Shillong, September 03: Dr. Carl O. Rangad, Vice Chairman of Operations, NESFAS and former Director of Horticulture, Government of Meghalaya, has taken his place as an advisor to the Agroecology Fund (AEF). In doing so he becomes one of the first indigenous persons from the North east of India to do so.
The Agroecology Fund (AEF) is a multi-donor charitable organization based in Washington, D.C, USA, which supports agroecological practices and policies in different nations. With a strong focus on agroecological farming systems, they also support viable food systems, promote the economic well-being and human rights of small farmers and their communities, address climate change and bridges organizations and movements that advance agroecological solutions locally, regionally and globally. Dr. Carl O. Rangad’s selection as an advisor comes post a strict nomination process from among leading minds from around the world which was then screened by the AEF Board.
Dr. Carl Rangad has a rich history of working at the State level with the Government of Meghalaya, grass root level with the communities of NESFAS, but has always been the exploratory scientist at heart. For example, although trained in Mycology and Plant Pathology, he stumbled upon his true passion in his father’s library, through a book describing a composting technique perfected by Jean Pain in France for cooking down saplings, branches, and underbrush into a rich heap of composted, natural fertilizer. His effort has always been on how to get his colleagues to embrace agroecological techniques and later with young minds he mentors to look out for the same as they work with the custodian farmers at grassroots levels. Dr.Rangad has always been fascinated with the idea of increasing soil fertility by composting— in which he sees the recycling of waste, kindness to the farmers’ wallets and the environment, ultimately leading to improved soil health.
Dr. Rangad embraces Agroecological techniques through the hidden potential of soil carbon rooted in nature, which he strongly encourages and guides many communities working with NESFAS in composting. He also focuses on the wisdom of the traditional farming systems that have been there for ages in the communities of North East India. As the first representative from the North East India at the AEF, Dr. Rangad places efforts in preserving cultures and traditions of indigenous communities, maintaining the biodiversity and organic matter in the soil which will ultimately play a major role in climate change adaptation.
