Dimapur, Dec. 19: Peren Council in collaboration with Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad organised a three-day training programme on ecological farming from December 13 and 15 at Peren, with Egambaram, a specialist in Ecological Farming Training, from Tamil Nadu.
With the growing sense of awareness and discussions related to health, environment and sustainable livelihoods among the people, Peren Council along with the initiative of K. Elu Ndang, assembly secretary of Naga Hoho, organised the programme with the purpose to train the village level farmers on the principles and practices of ecological farming.
At the interactive session, the needs and principles of ecological farming were dicussed followed by practical lessons on using locally available materials such as ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, local eggs, fish waste, rotten fruits, jaggery, cow dung and urine, pulses, millets, lemons for making different preparations namely amirtha karaisal, jeevamrutha karaisal, egg tonic and fish tonic.The practical training involved local people in making preparations and discussed on how herbal pest repellents, tonics, bio-fertilizers to improve soil fertility, soil health and micro organism growth in soil.
On the second day, participants were trained on how to make and use circular bed, double digging bed, raised bed, and micro rain water harvesting structures in their fields. After the different beds were made using layers of materials like dry and green leaves, straw, pig and cow dung.
Resource person explained that the used of above mentioned helps the plants to grow better, healthier, as more loose soil and bio-mass will be available for improving the nutrition, reducing the growth of weeds, beds suitable for multi-cropping . He said by using such techniques and methods it increases the number of years as Jhum field is used. He also said the importance of digging micro rain water harvesting structures suitable for slope land and how it improves in retaining or storing water in the field was discussed.
Demonstration and training on using local leaves, cow and pig urine, ash, chilli powder, turmeric, oil cakes, hing, ginger, garlic, onions, milk, , aloe vera, banana, jiggery, rice water, millet powder etc preparations of panchagavya, ash-chilli powder and tonic, and herbal pest repellent. Benefits of using preparations were also discussed.
Key concepts learned by farmers were how to make fertilizers and pest repellents at low cost, how to convert commonly used food materials into medicine and how to convert locally available wastes as food or medicine either for the soil or for the plants.
