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Indian farmers better than scientists: Nobel laureate Joseph
Stiglitz
Tuesday January 15, 2013 07:22:29 PM,
Imran Khan,
IANS
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Patna: Nobel laureate
Joseph E. Stiglitz is impressed by the organic farming practices
in Bihar's Nalanda district, terming its practitioners "better
than scientists" and calling for their experiences to be
researched so that these can be replicated elsewhere.
"Indian farmers are better than scientists," Stiglitz said here
after visiting organic farmers in Nalanda, the home district of
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
"It was amazing to see their success in organic farming.
Agriculture scientists from across the world should visit their
farm land to learn and be inspired by them," said Stiglitz, a
professor of economics at the prestigious Columbia University and
here to deliver the Asian Development Research Foundation Lecture
2013.
"There is a need to take the experiences of these farmers
seriously and go for research to give a scientific approach to
adopt it outside," he added.
According to Chanchal Kumar, a senior government official who
accompanied Stiglitz, the economist minutely inquired about the
techniques.
He said that Stiglitz also told farmers that the increasing trend
of organic farming is good for the health too.
Bihar is turning its attention to popularising and promoting
organic farming in the state to usher in a new "Green Revolution"
in agriculture.
The Nitish Kumar government has already decided to promote organic
farming in at least one village of the state's 37 districts. It
launched an "organic farming promotion programme" over a year ago,
intended to develop organic grams (organic villages).
A sum of Rs.255 crore (nearly 50 million USD) has been sanctioned
for development of organic farming, said an official of the
agriculture department.
The new techniques however did not have many takers in the
beginning.
"Initially the farmers were reluctant to adopt organic farming
despite the state government providing free seeds, fertiliser and
experts to guide them. But now more farmers have expressed
interest in adopting the method of farming," said a district
official in Nalanda.
Last year, a young farmer of Darveshpura village in Nalanda set
what is claimed to be a world record in potato production through
organic farming. Earlier, farmers of the same village created a
world record by producing 224 quintals of paddy per hectare.
Nitish Kumar has repeatedly said that he wants to have one or two
agriculture products from the state on the plate of every Indian
in the coming years.
"Several steps, including promotion of modern techniques of
farming, organic farming and use of improved seeds, have been
taken in the last two-three years, but it is still a long way to
go in developing the agriculture sector," said the agriculture
department official.
Agriculture is the backbone of Bihar's economy, employing 81
percent of workforce and generating nearly 42 percent of the
state's domestic product, according to the state government.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at
imran.k@ians.in)
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