Sahakar Bharati held two events as a part of the targeted campaign under the Namami Ganga Programme and Arth Ganga to promote Natural Farming amongst the farmers in the Ganga Basin. While one was sited in Delhi, the second one took place in Haryana.
On the birth anniversary of Gandhi Jayanti, an event was organized at the Sur Yamuna Ghat, Wazirabad, Delhi, which saw a participation of around 100 workers associated with Sahakar Bharati.
The second program was conducted in collaboration with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in which more than 200 farmers took part. It was organized at Bayanpur village, Sonipat, Haryana.
NMCG Director General G. Ashok Kumar presided over both events. While addressing the participants, Kumar gave an overview of the looming water scarcity, especially groundwater, in the country and emphasized Natural Farming.
“In order to ensure food security in India, a Green Revolution was brought about in the 1960s in which farmers were the most important contributors. The country is indebted to the farmers, especially from Haryana and Punjab, for ensuring we are all well-fed,” Kumar said, adding, “However, despite opposition, the use of tube wells and borewells also increased around that time and groundwater extraction was preferred over canal irrigation due to various reasons.”
Kumar further added that the extraction of groundwater and extensive use of technology and pesticides resulted in water scarcity and contamination and most importantly, we lost touch with nature.
“The friendly bacteria have vanished, so have the earthworms and soil quality due to the use of pesticides causing various diseases,” he said. “In view of this, the Prime Minister has been emphasizing shifting to Natural Farming and depending on the wisdom of our ancestors for water management and food cultivation.”
Readers would recall that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NMCG and Sahakar Bharation 16th August 2022 in the presence of Union Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to achieve the vision of a sustainable and viable economic development by public participation, creation and strengthening of local cooperatives towards realizing the mandate of Arth Ganga, that aims to link people with the river through a “bridge of economics”.
Some of the major objectives the MoU envisages include identification of 75 villages in five states on the main stem to be designated as ‘Sahakar Ganga Grams’, promote natural farming among the farmers, FPOs and Cooperatives in States along Ganga and generate ‘More net-Income Per Drop’, facilitate marketing of natural farming/organic produce under brand Ganga through creation of market linkages, promote people-river connect through an economic bridge etc.