Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Sep 21: Anand Shetty from Ulloor Kadinakonda in Kandavar is a farmer who has followed organic farming and undertaken a mixed farming method in which he has tasted success. Shetty has been driven by vision of the future, regular study, an interest for the new things and interest in institutional farming. The Anand Shetty-Sumathi Shedthi couple, which has adopted agriculture as their employment, has turned their field into a centre of agriculture that has become a spot of study for many.

The couple, who inherited agriculture, has successfully taken it forward.  They adopted organic methods of agriculture and followed integrated methods of farming. They did not depend on a single method of farming as they believed that multiple, mixed farming can ensure a steady future. This idea they adopted has now become a model for other farmers.  In her eight-acre land they have grown coconut, areca nut, cashew, pepper, paddy, etc. In dry land they also have grown cashew and jasmine. To support the other farming activities, they have taken to dairying. Commencing this year, they have started freshwater pisciculture.

With the aim of achieving self-reliance in apiculture, they produce the organic manure their farm requires on their own. In order to retain the fertility of the soil, they do not use any chemical fertilisers other than lime. They say that when an organic method is adopted, the farm has fewer problems with insects and the growth is uniform.

Along with areca nut, they have also grown black pepper as a sub-crop. The pepper vines that had grown on areca nut trees had recently suffered from a certain disease. The couple has the satisfaction of having reaped a good harvest in the past but is also sorry about having lost the pepper vines. However, they have again planted pepper now.

In paddy cultivation, they have been undertaking new inventions. They keep expenses to the minimum and find good harvest by following natural farming methods, proper maintenance and conservation of vegetation. In their farm, they have adopted drip irrigation and sprinklers. As family members actively undertake to farm, they have got success and satisfaction.

Jasmine

The family has been cultivating jasmine since the last 22 years and maintains 130 jasmine plants. During the season, they get up to 30,000 flowers a day. For manure, they use burnt waste products, cattle urine, groundnut cakes, cattle shed manure, and red soil. They often mix water with cow urine and sprinkle the same on the plants to drive away pests. They have built structures to allow the jasmine plants to grow as they find that this way the weeds can be managed better and flowers can be easily harvested.

Sumathi is a member of Dharmasthala Rural Development Project self hello group. People from various taluks have visited her farm to study the methods.

Freshwater pisciculture

They have formed a pond on 60 cent land where 3,750 fingerlings have been released. For them, this is a new experiment and is using three kg of readymade food for the purpose every day. They expect good harvest at the end and if this becomes successful, plan to undertake modern methods in future.