetha

Mr. Srikanth took the major role in conducting the module and facilitating the whole process. In the beginning, the instructors clarified for the group the proceedings of the next three days, the modules covered, activities conducted, movies, field visits, evaluation and feedback. This gave a clear picture of what sort of learning I could get though the agriculture module. Mr. Srikanth also emphasized it would be very informal interaction and the participation should not be in the question and answer format, but everyone should contribute participation by sharing views.

Through this I felt a sort of comfort and his words were encouraging to one who was very necessary as I am an unfamiliar with agriculture. Each person was asked to share a brief introduction about them and to say where they want to work after the fellowship. His intention was to know how many wanted to take agriculture as a profession. Only two fellows showed interest working in the field of agriculture.

The first session was from Mr. Srikanth on agriculture and livelihood. It was a good session that taught me about the rural economy, globalization, forward and backward linkages, agricultural market, etc. It also focused on the current scenario, the statistical view of what is taking place in the field of agriculture in India. It was an interesting session that gave a brief idea on where and how India projects its agricultural standing at the global level.

Followed by this, two short movies of around 20 minutes each were displayed to provide a broader sense about agriculture and what is happening in and around the sector. It also included the culprits that are causing harm to the farmers and the environment. Mr. Srikanth added one point, saying it is the role of everyone to work for the eradication of misconceptions in the farmers.

Later in the day, Mr. Desai facilitated the session on evaluation of the farm field. As a reason of the session went on well, the facilitator had difficulty with his English. Apart from this, the presentation went on well and the core of the topic was presented effectively. The session helped me to learn the before and after of the green revolution, conventional agriculture, money market, etc.

Mr. Pattanshetty gave brief information about AME and its way of working and the areas of work. He said there is nothing that AME is doing new for to the farmers, it was all done in the past, but now they must remind those and increase awareness about the latest natural technologies to make the agricultural system sustainable. It helped me to know how the foundation works closely with the farmers and the natural resources. AME’s uniqueness is that it focuses on the area that is dry land.

Later in the day Mr. Srikanth facilitated a session on the latest practices in farming, as using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, overpopulation, etc, leading to climate change finally resulting in global warming in and around the world. He emphasized that Asia would be the most affected area due to the contribution of overpopulation. It taught me that it is everyone’s responsibility to act upon saving our environment from being harmed.

On the third day, Ms. Sangeetha took a session on Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA). The session focused on proper utilization, conservation and management of the natural resources that are available. The session also covered how a dry land can be used for an income-generation activity through conservation of water and soil through a modified cropping method. After this the fellows went for a field visit to learn about the activities conducted by the AME foundation.

The visit was to Kurdikere and Ramapura, which exposed fellows to Farmer Field School (FFS) and an agricultural exhibition, respectively. In the exhibition, all the natural methods were implemented in the models. In Kurdikere, we met the farmers group to learn the participatory method they adopt in FFS. Twenty members form FFS group that consists of 10 male and female each. The process of FFS meeting was explained, and I got a chance to come across practical implementation of the methods that were taught in the class that gave great insight into the agricultural practices.

On the last day, as a part of the assignment, the class was divided into four groups and was asked to debate on rural economy and industrial economy. It was a new experience and it was full of excitement and energy. The debating consisted of both quantitative and the narrative data about the topics. A fellow was chosen as arbitrator and had to make a decision on who performed well based on four criteria; preparation, content, conclusion presentation. According to the arbitrator, the team that debated in favor of the industrial economy was graded two points ahead of rural economy team.

Finally we came to the last section of the module, which was integrated farming. I learnt about managing pests by using indigenous methods and avoiding chemical farming. The session also focused on the livestock and its uses in agriculture.

After the conclusion of the module, all the fellows were asked to fill in the feedback form and were given an test to assess the effectiveness of the modules. It contained 25 questions that covered all the points that were focused on the last three days of module.

The entire module gave me the courage to say, “I can do agriculture”, because it was so effective, and though I cannot say I have become an expert in agriculture, no longer ignorant in agriculture. All these days I heard agriculture is difficult and not all do it. Now I learnt it is not the agriculture that is the tough part, but the practices that have been adopted that have made the process difficult. By adopting safe and natural methods, agriculture can be sustainable and also yield income generation activity by proper utilization, conservation and management of natural resources.

Learnings
From the Agriculture module, the following are my learnings:

1. Application of technology, like drip irrigation, sprinklers, bore wells, vermin compost, bunds, planting of trees on the bunds, etc.
2. Ill effects on human beings because of using insecticides and pesticides. It leads to acute respiratory infections, skin problems and many more, problems which may lead to death.
3. Mono cropping, dual cropping, Multi cropping, inter cropping, forestry agriculture, horticultural farming and introduction of poultry and piggery as profit-making ventures.

Key points:
1. Mono cropping: one yield in a year.
2. Dual cropping: yield of two crops in a year.
3. Multi cropping: getting two or more crop yields in a year.
4. Vermin compost: a mixture of cattle waste, quality soil and organic worms. It is kept until the mixture becomes rich in its quality after the worms act upon the soil and dung of the animals.
5. Horticulture farming: the growing of plants that yield fruits and nuts that lead to seasonal income and gives income for long years (3-4 years).
6. Forestry agriculture: growing of tall trees in a particular area on the field that help to prevent soil eradication, helps in cloud forming and in later years can lead to profit when cut down and sold.
7. Acute respiratory infections: severe infection in the lungs and that causes difficulty in breathing and, if not treated properly, may even lead to death.
8. Poultry: rearing of chicken for meat and eggs purpose.
9. Piggery: rearing of pigs for the purpose of meat.
10. Insecticides and pesticides: chemicals that are used to kill the insects and pests that may harm the crops.