Prof. Chandrashekhar M. Biradar is an earth system scientist, green growth activist, and biodiversity and agroecosystem research scholar with over three decades of experience spanning India, America, Africa, West and Central, Asia, and Eurasia. In a conversation with Kumar Buradikatti, he discussed the agrarian crisis and ways to address it. Excerpts from the interview:
One health is about the health of everything around us. We often think that health only refers to human health. Without protecting the health of the surroundings, human health cannot be protected. One health means the health of the soil, water, plants, food, animals and everything around us, including the microbes in the soil. It is a new concept that came out very well in the G20 summit. It means that human beings cannot survive without the support of all these things around them. It is a holistic approach towards protecting the health.
Net Zero refers to the human efforts to reduce the adverse environmental impact at every level. Except for human beings, every species on earth contributes something good to the earth and its environment. They try to protect their habitats in their own way. The human being is the only species that wants everything for him. Earthworm lives without harming the environment. Net Zero concept attempts to see whether human being can also live like that.
Of course, it is. We need to go back to our traditional systems. Just compare. To produce one kilogram of rice, you need 200 to 5,000 litres of water. You will then harvest the crop, process, clean, transport, and cook it. There are seven layers involved before you consume the rice. Each layer adversely affects the environment in its own way. You will get about 300 to 400 calories by consuming about 250 grams of rice. If you eat 250 grams of guava, you will get the same amount of calories without any negative impact on the environment. The fruit has complex carbohydrates, complex minerals and other nutrition. Cultivation of guava is much easier as compared to that of rice. We can opt for guava instead of rice. This is just an example. We can think of such alternatives in all things to move towards Net Zero.
Our land has become unproductive because we have shifted from sustainable practices. Before the Green Revolution, our soil was fertile. To have good soil, we need three basic things: leaf litter, manure from animals and water-holding capacity. If these things are there, everything else could be taken care of. We used to have compost produced by cattle dung and leave litter. There was no extra cost for fertilises. We have removed trees from agricultural lands. With no trees on the landscape, the rainwater simply flows out as the soil doesn’t have water-holding capacity. We adopted the modern farming system discarding the traditional one. The self-sufficient agriculture became input-oriented agriculture. Shifting to modern agriculture increased the cost of cultivation by 70%, including 21% for fertilisers, 14% for seeds and 15% for pesticides. Shifting from polyculture to monoculture has also adversely impacted the agricultural economy. Polyculture could meet 70% of your food requirements such as a variety of pulses, cereals, vegetables and fruits. Monoculture forced farmers to buy them in the market.
The only way to address the migration issue is to develop the models for sustainable dryland farming based on our traditional farming systems. If the agriculture is sustainable and profitable, the people will stay back in their villages.
The share of agriculture in the GDP is drastically falling. Presently, it contributes around 17% of the GDP as compared to 54% by the service sector and 27% by the industrial sector. With the growth of Artificial Intelligence, the service sector is going to collapse with a huge loss of jobs. Unemployment will rise. We need to create job opportunities in villages.
Yes, the government has a greater role to play. It is offering subsidies for many modern farming activities. It needs to extend subsidies and other forms of encouragement to the farmers who want to go back to traditional farming. If all farmers reduce the use of urea just by one bag, it makes a lot of positive impact on the environment. In the present system of agricultural produces marketing, major profit is appropriated by middlemen. Both farmers on the one end and the consumers on the other end are at a loss. We need intermediating structures. However, the government should adopt technologies to control their inordinate share in profit.
Yes, it is. But, seeing leads to believing. I had brought out around 400 publications and anybody hardly read them. That is why I am focusing on developing practically achievable models. When I implemented my model in my village, many people were impressed and started following it. If you have one acre of land, you can easily earn ₹1 lakh a year.
The health of the nation is measured by the health of the people and the health of the soil. Both are interconnected. I often advise farmers to rear cattle, conserve soil, plant trees and produce seeds on their own. These things make their farming more sustainable by drastically cutting down the costs incurred on pesticides, fertiliser and seeds.
Published – March 19, 2025 11:35 am IST
