Residue Free Farming- The Way to Ensuring Healthy and Safe Eating

Due to widening horizon of digital media and easy access to a lot of content, people have been influenced to become more health cautious leading to a drastic change in their eating habits. In today’s era staying healthy is the need of the hour which has led people to choose a health friendly diet. In order to cater to the huge segment of health conscious people, there has been a sharp rise in the consumption of residue free and organic vegetables, thus giving an opportunity to young entrepreneurs to enter the space of residue free framing.

Residue Free Farming- The Concept
Residue free farming can be phrased as the use of organically derived biocides and bio fertilizers to protect the crops and augment their growth. In today’s era where technology plays a pivotal role in each and every sector, it’s important to understand the use of technology in the field of agriculture. By adopting modern day agri-technologies like greenhouses, drip irrigation system, fertigation, ifm- integrated fertilizers management, ipm- integrated pest management, residue free production, rain water harvesting, high density plantation, contour farming, waste land utilization, etc., it becomes relatively easy to maintain the quality of the produce and also add to the nutritional value to the same.

The Demand Fuelling Process
Taking into consideration the demands of the consumers it is essential to understand the concept of farm to fork which primarily relates to reducing/minimizing the human handling of the product which in turn would enhance the quality of the produce. In order to meet the expected standards of the consumers, it is necessary to integrate the process of residue free farming. The process of growing the produce starts from crop selection-land preparation- seed selection - seed sowing- irrigation- crop growth-harvesting- grading - packaging - transportation- Retail Outlets/Customers. An important element to note in the process is the lack of use of chemical fertilizers and use of natural fertilizers like cow dung and earthworm manure. This one change itself accounts for a big difference in the residue content of the product and takes it a notch further in making it residue free.

The Hazards to Nature
Use of strong chemical fertilizers has been a predominant factor in the agriculture sector since quite a long time. This use of toxic chemical fertilizers has had a very negative impact on the environment leading to a potential damage to the agriculture products as well as the health of masses who consume it. The extensive abuse of chemical fertilizers has led to a change in the health of the soil leading to the depletion of the nutritional value of the product and thus creating a hazardous impact on the consumers of the product. It should also be noted that the use of fertilizers not only affects the people consuming the product but also the people dealing with the same, hence making it essential to emphasise the use of fertilizers that are non-residual in nature. This, in turn, would increase the health benefits, freshness and the longevity of the product.

Conclusion
Due to rapid evolution and increased awareness in the health segment, people are now focused on the benefits of consumption of fresh and residue free food. In order to support this change, it is necessary to adopt the practice of residue free farming where in the food that is produced is pure, fresh, healthy and nutritious. This produce is grown in an eco-friendly way and without the use of any hazardous chemical fertilizers in order to benefit the end consumer in the best possible way.

This article has been authored by Nilesh Palresha, Executive Director, EarthFood