Organic Farming Projects
Dalit farmers are often so poor that they cannot afford expensive fertilizers and pesticides. Since the green revolution, they have also lost much of their knowledge about natural, organic farming. One farmer was very surprised when she learned that the ladybugs on his aphid-infested mustard plant are good, that they eat the aphids. She said he had always killed them, thinking they were eating the plants. Such lack of knowledge leads to very poor yields. If a poor farmer has many children (the average in the area is about five kids per family), this means she will not be able to feed them properly. Consequently, many of the children suffer from malnutrition. Sustainable, organic farming is ideal for these poor areas: it is environmentally sound, requires very little money, and is labour intensive. Done right, organic agriculture can bring high yields and provide the people and their children with healthy, nutritious food. Most importantly, organic farming improves soil fertility, whereas high-input agriculture over time almost always depletes soil micro-nutrients and leads to salinisation.
