Good reason for Organic Farming
Cyclone Nivar hit Tanjore district in Nov. 2020, causing flooding that broke decades of records. Along with incessant rains and winds that reached speeds of over 100 kms/hr, it wreaked havoc in the region. Tiruttaraipoondi, which is one of the major agricultural belts in Tanjore district was the most affected. Tanjore being the rice basket of India, and the month of November is the peak time for standing crops. Many hectares of land having almost 200 different rice varieties of Paddy crops, set for a bumper harvest got flooded due to this cyclone.
Just two days of non-stop rains and winds was enough to wreak havoc in the lives of the farmers in this district. Almost 75% of harvestable crops got destroyed.
Ray of Hope:
In all this destruction there was a silver lining for farmers who cultivated native rice varieties using organic methods. Hardy rice varieties such as: Black Rice(Karuppu Kavuni), Energy Rice(Mappillai Sambha) and other such 25 varieties stood their ground. The farmers from “Therkai” village which is part of Thiruttaraipoondi taluk who migrated to Organic farming a decade ago reaped the benefits.
One farmer said “With climate change and unseasonal rains, the Black rice and energy rice varieties withstood all odds of destruction”
So is there any doubt whether Organic farming is the way to go. ? Think again and support farmers who migrated to this methodology.