Organic Farming: 'Green Volunteers' Promoting Organic Farming.

Thiruvananthpuram: Now group of students are out on a mission to further take you through the nuances of organic farming and to enlighten you on the benefits of organic manures and pesticides. And they are also with bottles and packets of decoctions and PGPR-enriched or Tricoderma-enriched manures, the organic solutions and manures prepared by themselves, which you could buy at a reasonable price.

Meet the 'green volunteers', the outcome of a new concept envisaged by Kudappanakkunnu Krishi Bhavan, which pioneered the Karshika Karma Sena in the state that revolutionized the organic farming sector in a most unconventional manner. The youngsters are here not to make an earning by selling some products, but to spread awareness and further contribute to achieve the ultimate aim i.e, a complete organic state.

Proud to be in the first-ever squad of 'green volunteers' programme, around 50 students from PSNM Higher Secondary School, Peroorkada, were busy preparing organic pesticides and manures at the krishi bhavan premises. Agriculture officer Mini C L said "Having completed their practical training today, they will proceed for a door-to-door campaign on Wednesday, and reach out to the public."

Agriculture officer Mini C L had been instrumental in realizing these novel initiatives which earned Kudappanakkunnu Krishi Bhavan fame across the farming community in the state.

The 'green volunteers' will be promoting around 10 bio pest control solutions, including tobacco decoction and neem oil-castor oil-garlic emulsion, and four to five organic fertilizers, including panchagavyam and jeevamrutham, besides PGPR-enriched and Trichoderma-enriched manures.

Mini said "Here the children are turning out to be the campaigners of organic farming. In the past, we have seen programmes which introduced school students to organic farming, but a 'green volunteers' group is being launched for the first time."

The students, in unison said "This is quite interesting and we are all happy to be a part of this campaign. We know we are doing something useful to society."

People, the agriculture officer still have doubts regarding the efficiency of organic pesticides and manures. She added "We have to ensure the right proportions and mixing of ingredients to get the desired results. Through this programme, we are passing the expertise to our student volunteers and hope to have a larger reach through them."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/