Source: The Hindu
MYSORE, INDIA, May 18, 2002: Farming in Mysore has changed in the last 30 years. Favoring the use of chemical fertilizers, monoculture farming and hybrid varieties, the younger generation has lost sight of many of the benefits of traditional farming. As a result, many varieties of crops have either become extinct or they have changed in their characteristics. For example, the President of the Raitha Hithavakshana Horata Samiti says, “A case in point is ragi. Earlier, it was used as food, and the ragi straw was used as fodder for cattle. It had a distinct flavor and was popular. Today ragi continues to be used as a staple diet among the farmers in southern Karnataka. But the ragi stalk is no longer used as a fodder as it is inedible and unfit for consumption.” Similarly, a variety of rice used to make idli, (a steamed rice and dal cake) called “attalli batta” is now extinct. When farmers used to plant ten different varieties of crop as opposed to one, the risk of disease was less. Soil quality has been reduced by chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Younger farmers have lost touch with the traditional methods that maintained genetic diversity and have yielded to market demands.