Easy and Simple Natural Farming

Easy and Simple Natural Farming Mr. Raosaheb Dagadkar

Writer : Shubhada Pandhre Koradwahu Group Publisher

Kisan Forum Pvt. Ltd.

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Natural Farming People often criticise natural farming saying it is labour intensive and therefore cannot be practiced by big farmers.

Mr Raosaheb Dagadkar is an example to refute all such claims. He farms his 110 acres of land without fertilisers, pesticides or weedicides. Here’s how he does it.

Raosaheb DagadkarEasy and Simple Natural Farming P

eople often criticise natural farming saying it is labour intensive and therefore cannot be practiced by big farmers. Mr Raosaheb Dagadkar is an example to refute all such claims. He farms his 110 acres of land without fertilisers, pesticides or weedicides. Here’s how he does it. Usalgavaan is a

by Raosaheb Dagadkar

small village in Dhamangaon, Dist.

Amravati, Maharashtra. Raosaheb Dagadkar, aged 73 years, has been practicing farming here since the last 45 years. Raosaheb finished his graduation from the Science stream and started farming soon thereafter. It was the heyday of the Green Revolution, so naturally Raosaheb took the plunge into farming his inherited 110 acres using the new methods and inputs like chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

In the initial years, he got excellent yields with minimal use of fertilizers and pesticides. However, with the passage of time, he realized that the use of and thereby the expense on account of chemical inputs had started to rise, while the yields remained same, and then gradually began to drop. He also realized that his land was losing fertility. Soon he was incurring losses, purely because of huge expenditure on chemical inputs. Raosaheb felt the pressing need to find a way out of this trap and started studying and giving a serious thought to find alternatives.

In course of his reading, Raosaheb came across the book ‘One Straw Revolution’ by famous Japanese scientist Masanobu Fukuoka. The book influenced him a great deal and he made the decision to shift from chemical farming to natural farming.This step was diametrically opposed to the firmly entrenched practices of the day. However the determined Raosaheb stood firm and in 1990, banished all chemicals from his 110 acres at one go. He decided to minimize his intervention into nature as far as possible and gave away all his chemical

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Planting roses.

spray pumps and equipment to his relatives.

Yields were pretty low for the first few years. However, since there was zero expenditure on external inputs, he still made small profits. With every passing year, his land became more fertile and by the sixth year, Raosaheb was getting as much yield as his earlier days, only without all the expense!

Raosaheb says “We are now ahead of even those using chemicals. We get an average of 7-8 quintals of Soyabean per acre, 10-15 quintals of wheat per acre and 10-15 quintals of cotton per acre, all without the huge effort and expense.”

The Farm:

Raosaheb Dagadkar’s farm is situated at Village: Usalgavhaan, Taluka: Dhamangaon, Dist: Amravati of Maharashtra. His inherited 110 acres are spread over in two parts. 90 acres is near his village while 20 acres is at a distance from the village.

Natural Farming A fraction of this land has irrigation cover round the year. In that zone, Raosaheb grows mangoes, along with seasonal crops like groundnut (in the summer) and sesame. The remaining land is cultivated in the two seasons – Kharif (monsoon) and rabbi (winter).

Some of the land has gentle slopes.

Raosaheb made use of government schemes and got appropriate contour bunding done in the farm.

This has helped a lot in conserving topsoil and also has enabled even distribution of rain water.

Raosaheb adds.” We actually love farm weeds! Weeds hold the soil and don’t let it get leached. ‘Grow weeds and conserve topsoil’ is our mantra.” According to him, weeds slow down the surface runoff water during rains. This enables greater seepage of water and prevents precious top soil from getting carried away. All water that leaves the farm is crystal clear!

The weather:

The temperature ranges between 16 to 45 degrees C in summer.

Maximum temperature is about 25 degrees in winter and 30 degrees in the rains. The average annual rainfall is about 1000 mm.

The soil:

The soil is not entirely of the ‘black cotton’ variety. There are some rocky parts. Generally, the soil is

Bunding:

The farm has many bunds and with plenty of trees on the bunds.

However, these trees have grown naturally and not planted. According to Dagadkar, there is no need to specially plant trees. Birds, animals, wind – all are constantly spreading seeds of local trees. All one has to do is protect the seedlings from fire, grazing etc. and the trees grow very well in the local environment. One can see several native trees thriving on the bunds such as Neem and Bamboo.

The first years of Natural Farming:

Raosaheb says,” People believe that weeds deplete the soil of nutrients. But the fact is that every plant takes on a small fraction – 3 to 5% of their nutrition from the soil, while all the rest comes from the external environment. So as long as the remains of the plants – weeds or otherwise- go back to the soil, there is no reason for the soil to lose any fertility…”

In 1990, Raosaheb adopted Natural farming and stopped using all chemical inputs on all of his 110 acres at one go. He also stopped trying to control weeds. He has followed Fukuoka’s guidelines on

Mulching:

Raosaheb explains, “Since we use the weeds for mulching rather than throwing them away or burning them, we do not have to bring any external inputs from outside and apply them. Our soil is perpetually covered with green or dried biomass of weeds and grass. This ensures an abundant supply of organic carbon to the soil, which in turn feeds the plentiful microbe population of our topsoil.

As long as this mulch layer is maintained, the microbes will never be short of food. They thrive and in turn keep the soil fertile and in excellent physical condition.”

“The current practice of maintaining a spotlessly ‘clean’ farm with bare and exposed topsoil, devoid of all weed or biomass is the root cause of the deficiency of micronutrients in the soil and thereby the crops. Weeds are the best source of micronutrients and our soil is never deficient in any manner.”

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Natural Farming

Weed management:

Earthworms:

Rather than weed eradication, Dagadkar Earthworms are abundant and thriving in believes in weed management. “Different the soil at Raosaheb’s farm, despite there beweeds appear in different seasons, and they ing no special efforts to conserve or maintain disappear after the respective season ends. them. The practice of keeping a perpetual We also see some weeds being replaced layer of biomass mulch ensures a supply of by other weeds over a period of years. The plenty of carbonaceous material to feed the farmer must observe and study weeds at all earthworms. The conditions are naturally times. If the main crop is taller than the favourable for them to multiply. weed, there is no need to panic and worry.

Just cut down the weeds at the right time Earthworms bring lot of advantages for the and use them for mulch for the main crops. farmer. They keep the soil porous, aerated Removing all weeds out of the farm and then and fertile. burning them up, is actually a huge loss of micronutrients for the soil.

Because of the large size of his farm, Raosaheb uses a tractor to sow, and a harvester to reap his wheat. Such heavy objects tend Trees: to load and compact the soil, which is Almost one third of Raosaheb’s farm is covered by trees. Tamarind, Babhul and such considered adverse for the earthworms and other native trees are plentiful on the bunds. other soil organisms. Raosaheb clarifies, “We normally use the tractor and harvester Raosaheb is convinced that the trees have helped him a lot. “Trees provide shelter for in the summer, when firstly the soil is dry so it doesn’t stick together and get compacted. birds, and birds control the insect population, so I don’t need any kind of pesticides. Secondly, because of the atmospheric heat, earthworms and other soil organisms tend Trees also act as windbreakers, and drastically bring down the rate of evaporation of to go deeper into the earth where it is cooler.

Hence they are not affected.” soil moisture.”

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Termites:

There are plenty of termites in the farm. According to Raosaheb, the termites do a great job of shredding the dried biomass mulch, which helps in accelerating its decomposition and assimilation into the soil humus.

Use of Growth enhancers and tonics

Raosaheb has never used any of the popular concoctions made of dung, urine, jaggery etc. “We are firm believers in Fukuoka’s method. There is an abundance in nature, so there is no need for us to specially bring something from outside and apply it. Those who have the time and the manpower can use these concoctions like Jeevamrut etc., but we do not have nor want to spend time and labour on this activity. It also increases inputs costs.

Soil tilling and cultivation:

Almost one third of Raosaheb’s farm is covered by trees. Tamarind, Babhul and such other native trees are plentiful on the bunds.

Raosaheb is convinced that the trees have

Natural Farming As a rule, he never uses a deep plough. He only uses the tractor when the soil is totally dry. He also has a pair of bullocks, and if any kind of tilling or cultivation is needed during the rains or when there is moisture in the soil, the bullocks are put to work.

Water management:

The available source of groundwater yields good quality, soft water.

Since an irrigation canal passes through the vicinity, the water table is at a comfortable 25 feet.

There is an average of 1000 mm rainfall each year and since the soil on Raosaheb’s farm is in excellent physical health, a large amount of rainwater seeps into the earth right away. He observes, “During heavy rains, there are torrents of muddy water flowing out of my neighbor’s farms. All that precious and fertile top soil is being lost but the farmer doesn’t even know it. Hardly any water ever flows out of my farm, and if at all it does, it is crystal clear, devoid of any soil.”

Dagadkar does not have any pond on his farm, but is thinking of getting one made this year. He waters his winter wheat 4-5 times, and the gram crop (chana) 3-4 times. In the summers he waters the sesame and groundnut, as well as the Mango trees before flowering. He feels that cotton is very sensitive to the quantity of soil moisture and excessive

watering can harm it.

Cropping practices:

Till a few years ago, Raosaheb grew traditional crops such as Sorghum millet (Jowar), Green gram (Moong), Black gram (Urad) etc. However, as the forest cover in the area got depleted, the menace of wild boar, deer and other animals grew to unmanageable proportions.

He has now moved to cultivating Soya bean and Tur in the rains. He grows wheat and chana in the winter and this year tried out mustard on an acre. He grows groundnut and sesame in the summers, and this year is trying out guar bean (for gum) as an experiment.

The various crops and their acreage with average yields is shown in the table below: Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Crop Season Soya bean (mixed crop – Tur) Kharif Tur Kharif Wheat Rabbi Bengal gram (chana) Rabbi Sesame Summer Groundnut Summer Cotton (non BT) Kharif

In addition to these crops, Raosaheb planted several mango trees starting in 1990. Seeds were planted in the earth for rootstock and then several good varieties were grafted on to the parent saplings.

Varieties grown here include Ratna, Dashaheri, Keshar, Payri, Barmasi etc. Since the trees are growing, the yield is also growing every year and currently stands at about one lakh rupees per year from sale of Mangoes. Ratna and Barmasi trees yield twice in a year.

Seeds:

Most of Raosaheb’s seeds are home grown natives. His tur variety is generations old, and in addition to having excellent taste, it also gives early yield. He has been using ‘Lokwan’ variety of wheat. Some soyabean seed is bought from the market, but most of it is home grown, selected from the last year’s crop.

Acreage 60-70 acres 10-12 acres 4-5 acres 7-8 acres 2 acres 1 acre Small area

Seed management:

Small and under-developed seeds are carefully removed. Seeds are stored in a drum. Raosaheb does not use Neem leaves or any other means to prevent pest attack on the seeds. He says, “Seeds of Tur and wheat will not have any insect attack if they are soaked in water and then dried thoroughly in the summer.”

Sowing:

Raosaheb does not carry out any pre-sowing treatment for his seeds.

Though he understands the importance of sowing on a particular auspicious date, the practical problem of non-availability cannot be denied, and he overcomes it by sowing in the summer, before the rains.

Average yield per acre 6 quintals 10 quintals 10 quintals 5 quintals 1 quintal 6-7 quintals 10 quintals

maximum sunlight, but this is not always possible because of the lay of the land.

Mixed cropping:

Raosaheb planted several mango trees starting in 1990. Seeds were planted in the earth for rootstock and then several good varieties were grafted on to the parent saplings.

Varieties grown here include Ratna, Dashaheri, Keshar, Payri, Barmasi etc. Since the trees are growing, the yield is also growing every year and currently stands at about one lakh rupees per year from sale of Mangoes. Ratna and Barmasi trees

Tur does well with plenty of sunlight. It is beneficial to sow all crops north-south, so that they get

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(Photo credits: Alicia Cecot)

The animals are fed with farm byproduce such as crop remains etc.

Nothing is bought from outside.

The native livestock is hardy and needs much lesser feed as compared to exotic breeds. This is also the reason why the animals stay healthy with only basic vaccination and illnesses are rare. Any minor ailments are usually easily treated at the local hospital.

Manpower:

Raosaheb is a regular reader of ‘Baliraja’ and ‘Godwa’ magazines, which are renowned and old agricultural publications.

Experiments and Innovation:

Raosaheb is constantly experimenting and exploring new ways of lowering costs of farming. In the initial years, he used his bullocks to drag a simple wooden plank to flatten the weed grasses growing in his mango orchard. Now he doesn’t need it because he has a tractor operated rotavator.

When he was growing brinjals, he would feed the surplus ripe brinjals (unfit for human consumption) to the cows. The dung would spread over the farm before the rains. Once he observed some very healthy brinjal saplings growing from the dung. He compared them to the saplings he had planted in the specially prepared nursery, and

still found them superior. The next year, he fed the ripe brinjals to the cows, and carefully collected and dried the dung in the form of flat cakes. These cakes were crumbled on the nursery beds before the rains and just as he expected, some very healthy saplings sprang out from there. This has become the standard operating procedure for preparing brinjal saplings ever since.

Pink ‘Kasumi’, Purple ‘Koiro’ from Moerheim New Plant (NL); Magnolia grandiflora Alta ‘TMGH’ from La Forêt Jeunes Plants (FR). Biodiversity bulbs from Theo de Boer (NL). Special mention for the bamboo Dragon from Rezo Plant and Kerisnel (FR) |||

(Photo credits: Alicia Cecot)

Raosaheb and his son Nitin Dagadkar take care of operations on the entire 110 acres. Raosaheb only works part-time now. An average of three workers is hired for daily work and there is a driver for the tractor.

For special occasions such as the Soya bean harvest, labour is hired from Chandrapur. The current rates are Rs.200/day for a man and Rs.100/day for a woman. A general scarcity of labour has forced farmers to resort to mechanization to the extent possible.

Reading:

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Natural Farming Sales of produce:

Raosaheb sells his marketable surplus at the wholesale markets through acquaintances. Some of his mango has fixed clientele at Wardha, while the rest is sold to the Amravati market.

‘T

urn to Green’ was the theme of this year’s Salon du Végétal and many exhibitors played on that motif inviting attendees to ‘go ahead’,’ go green’ or to ‘green your life with plants’.

Ghislain Bousseau, spokesman of the exhibition confirmed that the 2014 edition really made the difference in comparison with the somewhat morose mood in 2013.

Lifestyle:

Raosaheb grows all his food on his farm. This includes fresh seasonal vegetables grown in the kitchen garden too. The family lives in an earthen house and use bio-gas for cooking fuel. His son Nitin has taken charge of farm operations since the last five years.

Thoughts on agriculture: Raosaheb speaks out of firm conviction. He feels that beyond a point, any intervention into nature’s

He would often grow chillies in the past. Once he got a particularly fine crop, but in the winter, unseasonal rains for week flattened the whole lot. Because of strong Easterly cross winds, the plants fell to one side and the roots on the eastern side broke off. Usually the farmer would take immense trouble to support each plant and make it stand and cover its roots with soil, to help it recover. However, if the wind blew again, the plants would promptly fall down again. This would lead to most of the plants eventually weakening and dying.

That year, Raosaheb decided to leave it all to nature. A week later, he observed that the tips of the plants had started turning and growing upwards. He also found a lot of fresh shoots and branches growing vigorously from the fallen stems.

Eventually, the chilly plants aligned themselves into the east-west direction (of the wind) and did very well. Except plants which actually touched the ground, the rest survived and actually yielded 25% more than expected.

Raosaheb refers to his style of farming as ‘easy farming’. He sums up with a punch.

“If we can get such good crops with such ease, where is the need to take on laborious, expensive and complicated interventions into nature?”

(Photo credits: Alicia Cecot)

Interview of Mr. Raosaheb Dagadkar:

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