Villages have preserved Indian culture, says Popatrao Pawar

Stressing upon the importance of preserving agriculture-based village culture for sustainable development, Popatrao Pawar, a social worker from Maharashtra and Padma Shri award winner, said that villages have preserved Indian culture.

Stressing upon the importance of preserving agriculture-based village culture for sustainable development, Popatrao Pawar, a social worker from Maharashtra and Padma Shri award winner, said that villages have preserved Indian culture. He described how his village, Hiware Bazar, had developed sustainable agriculture and achieved self-sufficiency in food grain production without harming the environment.

“My village is self-sufficient in food production. There is no poverty. The village achieved 100% toilet coverage in 1992 itself. There is no mosquito menace in the village. We don’t cultivate sugarcane, banana and other crops that require more water. The use of pesticides is banned. Every household has a minimum annual income of ₹9 lakh. It is an example of an ideal Gram Raj,” he said.

Mr. Pawar was speaking at the Village and Agriculture Conference on the outskirts of Sedam town in Kalaburagi district on Saturday. The event was part of the seventh edition of Bharatiya Samskruti Utsav.  

“Ours is a blend of natural and organic farming. With the assistance of the agricultural university, we have taken measures to ensure the maximum utilisation of rainwater to bring up the groundwater table,” he said.

Atul Jain Genera, from Deendayal Research Institute, termed Indian agriculture as scientific, stating that the crops grown in specific geographical regions suitable for their cultivation are rich in nutrition.

Vice-Chancellor of North-Eastern Hill University Prabha Shankar Shukla, Dean of University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Mahalingappa Dhanoji, former Parliamentarian Umesh Jadhav, progressive farmer Kavita Mishra and others were present.

Cultural performances were part of the event.