Tag: REA

Categories
Activity

Pollution Prevention, Topsoil Ecology & Ecosystem Restoration, for Soil Sustenance and Organic Food Production

According to FAO, soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) that are composed of weathered mineral materials, organic material, air and water, forming a natural medium for the growth of plants.  It is an essential component of ‘Land’ and ‘Eco-systems’ encompassing vegetation, water and climate in the case of land, whereas social and economic considerations including land parts in the case of ecosystems. The word ‘soil’ is also known as ‘dirt’, ‘waste’ or ‘earth’.

Topsoil has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and it is where most of the ‘Earth’s Biological Soil Activity’ occurs.  Soil organisms are categorized into microbiota, mesobiota, and macrofauna, which include species such as earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, bees, coleoptera (adults and larvae), isopoda, spiders, slugs, snails, termites, ants, dermaptera, larvae of Lepidoptera and larvae of Diptera, etc. The stability of the soil food web increases with an increasing number of organism interactions. Soil macrofauna’s biological activities regulate significantly soil processes and soil fertility.

To overcome the challenges caused by anthropogenic activities and to bring about a change towards restoring the soil ecology, a students and public centered program titled ‘Pollution Prevention, Topsoil Ecology & Ecosystem Restoration, for Soil Sustenance and Organic Food Production’, was conceptualized. In reaching out to millions, to bring out the ‘Transformative Change’ for common good, the consortia of organizations: Pondicherry University; Government of Puducherry – Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Department of Wildlife and Forest; Directorate of School Education; and the Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities (APSCC) as the lead organization (official partner of UN FAO-Global Soil Partnership) have joined hands for this need of the hour initiative on soil sustainability.

For more details, download the concept note here: Topsoil Ecology Restoration

To become part of the network, complete google form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejr1sHiaINpZ3K8-QLtWjNvYvqInfJo70GQ8tWGsvzXa98_w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1

Categories
Partnership

APSCC partners with GSP- Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

APSCC partners with the Global Soil Partnership, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to promote food security for all and to make sure people have access to high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. Food security has been a global concern since the early 1980s, encompassing food availability, access to it and utilization. Food insecurity arises when food systems fall under stress induced by climate change or various other environmental issues. Peninsular India is well-known for suffering severe cyclones and also drought prone Central and Northern parts are considered to be the most vulnerable, forced to mitigate climate change because of its geographical location, overpopulation, poverty level and high livelihood dependency on agriculture. The figure shows an index of food security risk, and it is based on the key elements of food security set out by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The challenges to food security are twofold. On one hand, the knowledge about traditional foods is almost vanished and the traditional homemade healthy foods are replaced by “Ready to Eat Foods”, which are stuffed with stabilizing agents, emulsifiers, microbial growth inhibitors, preservatives, synthetic chemicals, etc. Such traditional foods are not only nutritious but also heal and sustain health. On the other hand the natural resources are getting degraded/ depleted/ destroyed because of the unprecedented natural calamities and challenges related to climate change. To mitigate such global challenges, organic farming, organic milk production, organic egg and meat production has to be promoted.

At APSCC, we promote

Purchasing locally or regionally grown food for the campuses which minimizes significant amounts of energy consumed during transportation, preservation, refrigeration, etc.

Revising the menu plan by incorporating food such as whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits that are grown organically using waste derived compost.

Producing organic food through onsite kitchen garden without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, whose use is neither healthy nor sustainable.

Boosting of organic food production through poly-cultures and intercropping rather than conventional monoculture farming. This not only provides better yield but also minimizes soil erosion, thereby enhancing the growth of beneficial soil flora and fauna.

FAO Link: http://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/overview/partners/gsp-partners/en/

Categories
Event

Outstanding Scientist Award

Mr. Nandhivarman and Ms. Golda from APSCC, were recognized for their outstanding performance in their research and promotion of best practices in organic farming and food security among schools and higher educational institutions, and awarded with the “Outstanding Scientist Award” at the 3rd  International Conference on Agriculture, Horticulture & Plant Sciences (ICAHPS), convened by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and organized by the Academic Research Journals (India), at New Delhi, June – 2016.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) metaphor into a new set of Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), by making the year 2016 as an important year for the future of agriculture and sustainable development. More than any other sector, agriculture is the common thread which holds the 17 SDG’s together while shaping the next 15 years of policies, programs, and funding. In view of this Govt. of India and regional Govt. is making various steps to integrate public and agriculture, in a Holistic (people-centred and planet-sensitive), Measurable (to drive action and track progress) and Universal (for both developed and developing countries)

Two of the researchers from the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, were recognized for their outstanding performance not only in practicing but also for promoting agriculture among schools and higher educational institutions of the Puducherry region, and awarded with the “Outstanding Scientist Award” at 3rd  International Conference on Agriculture, Horticulture & Plant Sciences (ICAHPS), convened by Dr. K. K. Pramanick, ICAR – IARI and organized by Shri. Vijay Jha,  Academic Research Journals (India), at New Delhi, June – 2016.

The awardee Ms. Golda said, promoting/investing in the agricultural sector not only address hunger and malnutrition but also other environmental challenges including water and energy use; climate change; and unsustainable production and consumption. To achieve in this context, we must together, mobilize scientific technologies as a social movements to address these pressing challenges with an integrated approach, more importantly by involving students from schools and higher educational institutions, together.