Bengaluru’s organic farming pioneer dies at 84

BENGALURU: L Narayana Reddy, who earned recognition from various quarters for his excellence in organic farming, died on Monday. The 84-year-old died due to natural causes.
Though he was suffering from cough and cold for the past few weeks, Reddy was taking home medicine to cure it. His family had plans to shift him to a hospital in Bengaluru on Monday, but he died at his farmhouse in Maralenahalli, Doddaballapura taluk in Bengaluru Rural in the morning.He was cremated at Sorahunase village in Varthur later in the day.
Reddy is survived by his wife and three sons.
Among many awards, he was conferred with the Nadoja honour by Hampi University as well as the Karnataka Rajyotsava award. His talks on organic farming were very popular; the veteran received appreciation at the global level too.
He delivered talks abroad, including in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. European Commission representatives visited Reddy in 1992.
He used to hold weekend classes for agriculture enthusiasts at the farm, which was more like a lab of organic farming.
Hailing from Sorahunase village of Varthur, Reddy started working as a manager at a truck company, but he couldn’t succeed much there. He decided to try his luck in farming and started cultivation at the 1.5-acre farm in his village.
Initially, he had opted for chemical-based farming, but his life took a dramatic turn in 1976 when a California-based tourist introduced him to One Straw Revolution, a book by Japanese organic farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. Reddy started practising organic farming and it took three years to complete the transition. He never looked back and in 1988, an NGO brought Fukuoka to Reddy’s farm and it was indeed a milestone moment for the latter.
Later, Reddy bought land in Doddaballapura and converted it into another organic farming hub.
Reddy had also excelled in implementing what is known as the system of rice intensification, which pertains to getting higher yield for paddy using less water, despite it being a water-intensive crop.