Microbes and Agriculture:Potentials and Gaps

An editorial on ‘Beneficial microbes for sustainable agricultural production’¹ is highly relevant to underline a major gap in perspective and policy shift towards a safe food security and future agriculture. M. S. Swaminathan has realized that the high input and agro-chemical based agriculture is no more sustainable in the context of water, soil and food contamination and farmer’s livelihood. He emphasized the need of evergreen agriculture; a food production system that is ecologically, socially and economically sustainable². If we look at the emerging crisis of Indian food security and in the developing world, it can be counted as: (1) Fragmented and small land holdings with majority of farmers and peasants, (2) Ever decreasing agricultural income per head in spite of increasing input cost and inflations, (3) Increasing contaminations of water, milk, meat and plant produces due to frequent and indiscriminate use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc., (4) Protein and vitamin malnutrition due to inadequate nutritive balance in food bowl and due to purchasing capabilities of productivity with pulses, oilcrops, vegetables, fruits, etc.