This story is from July 30, 2018

Invest less, harvest more is these farmers’ mantra

Invest less, harvest more is these farmers’ mantra
(File photo)
BENGALURU: Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) might soon gain popularity in Karnataka, with the government earmarking in its recent budget Rs 50 crore to promote it. At a meeting of natural farming enthusiasts on Sunday, ZBNF advocate Subhash Palekar exhorted farmers to be known as food providers and not poison providers. TOI spoke to some successful farmers.
“Unable to repay Rs 30 lakh loan, I was on the verge of committing suicide,” said TR Thippeswamy, 61, from Parasurampura, Challakere taluk of Chitradurga district.
Coming from a family which was dependent on agriculture, Thippeswamy said he was at his wits’ end when he lost crops in 2006 and was left with a burden of debt.
“As suggested by my friends, I tried ZBNF and grew mango. I didn’t make much profit, but it helped as the investment was low. But year by year, I started earning more. Today, other than labour expenditure, I don’t have any other expenses,” he added.
Mahesh Kumar KS from Kadukothahalli in Mandya district continued traditional farming on his eight-acre land until he faced crop failure. “A friend advised me to experiment with ZBNF and I grew paddy in 10 guntas. It was a qualitative yield. I started attending workshops and learnt more about it. With an eight-foot gap between sugarcane plants, I grow hyacinth bean, millets and other pulses. Many in my village are implementing my methods. We have a union of ZBNF farmers in my taluk.”
Santosh Rayappa Kittur, 30, is a diploma holder from Yaragatti village in Belagavi district. “In 2011, I came across ZBNF online and started learning more about it. When I decided to take up this sort of farming, my family and local farmers laughed at me. What I used to invest in pesticides was diverted to labour. Today, my produce has a name in the market. I promote my products through Facebook and WhatsApp. I’m proud that I am growing poison-less but nutritious food.”

Mahaveer Kumar Jain, 53, of Sirigere village in Chitradurga district, sends mangoes from his farm to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. “In 2006, I shifted to this farming and I noticed my land has turned more fertile and also the mangoes which I was growing were qualitative. Annually we used to invest up to Rs 50,000 for chemicals like pesticides but with ZBNF, my investment came down to almost Rs 2,000. As I progressed, we came up with our own products such as mango pappad and amchoor powder which has a good market,” he says.
Shreegoudpatil, 33, of Mallapura PG village of Bagalkot district, is an engineer at L&T Technologies in Bengaluru. After working for some time in the US, Patil bought fouracre land after his father refused to experiment with ZBNF. “I wanted to shift to my hometown and was making preparations. I have grown corn and groundnut and there have been good results. My father has changed his mind now after looking at the crop,” he added. He visits his village every weekend to take care of the crops.
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