Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Getting closer to nature through organic farming

Photo: K.R. Deepak

USEFUL TIPS: Ravindra Prasad of Boddavara showing the technique used for increasing microbial activity for soil health on his organic farming ‘Brundavanam' orchard at Boddavara in Vizianagaram district.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Hyper stores or malls market several ‘organic' products at a price tag that not many from the middle class dare to buy, but here is Mallina Ravindra Prasad, a resident of Boddavara in S. Kota mandal of Vizianagaram district, who produces several vegetables and fruits at less production cost.

“Conserving the soil nutrients is key to improving yield and lowering the soil temperature so that microbial activity could be sustained under the top soil,” Mr. Ravindra Prasad tells The Hindu. A bachelor of agriculture science from Bapatla, he chose not to take up some lucrative jobs in banks, but give back to society the knowledge he has acquired by cultivating his 70 acres at his ‘Brindavanam' orchard at Boddavara.

If you find people flock to a heap of guavas in Vizianagaram or some parts of Visakhapatnam, it is not because they are available for a throwaway price, but they come from ‘Brundavanam'.

Brundavanam guavas are not only different from the other hybrid varieties coming from Rajahmundry, but also leave a lingering taste for days to come. What sets apart these guavas from others is its way of production -- organic farming practices.

Hailing from Tanuku in West Godavari, Mr. Ravindra created a percolation tank in 60 cents of land that was once a thick jungle and began cultivating ‘Kapoora' and ‘Amruthapani' bananas for six to seven years, along with bajra, jowar and other millets. Commercial farming of guava was taken up 10 years ago on a cooperative model, but today traders queue up at the garden to buy fruits that grow throughout the year.

He uses bio-waste like copra, teak leaves, ‘tunga' grass from his own garden to preserve moisture content in the soil.

This allows decomposition of the material and sustains several life forms that help maintain porosity and restoring organic carbon, he explains. Chemical fertilizers kill life forms stopping all microbial activity and farmers need to learn lessons from nature, he observes.

Today he spends most of his time monitoring all crops from a small rest house at the centre of ‘Brundavanam' applying water conservation techniques also through drip irrigation.

Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides have become the order of the day. By learning modern techniques of farming and agriculture, a majority of farmers have distanced from ‘green' and traditional practices of organic way of bringing up a crop that conserves the soil health for the posterity, he laments.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Installation art a special attraction
Cricket fans look forward to the D-Day
Book festival to be held from October 22
Adding colour to Bijoya Dashami
FM live show a big draw at Central
Getting closer to nature through organic farming
Sale of anti-diabetic drug suspended
Steel plant excels in workplace management
CPI leader's hunger strike enters third day
Balagopal's approach to rights unique: speakers
Travel agency inaugurated
11 held on charge of coal diversion
Jewellery showroom opened
In Visakhapatnam Today

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu