Farming can be remunerative even from an acre of land holding, when practiced through natural methods, utilizing natural resources to the optimum. Thammaiah, a farmer in Karnataka shows how small farmers can make a decent living adopting the multi cropping system, through his one acre model.
Mr. Thammaiah of Chowdikatte village, Hunsur taluk, Mysore district, is an innovative farmer, practicing natural farming since four decades. He inherited his farm from his father who practiced chemical farming. But Thammaiah, being a graduate and aware of the ills of chemical farming, moved towards natural farming approach.
Thammaiah owns 24 acres of land. About 16 acres are under orchards – a mix of mainly 800 coconut trees, intercropped with sapota, banana, mango, ginger, turmeric and seasonal field crops. Crops are cultivated organically in traditional rotation. About one acre is exclusively kept for raising nurseries of plantation crops, forest crops, fruit crops and timber crops. The saplings raised in the nursery are in great demand and serve as an income generation activity for the farmer.
Water in farm ponds helps in recharging ground water
There are 6 farm ponds, extending over an area of 6 acres. On the bunds, bamboo, cluster fig trees and fodder crops are grown. His farm receives an average annual rainfall of 770 mm, around 53 rainy days, mostly during the Southwest monsoon. Water in the ponds is used for irrigating land, when necessary. When left unused, pond water helps in recharging ground water. Though he is against pumping out water, during summer he uses 5HP motor to lift water for irrigation.
Fishes are reared in one of the 6 ponds, which is additional source of income for the farmer. Also, Thammaiah rears livestock, which he considers important to practice organic farming, besides being a source of income. Around 11 cows (8 Malnad gida and 3 Hallikar), 4 calves, 3 sheep, 12 goats, 2 turkey hens and 4 local hens are reared on his farm. Turkey hens act as predators to snakes.
One acre model plot
With growing population and declining farm holdings, Thammaiah realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult for small farmers to make a decent living out of farming. This was especially true with monocropping using conventional methods of cultivation. In 2019, he visited Shri Siddhagiri Math, Kaneri, Kolhapur, where he learnt about one acre model plot. He felt that if he could show how one could be self sufficient with an acre of plot, it could help farmers with limited resources to make a living from agriculture. This was the beginning of the development of one acre model on his farm.
In 2019, Thammaiah learnt multilayered farming technique. In this method, plants of different heights are grown on the same field at the same time to optimize the use of natural resources like land, water, sunlight etc. It is a self-sustaining technique as by the time the first crop is harvested, the second crop is already getting ready to be cut. Since the plants are growing in close proximity with each other, the amount of water required for one crop is sufficient to cover two or more crops, thus saving water.
Thammaiah’s experiment began with coconut trees. He first planted coconut trees (tall) on the east and west side of the field at a distance of 30 feet. In between two coconut trees, he planted a sapota tree (medium tall with more canopy). In the space between the coconut and sapota, he planted a banana tree (medium height) (2nd layer). Below the coconut trees, he has planted black pepper and betel vine. In between these trees, he planted spices ginger & turmeric. In the third layer north and south side of the field, he planted trees like mango, guava, papaya, jamun, jackfruit. Under these trees are planted noni plant, passion fruit, ramphal, lakshman phal, lemon tree, and minor fruit trees as next layer.
He has also planted green leafy vegetables, seasonal vegetables and millets. They prevent the growth of weeds by covering the soil. Below the ground, ginger, turmeric, yam, cassava and sweet potatoes are planted. Sweet potatoes are grown mainly to attract rats and save other crops. The system involves symbiosis, each plant helping the other to grow. Turmeric controls the bacteria growth due to its antimicrobial properties, vegetables prevent weed growth and spices are in between as they require less sunlight.
Glyricidia, drumstick, sesbania, Milliea dubia are planted as fence crops. All plants have various qualities. While glyricidia fixes nitrogen in soil, leaves and seeds of drumstick and sesbania are used for culinary and medicinal purpose. Also the leaves serve as organic manure to the soil. Whenever, Thammaiah visits the one acre plot, he harvests the leaves and leaves it on the ground, which serve as green leaf manure and a mulch. Around one kg of glyricidia leaves spread on the soil holds around 120 litres of rain water, thus helping in water conservation.
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Box 1: Jeevamruta preparation. Put 200 liters of water in a barrel then add 10 Kg fresh local cow dung and 10 liters cow urine. Add 2 Kg of Jaggery, 2 Kg of pulse flour and a handful of soil from the bund of the farm. Stir the solution well and let it ferment for 48 hours in the shade. Now jeevamruta is ready for application. 200 liters of jeevamruta is sufficient for one acre of land. |
The other plants include 80 medicinal plants, coffee and other minor fruits. With abundant flora on the plot, to enhance pollination, Thammaiah also set up beehive units in the one acre model farm. Jeevamruta, an organic preparation (See Box 1) is stored in drums and placed in the model farm. Crop debris for compost preparation is also stored in the model farm. Weeding, ploughing and intercultivation are not practiced in one acre model farm.
Thammaiah has also demonstrated biological pest management in the model farm. For instance, oil of Terminalia chebula seed is filled in 2 litre bottle and tied to coconut tree to control Rhinoceros beetle. Similarly, to control monkey menace, Thammaiah places a 2 lit water bottle filled with fish sambar with fish pieces, on the coconut tree. Monkeys get repelled owing to fish smell.
Thammaiah being an innovative farmer has tried out a number of innovative ideas on his farm, like the selection of coconut saplings, group method of banana cultivation etc., (Box 2), which he shares with the farmers who visit his model farm.
| Box 2: Innovations in plantation and fruit crops
Selection and raising of coconut saplings: Trees which are 40 years old and where it looks like spherical crown (like full moon shape), should be selected as mother tree. Fallen coconut seed nuts from mother trees should be collected and kept for 3 months in small pond. Then half floated, half dipped nuts should be selected for seedling raising. Nuts should be soaked in Jeevamruta (Box 1) and then pretreated nuts are placed in nursery bags for saplings. Group method of Banana cultivation: Thammaiah has maintained 10 varieties of banana i.e., Robust, Nendran, Ellakki Bale, Rasabale, Sambar bale, Kadbale, Marabale, Kempu / Raja bale, and G9. After harvesting the bunches, the pseudo stem is left in the field. The potash present in the pseudo stem is absorbed by the newly emerging suckers and there would be no need to apply potash or fertilizer to the plants. |
Benefits and returns
Through multi-layer farming, around 200 varieties of plants including 80 medicinal plants, Coconut, Sapota, Banana, Guava, Jackfruit, millets, Leafy vegetables, Mango, tuberous and root crops to fodder crops are grown on just one acre. Multitier cropping systems result in dynamic interactive practices aimed at better use of the production components such as soil, water, air space, solar radiation and all other inputs on sustainable way.
One acre farming requires less usage of water, thus can be implemented very effectively in drought prone areas. To begin with, water usage goes down significantly as shrubs, vines and vegetables retain the water and the shade by large trees further prevents evaporation. “If in one acre, a conventional farmer uses more than 20,000 liters of water per rotation, I need less than 6,000 liters,” says Thammaiah.
Another benefit of this model is getting yield round the year since he grows crops that have different harvest periods. The model results in food, nutrition and income security. For example, Thammaiah uses millets for household consumption, which provides both food and nutrition security to the family. Value addition is made for some portion of the millet harvest. He produces around 20-25 kgs of millet powder, using traditional stone grinder, ensuring the nutrients remain intact. This, he sells under the brand name, Arogya Spoorthi and gets income to the tune of Rs.50000 per year. From horticulture trees like coconut, sapota, banana and black pepper, he earns roughly Rs.10 lakhs annually, from the one acre model. Additionally, he earns by selling “Kapha Churna” prepared from medicinal plants and selling dried bananas, which are prepared from unsold bananas.
He also maintains good will by sharing produce like vegetables, mangoes and jackfruits from his farm with friends and visitors to his farm.
His farm produce is chemical free and healthy, which is the overriding benefit of growing organically. Thammaiah has proved that it is possible to make farming profitable even from one acre land, if it is grown managing natural resources properly, using less external inputs and adding value to the produce, where possible.
Beyond cultivation
Thammaiah has not only created a sustainable model, but has also been inspiring farmers who visit his farm to practice it. Around 20-30 people visit his farm every week. Recently, students from Agriculture and Horticulture university and Vidyavardhana college in Mysore, visited his farm.
Thammaiah also educates what he practices. He organizes training once a month to those interested. Generally 50-100 farmers get trained on his farm. He also guides and provides training on farm management to the youth residing around Hunsur area. While providing free accommodation and food, he also pays Rs.500 per day for training these youth.
He has also guided 70 farmers in setting up one acre model. This includes farmers from Kanakapura taluk, Nanajagud taluk, Mysore and Channapatna taluk.
B M Sanjana
Assistant editor, LEISA India
AME Foundation
No. 204, 100 Feet Ring Road,
3rd Phase, Banashankari 2nd Block, 3rd Stage,
Bangalore – 560 085, India
E-mail: sanjana@amefound.org
