World Humger - Innovative solutions -- Part I - AGA (Above Ground Agriculture) - Dr. Subas Mohapatra

Part I: Soil less agriculture or AGA
As we are busy discussing events related to mining, crime and corruption, the world is trembling under hunger-related violence and governmental instability. It is sad but it is real. As the associated press article rightly says, the expanding hunger is not due to unavailability of food. Rather it is due to inability to purchase the food off the shelf. That is because more than 80% increase in food price world wide. Some of it can be attributed to corporate greed, but the real culprit is the skyrocketing price of petroleum products starting with fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, tires, and every thing else that comes from petroleum products.

Is there an easy solution? Indeed there is. Not only the solution is easy it is very inexpensive. Then what is lacking? Ingenuity, desire and determination. While I enjoy good food and never pass up the opportunity to feast while I am allowed to do so free, most of the time, when I am on my own, I survive on liquid diet more than 60% of the time. Those NGOs with whom I work every year in Orissa have seen what I eat. Not only I have maintained my weight between 125-135 lbs (my weight when I was an athlete in my youth) for nearly 50 years (and 30 years on liquid diet), I have never been sick except seasonal fever and athletics related surgery. This has now become natural for me, but it needed ingenuity, desire and determination until became a habit.

Research has shown that only sweet potato and peanut can sustain all human beings (except those who are allergic to these) at all ages without the need of any other nutrients. The two crops supply all needed carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and fibers without complicating diabetes or hypertension. Further these two crops are grown under identical climatic and soil conditions with very little water. Therefore these are known as semi-arid crops. Peanuts is the major crop of research at ICRISAT (International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics), Patancheru, in the outskirts of Hyderabad, AP.

I have developed soil-less agriculture technology to grow both of the above crops. These are being tested at the IAFF Agriculture Station in Orissa. In the first week of June I am scheduled to go to Haiti (i.e. if situations do not worsen), where the government has already fallen due to hunger-driven riots, to set up these AGA (Above Ground Agriculture) Systems.

The objective is not to produce enough food for hungry people to eat, which they can do if they need to or wish to. Rather the objective is to enable them to earn cash which they can use to buy the food already available on the shelf. This can be done in many ways. But my current thrust is on hot pepper production for the following reasons: 1) Next to food stuff, pepper is the most commonly consumed commodity throughout the world. 2) Further, because of its toxin content, it is not as adversely affected by diseases and insects as other crops. 3) It can be grown in all seasons and at all places, including rooftops. 4) It can be consumed in fresh, frozen, dried, or pickled form. 5) Its staying power (shelf life) is unusually long. 6) Using my system, it can be grown almost without labor except the first day of system construction, which can be set up in couple of hours under planned approach. 7) My personal all Orissa market survey has shown that even during the growing season the price of fresh pepper has never dropped below Rs.10/kg in more than 100 places where I have collected data. However, the average price is at least Rs.20. Dried red pepper is sold in some places at above Rs.80/kg. Thus, hot pepper is an excellent cash generating crop.

I have developed a soil-less system on the roof top of my house at Bhubaneswar near the airport. Recently there was a hail storm and we lost a lot of plants. Still we have already sold Rs.30 worth of pepper. Every one is invited to see the system and try to implement it. NGOs wishing to implement the system will get technological and financial assistance from IAFF.

In the mean while let us try to change our food habit from solid food to liquid food on a daily basis. This is too long and technical subject to address here. But I will be happy to address it if the readers are interested. Just remember that when we are taken to hospital in ambulance we are given IV, which is liquid, not solid. Those who lose the ability to ingest or digest solid food are sustained through liquid diet. Sick people are given liquid diet until they get well. Babies survive fully on mother's milk for months if not years. So "liquid food" is not as radical as it may sound. But we need to develop mental acceptance of the liquid diet. How liquid diet will solve hunger almost instantly is another technical subject and too long to discuss here. But I will also be happy to address them. I have discussed these topics in my book on "Integrated Farming System, Controlled Environment Agriculture and Eco-Farming" and offer these topics annually at my workshop.

Happy reading.

Part II - Eating Liquid Food on Daily basis