Exiled Tibetans in India to Adopt Organic Farming

MedIndia.com -- March 31, 2006

Tibetans in India is to take up organic farming according to the decision taken by the Tibetan government in exile, which is based in the hill town of Dharmasala.

'Under an integrated development programme by 2007, $25 million will be spent on organic fertilisers,' said a spokesman of the Tibetan government led by the Dalai Lama.

There are over 100,000 Tibetan refugees living in India and some of them have taken around 20,000 acres of farmland on lease in several parts of India, including Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

Tibetans are not allowed to own land in India.

'Even though there is a sharp rise in the production of crops due to the use of chemical fertilisers, we all know the damage caused to the environment by chemicals,' said the spokesman.

'The huge benefits to all by adopting organic fertilisers is a well known fact now,' he said.

Tibetan refugees grow several crops on leased land provided by the Indian government, including wheat, rice, corn and linseed.

The first wave of Tibetan refugees fled Tibet in 1959 along with their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, after a failed uprising against Chinese occupation.

Besides farming, Tibetans are also engaged as traders and shopkeepers in several cities and towns of India.