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Satavic Farms

Launch of India’s most comprehensive website on organic farming

About Organic Farming

Any agriculture system has a duty towards feeding the earth and it has to fulfill this responsibility using safe and sustainable methods and technologies. Organic farming is a set of simple practices which bring into picture a diverse, healthy and sustainable crop production system, without the use of poisonous chemicals like pesticides and fertilisers. It is a responsible way of farming which ensures that healthy, chemical-free food is produced without harming the environment.

It is a fallacy that organic farming leads to loss in productivity – it is proven that after a short period of a drop in yields, organic farming is more productive than chemical farming. Organic farming is also cheaper to practice than chemical agriculture. It is turning out to be the only way to farm, taking into account farmer conditions, environmental conditions and the health needs of the consumer.

The holistic aspect of organic farming

Organic farming is not just farming without using chemicals. It is a holistic way of life that looks to benefit every aspect of nature and life which agricultural practices entail interaction with. Hence, organic farming is also about the environment, agricultural traditions, seed biodiversity, animal welfare, rural communities, self-reliance, sensible energy use, soil and water conservation, and importantly, human health.

Organic farming can be considered a spiritual or enlightened practice because of the intrinsic benevolence and nonviolent nature of its methods. Instead of placing unreasonable demands on the plant or soil, organic agriculture works in association with them, not forcing the plant to produce more, but feeding the soil which in turns feeds the plant in a natural way. In organic farming, even weeds and pests are considered part of the system – weeds denote what could be wrong on a farm (a deficiency or an excess of a nutrient for example), and pests are merely part of a cycle – their appearance is followed by the arrival of their natural predators which ‘take care’ of them.

Why organic farming

Agriculture has to be considered a way of life, a lifestyle and a communication or interaction with nature. It cannot be treated as an industrial or purely commercial activity. In its current form, chemical agriculture has adversely affected the environment, farm diversity, farming communities, farm animals, food quality, and the lives and health of consumers worldwide. India is no exception. The focus of agriculture today, in its chemical avatar, is on quantity and outer appearance rather than on intrinsic quality or ‘vitality’ and nutrition. Pesticide and other chemical residue in food and an overall reduced quality of food have led to a marked increase in various diseases, mainly various forms of cancer and reduced immunity.

In India, chemical agriculture has seen many negative fallouts, amongst them being :

  • Loss of seed diversity
  • Contamination of water resources by pesticides – the twin controversies in 2003 regarding pesticide content in bottled drinking water and aerated beverages in India hardly came as a surprise to many working with the environment and in farming. Even if we blame beverage manufacturers (and rightly-so) for allowing pesticide residue in their products and treating human health so cheaply, the fact remains that pesticides got into the water supply in the first place only because of the agriculture system which uses them
  • Poorer soil quality
  • Falling ground water levels – agricultural chemicals require plenty of water to respond, hybrids also usually need more water compared to local varieties
  • Greater dependence of farmers for external inputs, and increased risks incurred by them on account of higher crop production expenses and lower net returns

The meaning of ‘satavic’

Satavic is a Sanskrit word which means and signifies purity and positivity. The term finds considerable usage in ancient Indian texts. The Sanskrit-connection is not coincidental – Indian agricultural traditions go back many thousands of years when a number of excellent agricultural texts were written in Sanskrit. We named ourselves Satavic because we feel organic farming and our own mission, objectives and techniques are just that.

About Satavic Farms

Satavic Farms, established in 1998, has been working towards popularising organic farming in India, generating awareness amongst city folk on the need for organic farming, and developing a market for organic food within the country.

The organisation offers training, consultancy and farm management services in all aspects of organic farming. Its advisory and farm management services are offered to a wide range of clients including corporate farms, small farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives, NGOs and even private home gardens and farmhouses. An organic food division was opened in early 2006 to serve the two ends of the organic food market in India better – the grower, to assure him a ready market for his organic produce at a fair price, and the buyer, to provide a wide variety of organic food all through the year at reasonable prices.

Satavic Farms was started by Vikaas Chadha after he saw the extensive use of chemicals, both pesticides and fertilisers at a floriculture unit which spurred him to explore other methods of cultivation. After meeting numerous organic farmers all over India, he was convinced that organic farming is the only way to farm, and since 1998 has been actively working in promoting organic farming.

For Satavic Farms, organic farming is not just a way of farming but a way of life that is holistic and treats nature and all living beings with respect. For this reason, Satavic Farms does not accept projects wherein animals are reared for meat or where the methods of husbandry are not humane.

Today, Satavic Farms is based in Kolkata with training and consultancy projects all over India.

About the website

satavic.org is India’s most comprehensive website on organic farming. It is part of an attempt by Satavic Farms to popularise organic farming within India as well as reach out to city folk and generate awareness about the need for organic farming.

Hence the site is India-centric with information on organic farming and the effects of chemical agriculture for :

  • Farmers and the agricultural community – on the techniques and practices of organic farming suitable for India and Indian conditions.
  • The lay person on the effects of chemical pesticides and fertilisers used in agriculture – their effect on humans, human health, animals, wildlife and the environment
  • The informed citizen who wants to switch to organic food
  • Motivated individuals who would like to convert their farm, farmhouse or even small kitchen garden to organic
  • The media and NGOs when they need information on organic farming and related issues, with a wealth of external links for detailed information

satavic.org has over 200 pages of information on :

  • Organic farming techniques
  • The relevance of organic farming
  • The effects of chemical agriculture
  • The contamination of food by agricultural chemicals and its effects
  • Information on issues related to organic farming
  • Organic food
  • Our training and consultancy services

In addition, a free monthly electronic newsletter on organic farming will shortly be available for those who sign up. There are also a number of links to other websites for readers who want to know more.

The website is currently operational in English and work is underway to translate and launch editions in nine other Indian languages.

To know more, please contact us at : info@satavic.org