#iStandWithFarmers Profile picture
Apr 24, 2022 11 tweets 4 min read Read on X
The Honey Brook Organic farms which was offering box shares of fresh farm food week after week discontinued its CSA program late last year. In an emotional email to all its members,
it said, while it sincerely believed in the CSA, it was not able to financially sustain despite a valiant 5 year effort. In the same email, it mentioned other farms participating in the CSA.

I visited one such farm today.
The farmer had an open house at her farm today and spent a good 3-4 hours explaining what it means to farm and what it takes to make it financially sustainable. This wasnt the first time I visited a farm nor the first time I spoke to a farmer, but every interaction feels anew.
A few highlights from this interaction

Going organic when the entire system is setup to promote and propagate chemical based farming inherently is an expensive affair.

Certain crops were discontinued as harvesting them was extremely tedious & staff retention wasa huge problem
Crop selection was also based on the skill set required to grow and harvest them as the cost of hiring the staff had to be justified

The farm equipment was expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. Repairs were inevitable.
The newer farm equipment costed a fortune. And the equipment available in the market was a one size fits all. But each farm was different and so are its requirements. There is a great need for customization
The weather fluctuations is a hard reality which needs to be accounted for. For e.g. what kind of crops to grow, when to sow, how to sow, what temperatures to be maintained, whether to greenhouse them or not etc
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is crucial in maintaining the organic nature of the farm. However, IPM, needs a deep understanding of the insects, their behaviors because killing them is not an option rather they are an essential part of the farming
Crop rotation, cover cropping are essential techniques to retain the soil fertility and its health

Maintaining the soil health i.e. the pH value, the potassium and nitrogen is not a one day exercise but a conscious set of practices that have to be adhered to
Soil testing is done once every year or two depending on how actively that part of the land is cultivated

The farmer works closely with the Rutgers university where she invites the research department to study some of her farming problems.
The university has been extremely helpful in conducting research and suggesting solutions to address the problems

#MeetTheFarmer #KnowYourFarmer

Join the CSA program If you can and support local farmers and buy local and buy fresh

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More from @suresh_ediga

May 3
The goal is to build party offices in every single district of the country. And thus far, according to various media reports, more than 50% of BJP party office buildings have been built.

A few images of the party office

Leh

sureshe.wordpress.com/2024/05/03/bjp…
Image
North East Party Office building in Guwahati Image
Party office in Manipur (burnt down during the civil unrest in Manipur) Image
Read 18 tweets
May 8, 2021
Can some lawyers please help approach the courts to waive FCRA amendments, given the govt is in complete lockdown and maintaining self quarantine.

3 current situations where FCRA amendments have hurt the organizations from helping

👇
A girls home in a small village is finding it difficult to sustain the day to day life and the Pandemic isn't making it easier either. A fund raising was done to provide some support. But current FCRA rules make it impossible to send money to help the home
A team of farmers who are doing great work, educating the farmers on natural/organic farming, helping them harvest the seeds, is unable to sustain the operations due to financial constraints. Funds are available to support the farmers and their activities. But FCRA doesn't allow
Read 4 tweets
Nov 28, 2020
#MPConversations #FarmersDilliChalo

Conversation with BJP MP. The call lasted for over 7 minutes and ended with the MP in complete silence.

Me: Sir, what is your opinion on the farmers protest against the farm bills
MP: I believe the Prime Minister has introduced the farm bills to help the farmers. In fact Congress has been wanting to introduce these laws since 1950, but they never did and we did it. The farmer will have the freedom to sell the harvest anywhere he wants to.
For e.g. rice is expensive in Maharashtra and not so much in Telangana. So farmer from Telangana can sell it in Maharashtra. Similarly the companies will now work with the farmers. They will pay the farmers in advance.
(and the MP went on sing laurels about the PM)
Read 11 tweets
May 25, 2019
Location: Tikamgarh, MP
A request to all journalists, to please help do a report on a crucial issue affecting farmers, who are unable to sell their produce due to exploitation and racketeering in the market yards

I have spoken to farmer & this is a widespread issue.

Pl help RT
There's so much fraud in agriculture. I have to sell 15 quintals of wheat and the procurement centre is 17 km away. There tractors belonging to farmers are queued up there.
Those farmers who pay a bribe of 2-3 thousand rupees will have their tractors lined up first. And the others are forced to wait for 3 days at least.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 18, 2018
We raised funds to support 100 families who are survivors of farmer suicides across Andhra and Telangana.

The reason for suicides among all the cases was debt. For e.g. In one particular region, there were
1 farmer who owed 2.4 lakhs
5 farmers who owed 3 lakhs
9 farmers who owed 4 lakhs
2 farmers who owed 4.5 lakhs
1 farmer who owed 4.8 lakhs
5 farmers who owed 5 lakhs
2 farmer who owed 6 lakhs
1 farmer who owed 7 lakhs
1 farmer who owed 10 lakhs
1 farmer who owed 9 lakhs
1 farmer who owed 15 lakh

are the same farmers who the government appointed committees to look into doubling the farmers income refer to as entreprenuers who form the back bone of the rural economy.
Read 9 tweets
Oct 17, 2017
#MeToo
My wife and I spoke spoke to our 7 year old daughter about inappropriate touch, following which she drew this. This was 3 yrs ago +
We do this once every 6 months as general awareness but more importantly what she can and should do. And now my son, now 5, also joined us +
Per various gov reports
An 873.3% increase from 2487 in 1971 to 24206 in 2011
In 84–89% of rape cases in yrs 2002–04,victim knew offenders +
Read 11 tweets

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