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"A Council of Agriculture Science and Technology"

published On its 30th anniversary number (1997).

The Pakistani Organic Farmers Association was formed in 1987 when about 40 farmers from all over the country gathered to find a way to survive. The farmers resolved to "go back to nature." To decrease the cost of their inputs, they began recycling all their wastes and introduced green manuring into their crop rotations. They introduced the sustainability concept on saline soil and water logged lands. They attempted to do without the intermediary

 In their attempt to make organic farming more profitable than conventional farming, the Pakistani Organic Farmers Association introduced direct liaisons with consumers. Twenty eight percent of their geographic area was farmed, and the association resolved to increase this percentage and to bring remote areas into farming. Another, association aim was to make farms self-sufficient in all inputs, including energy resources.

According to one association member, a CAST report "Introduced Us To Our Heritage". The concept of organic farming, ancient principle, was described as a system before World War l by Sir Albert Howard, Director of the Institute of Plant industry in Lahore, Pakistan. His goal, which was fundamentally economic, was to formulate the best possible system for production of food in areas where transportation, water for irrigation, and money to purchase production inputs such as fertilizer from outside sources were unavailable. His aim was to establish self-sufficiency in all areas where farming was possible. As a spokesperson for the Pakistani Organic Farmers Association puts it, "we joined CAST, and new horizons opened for us."

A copy of the Pakistani Organic Farmers Association report "High External Input System of Agriculture vs. Low External Input System of Agriculture" can be obtained from the CAST Office.