Organic Farm Fest held at Gandhi Bhavan
   Date :27-May-2019


 
Staff Reporter;
 
Anant, in collaboration with ‘Go Rurban’ organised ‘Anant Mandi Farm Fest’ at Gandhi Bhawan. The organic fest was organised with an aim to promote practice of organic farming and kitchen gardening in urban settings and to enhance relationship of organic farmer producers with consumers. It is a platform being created for common urban crowd to find healthy and sustainable alternatives for food, as against unhealthy and inorganic food that they consume regularly.
 
The day-long event comprised of ‘Mandi’ of organic food products (for sale), being put up by various organic farmers and kitchen gardeners in and around Bhopal. Workshops and panel discussions on various aspects of importance of organic food and variety of agriculture, by experienced organic farmers and entrepreneurs were also conducted. Experts said that organic farming is not only good for health but also helps enrich soil nutrients. Pesticides and chemicals sprayed on plants contaminate the soil, water supply and air.
 
Sometimes these harmful pesticides stick around for decades. Synthetic chemicals also discourage smart farming practices such as cover crops and crop rotation, which in turn, may cause other harmful environmental problems like erosion. In organic farming varieties of bacteria and fungi break down chemicals, plant matter and animal waste into productive soil nutrients. In turn, they produce benefits of healthier yields and more productive soil for future crops. The food products grown by organic farming are healthy and are beneficial as it is chemical free. The fest also had folk music and dance in concluding session.