Commercial produce stay away, homegrown vegetables come my way

Horticulturist highlights the benefit of growing and consuming organic vegetables

KARACHI: Every vegetable we eat has some sort of chemical in the form of pesticides or fertilisers, and we transfer them to our children, said horticulturist Tofiq Pasha Mooraj.

He was conducting a day-long workshop titled 'Bhajitable Garden' at his farm in Memon Goth, Malir, on Sunday when he shared the basics of growing vegetables in an urban environment. Soil preparation, planting seed, transplanting seedlings and protecting vegetables from pests and diseases were also explained in detail during the workshop.



Organic farming

"We can become a collective voice and demand better quality food," said Pasha, when asked what people should eat if everything has chemicals. On the other hand, we should also learn how to make use of our space at home or garden and grow our own fresh vegetables, he added.

"Those who don't have garden or space at home to grow vegetables, they can at least speak about it at various places or platforms so an action is taken by the government," said Pasha.

Growing your own food will not only enable you to eat fresh, clean and healthy vegetables but it is quite cost-effective too, pointed out Pasha. "Trends of growing organic food are on the rise across the world. It is also a very good and healthy activity," he added. Organic farming relies on natural pesticides and crops rotation as pest control methods.

Background

Around 50 years ago everything was grown organically but rapid increase in the population put pressure on the food producers to look for other ways to boost yield, said Pasha.



To grow more food they needed more land and water. The land was available but water scarcity was one of the biggest issues, thus to increase the food quantity they started using stronger pesticides, insecticides and chemical fertilisers, he explained.

These chemicals are not only bad for the land but also cause various diseases. Therefore, the trend of organic food arose across the globe due to various side effects caused by inorganic food.

Also, to meet water requirements badly polluted water is being used to grow vegetables, he added.

Hands-on experience

Later, the participants were taken on a trip to Pasha's farm. Some of the vegetables such as spinach, carrot and red and white radish were ready to be picked up.



Pasha demonstrated how to plant seeds and transfer them into bigger pots or land. He also gave some tips on how to protect plants from birds, which eat little plants such as coriander. All participants, including children also had hands-on experience of planting seeds.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Pasha said that his father used the word 'bhajitable', which was his way of saying vegetables. He wanted to keep his father's memory alive through this workshop.

"I am also writing a book on bhajitable garden," said Pasha sharing his future plans. "I have conducted many workshops across the country," he claimed. "In Karachi, I trained over 44,000 women belonging to various towns, including Lyari Town, so that they not only grow their own vegetables but also make a living out of it."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2015.