Composting Guru

Biodynamic farming adviser and long-standing Prometheus client, Peter Proctor, has become well known of late for his work in bringing biodynamic-organic agriculture methods to India. The award-winning documentary "How to Save the World" (available on DVD) follows Peter through India discussing his mission and his remarkable success.

Peter was initially invited to India in 1993 to teach Indian farmers biodynamic methods. The level of interest and enthusiasm was such that he has been returning to India at least twice a year since then to run further courses.

Peter was welcomed because the "green revolution", which had started in India in the 1960s, had been failing for some time. The key impacts reported were falling yields, increased fertiliser and pesticide requirments, degraded soil and increased irrigation requirements as the soil's water-holding capacity had declined.  This latter had also led to alarming drops in the water table and a shortage in many areas of "sweet" water - leaving many farmers irrigating with salty water.

For Indian farmers this was proving a costly process, with falling yields and continually rising input requirements and costs. Peter's introduction of a biodynamic-organic method of farming was welcomed by many intrepid pioneering farmers as it removed the need for expensive inputs and promised to recover soil structure and fertility. The approach has since been embraced by a growing number of farmers in regions throughout India as it was relatively quick to prove effective in improving not only crop yields but also quality.

As a case in point, Jaspal Singh, a farmer in the Punjab switched his 30 acres of degraded farmland to biodynamic management after attending a seminar of Peter's. This was despite considerable scepticism from his neighbours. Within three years his farm had improved markedly and, in Peter's words:

"After seeing the quality of the wheat, rye and potatoes that Jaspal grows, there are now at least 100 neighbouring farmers following his example."

This is just a recent example of what has been occurring throughout India. In most states that Peter has been teaching there are now many hundreds of farmers practising this form of organic agriculture, while in several states there are many thousands.

Over recent years Peter had been residing in India for extended periods so he could travel extensively to support the broad range of farmer groups and training courses that had been established around the country. He and his partner Rachel Pomeroy felt that the courses they had helped establish and the level of farmer involvement were such that, at age 80, he could finally return to New Zealand and enjoy his retirement. Peter is confident that, with around 20 well-trained and enthusiastic leaders and tutors now in the field, the future of biodynamic-organic agriculture in India is well catered for.

We have welcomed the opportunity to support Peter and Rachel in their work in India over this time and invite anyone who wishes to make a donation to support the ongoing training work in India to send that to Biodynamic Outreach c/- Prometheus. When Peter heard that we intended to include this tribute to him in this newsletter he asked that we include the following from him:

"I want to say how much Rachel and I appreciated the very efficient and helpful way Prometheus administered the Biodynamic Outreach business while we were in India. That was truly very helpful."

For information about the DVD of Peter's work visit www.howtosavetheworld.co.nz