The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : A silent crusader for neem

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Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

A silent crusader for neem

A single neem tree can do the job of 10 air conditioners. It can be used to tackle issues like global warming.

Photo: K. Ananthan

Ramesh C. Saxena, an entomologist by profession, talks to Amutha Kannan on the virtues of neem and the efforts he took to grow them in the Philippines.

In the next 10 years, the annual global neem trade will be to the tune of $ 500 million.

If India is able to develop enough products and have supportive policies, then we will stand to gain, says Ramesh C. Saxena, Chairman, Neem Foundation and Trustee, Eco Development Foundation.

This septuagenarian, who has been crusading for the cause of neem for more than 35 years, firmly believes that neem can convert dust into gold.

An entomologist by profession, his interest in neem began when he was working in the Philippines in 1976, a time when the country did not have a single neem tree.

“There was abundance of rice and no proper means of storage. I remembered how my mother used to store grains back home for long periods with the help of neem leaves. Also the fish that used to thrive in the paddy fields were dying in large numbers. I decided to do something on my own,” – and thus began the neem story in Philippines.

Dr. Saxena sent for neem oil and neem cake from India and used it on a trial basis in the paddy fields.

The results were there for all to see. His neem experiments gained visibility and with $ 6 lakh aid from the Asian Development Bank, he began an intense research programme in Philippines with the help of scientists from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

In 1980 one lakh neem seedlings were planted.

After that success story there has been no looking back for him.

From a lakh trees, he moved on to mobilising two lakh in northern Uganda, near river Nile, six lakh in Tanzania, and 20 million in China.

Though India has 22 million trees, he says, it is not enough.

Through the Neem Foundation which is a non-profit organisation, he aspires to make the number of neem trees in India touch the 100 million mark.

According to him, all parts of the neem tree are useful.

He lists out the ailments that can be cured by the root, stem, leaves, bark and even the sap of neem.

More than its medicinal value, the foundation wants to promote neem for its ability to tackle environmental issues.

Now that many countries have realised the benefits of neem, they are all trying to plant saplings, says Dr. Saxena.

Unfortunately since neem thrives only in a tropical clime, countries like the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Canada, are unable to grow neem trees, he points out.

India has the distinct advantage of a tropical weather; but people are not very much aware of the goodness of neem, he laments.

A single neem tree can do the job of 10 air conditioners. It can be used to tackle issues like global warming.

“Use of neem as a pest control agent will aid in bringing down considerably the farmer suicides that are going on in Vidarbha region, near Nagpur. The suicide is not just because a crop has failed. It is because the farmer has bought insecticides worth Rs. 16,000 per acre a crop (roughly four months) that puts the farmer in a tight corner,” he explains.

The foundation has started a multi-location demonstration trial of neem based pest control agents to sensitise the farmers.

Dr. Saxena does not want to use the word pesticide for the neem preparations because anything which has a “cide” in it means killing.

Use of neem as pest control agents is the Gandhian way of controlling pests and insects without killing them, he asserts.

He plans to make a presentation on neem for sustainable development and environmental conservation to the Planning Commission.

He is also garnering support of school children to plant saplings for posterity. “Journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step”, he concludes.

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