Organic veggies creating new market niche in urban Meghalaya

A collective decision to ban synthetic fertilisers and pesticides by villagers long ago is reaping benefits to the farmers in Lawsohtun area as there is a huge demand for organic vegetables in the urban market.
Vegetables grown in Lawsohtun, a locality in the outskirts of the city, area are in a huge demand at least in the state capital of Meghalaya in view of growing awareness of the health benefits organic veggies have as compare to their inorganic counterparts.
Located about 3 kilometers away from the centre of the city, Lawsohtun, has etched a name for itself for perhaps being the only village in the state that has declared itself 'organic' for decades.

A village council has banned the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for over 50 years in its five-acre community land made available for farmers in the village, Tonwell Rynjah, headman of the village told PTI.
He said, the decision was taken long back when he was not even in the village council. Tonwell has been elected an elder of Block III in the village council for over 25 years now.
There are about 2,500 families residing in six blocks in the locality.

Today, about 30 families are engaged in producing top class organic vegetables such as carrot, mustard leaves, beet roots and tomatoes which are available for sale in selected outlets in the city and shops in the locality itself.

While the ban for use of synthetic pesticides was specific for the community land, other residents of the locality who use their private lands for veggies production are also following suit with no advisory from the village council, Rynjah said.
The elated village chief said growing and consuming organic veggies was safer at least for his family.
But organic farming is not without its struggles. The villagers must consistently find ways to treat common diseases without the use of pesticides and fertilizers.