Natural Farming - Udupi farmer a torch bearer for four decades

Natural Farming - Udupi farmer a torch bearer for four decades

Mangalore Today News Network

Manipal Aug 8, 2014 :   Torch bearing farmer, Vittal Nayak, aged 56, is no less to any youth in his eagerness to unravel the wonders in farming. Nayak loves to introduce himself as a self-sufficient man, who never wants to risk his greediness at the cost of nature.

“I am not bothered about the materialistic calculations of profit and loss. My major concern is to take care of the land and the nature that has bestowed upon me the entire bounty of pure atmosphere,”   In the era of rapid modernisation and automation in agricultural sector too, here is one farmer who grows agricultural and horticultural produce using natural farming method only, in his eight acres of land since four decades.

The farmer, who resides in Manchi, grows paddy in four acres of land, besides areca nut, cashew, coconut, banana, pepper, betel leaves, teak wood and rose wood plantations in another three to four acres. He also goes for mixed farming by taking up cross cultivation. He grows varieties of vegetables, which includes cucumber, brinjal, tomato, beans etc. Vittal Nayak manages all the farm fertilisers by using organic fertilizers, which he calls natural fertilizers. He vows that he never wasted a single leaf of any tree or any other parts of the plants and trees in his farm. He utilizes all the fallen leaves, stems and other wastes of plants and trees as fertilizers. “The maintenance cost is low. Apart from the plant and tree wastes, I also use the animal wastes, such as cow dung and urine and hen pits,” Nayak said.

Organic farming benefits :  This farmer is all smiles, when asked about his experience and the long association with farming. He could not continue his education owing to family  difficulties.  He took up cultivation in the land that was inherited from ancestors. He laments that people neglect to adopt natural ways of life. The chemical fertilizers are harmful and it decreases the fertility of the soil. “I have been in cultivation since 40 years using organic fertilizers. My soil has not lost its protein contents as is clearly visible in the healthy results visible. Occasionally, I replenish lime in the soil in order to balance the alkaline content. Or else there is nothing that I put in to the soil other than waste leaves, stems and barks of plants and trees.  The nutritional content in the land is very much the same and the organic waste has played the role of energy revitaliser,’ he says.

Though there is a stream  that passes across the farmland, it gets dry after December. Nayak has two wells from which he draws water for his fields. He grows an average of 65 quintals of paddy every year. He keeps six quintals for himself and sells the remaining. He also has nursery in 400x4 feet land area to provide the paddy saplings in the four acres. The dearth of labourers has compelled Vittal Nayak to go for mechanization. “There are no labourers. We are just three in the family and we cannot manage everything. I am forced to adopt mechanization. However, this year I have managed with manual workers somehow,” he added.