Pakissan.com; Indiscreet use of fertiliser injurious to crops

There was a time when our farmers were pretty hesitant to use chemical fertiliser. Public agencies concerned with agriculture had to undertake forceful campaign to popularise its use by demonstrating practically its usefulness to increase production of crops by leaps and bounds.

The efforts paid appreciable dividends and thus our farmers were convinced and started the use of chemical fertiliser indiscreetly even by purchasing it at the black market prices during its shortage.

The increased use of chemical fertiliser in the country also became instrumental in setting up several chemical fertiliser manufacturing industrial units, both at public and private levels.

Now the recent research undertaken in the neighbouring country, India, has proved that although the use of chemical fertiliser ostensibly appears beneficial to increase crop yields, in reality it is injurious to crops.

A leading Indian activist and scholar, Dr Vandana Shiva of the New Dehli-based, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resources Policy, strangely disclosed in a seminar organised by Aurat Foundation on bio-piracy and its implications in Lahore a couple of years ago, that farmers in India had seen their incomes rise sharply after they stopped using chemical fertilisers and. pesticides.

This disclosure, if true, should be an eye-opener to our agricultural experts, particularly our apex research organisation viz Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the provincial agricultural research institutes.

It is not known that such a research has ever been undertaken anywhere in Pakistan. And if not, it is high time, that immediate and proper research should be undertaken on this aspect.

Now how do our agriculturists, both in the public and private sectors, react to the reverse situation if it at all comes true? It is a very important question to be answered soon in the national interest.

While disclosing the injurious effects of chemical fertilisers Dr Shiva instead advocated the use of natural compost which is not only good for plants but is comparatively cheaper.

According to her many farmers do not know the long-term benefits of this traditional manure. On the contrary they continued using chemical fertiliser as an aggressive marking and sales campaigns of the various multinational manufacturers of chemical fertilisers.

Besides, Dr Shiva also invited the attention of Pakistan and India to take necessary joint steps for warding off the damaging effects being inflicted on the Third World farmers by US seed companies using genetic engineering technology.

She particularly emphasised the need of Pakistan and India working together to fight off patents granted to the US firms for making Basmati rice. In this connection mention of capturing seeds market in South Asia by a large US company, by Dr Shiva was also very appropriate.

This company is trying to monopolise this market by buying up its competitors and then using technology in such a way that farmers should end up buying from it each season.

It was also disclosed that the above company is the second largest in the world and got this enlarged by buying two other US based firms included in the top ten seed companies.

This company has also bought 26% stake in one of India's largest hybrid seed companies by paying over 20 times the paid-up value of the shares. This company then announced a joint venture wit Bangladesh's Grameen Bank in 1998 stating that, it would help finance and provide environmentally friendly technologies to the country's farmers. But this effort could be materialise due to unknown reasons.

Dr Shiva is of the view that on the face of it there seems nothing wrong with expanding its business activities by the above-referred company. But what is objectionable is the sort of technology the company is using. The technology undertaken under a programme called the "Technology Protection System" with the blessings of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), genetically alter the seeds sold by the US seeds companies that if replanted they would not regerminate.

India, to protect its teaming farmers from this hidden "blessing banned the import of seeds incapable to be regerminates in 1998. How things are taking place in Pakistan in this regard (if at all import of such treated seeds is allowed) is not known.

The nation would like to hear something positive by the concerned public agencies. Further, it is suggested in the end that FAO and concerned agencies in agriculturally developed countries like USA, Canada, Australia and France may also be taken confidence for discouraging the use of Chemical Fertilizer, undertaking necessary research to this regard.

Business Recorder

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