"I believe in the future of organic agriculture."

"When I submitted my Bachelor thesis in agricultural science, my professor was asking me: "What do you want to do in life? What will be your next step?" He, just like everybody else, expected me to go and work for one of those big agricultural companies - but that wasn’t for me. I told him, "I want to help farmers and work in organic agriculture." And that’s what I did.

I went back home and joined the newly established research program SysCom of bioRe and FiBL. That was some 12 years back. I loved working in research, directly working on solutions for farmers’ most pressing problems. Researchers from abroad, just like students from Indian and European universities come and work with our local research team. I also got to travel abroad and see organic agricultural innovations in South America, Africa, and Europe. I loved the exchange with the people from all over the world and we learned a lot from each other. And I love working in organic agriculture. That is very important to me.

My grandfather started the work on organic agriculture, he sowed the seed for our family. My father carried on and his beliefs and experiences in organic agriculture inspire farmers and researchers alike. He has been the director of the farmers’ association for over 15 years and his ideas have contributed to some major breakthroughs in our research. He has this very strong sense of interconnectedness between nature, humans, and the universe. I think that is where he gets his strength and inspiration. And I grew up helping him on our farm, so I am also an organic farmer myself. I believe in the future of organic agriculture: all farmers and researchers need to join hands and find solutions that benefit humankind and mother nature."

Lokendra Singh Mandloi is 41 years old and lives in Amlatha. He contributed to the research published in the Synthesis Report of the SysCom project. He also co-authored the leaflet series: "Preparation and Application of self-made organic pest control products". Today he works in the extension service for farmers with Remei. He and his father are participating in the SysComs on-farm research since 2013.

More portraits and links

• fibl.org: Faces of Organic Cotton
• systems-comparison.fibl.org: Synthesis Report of the SysCom project
• systems-comparison.fibl.org: Leaflet series "Preparation and Application of self-made organic pest control products"