Permaculture activists aim to scale up coverage area, eye Chhatisgarh, Odisha

Propagators of permaculture technique of farming are looking at newer geographical locations like Odisha, Chhattisgarh for spreading its use and are looking to partner with educational institutions for the same.

They are planning to have awareness programs for farmers and are calling for including farming as a subject in state schools.

Narsanna Koppula, co-founder, Aranya Agricultural Alternatives, said, “We roughly have more than 25,000-30,000 hectares under permaculture in India in states like Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka etc. We plan to take it to Chhattisgarh, Odisha, etc., and will be looking at partnering with the local educational institutions.” He was speaking on the sidelines of 13th International Permaculture Convergence in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Permaculture is a technique of farming which calls for integration of land, animals, resources and people, i.e. having animal enclosures within the farm, no usage of chemicals and using only natural seeds instead of genetically modified seeds. This, they claim, helps maintain soil health and increase productivity.

Renowned environmental activist Dr Vandana Shiva opined that the government’s efforts on improving soil health through cards are only meant to check its fertility, thereby increasing fertilizer usage in case of a deficiency.

“Instead, the government should look at soil health as a holistic concept which takes stock of micro-organisms in the soil that are better indicators of soil health rather than NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium),” she said.