Amaryllis
Region: Huánuco
Peru
South America
potato
A letter from potato farmers to Dr (Mrs) María del Carmen Ayasta Vallejo, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Region: Huánuco
Amaryllis, November 12th, 1999
Dear Mrs Directress:
“We are potato farmers from the sector of Amaryllis. It is for the first time that we communicate with somebody like you who has a position in the Ministry of Agriculture. We take the opportunity to greet you and wish you success with your work.”
“Many years ago we heard our grandparents and parents talk about how the Potato Blight keeps attacking our potato fields nonstop and each time with more intensity. We observed how year after year this disease lowers the yield of our crops.”
“The engineers and salespersons for agrochemicals always come and offer us more and more potent poisons. Even if they did not bring any results, they still make us buy two or three different ones for weekly application. But Blight is still present and continues its attacks. We spent with all these agro chemicals, only in the most economic ones every 6 month still from 3,000 to 5,000 soles/ha/crop. Even though we put all these agro chemicals, starting with the potato seed, we observed that our plants have from the very beginning pale, yellowish leaves, as if they were sick and this until the end of the crop. How we miss the lush green potato fields that we saw years ago!”
“In spite of the agro chemicals, which we use in pesticides and fertilizers, the Blight strikes with force and dries up everything. It is like inevitable and nothing can stop it. Some of us who still had possibilities to buy more poisons against Blight did it, pushed by desperation and the threat of losing the whole crop. But most of us lack the money to buy chemical pesticides. The Blight fungus after affecting the leaves and stems passes on to the tuber. The only thing we can do is to cut the plant totally before the fungus passes on to the tuber and if the Blight attacks the tuber after it was formed we are able to have some harvest, but if the fungus attacks before, then we have lost all our crop.”
“Also we have to harvest very quickly after Blight attack, because two days later the crop begins to rot and we again run the risk of losing the whole production.”
“This emergency situation regarding pests and diseases in our potato fields does not allow us to have our own seeds from our land. We have go to look for potato seeds in areas above 4,000 m above sea level. But to our desperation we have seen now the presence of Blight even in these high altitudes. We wondered if soon we would not have any more seeds available? What will we sow? What will we live from? Since we were born we learned from our ancestors how to sow potatoes, for our own survival and to feed a lot of other people.”
“In the last years we still harvested per potato plant an average of 1 kilo, now it is only 200 grams per plant, mainly second and third class production, some of commercial size. Now, in the fields the biggest production is already harvested and is without possibility to be commercialized, since they are either very small, attacked by Blight, rotting or with other diseases.
“On the average we have harvested this season 3,000 kilos/Ha. In the previous harvests we still had crops up to 18,000 Kilos / ha. On top of this low yield is the low market price. As farmers we are extremely desperate and very affected seeing our lands refuse to produce healthy potatoes and each time the production comes down.”
“In this situation arrived Engineer Ever Torres Martinez from Lima as a representative of the International Potato Center and recommended that we learn how to coexist with the Blight since there is no chance that it will disappear because it lives in the soil we are cultivating. He told us to do what all those that have visited us already recommended. But we experienced that it doesn’t work and it does not solve our Blight problem.”
“The same happened with the visit of the SENASA (National Service of Agrarian Health) Engineer Walter Diaz Burga from Lima, who again told us the same thing as all the other engineers. And every time we felt more left alone, without support, impotent in front of the pests and diseases. Our plantations were hopelessly lost, as if a destructive force was behind all this, and nobody could win against it and we farmers were the most affected ones. It seemed as if we were living a nightmare, we hoped that everything was just a dream, but regrettably it was reality.”
“Approximately 2 months ago the farmer family León Huaco, whom we observed for many years in their agricultural potato development, because they are farmers with a lot of experience and with good technical preparation for potato cultivation, stopped using agro chemicals. They are experts in the use of agro chemicals, they used it in their great potato extension. They were the biggest buyers of agro chemicals. But suddenly with the first rains of September and the time of the first Blight attack we observed that they stopped applying chemicals. This was the time they started applying a type of organic agriculture that they told us, is called Homa Therapy.”
“We kept on observing, better still, waiting for results. For us this technique without use of agro chemicals was new. Even though some elements of Homa Therapy were familiar to us like the consideration of the full moon and new moon, Homa Therapy added to this also the benefits of sunrise and sunset and the burning of dry cow dung.”
“We continued observing, with the first rains the Blight arrived and began to destroy potato plantations, but the farm where Homa Therapy was applied, resisted the attack. They had only one month of Homa application. Quickly we took interest in learning the Homa Therapy.”
“The farmer family León Huaco welcomed us in a friendly way and collaborated with our Homa Therapy training. Also technicians, in fact, farmers as we are, were invited from other areas. This was what we observed through the Homa Therapy effect in the potato crop:
- In 4 months old potato plants.
The sowing was done using agro chemicals and during the first four months the chemical applications continued. At this time the plants showed yellowish leaves. Then the work with Homa Therapy began and no more chemicals were used. The plants became very green and increased their foliage. They maintained themselves green until the end of the crop and the whole plantation resisted the Blight attack. A complete rejuvenation happened through the effect of Homa Therapy. We harvested healthy tubers of first, second and third class, that is to say of commercial size. In areas where Homa Therapy was not applied the crop was completely lost. - In 2 months old potato plants.
The seeds received during the first 2 months agro chemicals. The first reaction to the effect of Homa Therapy was presented in the leaves, they were of intense green, the foliage increased, and the plants had a lot of vitality and vigor. The growth of weeds was well controlled, facilitating the agricultural work.
“Besides making the Homa Therapy fires we applied the ash of the basic Agnihotra fire. The Agnihotra ash was applied in a water solution every 8 days, using a backpack fumigator. We observed that the Agnihotra ash solution acts like a foliar nutrient and controls the weeds. Many of us don’t know how to read or to write, but we learned easily how to carry out the Homa Therapy fires. We even observed that some of us with certain diseases got healed through the effect of Homa Therapy and the Agnihotra ash.”
“The farmer Alejandro Vega Elías had for 4 years very big warts in his hands, he consumed weekly 2 1/2 kilos of coca leaves, accompanied by cigarettes and alcohol. He was healed from his warts in only one week applying Agnihotra ash cream. Also in little time he learned how to carry out all the Homa fires and stopped the consumption of the coca leaf, the cigarettes and alcohol gradually. He became one of the best farmers, qualified to maintain a Homa Resonance Point.”
“We were told that one Homa resonance point reaches up to 40 hectares. Now after almost 2 months of working with Homa Therapy, its effect has reached the fields of the neighbours, for which we feel happy. This is how our nightmare ends. And many are preparing their land and want to sow the next harvest with Homa Therapy, because we are convinced that through the effect of Homa Therapy the sick land can be healed.”
“This way we will have our own seeds, clean, healthy and without use of poison, everything only with Homa Therapy. We feel that our earth and our plants thank us for applying Homa Therapy. Again we can go to our potato fields and they are like they were many years back, very green, very beautiful and full of life. We feel that life again returns to us, the same life, which our land wanted to take from us little by little.”
“We potato farmers want to share this beautiful experience with other farmers that are as desperate as we were. We are in a very good position to train anybody who wants to learn and apply Homa Therapy in their cultivation. We were taught for free and we want to pass it on as well for free because we don’t want any more pain of food shortage caused by plagues and diseases. ”
“Mrs Directress, if you could make it possible through the Institution which works in the name for the improvement of the life of the farmers, to spread the word about the goodness of Homa Therapy to all poor farmers who are without hope. We once more state, that we ourselves will train the farmers in Homa Therapy.
Sincerely:
Signatures of
Victor Manuel León Noreña L.E. 80386146
Florián Rodríguez Cabrera L.E. 22505476
Alejandro Vaga Elías in process
Urbano Rodríguez Gamarra L.E. 22648986
Marcos Tolentino Florido in process
Aniceto Culántres Elías L.E. 22649157
Orlando Vegas Elías in process
David Cabrera Rodriguez in process
Moises Cabrera Culántres L.E. 22425088
Antonio Cárdenas Mendoza in process
Diógenes Cardona Ramón L.E. 23146547
Hilarión Rosas León in process
Santos Amarillón Villegas L.E. 22753449
Fredy Rodriguez Arteta in process
Enrique León Huaco L.E. 22434994
Senón Dávila Rafaelo
Adriano Salvador
Alfredo León Huaco L.E. 22490721
Fortunato Lasarte
Tony Vasquez Venancio
Leandro Reyes Huaman L.E. 22708959