With 11 years of experience in organic farming and 5 years working with marginalpaddy farmers (organic) at Gondeda, Tal. Chimur, Dist. Chandrapur, Maharashtra, last season of Kharif, we (Generous Technologies Pvt Ltd) tried our hands in the high pest pressure zone of paddy area in Village Asgaon, Bhandara district of Maharashtra. Changing existing practice in agriculture is not always easy. It wasn’t  for the 8 farmers too. After a series of discussions and field visits to successful organic paddy farmers, this group of farmers was ready to cultivate a minimum of one acre of each of their land adopting organic methods. Farmers mutually agreed on the Jai Shree Ram variety of rice which is fine, medium size rice.

Two tons of enriched compost per acre was used. It was prepared by culturing farm yard manure and farm waste with decomposing culture. After complete decomposition, 8 types of bacteria and fungus were added. Different biofertilizers were used for seed treatment, Dhaincha/Boru was used as a green manure. Dashparni ark(10 leaves extract), Neem leaf extract, Agni Astra(Chilli Garlic Ginger extract) was used as pest repellent, and Parthenium extract, Jeevamrut, Vermiwash and Panchagavyawere used as plant growth promoters for paddy cultivation.

It was our first time working in an intensive farming zone with high usage of inputs of fertilizer, pesticides, labour and capital on small sized lands.To our surprise, despite adverse climatic conditions, crops responded much more satisfactorily, compared to the neighbouring farmers’ chemical fields. The farmers got very good results in terms of reduced pest infestation and increased disease resistance, ultimately improving productivity of paddy.

All 8 farmers have got good yields ranging from 9-11 quintal paddy per acre in their first year of organic cultivation against 2-4 quintal per acre in chemically grown paddy. Point to be taken into consideration is that, in chemical farming fields, this year’s production was very low due to adverse climatic conditions. Normally,  chemically grown crops get 15-16 quintal per acre yield for fine rice variety in that particular area.

The farmers were happy not just because they got good yield compared to chemically grown crops, but they also could fetch a better price for their produce. Cost of production was reduced by upto 50% and in some cases even less. They saved more than last year, and also they gained more than last year.

This is a small example of how as agripreneur we are promoting organic farming.