Kerala   

Vouching for organic farming

"There is growing opposition to corporatisation of agriculture in the U.S."

Andy Sarhanis

Organic farming helps preserve symbiosis between various life forms, says this organic food and farm consultant in a talk with

Mohamed Nazeer.

Among his friends and in the agriculture circles in Hawaii, U.S., he is known as `Gingerman.' The nickname cannot be more apt as 58-year-old Andy Sarhanis has much to say about the culinary and healthful virtues of ginger and turmeric. A farmer from Massachussets settled in Pahoa, Hawaii, for more than three decades, Mr. Sarhanis has been in Kannur for the past few weeks undergoing Kalari massage.

Mr. Sarhanis was an organic farmer in Hawaii and used to sell certified organic ginger under the label `Andy's Organic.' Now retired from active farming, he specialises in introducing superior crop varieties and traditional ethnic foods and spices. "Though I studied history in college, I moved to farming and am now more interested in the history of foods and farming practices in the places I visit," he says.

"When life evolved on the planet, there was symbiosis between plants, animals and life forms in the soil, and chemical farming has disturbed this symbiosis," Mr. Sarhanis says.

Organic farming is becoming very popular in the U.S. "It is growing unbelievably fast," he says.

Mr. Sarhanis says the use of fresh ginger is being re-discovered in the U.S. as a result of increasing awareness of its virtues and the presence of a large number of Asian immigrants. Turmeric is also becoming popular, he says.

He is for a new land ethics which re-sanctifies husbandry of the earth and calls for a return to compost consciousness and underlines composting and enlightened waste recycling practices.

Asked about corporate farming in the U.S., Mr. Sarhanis says that there is growing opposition to corporatisation of agriculture in the U.S.

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