Interesting field trip to see Natural Farmer Chame Gowda in Mandya district, with friends at Oota From Thota/Jivabumi . Chame’s father divided around 4 acres of his land among his 4 sons, so he ended up with less than a acre. At the age of 65, this farmer is walking a lonely path in his village doing natural farming. With his relentless efforts during last 10 years, he is proving every agriculture data wrong – in less than a acre, producing 2 tons of paddy, making a profit of around “1 Lakh” with “zero debt”.
You heard it right, it’s his profit. What’s the secret – zero pesticides, zero fertilizers, owns his seeds, only labor expenses during sowing, transplantation and harvesting. Multicrop – 4 1/2 months of paddy then hemp for 1 1/2 months – mulches the hemp into the field before starting next cycle. Doesn’t event till the land and consumes only 50% of water compared to his other paddy farmers. Works only 3 months a year, and enjoys attending organic farming lectures rest of the year! Great example of people with standing to pressures – his farm is surrounded by his brother’ farms who are doing sugarcane with chemicals!
