Farmer Adopts Integrated Methods For Sustainable Development

Ray of hope

An integrated farming is a panacea for crisis in agriculture sector, if we consider success story of a farmer at a hamlet in the taluk. For farmers who are in distress due to crop loss due to vagaries of nature and fluctuating prices, the innovative approach seems to provide a ray of hope.

With his success in integrated farming, Veeranna, a farmer in Seegehalli, has set a model for farmers dependent on either single-crop pattern or poultry for livelihood.

Bovines and earthworms fulfill the requirement of compost for his field where he grows variety of crops, vegetables along with mulberry for silkworms. Besides, the bio-gas plant fulfils the need for fuel in kitchen. Sheep of rambouillite breed, cows of native breed, oxen and poultry are among the livestock Veeranna has nurtured. Mulberry required feed over 1,000 silkworms a month, ‘raagi’, cashew, tur, coconut, mango and vegetables are the main crops cultivated in his farm.

The benefits of integrated farming are many, he explains. Demonstrating the models he has set up, Veeranna says the organic waste from the ‘gobar’ gas plant provides nutrient to the plants in the farm. The urine from the cowshed, which is collected in a pit, is mixed with the green waste from the farm. The liquid will be sprayed in the field through drip irrigation system. The residual solid waste makes for the rich organic manure.

Sericulture

Veeranna’s approach to sericulture is also innovative. He has set up a shed using painted sheets to keep bamboo trays in which silkworms are kept. The Odisha-model of this silkworm shed is useful in maintaining the desirable temperature in all the seasons and is strong enough to sustain the gusty winds. The shed is spacious enough to boil 1,000 cocoons.

The shed that was built at a cost of Rs 6 lakh has proved beneficial, he said. Last year, farmers in the neighbouring Doddatekahalli and Marappanahalli suffered loss due to damage caused to the sheds by the gusty wind and heavy rain. But, the shed in his farm didn’t suffer any damage.

Veeranna says the integrated approach requires comparatively less investment while the profit is high. He says he has spent Rs 20,000 on construction of cowshed. He has availed a subsidy of Rs 10,000 given by an organisation for promoting organic farming.

He has got a subsidy of Rs 4,000 for construction of pits for vermicompost, which cost him in total Rs 8,000. The venture that began with two kgs of earthworms has now grown into 10-kg earthworms. The vermicompost produced in excess will be stored for use in future.

He has grown 10 quintals of horse gram on acres of land and 25 quintals of raagi on three acres this year.

The use of vermicompost for vegetables acts as a natural deterrent to pest attack.

Another advantage of using the organic manure is that he could grow mulberry without using pesticides for the silkworms.

Besides, he has also grown different variety of mangoes through grafting. Use of machines to harvest raagi, grass and vegetable leaves has reduced his dependence on the labour, as shortage of manpower is one of biggest problems facing the farmers today, Veeranna says.

Farmers need to avail subsidies given by the government for natural farming involving bio-digest, compost and vermicompost. As silkworms will die if pesticides are sprayed to mulberry, organic manure and natural deterrents can be used to check diseases and pests.

“There is an urgent need to create awareness among farmers on the integrated approach to agriculture,” said Rajanjinappa, Savayava Krishi Parivara Sanchalaka.

A Bus Conductor Links Bee Security To Food Security

Maintaining the bees and sharing the income from honey is a new venture

Rarely do we come across individuals who apart from their regular work become obsessed with something that becomes their passion, dream and conviction.

Mr. A. Parthiban is one such person who is popularly known as honey bee man in Gobichettypalayam, Tamil Nadu.

WORKING SCHEDULE

The man works as a bus conductor on the Gobi-Madurai route for nearly 12 hours a day, three days a week. During the rest of the week he is busy catching honeybees, installing bee boxes in several fields, orchards and coconut groves.

Hailing from an ordinary farming family Mr. Parthiban seems to realize the importance of the bees in the ecological cycle.

“The insects are essential for our food security. Without them many of our fruits, vegetables or flowers would become extinct. But sadly modern science doesn’t seem to realize this. In the name of advancement we are destroying many things that play an important role. Productive and rapidly declining honeybees are one such,” he says.

Western countries have recognized the effect of honey bee pollination and are doing their best to protect and encourage these insects.

“But here in our place we call them a nuisance. We either smoke them away or drive them using fires.” he adds. Though initially Mr. Parthiban’s interest appeared weird to his friends and neighbors, they started supporting him once they started realizing that he was speaking some sense.

LOT OF CALLS

Today he is flooded with calls from different areas requesting him to set up bee boxes or catch the bees hovering in the orchards and godowns.

“People find the bees scary. They think the insect will sting them. Normally the insects do not sting anyone unless disturbed,” he says.

The main popularity of the man in the region is that apart from setting up bee boxes he also offers to take care of the box and the bees (maintenance).

“Maintaining the insects was one area which did not have many takers,” he says and adds: “I thought if I could step in it would increase the interest among many people to set up bee boxes in their place.”

TWO APPROACHES

He advocates two types of approaches in promoting this enterprise. One is installing the bee-boxes by the farmers’ investment and the sale from honey is given to the owner. Two, Mr. Parthiban himself installs the boxes and maintains them. The income from honey is shared between the owner of the farm and him.

Mr. K.K. Ramaswamy of Vaiyakadu thottam in kolapalur village had approached Mr. Parthiban to obtain a remedy for flower setting in his tamarind tree. Parthiban placed the bee boxes and advised Mr.Ramaswamy to wait for some months.

INCREASE IN YIELD

And as predicted the tamarind farmer harvested 4,350 kgs of tamarind compared to previous yield of 1,000 Kgs from 250 trees.

Apart from his monthly income the bees seem to have provided him with an additional income of nearly Rs. 20,000 a month.

More than the danger involved in climbing trees to catch some bees, because of the painful stings, it is the feeling that he was doing something worthwhile, seems to be his conviction.

Recently the district science forum in the region awarded his son Mr. Jawahar Raja an 8th class student for developing a solar melter for melting the honey combs.

Usually after the honey has been extracted the empty comb is heated in a pot or vessel for making candles. Through this solar melter the comb gets melted and the liquid oozes out through a outlet and collected in moulds.

“A humble earthworm during its lifetime makes the soil fertile, a silkworm before it dies spins some silk threads, aren’t we, endowed with a sixth sense, supposed to do better?” he asks.

Interested readers can contact Mr. A. Parthiban at 11/18 Makali amman, street, Kollapur post, Gobichettypalayam, mobile: 9442171818.

Perfect Companions: Which Plants Grow Well With Tomatoes?

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity (in gardening and agriculture), on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons. Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in cottage gardens in England and home gardens in Asia.

Here is the list of good and bad companion crops for tomatoes

Carrots:

Carrots work well with tomatoes because they share space well. The carrots can be planted when the tomatoes are still quite small, and can be happily growing and ready to harvest by the time the tomato plants start to take over the space.

Chives, Onions, and Garlic:

Members of the onion family are beneficial to plant with many types of crops due to the pungent odor they emit. This helps deter many insect pests.

Borage:

Borage helps deter tomato hornworm.

Asparagus:

Asparagus and tomatoes are good neighbors. Asparagus puts on growth very early in the season, and the tomato plants fill in after asparagus has been harvested. Also, tomatoes help repel asparagus beetle.

Marigold:

Marigolds help deter harmful nematodes from attacking tomatoes. The pungent odor can also help confuse other insect pests. To deter nematodes, the best practice is to grow the marigolds, then chop and till them into the soil at the end of the season.

Nasturtium:

Nasturtiums help deter whitefly and aphids.

Basil:

Growing tomatoes and basil together increases the vigor and flavor of both crops.

Spinach, Lettuce, Arugula:

These are also "good neighbor" crops for tomatoes. They stay fairly small, and will grow better in the heat of summer when shaded by the growing tomato plants.

What Not to Plant with Tomatoes:

The following crops should not be planted with tomatoes:

Brassicas: Tomatoes and all members of the brassicas family repel each other and will exhibit poor growth when planted together.

Corn: Tomato fruit worm and corn ear worm are nearly identical, and planting these two crops together increases the possibility that you will attract one (or both) of these pests.

Fennel: Fennel inhibits the growth of tomatoes.

Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi inhibits the growth of tomatoes.

Potatoes: Planting tomatoes and potatoes together makes potatoes more susceptible to potato blight.

Food Combination Of Fruits For Better Digestion

The greatest benefits from foods and the most efficient digestion come from simple meals with minimal food combinations. Thus, the first principle of Food Combining is simplicity and compatibility in meal planning.

Fruits digest best when eaten by themselves as an entire meal. In general, fruits should not be eaten with other foods. If they are, they will be detained in the stomach causing them to begin formation.

Alcohol, coffee, tea, vinegar, condiments retard digestion considerably.

Acid Fruits & nuts - Cheeses are ok because the high fat content of nuts & cheeses acts like a separate meal from the Acid frutis by digesting more slowly.

Acid fruits delay the digestion of sweet fruits.

Tomatoes - May be combined with Low Starch vegetables and either avocados or nuts, and not with starches or proteins.

Sugar & Protein - Fruit & other sugars inhibit gastric juice delaying protein digestion

Melons - Because they decompose even faster than the other fruits. It is advised to eat melons separately from other fuits.

Avocados combine BEST with non starchy vegetables. FAIR with acid fruits & starches. Avocados do not combine well with sweet fruits or proteins.

What Is Sustainable Agriculture?

Sustainable agriculture takes many forms, but at its core is a rejection of the industrial approach to food production developed during the 20th century.

This system, with its reliance on monoculture, mechanization, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, biotechnology, and government subsidies, has made food abundant and affordable. However, the ecological and social price has been steep: erosion; depleted and contaminated soil and water resources; loss of biodiversity; deforestation; labor abuses; and the decline of the family farm.

The concept of sustainable agriculture embraces a wide range of techniques, including organic, free-range, low-input, holistic, and biodynamic.

The common thread among these methods is an embrace of farming practices that mimic natural ecological processes. Farmers minimize tilling and water use; encourage healthy soil by planting fields with different crops year after year and integrating croplands with livestock grazing; and avoid pesticide use by nurturing the presence of organisms that control crop-destroying pests.

Beyond growing food, the philosophy of sustainability also espouses broader principles that support the just treatment of farm workers and food pricing that provides the farmer with a livable income.

Critics of sustainable agriculture claim, among other things, that its methods result in lower crop yields and higher land use. They add that a wholesale commitment to its practices will mean inevitable food shortages for a world population expected to exceed 8 billion by the year 2030. There's recent evidence, though, suggesting that over time, sustainably farmed lands can be as productive as conventional industrial farms.

The Female Face Of Farming: Infographic

Teach A (Wo)Man To Farm: the Agricultural Multiplier Effect

The Global State of Agriculture

The U.S. humanitarian assistance organization provides this infographic to illustrate the need for increased food production by emphasizing the boom in the global population. The planet now supports 7 billion people, and USAID estimates food production must increase 70% by 2050 to meet the growing need.

The Story Of Agriculture And The Green Economy

The future of our world depends on addressing global challenges now. We need to create sustainable livelihoods, feed a growing population and safeguard the environment. We need to make the global economy green.

Can Organic Agriculture Feed A World Of Nine Billion People?

A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment.

Agriculture has supplanted 70 percent of grasslands, 50 percent of savannas and 45 percent of temperate forests as a result of global climate changes. Modern commercial farming is also the leading cause of deforestation in the tropics and one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to the ongoing maul of species known as the “sixth extinction,” and a perennial source of nonrenewable groundwater mining and water pollution.

To restrain the environmental impact of agriculture as well as produce more wholesome foods, some farmers have turned to so-called organic techniques. This type of farming is meant to minimize environmental and human health impacts by avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and hormones or antibiotic treatments for livestock, among other tactics. But the use of industrial technologies, particularly synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, has fed the swelling human population during the last century. Can organic agriculture feed a world of nine billion people?

Environmental scientists at McGill University in Montreal and the University of Minnesota performed an analysis of 66 studies comparing conventional and organic methods across 34 different crop species. They found that, overall, organic yields are considerably lower than conventional yields but, this yield difference varies across different conditions. When farmers apply best management practices, organic systems, for example, perform relatively better.

In particular, organic agriculture delivers just 5 percent less yield in rain-watered legume crops, such as alfalfa or beans, and in perennial crops, such as fruit trees. But when it comes to major cereal crops, such as corn or wheat, and vegetables, such as broccoli, conventional methods delivered more than 25 percent more yield. But that is quantity, not quality.

The key limit to further yield increases via organic methods appears to be nitrogen – large doses of synthetic fertilizer can keep up with high demand from crops during the growing season better than the slow release from compost, manure or nitrogen-fixing cover crops. Of course, the cost of using 171 million metric tons of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is paid in dead zones at the mouths of many of the world’s rivers. These anoxic zones result from nitrogen-rich runoff promoting algal blooms that then die and, in decomposing, suck all the oxygen out of surrounding waters.

To address the problem of nitrogen limitation and to produce high yields, organic farmers should use best management practices, supply more organic fertilizers or grow legumes or perennial crops.

In fact, more knowledge would be key to any effort to boost organic farming or its yields. Conventional farming requires knowledge of how to manage what farmers know as inputs – synthetic fertilizer, chemical pesticides and the like – as well as fields laid out precisely via global-positioning systems. Organic farmers, on the other hand, must learn to manage an entire ecosystem geared to producing food – controlling pests through biological means, using the waste from animals to fertilize fields and even growing one crop amidst another.

Organic farming is a very knowledge-intensive farming system. An organic farmer “needs to create a fertile soil that provides sufficient nutrients at the right time when the crops need them. 

 Source: Scientific American

Featured image credit: Chillymanjaro

Will The World Go Hungry?

In the first half of this century, as the world’s population grows to around 9 billion, global demand for food, feed and fiber will nearly double while, increasingly, crops may also be used for bio-energy and other industrial purposes. New and traditional demand for agricultural produce will thus put growing pressure on already scarce agricultural resources. And while agriculture will be forced to compete for land and water with sprawling urban settlements, it will also be required to serve on other major fronts: adapting to and contributing to the mitigation of climate change, helping preserve natural habitats, protecting endangered species and maintaining a high level of biodiversity. As though this were not challenging enough, in most regions fewer people will be living in rural areas and even fewer will be farmers. They will need new technologies to grow more from less land, with fewer hands.

How To Feed The World In 2050: Actions In A Changing Climate

Can We End World Hunger?

What Is Food Insecurity? An Explanation