Khaps to launch campaign against pesticides in state

Parvesh Sharma

Jind, February 9

Haryana khaps (caste councils) today announced to launch a state-level campaign to convince state farmers to pursue agriculture without pesticides. Sarv Khap Panchayat (SKP), the biggest body of khaps of the state, today announced to convene a mahapanchayat of all state khaps in Nidana village on February 20. Agriculture experts along with farmers of five Jind villages who have been successfully pursuing farming without pesticides since 2008 will be present.

“Farmers of five Jind villages — Nidana, Nidani, Joura, Lalit Khera and Radana — have been successfully pursuing farming without pesticides for more than six years. We have decided to launch this special anti-pesticide campaign on the state level and have called a mahapanchayat in this regard,” said Kuldeep Dhanda, SKP convener, after a meeting with farmers at the local Jatt Dharmshala here today.

Dhanda said they had called agriculture experts and all khaps of the state. The successful farmers of these villages would share their experiences and technique they have adopted to pursue farming without pesticides.

“After the meeting, we will launch a campaign against the use of pesticides in the state to save our coming generations from its harmful effects,” said Dhanda.

The movement, ‘Know insects before killing them’, was started in 2008 by Surender Dalal, former Nidani Agriculture Development Officer, who died in 2013.   

Farmers of these villages identified 204 insects, divided them into vegetarian and non-vegetarian category. In their six-year experiment, they have proved that pesticides are not required to keep insects away from crops.

“Non-vegetarian insects eat vegetarian insects and when they are done, they leave the field without the use of pesticides. We have been doing farming without any pesticide since 2008 and earning 25 per cent more profit than farmers who have been using pesticides,” said Ranvir Malik, a farmer from Nidani village.