A journey of struggles, transformation, success
Vijayawada: For four years, V Rani from a remote village in Guntur district, has been cultivating land with dedication and perseverance, but her journey into farming was not an easy thing. Before this, she and her family were engaged in farming elsewhere, but life took an unexpected turn. Due to some personal stress, she accidentally consumed poison, leading to severe health complications. She underwent treatment at NRI Hospital and as a result, had to abandon her previous farmland, which was located far from their new place of residence.
During this uncertain time, Uma Devi, a working community resource person from APCNF (Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming) introduced Rani to a new farming opportunity. Initially, it was a barren dryland filled with weeds, and not suitable for cultivation. However, driven by dire financial necessity, she took the decision to take the land on lease for Rs 12,000. She began natural farming with pre monsoon dry sowing (PMDS) seeds, sowing paddy first, followed by intercropping with green gram. Unfortunately, the yield was poor, as the land was still infertile.
Uma Devi then suggested planting red gram along the bunds and marigold flowers to support biodiversity and pest control. In the first year, despite planting PMDS seeds, the primary crop did not flourish. However, Uma Devi provided alternative seeds, including sorrel, spinach, and Amaranthus, which fared better. Rani managed to earn Rs 5,000 from these crops. Over time, she received an increasing plant growth PMDS seeds from 17 types in the first year, 27 in the second, and 30 in the third year. While larger crops like maize and green gram took time to succeed, smaller crops such as jowar and ragi showed promise.
Despite initial failures, Rani remained steadfast. There were moments when she thought of giving up, especially when maize crops failed entirely in the second year. However, Uma Devi reassured Rani, that natural farming would yield long-term benefits.
Natural farming methods played a key role in her farming success. She adopted techniques such as spraying bio stimulants like Drava Jeevamrutham to enrich the soil and using growth promoters like fish amino acid during plant growth and applying natural botanical extracts like Neemastram and Agniastram which were cost-effective when compared to chemical pesticides. When pest infestations increased, she prepared Agniastram using small onions, green chilies, neem leaves, cow urine, and Calotropis leaves. She tested its effectiveness by pouring the mixture over pests, witnessing their immediate demise.
She adopted seed palletisation, which involved coating seeds with ash and cow urine before sowing to ensure better germination even in dry conditions. Over time, she also introduced intercropping with pigeon pea along the field borders, maximising productivity and soil health.
Through persistent effort, Rani increased her yield from 10 bags per acre to 40 bags using natural farming methods and drastically reducing expenses. While chemical farming required Rs 40,000–Rs 50,000 per acre, Rani's naturalfarming methods cost only Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. She followed bio-stimulants, botanical extracts, and yellow sticky traps in pest control.
Previously, she suffered from gastric issues, which improved significantly after switching to food that produced from
natural farming.
Rani's journey showcases the power of resilience, adaptation, and belief in sustainable natural farming practices. She is an inspiration for farmers to embrace natural farming, proving that with determination, even barren land
can also flourish.
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