Perishing
earthworms
Sir,
This
refers to the write up "Daily
Excelsior" dated 29.10.2002 by Gupta
and Abrol regarding protection of
perishing earthworms. Authors' concerns
about declining earthworms population in
our area are genuine and should be taken
seriously. Actually, post green
revolution era in our country witnessed
indiscriminate use of market procured
high cost inputs. In the stampede to get
more yield per unit of land farmers in
some of the areas over-exploited the
chemical and toxic farm inputs like
fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides etc.
by crossing safe limits of their
application thereby making a crack in
fragile band of natural resources. This
has happened either due to deliberate
incorporation of more than advocated
doses of chemical inputs or due to
ignorance regarding their safe use among
farmers. As a result of this era of
chemical agriculture, nature has begun to
show its wrath in the form of uncertain
rainfall, droughts, increase in the
temperature of earth, prolonged summers
etc.
Earthworm
is an important biotic component of
eco-system and holds unique place with
increasing concern towards ensuring
stability and sustainability in Indian
Agriculture. It has provided a ray of
hope to environmentalists to put a check
on degrading nature. It would be
worthwhile to call them "friends of
the farmer", as these are capable of
turning ''garbage into gold" i.e
waste organic matter into manure. This
can be done through a biological process
known as "Vermicompositing.
So far as
authors suggestion for banning the use of
chemical pesticides is concerned, I do
not think it would be applicable under
present circumstances. Chemical
pesticides have inter country and intra
country wide network of manufacturing
selling and purchasing.
Now a
question comes how to save earthworms? I
had come to know during my stay at
Udhaipur that one leading NGO of the
district was engaged in the task of
preparing vermicompost and selling it to
the farmers at reasonable rates. By this,
farmers understood the significance of
vermicompost and started preparing it by
their own. Later on, NGO started selling
earthworms to the farmers at the rate of
2000/kg. Farmers happily purchased the
same and used them for making
vermicompost. In this way, population of
earthworms started to increase in soil.
Same approach in needed in our region
also. For conserving earthworms some
other ways like following can be used:-
Wide
publicity be given to vermicomposting and
importance of earthworms in rural and
urban areas.
An
earthworm bank be set up at either
Agriculture University Campus or Regional
Research Station/Directorate of Agri from
where the farmers could get earthworms at
appropriate cost for vermicomposting.
War
against environmental degradation is not
a day affair but it is a long run battle
which demands multidirectional and
multipronged strategy involving all
sections of society. Sooner we comprehend
it, better it would be.
Yours
etc...
Narinder Paul 'Jyotu'
W.No. 4 Hiranagar.
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