Jaitu, a sleepy town in Faridkot district, is in the heart of Punjab’s cancer belt,
where experts believe the extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides has impacted
the health of generations. One person waging a personal war against this man-
made nightmare is Umendra Dutt, founder-member and the executive director of
Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM). In the past two decades, Dutt has motivated 20,000-
odd small and marginal landholders, landless labourers and even kitchen
gardeners to shift to organic farming—about 15,000 acres in all. Running his
fingers through his flowing beard, Dutt walks us through an organic millet farm
with lush-green crop on the verge of harvest, and acquaints us with the issues
farmers face as they contemplate the shift.
Read more at: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-
report/story/20220509-plugging-the-pitfalls-of-organic-farming-1943154-2022-
04-29