A dimension within Pollution & Nature Loss
Discussing modern agricultural methods, the use of fertilizers, soil health, and the resulting environmental pollution.
150 voices speak to this
Each dimension splits this theme further — keep drilling to see how it breaks down.
Negative
Overall Community Sentiment
Applying cow dung manure to the land is decreasing. Instead, chemical fertilizers are being used. Along with the decrease in soil fertility, the land's
— KARUKAR MURMU
Nowadays, forests are being cleared. We used to get food from the forest, but now we are not getting it. Instead, we are consuming food grown with chemical fertilizers.
— jitendra khila · kudumulugumma, Malkangiri, Odisha
We used to add organic fertilizer to our fields to maintain soil fertility, but today's youth are using chemical fertilizers, and diseases are increasing day by day.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
We are no longer getting manure for our farming because people are not keeping cattle anymore. Everyone relies on chemical fertilizers, which is why we are becoming more prone to diseases.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
The fertility of the land is being destroyed by the use of chemical fertilizers.
— Arati Khandapatra · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
The fertility of the land is being destroyed by the use of chemical fertilizers.
— Arati Khandapatra · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Nutritious food is not available from farming as before; all food available is cultivated with fertilizers. Various root-based foods are also not available in the forest.
— KAPAL MARNDI · Bissamcuttack, Rayagada, Odisha
The more convenience-seeking we become now, the more polluted the environment is getting. We can no longer get natural things.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
Nowadays, traditional fertilizers like cow dung and ash are not used in farming. Chemical fertilizers like urea, DAP, and phosphate are being used more. This should not happen.
— VEER SINGH SIJUI · Durusai, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand
When we used to do traditional farming, health was good. Now, by using chemical fertilizers, many changes are appearing in health. People are getting old quickly, in my observation.
— jitendra khila · kudumulugumma, Malkangiri, Odisha
Forests are disappearing, livelihoods are being destroyed. Forests are also getting depleted, herbs are disappearing. It's not like it used to be.
— Chanda · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Humans used to have very useful things. Now, beneficial things have died out. Therefore, since those things are no longer present, our country has become very polluted. As a result, even birds are not there.
— swornalata nayak · Balangir, Odisha
People of earlier times used to do this kind of farming for subsistence, and without water, without chemical fertilizers, and by eating that grain, there was also strength in the body. But nowadays, this urea and DAP fertilizer is causing a lot of harm.
— Kamleah Kumar · Kota, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Producing through traditional agriculture, farming without fertilizer. Various types of fruits, medicinal plants and creepers etc. found in forests are no longer available.
— KAPAL MARNDI · Bissamcuttack, Rayagada, Odisha
Currently, eating food cultivated with chemical substances is harming our health, but our ancestors used to cultivate according to nature using organic methods and were free from diseases.
— Padmalochan Majhi · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Our ancestors used to farm with cow dung. And now this urea and DAP fertilizer has become common. This improves crop yield, but it's having a significant impact on health.
— Kamleah Kumar
Due to forests being destroyed day by day and the lack of proper rainfall, agriculture is not doing well.
— Suna Majhi
Difficulty in obtaining organic food is due to modern food. Farming is no longer done with traditional ploughs because mechanical ploughs are used.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
Humans used to have many useful things, but now those useful things are gone. Therefore, since those things are no longer present, our country has become very polluted. Therefore, birds...
— Parikshit Majhi · Balangir, Odisha
Previously, our ancestors used to farm with cow dung, and now urea and DAP have become common. The crops are growing well, but it's having a big impact on the body.
— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
The environment was good before, now it doesn't rain on time, due to which farming is not good.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
In the past, we used to eat various things from the hills, such as Kangu Jona Ganthia, and lived well because of them. Things that grew without fertilizer used to ripen quickly. Now, nothing is ripening from the hills, and they are not cultivating them anymore.
— Prakash ch Pradhani · Karubai, Rayagada, Odisha
Our ancestors used to farm with plows and bullocks. But nowadays, all those things are disappearing.
— NAGRIK VIKASH SANGATHAN · Kalahandi, Odisha
Depletion of natural resources, trees are being cut down, ponds are getting filled up, the balance of nature is deteriorating.
— VEER SINGH SIJUI · Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand
Mona Pramoda, in the past, we had traditional food without fertilizer, and people lived for many years by eating that food. But now, by eating food with fertilizer, many types of diseases are staying in our bodies.
— swornalata nayak · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Fruit trees and vegetable plants have disappeared from our forests.
— Kachala Choudhary
Grain used to grow without fertilizer. Use cow dung for farming in the fields; that's where paddy, maize, and all crops grow. Eating all that grain keeps the body strong and vital. Nowadays, even though there is more crop yield, the body becomes weak.
— Kamleah Kumar · Ammatola, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Now, old farming is not practiced.
— Kachala Choudhary
In our region, 'Gati Kandha' is available/common. People of the past used to eat all such things, and because of that, their bodies remained healthy. Nowadays, people are consuming foods that contain fertilizers (or are chemically treated), which is causing many types of diseases to arise.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
What our ancestors used to obtain, now 90% of the forest has been destroyed. With the destruction of forests, the hills have also been destroyed. Whatever materials we used to find, especially food items, are no longer available.
— jitendra khila · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Earlier, when we practiced traditional farming, many earthworms used to fertilize our soil, and cultivation was good. Now, various types of fertilizers, pesticides, and poisons are being used by us.
— KARUKAR MURMU · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Plastic has started being used in villages too, due to which the environment is deteriorating. Plastic items should not be used in rural areas.
— Ramay Soy
Yes, damage has definitely occurred. Previously, people used to obtain two traditional food items by cutting trees from the forest. Now, these are not available. Furthermore, there has been extensive damage to medicinal plants, and those are also not available.
— gobardhan pangi
My name is Nikada Majhi. My village is Mandipanka. From Panchayat Bamaniya, Block Dharimal, District Kandhamal. I am seeing a severe shortage in farming work in today's date. Which people are doing by excessively using chemical fertilizers, along with destroying the fertility of the soil, right.
— SUBASH SABHASUNDAR · Gajapati, Odisha
To fertilize the mother soil, which has become barren due to the use of chemical fertilizers, through organic methods.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
They do farming without water, but now it has decreased, it doesn't ripen.
— Kachala Choudhary
The food we used to eat before was good for our body. But the food we eat now, chemical food, is bad for our body.
— Amita Mohanty
In this village, the forest has been damaged a bit more than before this time. Herbs cannot be collected, and because of that, we...
— Padmini Bhoi
Sir, what should we do with the seeds? Farming is finished; all the land, water, and resources have been taken over by the government for things like coal. There's no place here to even plant seeds. The entire environment is polluted. How can farming be done here, and what good are the seeds we've saved?
— Parsuram Sa · Kanika, Sundargarh, Odisha
Earlier, we used to keep seeds in earthen pots with neem leaves, but now those pots are not available. Their traditional profession is slowly coming to an end, and we are also forced to move towards modernity.
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.
In Sonbhadra, an elder reflects on the community's evolving traditions, from festive celebrations and unique tribal customs to environmental shifts and new livelihoods, holding onto the hope of preser
Farmers in Kandhamal advocate for restoring traditional, organic millet cultivation to improve health and revitalize local food systems.
Our community remembers a time when farming with natural manure fostered both abundant harvests and deep respect for the land.
Our ancestors lived long and healthy lives by cultivating traditional crops without chemicals and consuming nourishing forest roots, a practice many now wish to revive.
The voices in this theme were gathered by these organisations through their community reports.
