Ooty: Organic farming is need of the hour

Ooty: Green activists here want a change-over to organic agriculture practices in the hills here to sustain good soil health to support the rich bio-diversity of the hills of the Nilgiris.

Stating that the Nilgiris was declared as the  first ever bio-sphere reserve of the country three decades ago to conserve its rich bio-diversity that includes many an endangered and endemic fauna and flora, V. Sivadass, managing trustee of the Nilgiris Environment and Socio-cultural Trust, said that conserving soil health is vital to sustain bio-diversity.

 "Over the decades, application of chemical fertilisers, and especially, chemical pesticides has become a common practice in fields in the hills. This may give immediate dividends and returns.  But in the course of time, it damages soil health and soil micro-organisms that in turn, will play havoc with the ecological equilibrium. Besides this, pesticide residues in the runoff water enters the jungle fringes and slowly destroys the jungle ecology," he pointed out.

 To combat the effects of pesticides and chemical fertilizers that tend to enter the human and animal food chain and eventually cause various health ailments, including cancer, impetus should be given in a big way for practice of organic agriculture in the hills.  This is the only natural way to restore and sustain soil health and thereby to conserve bio-diversity, he added.