Regenerating Agriculture & Dairy Practices
As a child had you ever heard of conditions like gluten or milk intolerance? Or for that matter of galloping obesity and the smorgasbord of lifestyle and diet-related maladies facing our country today?
Long story short, they are all linked to the side-effects of the Green and White Revolutions of the 60s. The Green Revolution short-sightedly tried to increase agricultural production through the use of fertilisers and excessive practice of mono-culture and the so-called ‘new technologies’, like genetically modified HYV (high-yielding varieties) of cereals, especially dwarf wheat and rice. The short-term success of the movement tragically superseded traditional agri-tech and farming methods. Inspired by the ‘success’ of the Green Revolution, the White Revolution attempted to increase production of milk and milk products, by importing foreign breeds like jersey cows, bypassing local breeds, importing foreign feed and glossing over indigenous R&D advances. The result: The weakening of our agriculture and dairy practices on the one hand and various kinds of food intolerances and wasted agricultural lands parcels on the other!
Can our own regenerative practices in farming and dairy production still be recovered? How can we usher in a culture of “Eat local” and subsistence agriculture wherever possible? How do we blend indigenous farming methods into modern, large-scale agricultural production and techniques? Can innovations like drip irrigation, grafting, permaculture, hydroponics, organic manure preparation and farming accelerate an agri-revolution in India? Should we form practices around seed bank creation to save the last of our original varieties and strains?
Can our indigenous farm and dairy technologies really be termed ‘cutting edge’ to merit global patents? What reforms need to be implemented in Dairy & Agriculture College syllabi across the country and in what realistic time frame can this be accomplished?
Join us as we engage with leading urban and rural agriculture and dairy technologists, policy makers and thought leaders, to create the next agriculture and dairy revolution in India.
