Fallow lands are seldom exposed to chemical inputs since they are either not cultivated at present or
were cultivated in the past. Normally, lands that cannot be used to grow popular local crops are left
fallow. These plots make the most sense in terms of logic for organic farming. India's land profile
indicates that there is a sizable amount of fallow land.
Surprisingly, the underprivileged are more closely associated with these lands. According to India's poverty map https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/poverty.html the majority of its states have poverty rates between 15% and more than 45%. To mitigate poverty, we started several natural farming projects on these vacant lots. IMAP has been spreading the practice of herbal and natural farming on 120 acres of so-called fallow lands between 2008 and 2022. All these endeavours were supported by the Government of West Bengal through 9 developmental projects.
In 2008 we started this exercise of natural farming on 15 acres of fallow land at Chandrakona 1 Block of Paschim Medinipur. These plots of land are not used for the cultivation of any crop and have little scope to be exposed to any sort of natural or chemical fertilizer. It was the first time these plots were being cultivated. We applied natural fertilizers and insecticides. The mission was to grow natural Lac on a brand-new host plant, Semialata Flemingia, which was not previously grown in Paschim Medinipur District. This plant was first brought to this district through this project. The plant is a laterite soil, plant, but in this venture, it was first tried within the fallow land of alluvial soil. The experiment turned out to be successful, and 15 acres of fallow land were reclaimed for the production of organic Lac.
After this project was a success, we made an effort to assess the effectiveness of our methodology under various Geo-climatic circumstances. What we do know is that the issue of soil fertility is less significant than selecting the appropriate crop for the specific soil. In the eight projects that followed, we made an effort to select the best crop while taking the characteristics of the soil into account, and the goal was achieved.
In 2008 we started this exercise of natural farming on 15 acres of fallow land at Chandrakona 1 Block of Paschim Medinipur. These plots of land are not used for the cultivation of any crop and have little scope to be exposed to any sort of natural or chemical fertilizer. It was the first time these plots were being cultivated. We applied natural fertilizers and insecticides. The mission was to grow natural Lac on a brand-new host plant, Semialata Flemingia, which was not previously grown in Paschim Medinipur District. This plant was first brought to this district through this project. The plant is a laterite soil, plant, but in this venture, it was first tried within the fallow land of alluvial soil. The experiment turned out to be successful, and 15 acres of fallow land were reclaimed for the production of organic Lac.
After this project was a success, we made an effort to assess the effectiveness of our methodology under various Geo-climatic circumstances. What we do know is that the issue of soil fertility is less significant than selecting the appropriate crop for the specific soil. In the eight projects that followed, we made an effort to select the best crop while taking the characteristics of the soil into account, and the goal was achieved.
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