Smart! Indian Farmers & American Consumers
World is slowly embracing sustainable, efficient, and localized systems of agriculture. Smart consumers in the US are driving up the demand for organic produce while the farmers in India, who are being pushed towards suicide, are looking back at traditional methods of agriculture. The problem with modern agriculture has been severe in states with water scarcity. Chemical fertilizers poison the land unless enough water is used according to farmers in Madhaya Pradesh. Governmental agencies in India are not trained to give guidance on such matter. This is creating a vicious cycle of high expenses for seeds and fertilizers, low yields, and the soil turning more infertile. Drought is a frequent problem in the Indian sub-continent. The one size fits all farming modernization program is clearly failing a majority of Indian farmers. A sampling of the soil over a three year period in the state of Karnataka shows thatmicro-nutrients rather than regular fertilizers can benefit farmers and can help cut their costs by 50%.