Advertisement
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Farmers can save and earn more through vermi technology
Farmers can save and earn more through vermi technology
M. J. Prabu
“group of farmers from different villages were selected
and given training”
Whatever be the crops, after harvesting
the residue left in the field poses a major problem as removing it requires
manpower and money. In some places
farmers simply burn the dried leaves, stalk in the field itself as it is an
easy option. But over time this practice makes the land barren and kills
several beneficial organisms that aid good growth.
Cost reduction
“And today with the cost of fertilizers hitting the roof it will be
advisable if farmers can effectively use these wastes to make some sort of manure
like vermicompost and put it back to the soil. By doing so expenses can be
reduced and soil fertility be upgraded,” says Dr. V. Kantharaju, Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra,
Gulbarga, Karnataka.
A group of farmers from different villages
were selected and given training by the KVK staff on vermi composting methods.
Awareness
The farmers were also made aware on the
importance of natural farming through vermicomposting methods and how this
could help them cut down expenses in buying fertilizers.
Since this method helped them save some
money several farmers willingly took it up.
“Also the income obtained from such activity can be
reinvested by the farmer in enhancing his farm resources and infrastructure for
higherreturn. He can go for crop diversification and better income,” says Dr. Kantharaju.
“For farmers, seeing is believing. When
they heard about other farmers doing well in this line, they started visiting
our KVK office and expressed willingness to try the same.
“Today we have been able to help such
farmers in setting up their own small vermicomposting units and manufacture
their own inputs,” says Dr. Kantharaju.
Loan
A dryland farmer, Mr. Shivanand in the
region who underwent a similar training, started his own unit in small way. In
due course, with help from KVK staff, he got a loan of Rs.4 lakh from a local
bank.
“I constructed 48 pits from the loan
amount and today am able to produce 100 tonnes of compost a year. 50 tonnes was
used for my personal use and the remaining sold at Rs.300 per quintal. The
worms were also sold for Rs. 300 a kg,” says the enterprising farmer.
Production doubled
Within a year he doubled his production to
nearly 200 tonnes. He also started to enrich his compost with neem cake,
Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, and Azospirillum.
The farmer also developed a diversified
cropping pattern using the vermicompost from his own unit.
He planted papaya in five acres, musk
melon in one acre, and cucumber in some remaining area. With continuous
guidance from the expert team who periodically visited him, he earned Rs. 3
lakh from papaya, Rs. 1.5 lakh from water melon, Rs. 1.5 lakh from musk melon,
and Rs. 1 lakh from cucumber. He constructed a new home, purchased land worth
Rs. 5 lakh from the income.
He has also employed about 10 permanent
and temporary labour to look after the daily work in the production unit.\
Better revenue
The success of Mr. Shivanand spread like
wild fire and several people are visiting his farm to learn how he has been
able to succeed in terms of revenue.
Mr. Shivanand has also been conferred
several awards.
Readers can get in touch with Dr. V.
Kantharaju, Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Aland road, Gulbarga:
585 101, Karnataka, email: kvkglb.in@gmail.com
and kantharaju74@gmail.com,
Phone: 08472 274596, Mobiles: 9448584749 and 9480696315.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment