The Hindu : National : Organic farming planned in Andamans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2005

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National

Organic farming planned in Andamans

By G. Venkataramani

CHENNAI, MARCH 7. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) is preparing a strategy for organic farming in the country. It has also programmes to make the post-tsunami Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the largest organic farming islands in the world, according to the NCF Chairman,M. S. Swaminathan.

Inaugurating a four-day inter-disciplinary dialogue on `Biotechnology and Organic Farming' at the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here today, Prof. Swaminathan emphasised the need for an evergreen revolution to enhance productivity in perpetuity. It would focus on integrating all natural resource management practices and follow the participatory research mode with farming families, without endangering the ecological foundations, he explained.Delivering the keynote address, Bernward Geier, Director, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM), said that the organic farming concept was totally holistic and it could not co-exist with "genetically manipulated" organisms (GMOs). The GMO was unconditionally banned in organic agriculture and food processing. He was critical of the "golden rice" rich in vitamin A. As much as 9 kg of the rice is needed for a grown-up individual to meet the vitamin A requirements. "Food security is the biggest issue in our society, and unethical scientific claims should not be allowed to interfere with it.

The MSSRF Executive Director, M. Velayutham, said the dialogue would be an ideal platform to resolve contentious issues in the area of organic farming and biotechnology. The Programme Director, MSSRF, Sudha Nair, spoke. About 50 participants are attending the workshop, organised by the MSSRF and IFOAM, NCF and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

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