The Organic Shift

Farming gets a new life


 "When farmers who adopted organic farming methodology started getting better yield, many others like me also gave a shot to organic manures, which, besides increasing the yield, also improved the health of the soil," said Shithal Kumar Kate, a farmer who grows table variety and wine variety of grapes on his 12 acres of land. Kate himself prepares the manure he uses in his farm with cow dung, jaggery, flour and water, and calls it Jeevamrutha.
"The mixture is fermented in a barrel for 15 days and is ready for use after that. Since most farmers here own cows, they all easily prepare the manure at home. Dung produced by a desi cow is enough to provide manure to one acre of farmland. With the use of Jeevamrutha, there was a 40 per cent increase in my fields," said Kate, who harvested 30 tonnes of grapes last season. Kate, who owns five cows, has set up a small biomass plant in his house. "We did not make the switch (to organic farming) in a day. The farmers here slowly cut down on the use of chemical fertilisers. If the ratio of chemical and organic was 20:80 seven years ago, it is vice-versa now. My aim is to reach 100 per cent within two years," said Kate.
Now in Katewadi, no one burns farm waste -- a practice prevalent till five years ago. "We don't burn the farm waste, as it can be used in the fields as compost. Our family was into sugarcane farming but we shifted to banana three years ago. We use vermicompost, Jeevamrutha and also animal waste in our fields. The yield is good and the soil condition has improved tremendously," said Vijay Dutta who owns three acres of farmland. Big farmers, like Eknath Maruthi Rao Kate, who own 30 acres of land, have erected vermicompost sheds on their premises. He uses the vermicompost in his fields and also supplies it to small farmers in the region. "I get 12 tonne vermicompost every three months and use it in my farms. I grow sugarcane in 20 acres, grapes on five acres, banana on three acres and pomegranate on two acres," said Eknath, adding that there has been a gradual rise in his produce.
"Earlier, the sugarcane yield was 60 tonnes per acre. It saw a rise every year and in the last season it touched 85 tonnes per acre," said Eknath. Canals from Nira river provide water to the fields and the village also has an information centre set up by the village panchayat. "We are on our way to becoming an eco-village and organic farming is one of our main thrust areas. Our information centre has a speaker system through which we announce weather forecast, market price of the crops and so on for the benefit of the farmers," said Meenakshi Kate, Sarpanch of Katewadi.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Baramati plays a key role in making farmers aware of organic farming and use of bio-agents instead of pesticides. "We teach farmers to make bio-agents in their household for biological pest control. We also take them for study trips and make them meet farmers who have successfully adopted organic farming," said Dr Tarannum Kadarbhai, programme co-ordinator, KVK. "Instead of spending money on chemical fertilisers, the farmers now use vermicompost, green manure and bio-fertilisers. Organic farming augments the water building capacity of the soil,"added Kadarbhai. Sunetra Pawar, wife of Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar who spearheads the development works in Katewadi, said the paradigm shift took place over the years. "Earlier, farmers did not want to take risk or try anything new. But the better yield and improvement in soil fertility encouraged them."
Katewadi, nine km from Baramati and 110 km from Pune, earned the 'model village' title from the Maharashtra government in 2008. The honour came its way for having well-maintained roads, toilets in every house under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan' scheme, solid waste management, underground drainage system, school, community centre and well-maintained primary health centre. Katewadi may also add another feather to its cap soon -- that of being the first eco-village in the state. Under the eco-village plan, whose thrust is on sanitation and health, work has already started to promote community lifestock management, solid waste management, provision of community blocks, sewage treatment by green bridge technology, energy conservation through biogas power generation and solar street lighting system.
Source: The Indian Express & MSN Website