We often receive forward messages on Whatsapp groups saying that we should not purchase soft drinks as they are filled with pesticides. We read it and forget the warning the next day. We also come across so much stuff on the internet saying which foods are healthy and which are not. With so much information available to us, we are usually confused about which food is safe and which is not. But GV Ramanjaneyulu is an Agricultural Scientist who has worked in the field of organic agriculture with our Indian farmers for almost 13 years and he had explained the full picture of agriculture country.
In a TEDx talk given at BITS-Hyderabad recently, he first talks about the food that we every day and how it's grown. While we think that buying organic food is just the simple solution to avoid chemically-grown food, he tells how much our daily food is poisoned and to what extent. He points out the most important things we usually ignore, “Interacting with others and talking about the food we eat.” By encouraging farmers to use seeds which are not yet authorized by the government, greedy corporate companies are causing harmful vegetables such as the BT Brinjal to arrive in our daily market.
After seeing the plight of our farmers, Ramanjaneyulu garu has worked extensively with our farmers has saved countless acres of land from contamination and saved farmers from committing suicide. While some of the farmers have realized the advantages of organic farming, most of the farmers are still unaware such methods of cultivation even existed which has resulted in unintentional pollution of our fertile lands.
Thanks to his efforts, Vardha- a place previously famous for farmers' suicides is now completely free of farm loans after taking up organic farming. A movement started in 2004 has now resulted in almost 3.5 lakh acres of cultivation land in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana becoming more fertile. His efforts became so monumental that Aamir Khan chose Ramanjaneyulu garu on his show Satyamev Jayate to talk about this issue. Though we see much loss everyday, people like him offer a ray of hope to make our country a better place for our farmers and ourselves.
