TRADITIONAL BEGINNING: Subhash Palekar, natural farming expert, inaugurating a seminar on `Culture and Agriculture' in Mysore on Saturday. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: Subash Palekar, natural farming expert, on Saturday blamed the Green Revolution for the plight of farmers in the country.

Inaugurating a symposium on "Culture-Agriculture" organised by Rangayana as part of "Bahuroopi" National Theatre Festival at Janapadaranga here, he said the Green Revolution, which was launched for a specific purpose, had affected farmers who lost their land fertility owing to chemical farming.

Holding the Green Revolution responsible for the increasing cases of suicide by farmers, he said companies manufacturing fertilizers and pesticides had used agriculture universities to promote their products.

He said over use of fertilizers would change the character of the land. Farmers would not be in a position to cultivate their land by ploughing it and they had to depend on tractors. Appealing to farmers not use fertilizers, he said they should not succumb to the "conspiracy" of multi-national companies. Despite knowing the impact of chemical farming, there was no effort by writers and thinkers to create awareness among farmers, he said.

Terming organic farming, which was being propagated in recent years, as another conspiracy by the vested interests, he said that it was expensive than chemical farming and vermicompost, which contained heavy metals, would harm the health of the people. Natural farming technique was the only possible solution for the problems being faced by farmers. There would be no investment and farmers would get a good price for their produce.

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