Ankur Bora
“Always pay reverence
to your soil. Because the amount of respect you give, you'll get that much
respect from your soil.” – Amir Khan, movie Dangal.
Since time immemorial,
human beings are attached to the soil. Climate, rocks and minerals, plants and animals,
bees and butterflies and human, all are dependent on soil and our most
compelling resource is just the ground beneath our feet. It’s what supports
plant growth, the whole of microbial world and it’s what nourishes and feeds
the bulk of life. Nothing is more beautiful than cultivating the land and
nothing is more alluring than the promise of a bountiful harvest. The soil of
Assam is richly fertile and we the Assamese are blessed to live in a land so
rich in this life-giving source.
Our planet is overwhelmed by rising human population,
decreasing forest cover and large scale soil erosion. Because of the increasing
erosion, the fertility of soil has decreased significantly, which in turn, has
reduced the productivity of land. A young Assamese, observed this phenomena in
his ancestral firm established by his father. Subsequently, he decided to
investigate further and began studying carefully all the natural and social
aspects related to the soil, climate, flora and fauna. He realized that it was
the organic method of farming which could address erosion as well as bring
nutrients to the soil. This youngster Neelam Dutta from Biswanath Chariali town,
instead of working for a comfortable corporate or government job, thus, chooses
farming as a career. He took that leap of faith by opening an agricultural firm , popularly known as ‘Pabhoi
Greens’ and after several tumultuous years of toil and labor, and with his
unwavering patience and persistence, established it as an avenue for self-
sustainability and nurtured , developed and evolved Pabhoi as a successful model for livelihood ,
employment and income generation.
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| AssamTribune , Horizon 2nd February 2018 |
It has been a journey of great difficulty and great joy. Along
the way, Neelam has been supported and assisted by many people and foremost
among them is Peggy Carswell from Canada. Ms. Carswell, a pioneer in organic
movement and a laureate of the Women’s World Summit Foundation, was enamored by
Assam and Assamese people and has been visiting ‘Pabhoi Greens’ again and again. She believed
in Neelam’s mission and has been
providing hands-on training and resource materials to him on traditional Vedic
farming practices, which emphasizes the need to reuse , reduce and recycle and
to be grateful for and appreciative of mother earth. . “The skills and knowledge and specially the training video films
prepared by Carswell has played a vital part in my awareness about organic
farming” – Neelam recollects her generous support and constant encouragement.
He also reveals that free training camps by Ms. Carswell are periodically
organized on Pabhoi premises which are attended by farmers from Assam, Nagaland
and Manipur.
Pabhoi Greens has put
diversified cropping patterns and innovative methods to induce soil fertility.
“Even if one crop fails, the others
provide returns. And if one crop absorbs more soil nutrients , the others
compensate by fixing nitrogen” -
Neelam explains as the firm cultivates a varieties of rice including indigenous
aromatic and gum rice, exotic vegetables like Chinese cabbage , colored
capsicum, lettuce, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, ethnic fruits apart from strawberries and musk melons,
mushrooms and a large varieties of seasonal flowers. One of his notable
achievements is complete elimination of chemical fertilizers; Neelam boasts of
not having sprayed even a drop of pesticide in his fourteen hector land. He has,
instead, been protecting his rice plants with a bio-pesticide made from cow
urine which has been developed in-house through a very compete team of local
youths and farmers.
Neelam, recently, has taken farming to a whole new level by
opening organic seeds production units in Assam and the seven sister states of
North East. In close collaboration with Sativa, a Switzerland based firm, Pabhoi
Greens has developed the production methods of heirloom seeds of vegetables both
indigenous as well as European varieties. “We
opened one unit in Nagaland because its cold climate is conducive to growth of those
foreign seeds” – talking about his venture Neelam mentions that currently
the seeds are available in the market for purchase through retail channels as
well as through online storefront. Pabhoi Greens reached another milestone when
it successfully raised Bhut Jolokia seedlings (hottest chilly in the world) and
supplied to the Defense Research Laboratory, Tezpur and Assam Agricultural
University. Neelam is recipient of many national and international awards and fellowships.
Quite obviously, the awarding of India’s
best Organic Haladhar Farmer in 2014 by Minister of Agriculture, Government of
India placed an invaluable jewel in the crown. He has also been touched and
energized by the enthusiasm of general public as Pabhoi Greens is getting more
and more number of visitors day by day who come to witness the dairy, nursery ,
honey bee farming, fish rearing and breeding, and the matchless aura of a green landscape brighten by the colorful
birds, dancing butterflies and the signing
Jhili.
“The soil of Assam has
an unmatched potential for every possible agricultural activity. If Neelam can
do it why not others, I think if everybody gives priority in this venture,
Assam will be the richest region in India thereby being able to compete with
the other parts of the world”- Peggy Carswell pays a glowing account of his
deft disciple . Neelam Dutta shows us what can be achieved when we refuse to be
defined by stereotypes and aim for the stars. Not only Assam, but whole of India needs more
such youngsters like Neelam and we hope that his story inspires others – both
young men and women – to choose agriculture as a profession, get into the
business of organic farming and make a name for themselves.
