You are here: Home | Food security | Features | Neem, garlic and green chillies: Recipe for a bumper crop SHARE COMMENTS Neem, garlic and green chillies: Recipe for a bumper crop By Manipadma Jena Veera Narayana was once a desperate farmer in drought-hit Andhra Pradesh, spending Rs 10,000 in chemical inputs per acre of watermelon crop. Today, he is the guru of organic farming in Singanamala block, his watermelon harvests healthy and his input costs a fraction of what they were Veera Narayana and his wife Ramadevi on their farmland in Korivipalli village. “The atmosphere’s heat trapping burden (has come) not just through emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuel… but also from another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide. More than four-fifths of these emissions are from agriculture, from the use of chemical fertilisers.” -- State of the World Population 2009. Facing a Changing World: Women Population and Climate Today, organic farming is not just the ‘in thing’, it’s also paying. Ask Veera Narayana who has farmed both the ‘chemical way’ and the ‘organic way’. Till 2004, Narayana (41) and his two brothers did what every farmer was doing on their nine acres of irrigated land in Korivipalli village -- feeding the crops tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). “We spent around Rs 10,000 on an acre of watermelon,” he says. And it worked initially -- returns were nearly double the input. Narayana’s village in Singanamala mandal (mandals are administrative blocks) of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh belongs to the rain-shadow Rayalaseema region that is arid, treeless and made up of poor red soil. It boasts an annual average rainfall of just 553 mm. Even as farmers began to rely more and more on chemical farm additives, the frequency of drought increased from every alternate year to an annual crisis. In eight out of the 10 years from 1997-98 to 2007-08, all 63 mandals were declared drought-affected (government of Andhra Pradesh’s Handbook of Statistics 2007-08, Anantapur district). Farmers borrowed from private moneylenders at monthly interest rates ranging between 2 and 5% to buy fertiliser and pesticides, and to drill deep borewells to water their fields. With crops failing year after year, the region began reporting farmer suicides as early as the 1970s. In July 2000, Narayana applied DAP to his watermelon creepers that were just opening into three leaves. Days passed and still there was no rain; the plants wilted. A desperate Narayana would carry water in a 16 kg tin container from an open well and ration a mug for each plant, hoping against hope that the rains would come and save his plants. But there was no rain for three weeks. July ran into August and still the sun bore down relentlessly. That year, Narayana and his brothers incurred heavy losses. S S S M MORE RELATED ARTICLES Ragi over rice Stealing from the mouths of babes Accountability for malnutrition The tragedy of the potato farmer Monsanto defeated by Roundup-resistant weeds Sustainable agriculture reduces distress migration in Orissa Grassroots scientists challenge seed monopolies Requiem for sustainable, subsistence agriculture A PDS that works is better than cash transfers 'Push-pull' agriculture stems migration into cities African landrush I am no lab rat! Genetic roulette The truth about farmer suicides in Chhattisgarh The loan waiver that failed 'In times of need, you can't eat money!' Haiti's real food crisis How food insecurity impacts health in Haiti Genetically modified crops: The risk factor Farmer suicides in Chhattisgarh: A state in denial SPECIAL SECTIONS Food security Poverty Livelihoods Human rights Environment Water resources Governance Public health HIV/AIDS Globalisation Trade and development Urban India Women Children Population Media Education Corporate responsibility Disasters Disabilities Technology Food security HOME ANALYSIS FEATURES BOOKS & REPORTS CHANGEMAKERS AGENDA SPECIAL SECTIONS CONTACT US 4 FEB 2015 SEARCH
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You are here: Home | Food security | Features | Neem, garlic and green chillies: Recipe for a bumper crop
SHARE COMMENTS
Neem, garlic and green chillies: Recipe for abumper crop
By Manipadma Jena
Veera Narayana was once a desperate farmer in drought-hit Andhra Pradesh, spending Rs 10,000 in chemical
inputs per acre of watermelon crop. Today, he is the guru of organic farming in Singanamala block, his
watermelon harvests healthy and his input costs a fraction of what they were
Veera Narayana and his wife Ramadevi on their farmland in Korivipall i vil lage.
“The atmosphere’s heat trapping burden (has come) not just through emissions of carbon dioxide from burning
fossil fuel… but also from another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide. More than four-fifths of these emissions are
from agriculture, from the use of chemical fertilisers.”
-- State of the World Population 2009. Facing a Changing World: Women Population and Climate
Today, organic farming is not just the ‘in thing’, it’s also paying. Ask Veera Narayana who has farmed both the
‘chemical way’ and the ‘organic way’. Till 2004, Narayana (41) and his two brothers did what every farmer was
doing on their nine acres of irrigated land in Korivipalli village -- feeding the crops tonnes of di-ammonium
phosphate (DAP). “We spent around Rs 10,000 on an acre of watermelon,” he says. And it worked initially --
returns were nearly double the input.
Narayana’s village in Singanamala mandal (mandals are administrative blocks) of Anantapur district in Andhra
Pradesh belongs to the rain-shadow Rayalaseema region that is arid, treeless and made up of poor red soil. It
boasts an annual average rainfall of just 553 mm.
Even as farmers began to rely more and more on chemical farm additives, the frequency of drought increased
from every alternate year to an annual crisis. In eight out of the 10 years from 1997-98 to 2007-08, all 63
mandals were declared drought-affected (government of Andhra Pradesh’s Handbook of Statistics 2007-08,
Anantapur district).
Farmers borrowed from private moneylenders at monthly interest rates ranging between 2 and 5% to buy
fertiliser and pesticides, and to drill deep borewells to water their fields. With crops failing year after year, the
region began reporting farmer suicides as early as the 1970s.
In July 2000, Narayana applied DAP to his watermelon creepers that were just opening into three leaves. Days
passed and still there was no rain; the plants wilted. A desperate Narayana would carry water in a 16 kg tin
container from an open well and ration a mug for each plant, hoping against hope that the rains would come
and save his plants. But there was no rain for three weeks. July ran into August and still the sun bore down
relentlessly. That year, Narayana and his brothers incurred heavy losses.
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Ragi over rice
Stealing from themouths of babes
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Grassroots scientistschallenge seedmonopolies
Requiem forsustainable,subsistence agriculture
A PDS that works isbetter than cashtransfers
'Push-pull' agriculturestems migration intocities
African landrush
I am no lab rat!
Genetic roulette
The truth about farmersuicides inChhattisgarh
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