PUBLIC TALK DETAILS:

[Poster][Facebook Event]

DATE: Friday, May 14, 2010 (6:30-8:30PM)
LOCATION: LOW 4050, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
FREE & OPEN TO PUBLIC
More Information: cazbah10 @ hotmail.com

ABOUT REVATHY:

In May 2009, Cyclone Aila devastated the coasts of West Bengal, India. AID responded swiftly, supporting the relief work of Mukti, Baikanthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS) and a network of groups called Rights and Equity for All (REFA). AID partners provided relief in 7 blocks of North and South 24 Parganas, reaching out to approximately 150,000 people. By end of June, AID's total support to Aila Relief was approximately $70,000.

Even as the relief work was tapering down, the biggest concern was the salination of the agricultural lands that would leave thousands of families without livelihoods. We requested help from Saathi Revathy, who had successfully reclaimed land in Tamil Nadu after the Tsunami. Revathy booked the earliest available tickets to Kolkata, visited the affected areas and talked extensively to the farmers. She was taken by the simplicity of the lives of the people as well as their resilience in the face of such a calamity. Most land holdings are about 1/3rd of an acre. The scale of salinity was intimidating for many small farmers. Revathy assured the farmers that it was still possible to reclaim the land using locally available plants and material. She quickly identified Dhaincha, a locally growing sesbenia species which can tolerate both salinity and drought. The strategy was to sow Dhaincha densely on the fields while the paddy nursery was being raised. The fast growing Dhaincha would fix the nitrogen and improve soil permeability. Its green canopy would prevent excess evaporation and add to the organic matter of the soil.

A month later, 20 farmers were trained by Revathy on the effects of salinity on soil and its reclamation. Suspecting it was too late in the season for the use of Dhaincha seeds, she suggested an alternative of covering the field with green leaves for 3 days, followed by the systematic use of bio-inputs such as Amrit Pani, Panch Kavya, Gibrelin solution and several organic pest repellants. The preparation of the bio-inputs was demonstrated in the class. Amrit Pani helps the decomposition of the organic matter, fish tonic induces better growth and the Giberalin-rich coconut tonic induces flowering. Cow urine and herbal tonic would replace all pesticides. T-shaped branches planted in the field would be an invitation for the birds to perch and play their natural role of being a predator of the pests. All methods suggested by Revathy used inexpensive inputs that were locally available.

AID volunteers from Kolkata and Boston had been involved in every step of the effort of coordinating amongst the various parterns. They visited the farmers regularly after the training, taking their questions to Revathy and relaying the answers back. They also raised awareness about the rehabilitation schemes announced by the Government and urged people to organize themselves to ask for their entitlements. On subsequent visits, our volunteers found that almost everyone had taken up the techniques shared by Revathy. Some seedlings had been destroyed by the heavy rains. The use of Amrith Pani was found to be very popular. In comparison to a chemically treated field, the organically treated plants were healthier. Farmers were finding that some pests that were resilient to chemical pesticides were being successfully controlled by the herbal repellents, specially in the case of Lady's finger (Okra). In the days following Aila, there had been many speculations by people and institutions that agriculture would not be possible in the Sunderbans for at least 3 years.

With her modest yet powerful techniques, Revathy has quietly proven them to be wrong.

Saathi Revathy will share her experience with us on soil reclamation and organic farming by simple means.