Nayakrishi Andolon: Recreating Community Biodiversity-based Farming
By
Jahangir Alam Jony
UBINIG-Bangladesh1
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Introduction
Bangladesh, is a country in rich in agro-biodiversity. However, this aspect has been ignored in the mainstream agricultural policies which emphasises on the yield at the cost of destruction of the diversity. This is called the modern, chemical and mechanised agriculture, promoted and practiced by over 40% farmers since late sixties. Aggressive measures for the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and use of irrigation technologies were justified in the name of higher yield. This was the green revolution that resulted in a very negative experience. There is a severe erosion of agro-biodiversity and even the yield is not as high to cope with the loss of genetic resources. Socially, poor and marginal farmers are on the verge of changing farming asan occupation as they cannot afford to purchase chemical inputs. They were loosing their livelihoods. The gvernment only supports for HYV varieties and not for traditional varieties. Farmers faced severe lack of sponsorship. The use of chemicals in the fields of 40% of the farmers' fields had spill over effects on the entire enviroment specially the pesticides killed birds, fish, poisoned aquatic species, and plants and shrubs in the common fields. The More than 50% of the farmers are still practicising traditional agriculture partly or fully but they are facing an onslaught of thechemicals in their neighbourhoods having negative impacts.
In the 1990's farmers' responses to the negative impact of green revolution became pronounced. Specially after experiencing severe floods like those in 1987 and 1988, the farmers couldnot cope with the loss. However, the floods helped to get back alluvium in the lands which lost fertility dueto use of chemical fertilizers. Yet the poor farmers were looking for an alternative to the socalled modern agriculture. After the UNCED of 1992 the concept of biodiversity became very popular and it became an international movement. This was the time, when UBINIG initiated the process of mobilising the farmers for biodiversity based farming incorporating the local indegenous knowledge base of thefarmers, and particularly those of women. This approach is also built upon the newer knowledge on ecology, environment and related national, regional and international perspectives on biodiversity.
Nayakrishi Andolon
Nayakrishi Andolon, is the Bengali name for the New Agricultural Movement. It is a peasant initiative for biodiversity based farming. It is Not a traditional farming, but it is a New way to inbcorporate traditional and indegenous knowledge of farming based on the principle of preservation, conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and genetic resources. It is a Movement, because it is not just a new method of farming but a mobilisation of farmers as a community to achieve its goal. It is proactive to preserve biodiversity and also reactive against all actions which are detrimental and destructive to environment, ecology and and all forms of life including humans. It is based on 10 simple principles that is implemented to enhance material, intellectual and spiritual life of the individual farmer and the community as well. Presently, over 75,000 farming households practicing Nayakrishi in 34 districts of Bangladesh are engaged in Nayakrishi.
Nayakrishi farming has been practised by farmers for over last 10 years. The Nayakrishi is based on biodiversity and the integration of the latest knowledge and breakthrough in science and formal knowledge systems into the body of local and indigenous knowledge systems of the rural communities of Bangladesh. The Nayakrishi farmers are engaged in collection, conservation and regeneration of valuable germplasms and other biological and genetic resources that are still available in Bangladesh. The global significance of Nayakrishi Andolon lies in this fact where it not only aims to enhance the welfare of the local communities but conserve and enhance the biological and genetic resources that are vital for the survival of the humanity.
The Nayakrishi Andolon has systematically campaigned to move away from the single crop paradigm of Green Revolution that promotes monoculture, social unsustainability and externally supplying of high input technology, chemicals, pesticides, hybrid, bioechnology and transgenic crops. Nayakrishi farmers strongly oppose the technologies that have adverse and destructive implications for biodiversity, livelihood and food security.
The number one principle of Nayakrishi is to stop using Pesticides. Nayakrishi farmers, specially women believe that pesticides have contributed to the destruction of life, including animals, birds, fish, micro organisms and even humans. It is the major cause of diseases. The pesticides was adopted as the part of Green Revolution methods. It has destroyed severely the land, environment and health of people. Women felt it more directly as it affected their children.
New ways needed
In working with the farmers, UBINIG came to know that the practice of so-called modern agriculture, which had created a crisis. To get a more comprehensive understanding of how farmers perceive chemical-based agriculture, UBINIG undertook a study in 1989-90. Through discussions with farmers individually and in-groups, a wealth of information was collected. The points raised by the farmers were the following:
· The fertility of the soil was clearly declining. More and more fertiliser was required every year to prevent a decrease in yield.
· The natural fish and frog populations were declining in quantity and diversity.
· Pest attacks in the fields became more widespread and intense.
· There was a general decline in livestock and poultry populations. The reason was not economic poverty, but the lack of fodder. The new HYV rice produces less straw than the local varieties.
· There were fewer birds in the village as well as very few bees, butterflies and other insects, which resulted in poor pollination and low yields of fruit trees.
· Because farmers were producing nearly no pulses and oilseeds anymore, and the supply of fish, livestock products and fruits was far less, there was a general decline in the nutritive quality of food.
· The health situation was worsening. There were many diseases, such as gastric, skin diseases and respiratory diseases and many health problems faced by women in childbearing.
The strongest complaints against chemical-based agriculture came from women who complained about their health and the health of their children. The greatest of the problems were the effects of pesticides, which caused ecological and health problems. Moreover, pesticides were seen as a killer of human beings, as they were used for committing suicide as well as to murder women.
The farmers realised that the total amount of products and income of the farm declined both in value and in quantity. In the calculation of benefits from HYV varieties, farmers quickly realised that calculating productivity and income on the basis of the yield of a single crop is faulty and misleading.
These experiences led the farmers to search for new ways of food production. Initially, the peasant women took the lead in stopping the use of pesticides. This was mainly for health reasons. This experience was extremely important for UBINIG. Soon, a group of farmers organised themselves and started to experiment with green manure and compost. Compost made of water hyacinth became quite popular. Water hyacinth is available in plenty. This was the first breakthrough in the sense that the initial group of farmers became convinced that they did not need to depend on pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Soon ‘Nayakrishi Andolon’ (New Agriculture Movement) spread from village to village as a community-based movement dealing with more than sustainable technology. Rather, it is about regeneration of the life activities and social relations of rural communities and about the joy of living creatively with the entire world: human society and nature, visible and invisible, organic and inorganic.
In this UBINIG is playing an inspirational role and serving as a source of alternative information for farmers. It interprets into popular language knowledge currently available from science and other sources. Together with UBINIG farmers test new ideas in practical ways, to see if they are capable of assisting in their daily lives. Immense care is taken not to suppress the popular wisdom of farmers in the name of “science”, yet neither is farming life and knowledge romanticised.
Ten principles of Nayakrishi
As their experience and confidence grew, the farmers developed a set of 10 simple principles for Nayakrishi farming.
Principle 1: Absolutely no use of pesticides. Pesticides do not only kill pests, they also kill other living organisms, including those which are necessary for the fertility of the land. Monoculture is one of the main reasons for pest attacks. Pest-control practices can be implemented without the use of poisons.
Principle 2: No use of chemical fertilisers. The land must be made healthy through alluvial sediments, organic fertiliser, crop mixing and agroforestry, which give natural nourishment to the soil and ensure the presence of living microorganisms.
Principle 3: Pest management through conservation and constant regeneration of biodiversity. The practice of multi-cropping has become popular, also for pest management.
Principle 4: Agroforestry and integration of fuelwood, fruit and various multipurpose trees along with rice and vegetable fields. Exotic or imported agroforestry species are generally rejected.
Principle 5: Calculation of total production and income of farming to the household and the community as a whole, not the quantitative productivity of a single crop. In this way, a more accurate view of the overall benefits of the farm is obtained.
Principle 6: All domesticated and semi-domesicated animals, livestock, poultry and birds are part of the farming household.
Principle 7: Agriculture is also aquaculture.
Principle 8: Seeds and genetic resources are common resources of the community and must be conserved at the household and community level. The privatisation of seeds and genetic resources, the patenting of life forms and genetically engineering are resisted.
Principle 9: Water is wealth because it brings fertile alluvial sediments.
Principle 10: Stop the use of deep tube wells for irrigation. A lot of harm has already been caused to the groundwater and to the cultivable land.
Farmers know that bringing fertilisers (organic or inorganic) from outside the farm field is not the only or the best way to remedy the fertility crisis of the soil. Nitrogen-fixing species of plants and trees are growing in popularity and farmers are eager to experiment with new species. They are aware that "external" application of inputs is a hangover from the old habits of chemical agriculture. Where chemicals have been used extensively, a gradually decrease in the application of chemical fertilisers is suggested so that farmers do not face a decline in crop output. Farmers are constantly innovating new ways to increase the fertility of their soil, without "external" inputs.
Nayakrishi and biodiversity
Control over seed is the lifeline of the farming community. It are the women who conserve, propagate and germinate seeds. The loss of seeds from the household also meant the loss of power for women. The women of Nayakrishi therefore have started to rebuild their own veez sampad or "seed wealth". The concept strongly contrasts with concepts like "seed banks" or "gene banks". The peasant women are against any centralisation of seed wealth in the form of a "bank". The principles of seed collection, conservation, preservation and regeneration are the following:
· Women must regain control over seeds and the associated knowledge and skills. The common seeds should be preserved at the household level.
· For specialised seeds, or seeds that are not considered economically valuable to the villagers in immediate terms, a specialised network is being organised. This network conducts investigations and tests to know more about a particular variety. There is interaction within and between villages among the seed-network members. Men can also be members of such a network. Information on seeds and their collections cannot be shared with any "unknown" persons or agencies without the consent of the group.
· As an initial experiment, a community seed wealth centre enables Nayakrishi farmers to exchange seeds without incurring any costs.
· The community seed wealth centre is based on the experience of the women in seed preservation and germination. It uses earthen pots for the preservation of seeds. The seeds are kept in a place not different from a farmer’s house. The impact of the weather is observed closely and standardisation of an appropriate drying method for long-term preservation is studied.
· All gram karmi must maintain a nursery. In every village, nursery activities are conducted on a regular basis. Nayakrishi gram karmi sell their seeds and the saplings from which a part of their income comes.
· More research is necessary to evaluate and compare the performance of different indigenous and “high-yielding’ varieties (HYVs).
Because there are no more poisons used in the villages, the farmers get more varieties of fish and a wide range of uncultivated crops which either come as partner crops from the multicropping fields or are grown on the common land. Local species, breeds and varieties of crops, livestock, poultry and fish are given priority. The trend is in the direction of a pattern that is best suited for a particular farm in its totality, with livestock, birds and fish. Raising local breeds of livestock is easy and profitable. Local varieties are usually economically advantageous and ecologically suitable. But there is no romanticising over local varieties and farmers are not against HYVs offered by the formal sector as long as they can collect and preserve the seed. They are willing to try new seeds from the laboratory as long as they do not need pesticides, chemical fertiliser and water. They are strongly against hybrids which make farmers dependent on seed companies. The HYV seeds that can be cultivated the Nayakrishi way play a key role in the transition from the modern to the Nayakrishi system of cultivation.
Preservation and use of medicinal plants
The medicinal species and varieties are maintained and managed in the wild, although a few are domesticated. Nayakrishi argues that the medicinal value of a plant can best be ensured if the plant is collected from its own (wild) natural habitat. According to this principle, the maintenance and management of medicinal plants is done at two levels: through the structure of traditional midwives, and through women farmers specialising in medicinal plants.
There are always one or two households in the village which take the responsibility to ensure that all the common species and varieties are replanted, regenerated and conserved by the farmers.
Some women specialise in certain species and varieties. Their task is to collect local varieties from different parts of Bangladesh and to monitor and document the introduction of a variety in a village or locality. They keep the information about the species for which they are assigned up to date. The specialisation encourages individual persons to develop valuable knowledge in a particular area. Since this knowledge is highly valued by the group, the person gets immense respect and recognition that contribute in the process of building up a collective spirit and knowledge-sharing.
Marketing of the farm produce
The Nayakrishi farmers are able to meet their subsistence needs from their own production of food crops. The surplus production of vegetables, rice, pulses and oilseeds is sold first in their own villages, in the local hat – the weekly market, and bazaar – the daily market. People are very interested in buying vegetables and other food items that are produced without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The question of the taste of the vegetable is very crucial; therefore, they are willing to pay a slightly higher price for these products. But generally, the farmers do not want Nayakrishi products to be considered as exotic or luxury items. They must be for the common people. So the farmers do not charge higher prices if they do not have to.
In one area, the Nayakrishi farmers from several villages have formed their own market. They gather in this village twice a week and sell all their products collectively. They have put up a Nayakrishi banner to attract people to this market, which is gaining popularity.
In Dhaka, there is demand for local-variety rice husked in the traditional dheki – the husking wood. The farmers, in a limited way, are supplying this rice in Dhaka.
Counting the benefits
Around 75,000 families all over Bangladesh follow the principles of Nayakrishi Andolon, and the movement is spreading fast. Most important is the general confidence among farmers that Nayakrishi is "economically viable". Beside, the ecological situation is improving, the land is regaining fertility and biodiversity is enhanced.
Farmers’ livestock populations have increased by between 100-200%. Their cash income has increased by around 50-200%. Mixed cropping can be three times more productive than monocultures. It also provides revenue from cash crops. Farmers are economically better off because they do not have to incur the costs of inputs, while the crop output is almost the same as that of HYVs. Beside providing food security, it also is a very good risk management strategy.
The community seed wealth centres have also been extremely effective. After the harvest, the farmers are obliged to return two times the amount of seed they took. If the harvest was unsuccessful, then this condition is waived. Most farmers, however, return more than is required of them because the seeds and the seed wealth centres are "theirs" and they benefit directly from them. The farmers can also sell their seeds in the market. Many local varieties have been collected and reintroduced. In one community seed wealth centre 70 varieties of jackfruit have been collected.
The farming community is more confident than before in their capacity to change their life situation. The health impact is clearly visible. Without pesticides and chemical fertilisers and with a diverse nutritious diet the farmers and their families are a lot healthier and have less skin problems. There are also cultural impacts such as reduced incidence of violence against women. Similarly, the empowerment of women is achieved by the very nature of the relationship Nayakrishi brings into the life activities of the village.
Potential for upscaling
Poor farmers, those having land of less than one acre, make up 75% of the total number of Nayakrishi farmers. Among them, women form the majority of those who are taking the lead in mobilising other farmers. It is mostly the poor farmers who are joining Nayakrishi, mainly for economic reasons. The prices of chemical fertilisers and pesticides have increased significantly, and they have to use more fertilisers than before. There is information which shows that many poor farmers are indebted and forced to sell land because they are not able to cultivate anymore for lack of cash. These sections of the poor farmers are the ones attracted to Nayakrishi.
Over time, Nayakrishi is gaining acceptance from the middle farmers having land up to 1-3 acres and surplus farmers having land up to 3-5 acres. The representation is 20% (middle farmers) and 5% (surplus farmers). While the poor farmers are joining for subsistence reasons, the middle and surplus farmers have acknowledged the economic viability of the organic farming system as a whole. They have also realised the environmental hazards and the loss of biodiversity due to the use of chemicals and the overwhelming practice of monoculture.
At the national level, Nayakrishi is increasingly being taken up by smaller NGOs in their rural activities. A significant achievement is in the links that have been forged with agricultural scientists. The Nayakrishi practice has been able to provoke critical reflection in mainstream agricultural thought. There exists a very co-operative and supportive relationship between Nayakrishi and the main agricultural institutions of the country.
The policy-makers in the Ministry of Agriculture are quite aware of the Nayakrishi movement. UBINIG is now trying to influence them around the issues of pesticides, seeds and irrigation. The Nayakrishi movement received very little support at the national level even though the practice is one that is suitable for flood-plain ecosystem. Against all odds, it has proven that there is a viable alternative to the destruction of rural societies by “progress”.
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