The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Reviving the age-old tradition for enhancing land fertility

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Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Reviving the age-old tradition for enhancing land fertility

S. Harpal Singh

For manure: Farm hands herding the animals

ADILABAD: Farmers in Adilabad are reviving the very old practice of establishing a pen in agriculture fields to house the animals in order to improve the soil fertility and increase yields.

Apparently, farmers have realised the potential of this old wisdom after experiencing the negative effects of use of chemical fertilisers.

That Adilabad has a good ratio of farm animals and cultivable land makes the activity rather handy. There are over eight lakh milch animals and over nine lakh sheep and goat in the district while the cultivable area is close to 5.5 lakh hectares.

Sheep, goats or cows are confined to a temporary pen made of either a net or wooden pickets in a given agriculture plot for a night.

The urine and dung that is excreted by the animals enclosed in pens readily mixes with the soil at that particular spot.

Rich nutrients

Animal urine is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) organic matter content. When these nutrients mix with the soil the fertility increases manifold.

Decompose

The dung of the animals however, takes about nine months to get decomposed and acts as fertiliser in the next season.

“At zero expenditure, farmers can avail farm yard manure. Besides, there is no wastage of such fertiliser as in the case of chemicals”, explained M. Mohan Rao, assistant director of Agriculture.

“Crops that get such organic fertilisers in a given year stay healthier for the next five years during which, less pestilence is also experienced,” added C. Narsingu, agriculture officer.

‘Penning’ activity can improve the fertility of a 10-acre field in about 15 days. The activity is carried on until end of May.

The arrival of Rabari herdsmen from Kutch in Gujarat on the scene also helps farmers as they ‘lend’ their animals for ‘penning’ for a charge, of course.

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