When life gives you a lemon, farm it

  • | Saturday | 27th May, 2017

Conventional wisdom of most Indian farmers and farm advisers is that over a large area it is suicidal to do organic farming. When other lemon farmers get 1,000-2,000 fruits per plant per year, his farm yields 5,000-6,000 fruits per plant. "Organic farmers should not bother about pests. By 2000, the feisty farmer had 300 acres, cultivating lemon on 100 acres, sugarcane covering 15 acres, mango on 40 acres, and paddy and coconut on 30 acres each. Being organic, they have a longer shelf life and yield more juice.Value addition is key to his success.

Conventional wisdom of most Indian farmers and farm advisers is that over a large area it is suicidal to do organic farming. V Antonisamy, a 74-year-old farmer in Puliyangudi in southern Tamil Nadu, has disproved this by carrying out organic farming in more than 200 acres for more than three decades.With a strong dislike for studies, he cut his teeth on agricultural and horticultural activities on a four acre ancestral property at the age of 14.Like all farmers, he made money using chemical fertilizers that made their entry to the country in the 1950s. But by 1972, yield started to drop. In 1983, Antonisamy had a 150acre farm, but business was unsustainable. "Crop would grow, but yield was low. Organic carbon content in the soil dropped to 0.8%. Worse, I fell sick and was bedridden for two years and my right hand was paralysed," said Antonisamy. To make up for the losses, he shifted to goat farming, but debts kept mounting. In 1988, banks put his 150 acres under the hammer to recover Rs 15 lakh loan with interest, which they claimed had scaled to Rs 53 lakh.A legal battle ensued. The crisis made him think about where he had gone wrong. In 1987, following Subhash Palekar 's method, he gave up chemical fertilizers and pesticides and shifted to 100% organic farming.The results were encouraging. It emboldened him and reassured the banks and the tribunal that he was on the way to recovery. "My land became fertile and spring returned to my life by 1992. With the increase in the yield, my health too improved. The tribunal waived the penal interest and I repaid Rs 28 lakh and became debt-free in 1996," he said.On the field, Antonisamy continued challenging set practices. Usually, farmers replant sugarcane every two to three years to prevent drop in yield, but Antonisamy has not replanted the crop in the past 25 years, yet his field churns out 60 tonnes of cane per acre, against the national average of 30 tonnes.Sustaining organic farming during initial hiccups was the key to success, he said. "Organic farmers should not bother about pests. When one pest strikes, another will emerge to prey on it. It also increases immunity of plants," he said. He maintains 150 cows of indigenous breed to make organic manure, but does not sell milk. Rainwater harvesting has helped him manage drought.Except for paddy, he practises drip irrigation and fertigation to make optimum use of water. In India, the average water requirement for producing one kg of sugar is 28,000 litres, but his farm consumes only 1,800 litres per kg of sugar. By 2000, the feisty farmer had 300 acres, cultivating lemon on 100 acres, sugarcane covering 15 acres, mango on 40 acres, and paddy and coconut on 30 acres each. Antonisamy would also qualify for high level of car bon credit for growing trees on about 85 acres.He spends only on die sel, power, labour and le guminous plant seeds, for nitrogen fixation. Annually, he buys Rs 2 lakh worth of leguminous plant seeds."We grow everything we require on the land. No MNC has been able to extract a penny from me in the past 30 years.Back in 1982-83, I spent `33 lakh on fertilizer and pesticides. An average Indian consumes 300ppm pesticides, but my farm is 100% pesticide free (pulls out lab reports to substantiate the claim). My family does not buy any medicine," he said.Lemon is his mainstay, fetching him a clear profit of Rs 2 crore a year. When other lemon farmers get 1,000-2,000 fruits per plant per year, his farm yields 5,000-6,000 fruits per plant. His plants bear fruits in clusters of three to four. Being organic, they have a longer shelf life and yield more juice.Value addition is key to his success. He does not sell cane to sugar mills. Instead, he converts it into jaggery and sells it under Anto's brand. Rice is beaten rice flakes. India can turn a super power just through agricultural and horticultural farming. "But to achieve it, we need to go organic and convert every produce into branded product," he said.

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