Balasore: The local jail will shortly adopt organic farming on its own land for cultivation.

The project is being carried out under the guidance and monitoring of Ashok Panigrahi, an environmentalist and a protagonist of organic farming.

Panigrahi had mooted the proposal and director-general of prison Bijay Kumar Sharma, during his visit to the jail on Monday, approved the proposal.

"If the project becomes successful, it will be replicated in other jails. The director-general has said," said Balasore jail superintendent Surendra Kumar Pattnaik.

"We have around five acres open space on the jail premises, where we cultivate mainly paddy and vegetables. There are about 50 inmates in our jail, who are conversant with agricultural practices," he said.

Panigrahi, a retired professor as well as visiting faculty to many reputed institutions, said the project would commence within a month. "I will not only guide them about the organic farming, but also monitor the activities " said Panigrahi, who has been advocating for conservation of indigenous seeds.

Under the project, vermicompost will be prepared on the campus. Vermicompost contains water-soluble nutrients and is a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser and soil conditioner. The pest control would be done through kernel of neem and pongam.

Adoption of the organic farming technique would be fillip to the production both on quantity and quality fronts, said Panigrahi.

"Most of the northeastern states, Uttarakhand and few other states have embraced organic farming because of its benefit and market demand," said Panigrahi , who has authored a book, Biodiversity, Agro-ecology and Indigenous Knowledge of Odisha.