Today, we look at soil! (ettaka). Although this is the most important element in any agriculture venture, most farmers take it for granted.
There are so many things that destroy the soil, which farmers can easily avoid, but unfortunately, they do not do so.
For example, have you ever traced the path of the shopping bag (kaveera) during its lifecycle? Well, of course, like all things its final resting place will be the soil or landfill.
Since most of our country has no waste management system people resort to dumping this waste in the gardens or backyards.
But unlike natural or organic things, the kaveera will not degrade (be broken down) to become useful soil that supports us all.
Instead it will get logged in the soil. It will obstruct the penetration of the plant roots in the soils and prevent all activities that God set into motion to ensure that his people are supported for food by the soils.
Now there is a very elaborate technical process that creates the soil which feeds the plants that in turn feed our animals and us. It is an intricate system that involves break down of dead plants and animals (humans inclusive) into soil.
This process involves many small but very important actors like, mites, beetles, maggots, earthworms, bacteria, fungi, etc. But with increasing use of herbicides and pesticides, most of these organisms living in the soils are killed.
The kaveera and all other inorganic waste that are disposed in our backyards and gardens including disposable diapers, sanitary pads, glass, plastics and metal. These items cannot be broken down by the soil making actors above to form soil.
They will remain in the soils for hundreds of years. It takes hundreds of years for disposable diapers to decompose and that is only when exposed to sunlight and air.
When covered in the soil they take much longer. If an average baby were to use just four such diapers a day, they would have used at least 3,600 diapers by the time they make 30 months (to start using the potty).
This would result in tonnes of waste and if you discarded them in your backyard and garden you would have no garden left by the third child.
