Organic farming held back by lack of awareness

High prices make home gardening more popular but organics techniques not widely known.

LAHORE: At his colossal residence on Nisar Road, Rana Siddiqur Rehman has dedicated his front lawn to growing vegetables.

Guava, tangerine and lime trees in his back lawn shed enough decomposed leaves and stems for compost, which is decomposed organic matter, to use on his front lawn as fertiliser. During the summer, he grows eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, coriander and mint; in winter, salad greens.

“I trust what I grow myself,” he says. “Chemical fertiliser makes me nervous.”

Rising food prices have led to a significant increase in the number of home gardeners in Lahore. But with a lack of awareness about the potential health benefits of vegetables grown without chemicals, organic gardening techniques have been slower to catch on.

The Kitchen Garden, a group founded to educate house wives about the benefits of home gardening, says growing at home has surged owing to the rising prices of vegetables and fruits.

“It’s increased by over 50 per cent in the last 8-10 years,” said Muhammad Khalid, owner of Flower Spot and Lahore Nurseries in Gulberg.

Figures from three nurseries in Gulberg showed that a fifth of customers were growing vegetables at home, while 25 per cent of these expressed concern about the nutrition value of vegetables grown using chemical fertiliser.

Salesmen at Pride Seeds and Ever Green seed shops said some customers were involved in gardening work themselves, while others just got their servants to do it. They said that organic gardening was relatively new to Pakistan.

“Growers are still in the process of understanding what organic is,” said Syed of Pride Seeds. “They sometimes use chemical fertiliser (urea) instead of organic fertiliser.

“Some of the educated lot know how to prepare a seedling and to grow vegetables without speeding growth using artificial fertilisers,” he said.

But commercial-minded farmers complain that organic is not catching fast enough. Nausheen Sarfaraz grows seasonal vegetables on land near Bedian Road. “Seeing two shops selling organic vegetables close is discouraging,” she said.

“Organic plants require more time and attention, so they are more expensive to produce. Most people, literate or not, don’t know the benefits of organic vegetables. These factors hinder the sale of organic produce immensely,” she said.

For now, Nausheen distributes her fresh produce among families and friends only.

People with smaller houses, said Najam of Nishat nursery, buy small flowering pots to decorate balconies, but never vegetables seedlings.

Seed sales are highest in the winter, said a salesman at Chanan Din Seeds. In October, herb seedlings sell the most. Broccoli, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, sprouts and asparagus are also popular.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2011.