Dr Binyak P. Rajbhandari is a professor of sustainable agriculture in Nepal and has advised many farmers and communities of making a transition towards sustainable and organic agriculture. In this online interview with Moniza Inam, he shares his expertise regarding organic farming and its application in Pakistan.

Are there any particular organic farming techniques which you use and are they more suitable to the climatic conditions of Nepal?

To substantially minimise the undesirable impact of chemical farming, I have been engaged in promoting the bio-intensive farming system (BIFS) in Nepal. The BIFS is a concept and practice that emerged as a response against chemical farming, socio-economic injustice in the agriculture sector, the ‘culture of greed’, hunger and poverty. This system is based on the agro-ecological principles, indigenous knowledge and technology, experience and needs of the people, along with the analysis of the negative impacts of chemical farming elsewhere on this planet. This holistic approach to farming is most appropriate and suitable for Nepal and the rest of South Asia, including Pakistan.

What types of fruit and vegetables do you normally produce with organic farming? Is organic farming more suitable for certain agricultural products than others?

We produce a number of vegetable and fruit crops which are well-adapted to tropical or subtropical conditions in Nepal. This farming system is more environmentally friendly as opposed to destructive systems like chemically intensive farming which excessively rely on chemical inputs including pesticides and growth hormones to reap higher production at the cost of ecological degradation. However, BIFS is a system which integrates social, ecological, cultural and economical aspects in the whole process of agricultural production. As such, it is suitable and sustainable in producing any combination of crops and livestock in an integrated fashion.

Do you feel that there is a loss of productivity in terms of output because of using organic farming techniques? Has the venture proven to be profitable and are consumers willing to pay more for organic produce? Well, there might be some productivity loss during the initial conversion period of five years. Afterwards yield losses will increase, sometimes even higher than before the conversion. Losses during the conversion period can be minimised by use of better farming techniques. I have been engaged in conducting research on BIFS for the past 12 years and the growers I have been working with have reported excellent results. Farming goes beyond mere profit and price. Farming is a matter of promoting conservation of natural resources while simultaneously producing some kinds of food (cereals, vegetables, fruits, livestock, poultry, fishery, etc.,) that will contribute in meeting human requirements.

However, our traditional organic methods with less productive varieties or animal breeds cannot produce the amount of food that we need in higher amounts on a daily basis. That can be only achieved by increasing cropping and farming intensity per unit area with the use of methods that are biologically appropriate, ecologically non-degradable, socially just and economically profitable. This is what the BIFS has been attempting to do. Although there are few unsuccessful cases, especially in difficult geographical locations with lack of water for irrigation, this should not discourage anyone who wishes to cultivate land with a sense of conserving nature.

Can organic farming be implemented at a more mainstream level in South Asia, and will it be able to sustain food production at a level to meet food needs of a burgeoning population?

Historically, South Asia has been an epicentre of diverse and overabundant cultivated crop and animal species. Obviously, animals were farmed and crop varieties were cultivated without the assistance of the industrialised world, and this too can happen again without the abuse of synthetic chemicals.

Also, if different states unite to promote organic farming at an industrial scale in South Asia, there is a possibility of substantially increasing agricultural production to meet food and other requirements of the burgeoning global population. By, ‘promoting organic farming at an industrial scale’ I am willing to emphasise on producing organic inputs like compost (with appropriate combinations of various resources), bio-pesticides (in the most effective and eco-friendly manner possible) in massive scale through the establishment of massive organic production centres (socio-technical factories which are not owned by limited corporations, but by the communities at a given agro-ecosystem at large). In line with this, we have been attempting to transform few traditional villages into sustainable eco-villages in Nepal for the past couple of years. And if I am correct, such efforts are also ongoing in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and China. The time has come for countries in South Asia to devise and implement strategies which will extend organic farming in their regions.