Here is the place

Every aspect of life after completing its cycle arrives back to its roots wherefrom it has emerged. For the last few decades, the world farming conversion setup after arriving at its zenith at the cost of nature, bio-network, and environment is struggling hard to be back to its roots. In the start of the twentieth century, the food deficiency in Indian subcontinent prompted the whole region to grow more with high yielding varieties, farm mechanization and use of chemical fertilizers.

The green revolution in India initiated in the 1960s brought great changes in agriculture produce and agrarian economy but later on the excessive use of chemicals adversely affected the ecosystem and the quality of food.

   

Thus degrading environs and harmful produce has compelled the agriculture strategist world over to seriously consider gradual withdrawal of aggressive chemical plant nutrient and plant protection regimens and adopt the organic farming protocol strictly.

Amazingly, for last more than a decade, much hype has been created about organic farming as if something new and innovative is presented in agribusiness.

But practically organic farming is the same old eco-friendly integrated farming with modern scientific techniques where no artificial and chemical interventions to boost the plant growth and enhance crop production are acceptable.

And its ultimate motive is to provide safe food to the humankind in compliance with the ecosystem while respecting the mother earth.

Kashmir like other designated temperate areas has a unique climatic and environmental setup that influences its farming procedures and timings. The added exclusivity with Kashmir is its geographical location.

Landlocked bowl-shaped high altitude valley qualifies Kashmir as the ultimate destination for well-established dedicated organic farming practices.

In plains with unending stretches of farm-land phasing out and ultimately completely stopping the use of chemicals and other hazardous inputs and farming practices is not that easy.

Particularly, in Indian subcontinent creating and establishing perfect organic farming is practically impossible because rules and regulations are less stringent and can be easily bypassed.

Kashmir if explored properly under real green[organic] scientific management can turn into organic farming heaven and with its exclusiveness in climate and environment it can prove market leader in organic farm produce.

To start with the planners and authorities can explore the organic farming potentials in more environmentally secure and isolated areas like the Gurez, Machil and other smaller remote areas and later on engage other parts of the mainland valley in a phased manner.

The success stories and ‘seeing is believing’ acceptance will attract more farmers and thus simple efforts can turn into a conservational revolution to grow safe food for the humanity and establish an exclusive, sustainable and highly remunerative agrarian economy.

Kashmir’s horticultural sector with huge production and known for its unique aroma and taste provide enough opportunity for green farming. Growing horticulture crops organically will make it more presentable in the contemporary marketing era where every distinguishing feature and quality of the crop counts for better returns.

The secure cash crops like Saffron, aromatic and medicinal products and vegetables provide the best opportunity to introduce organic cultivation. These crops having very less intervention of chemicals provide enough prospects to go organic in a much shorter period and create an inimitable organic brand world over.

Many other sectors indirectly associated with farm produce in Kashmir have enough scope to adopt organic procedures of production and can easily influence the market for better earnings.

The paradigm shift from aggressive high production oriented farming to eco-friendly cultivation will have to be gradual and will require huge incentivization at initial stages.

However, with understandable success and establishment of robust agriculture economic setup, the change will not only show better returns in a specific time frame but will certainly bolster the allied sectors related to soil and the ecosystem.

The climatic uniqueness that governs the crop timing and pattern in Kashmir agriculture sequence as compared to the plains in the subcontinent will govern the success of the organic farming initiative in Kashmir and will put Kashmir and its Agri-products much ahead of country’s only fully organic state–Sikkim.

Organic farming initiative and establishment blends well with its other economic sectors like tourism and handicrafts. Kashmir because of its topography, environment and climatic system fits well into the scheme and protocol of organic farming as laid down by the national and international organic farming promotion, monitoring and certifying agencies.

Kashmir’s planners, farmers, and other agencies related to agriculture both in private and public sector should join hands explore the uniqueness and draw a comprehensive roadmap to introduce the organic farming in the valley in a big way. God willing it will be a great success.

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