Benefits of Organic Farming

Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on sustainable techniques to enhance the natural fertility of a farm, including crop rotation, companion planting, biological pest control, and naturally-sourced fertilisers such as compost, manure, green manure, and bone meal.

Pest-control measures such as mixed crops and fostering natural insect predators, as well as naturally-sourced pesticides such as pyrethrin, are employed, while it excludes or BIO strictly limits the use of synthetic petrochemical fertilisers and pesticides, plant growth regulators such as hormones, antibiotic use in livestock, genetically modified organisms; human sewage sludge, and nano materials.

The agricultural approach emphasises sustainability, openness, independence, health, and safety.

The conservation of natural resources and biodiversity is a core principle of organic production. Three broad management practices (prohibition/reduced use of chemical pesticides and inorganic fertilisers; sympathetic management of non-cropped habitats; and preservation of mixed farming) that are largely intrinsic (but not exclusive) to organic farming are particularly beneficial for farmland wildlife.

In a research report, “Does organic farming benefit biodiversity?”, using practices that attract or introduce beneficial insects, provide habitat for birds and mammals, and provide conditions that increase soil biotic diversity serve to supply vital ecological services to organic production systems.

Advantages to certified organic operations that implement these types of production practices include: decreased dependence on outside fertility inputs; reduced pest management costs; more reliable sources of clean water; and better pollination.

·         Nearly all non-crop, naturally occurring species observed in comparative farm land practice studies show a preference for organic farming both by abundance and diversity.

·         An average of 30 percent more species inhabits organic farms. Birds, butterflies, soil microbes, beetles, earthworms, spiders, vegetation, and mammals are particularly affected.

·         Lack of herbicides and pesticides improve biodiversity fitness and population density. Many weed species attract beneficial insects that improve soil qualities and forage on weed pests.

·         Soil-bound organisms often benefit because of increased bacteria populations due to natural fertiliser such as manure, while experiencing reduced intake of herbicides and pesticides.

·         Increased biodiversity, especially from beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizae have been proposed as an explanation for the high yields experienced by some organic plots, especially in light of the differences seen in a 21-year comparison of organic and control fields.

·         Biodiversity from organic farming provides capital to humans. Species found in organic farms enhance sustainability by reducing human input (e.g., fertilisers, pesticides).

Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organisation for organic farming organisations established in 1972.

Sikkim Become India;s First Official Organic State

Sikkim is the first fully organic state of India. Believe it or not, the landlocked state in Eastern India has done what many other states could not. Sikkim is now a completely organic state officially. Though the state attained the status in December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the official announcement during his maiden visit to the state of Sikkim.

Sikkim is a landlocked state nestled in Himalayas with no train or commercial flight connectivity till date. But Sikkim managed to succeed in its mission overcoming all the obstacles. Around 12 years ago, in 2003, the then government took this decision through a declaration in the legislative assembly. And the journey began. Over the years around 75000 hectares of land has been converted into certified organic farms following the guidelines as prescribed by National Programme for Organic Production. However it had struggles. Though sikkimese farmers never depended on chemicals heavily but there was the use of synthetic fertilizers. It was when the state banned its use that the farmers were compelled to go the organic way. Organic cultivation doesn't involve the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and thus helps to maintain a harmonious balance among the various complex ecosystems. Also it has improved the quality of the soil which further improves the standards of the crops produced there. Within 1.24 million tones of organic production in the country around 80,000 million is supplied by Sikkim alone.

As an entirely organic it can now boast of being a state where the tourists can savor fresh organic vegetables in the heart of Himalaya. Sustainable farming goes a step ahead as it provides environmental protection, bio diversity conservation and better agricultural products. It also lowers down pollution thus maintaining the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan state.

Bestowed with varied agro-climatic conditions, some of the major crops produced in Sikkim are cardamom, ginger, turmeric, off-season vegetables, flowers, Sikkim mandarin, kiwi, buck wheat, paddy maize and millets.

Setting an example for the entire nation,Sikkim now join hands with the organic states of the foreign countries like California, Wisconsin among others. Several other parts of India now also inspire the same and working hard to achieve the status. Leading the race is Kerala followed by Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

Skin Benefits of Castor Oil

Castor oil is one of the few natural products that fight several ailments. Here are the 7 amazing uses and skin benefits of castor oil in our daily lives:

1. Skin Problems:

Castor oil is a boon when it comes to skin problems like sunburn, acne, dry skin and stretch marks. It also helps evade infections like warts, boils, athlete’s foot and chronic itching. To treat problems like sun burn, warts, yeast infections, fungal infections or acne, follow these simple steps:

·         Take a cotton wool ball

·         Dip it in castor oil

·         Apply directly to the affected skin area.

·         Leave it on for an hour

·         Wash off clearly after an hour.

·         Repeat this in the morning and night for faster results.

If the affected area is small – soak a band-aid in castor oil and apply it on the affected area. Finally cover it with a clean one.

If the affected area is large – soak a cloth in castor oil and place on the affected area for an hour before washing off.

2. Ringworm:

Castor oil effectively treats ringworm, a common and stubborn skin problem across all age groups. The active compound called undecylenic acid, found in castor oil, helps treat ringworm successfully. Here is a step-by-step guide to its use:

·         Dilute 2 teaspoons of castor oil in 4 teaspoons of coconut oil.

·         Alternatively, you can wash castor leaves in water and soak them in coconut oil for few hours, and then heat gently.

·         Apply over the affected area and cover with a cotton cloth.

·         Keep it overnight for best results.

·         Repeat this procedure until cured completely.

3. Wrinkles and Fine Lines:

Castor oil, when applied to the skin, penetrates deep and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin. This in turn helps soften and hydrate our skin. It delays the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, making the skin smoother, softer and younger. The fine lines around the eye area can be treated with its application. For best results, apply it everyday, after washing your face, over wrinkles and fine lines. You may also apply castor oil for skin before bed daily.

4. Acne:

Castor oil is rich in Ricinoleic acid, which fights off the acne-causing bacteria. It effectively penetrates the skin layers, making it an excellent remedy for acne. To use castor oil for skin:

·         Wash your face with warm water, as this will help open your pores.

·         Simply massage your face in a circular motion with the oil.

·         Keep it overnight.

·         Wash off your face the next morning with cold water.

5. Moisturizer:

Castor oil is a wonderful moisturizer. The high concentrated fatty acids penetrate the skin easily. This helps remove dry patches and restores hydration of the skin. Only a little amount of castor oil is required for this purpose. Here’s a quick tip:

·         Apply a few drops on face.

·         Massage it well on your skin every night.

·         Just follow the above steps to wake up to smooth, supple and revitalized skin every morning.

6. Fade Scars:

Castor oil is often used for fading scars. Though it works slowly in this regard (needs to be used regularly to see prominent results), it can produce permanent solution naturally. The fatty acids it contains penetrate deep within the scar tissue and plump it out while encouraging the growth of healthy tissues around it. It helps the scar diminish slowly.

7. Pigmentation:

Dermatologists around the world recommend castor oil because of its ability to reduce pigmentation. Castor oil is crammed with fatty acids, specifically omega-3 fatty acid, which are the magic ingredient that helps reduce pigmentation as they pierce the scar tissue and pump it out. These omega-3s hydrate the skin, while stimulating the growth of healthy tissue, thus giving you blemish free and supple skin.

Organic Food Industry Scope

Indian organic food market is growing. There is great increase in the percentage rise of demand of organic products since the last decade and as per many reports, more and more individuals are opting for organic products nowadays. So it is not surprising that the number of organic farms in India has also grown up with a great pace while the total number of farms declined in the last decade. The market may be expanding rapidly but organic is still only 2% to 5% of total shelf space in various hypermarket and supermarket chains such as Spencers, Natures Basket, Fabindia, Hypercity, etc and organic food market is even less than 2% of total food market in India. In comparison, organic products are 5% of the American food market, 8% in Germany. The organic industry has a great room to grow in India and abroad: the world organic market is already close to $100 billion a year.

It should be easy to persuade a lot more farmers to switch to organic methods as organic methods are not only good for soil, water, air and whole ecosystem and organic food is nutritious and tasty but organic methods of farming are a bit profitable than the conventional farming methods because of the use of the latest technology and innovative ideas for cost reduction in it. Other reason is that organic saves energy of almost 30-50% per hectare.

So what is not to like about the organic approach? It all comes down to yield. Organic methods produce about 30-40 per cent less grain per hectare. From the point of view of the farmer, it is not about volume but net income, where organic is the clear winner. But what about feeding the world? Without the boost from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, there just wouldn't be enough food. Even if farm chemicals damage health and the environment, the alternative of mass starvation is worse.

Is there a way to solve this problem? Can we get the benefits of organic farming with the productivity of chemical farming? I think maybe yes.

One thing to consider is that for decades most agricultural research has gone into conventional farming that uses chemicals. Worldwide billions of dollars are spend for research and development in agriculture and agri-food every year and as compared to that, an extremely small amount is spend for organic food science. Could the productivity gap be narrowed if more research went into organic methods?

Another thing to consider is whether there are ways to increase the food supply without pumping it up with chemicals. Through various Agriculture and Agro-Food reports and survey, it is found that around one-third of the global food supply is lost or wasted every year. In India, food worth $8.3 billion, or nearly 40% of the total value of annual production, is wasted last year (of which, meat accounts for about 4% of food wastage but 20% of the cost, while 70% of fruit and vegetable output is wasted, accounting for 40% of the total cost.). India is the world biggest producer of milk and 2nd largest producer of fruits & vegetables, but also India is world largest waster of food. Household food loss and waste accounted for around 1/5th of total wastage, with retail waste and loss (example, poor warehousing conditions, absence of modern distribution chains, few cold storage facilities, etc resulting into perishing of food, ) accounting for the rest.

Eliminating waste in the agro-food system could, in part, make up for the lower productivity of organic methods. Other consideration is that despite its high productivity, the global agrofood system fails to feed close to a billion people, almost all of them the rural poor in low-income countries. The solution for them is not higher production of food in wealthy countries, it is to create conditions that help them produce more food and gain more income. As more than 2/3^rd of the country population lives in rural areas of which more than half lives in small villages , so such a situation, organic methods, particularly agro-ecology could provide the best way to achieve the goal.

Tips for Diabetic Person

Best Recommended Food for a Diabetic Person:

1. Apple: As we told in our earlier article, it is one of the best fruits and antioxidant available and has low calories and great level of fibre contents which helps in keeping control of cholesterol and sugar level in blood.

2. Avocado: They are quite rich in mono saturated fatty acids which are good are heart and helps in reducing blood sugar level and triglyceride level. Except mono saturated fat, they are also good source of potassium and various vitamins.

3. Barley: Grains and cereals are healthy for Diabetic people but barley is the best among grains. The fibres in barley are rich in beta glucan which reduces cholesterol by binding to bile acids and excreting the bile acids from body. Bile Acids are produced by liver from cholesterol and is used by body to digest fat. As barley fibres helps in excretion of more bile acid from body, liver produces more bile acid which results in more consumption of cholesterol.

4. Beans: There have been number of studies proving that a cup of beans dairy helps in good control over blood sugar level and blood pressure. There is also wide variety of beans available in the market which you can choose as per your own taste such as   black (Kālē sēma), kidney beans (Rājamā ), garbanzo (Chana), white, lima, pinto and a lot more.

Some other food recommended: Blueberries, Broccoli, Carrots, Oats. Drinking a lot of fresh water is always good for health.

Best Non Veg food recommended: Chicken and turkey meal are really great in fibre contents and low in fat (except of skin which has high level of saturated fat) and a great help in controlling cholesterol level. As per the study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health study, eating fish just once a week can reduce the risk of heart attack by 40 per cent and heart attack is one of the biggest problem faced by Diabetic Patients. Fatty Acids contained in fish (particularly in salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, halibut, and albacore tuna) are rich source of Omega 3 which decreases the risk of arrhythmias and decreases triglyceride levels.

Food Not Recommended and Bad for the health of a Diabetic Person: Food contain large amount of sodium such as sauces like soya sauce, pepper sauce, pickles and canned vegetables, etc., food cooked with large quantity of butter , regular oil or regular cheese, white rice, white bread, regular mayonnaise, regular soda drinks, energy drinks, coffee with sugar and lot of cream.

Instead of Eating	Eat
White Rice	Brown Rice
Fried or Mashed Potatoas	Sweet Potatoes or Yam
White Bread	Brown Bread or Whole Grain Bread
Corn	Peas

The Finest Fruits & there Health Benefits

1. Apple: As they say “An apple every day, keeps the doctor away”, and recent scientific studies have shown that the saying is infact true. Fibers in apple called Pectin (a medium-sized apple contains about 4 grams of fibre) helps in controlling cholesterol and keeps you regular. And the powerful flavonoids in it reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and all sorts of cancers. A new study performed on mice, shows that drinking apple juice could keep Alzheimer’s away and fight the effects of aging on the brain. Biting and chewing an apple stimulates the production of saliva in your mouth, which reduces tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria.

2. Apricots: Apricots are one of the best sources of vitamins A, C and E, potassium, iron and carotenoids. The lycopene, a carotenoid pigment found in apricots is good for your eyes and prevent heart disease, LDL cholesterol oxidation, certain cancers – especially skin cancer & there is some evidence that it may lower the risk of prostate cancer. Apricots are also rich sources of antioxidants. Antioxidants are required by the body to aid the body’s natural functioning. More the amount of antioxidants in the body, higher is the rate of elimination of toxins from it. And the fiber in apricots is healthy for your heart & helps relieve constipation and in addition the dietary fiber in apricots helps you to lose weight.

3. Bananas: A normal banana has almost 108 calories. Bananas are naturally radioactive (but the level of radiation is not high enough to cause harm), this comes with the fact that they contain relatively high amount of potassium (i.e. approx 400 mg), which helps lower the risk of high blood pressure and stroke and plays a key role in muscle function. Bananas are delicious and sweet to eat, making them a good sugar substitute and natural energy source. Bananas are the only fruit that contains the amino acid tryptophan plus vitamin B6, they help your body produce serotonin—a natural substance that alleviates depression. Even its peel is usefull,  rubbing the inside of a banana peel on a mosquito bite (or other bug bite) or on poison ivy will help keep it from itching and getting inflamed.

4. Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries): Berries contains outstandingly high amount of powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals — those naturally occurring nutrients that help protect cells from damage. Berries keep you mentally sharp. Berries are sweet but that doesn’t mean that they are bad for diabetic people, rather because of there good level of fiber, they can use that in a diabetic diet. Studies show berries offer great protection against heart disease stroke, cancer and many other diseases. People with a strong inherited risk for heart disease may find that a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables, including berries, can reduce their chances of having a heart attack According to research, people having atleast 2 berries a week have have a 25 percent less chance of developing Parkinson’s disease than their peers.

5. Citrus Fruits:  A cup of raw orange sections contains 85 calories, 21 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fiber, which delivers 160 percent of your daily vitamin C needs, 14 percent of your folate requirement and 7 percent of your potassium needs, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant it is also required for the synthesis of collagen, which helps wounds heal and helps hold blood vessels, tendons, ligaments and bone together. Citrus Fruits are also a good source of folate, fiber and other antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Citrus fruit has been shown to help reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and flavonoids in citrus fruitsmay halt cancer cell growth and slow down tumor progression.

Though Initial years are difficult- yields give good returns on organic Farming

Agriculture without use of chemicals is not a new concept and has been in place since time immemorial. However, the concept is gaining momentum in recent times with agriculturists speaking about the soil depletion and industrial wastes disturbing the ecological balance.

Concept of Organic farming involves various techniques and methods to stabilise the output from agricultural process. Overall this includes the processes which aims to retain the quality of soil and keep the cultivable nature of land intact so as to ensure sustainable production. It also involves the use of organic wastes like aquatic wastes and animal wastes, biological materials in combination with the microbes that release the requisite amounts of nutrients to the crops for a pollution free environment. For a eco-friendly environment that needs to passed on to next generations as part of the responsible citizenship, it is nonetheless important to stop the ongoing exploitation of land.

While the non-renewable natural resources have been exploited for human greed, the scientists have realised that “green Revolution” needs a re-look to maintain the natural balance at all costs. The existence of life and property is equally important in a scenario where the fossil fuels are diminishing at a faster pace. The main concept of organic farming includes the following:

• Maintaining the organic matter, enhancing the biological activities and intervention of machine made techniques very sparsely.
• Inducing required nutrients to the crop by way of supplying nutrient sources through soil micro organisms
• Recycling the organic materials like livestock manures
• Attending to the issues involving the process adopted and its corresponding effect on the surrounding environment.
• Using crop rotations, organic manuring and resistant variants of corps as a way out to control weeds and pests.
• Allowing the livestock to exhibit their natural behaviour for re-production and other life cycles
• Ensure proper returns on investments made
• Socially and economically acceptable quality and quantity of food
• Avoid all forms of pollutions

Success of alternate techniques 

The success of this mode of agriculture is choosing not to make use of chemical techniques that are easily available in alternate modes of producing food. The yields therefore largely depends on the enthusiasm of the manager.

Initial phases are difficult

The initial years are therefore very crucial especially during the conversion of land from conventional uses. After the initial three to five year period, the returns will be higher.  But it has to be observed that the pest problems persistent in this type of production method is very difficult to tackle, even when bio pesticides are used.