Integrating farm with bio-based practices for food security and sustainability

Since the 1960s, agricultural production in India has been enhanced significantly due to extensive use of fertilizers, improved seeds, plant protection chemicals and irrigation. But increased crop production has accelerated the removal of plant nutrients from the soil by almost four times over the last two decades, constraining the quality of soil resources. The Agricultural Training Centre (ATC), Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, has been trying for decades to tackle the problem through trials and experimentation, in collaboration with the farmers in the villages. Bio-intensive farming is one of the options to keep the agricultural production system friendly with overall natural ecosystem as well as generate enough production for sustainability of the farm household. As a pilot project, the ATC implemented the concept in three villages of Ruppur Gram Panchayat of Birbhum district, West Bengal, through 50 households. Here chemical agriculture was highly preferred in spite of decreasing net return per unit area. The impact of the project shows considerable reduction of some chemicals, increasing trend for conservation of natural resources, generation of self-employment as well as sustainable income of the farm house holds.