With the approaching summer comes the sweltering heat, but also the season of hydrating watermelons and cucumbers to offer much-required respite. As we brace for temperatures to soar to unbearable degrees, Noida-based urban gardener, Harpreet Singh Ahluwalia, is preparing to battle the heat with natural ways to keep the body cool and refreshed.

The 59-year-old has been spending her mornings growing vitamin-rich vegetables in her terrace garden. “I grow around 75 varieties of vegetables through the year. However, summer vegetables entail creepers and plants, which require a lot of ground space. But the best part is that these creepers have a longer period of harvest, of 2-3 months, which allows larger produce,” she says.

Some vegetables, including leafy ones, can be grown in flower pots, and the produce will be just as good, Harpeet says. In a conversation with The Better India, she takes us through the process, step by step.

Gourds

“Bottle gourd, white gourd, bitter gourd, and pumpkins can easily be grown in the garden. The first step is to create an elevated platform and space for creepers. Make sure the creepers are easily accessible, which makes harvesting easy,” says Harpreet.

She adds that the best way to grow these gourds is to use the seeds of vegetables bought from the market. The seeds should be dried and pre-soaked overnight.

The next step is to sow them directly in the soil. “The seeds are big and cannot be spread across the soil. All summer vegetables take about 15 days of germination time before they start growing,” she says.

Okras, brinjal and chillies

“Okra can be an easy vegetable to grow. The only important thing to remember is to have a gap of about 18 inches between them. Also, they should be grown in rows,” Harpreet says.

As brinjal seeds are small, they need different treatment. “Germination can be done in a tray or in small pots, till they grow into seedlings. Then, they can be moved to a bigger pot,” she adds.

Chilly is also simple to grow. The seeds can directly be sown in the pots, Harpreet says, which makes the process easier.

Leafy vegetables

Mint, spinach, Amaranth or chaulai are another set of greens that demand less effort and attention to grow. “Roughly spread the seeds across the bed or pots. The other simple solution is to replant the roots of the vegetables bought from the market,” the urban gardener says.

Harpreet suggests keeping the stem of the plants in water for 2-3 weeks. “The roots will start growing again, thus making them ready to be planted in soil,” she adds.

Soil is key

Harpreet says the quality of soil plays a vital role in keeping plants – whether summer or winter – healthy. “The soil should always be porous, soft, and rich in nutrients. The mixture I prepare includes compost, organic, or farm manure, as well as leaf waste and garden soil. Then I add coco peat to the mixture and use the soil in pots,” she says.

She recommends adding the residue of neem leaves to the soil to protect it, as well as the plants, from infestation. “Spraying a solution of neem, turmeric or chilly spray every 15 days can help prevent a pest attack,” she adds.

Water, but only when needed

Another vital aspect of keeping the soil and plants healthy is meeting the water requirements. “Always check for moisture before watering the soil. Water the soil generously, only if it appears dry,” Harpreet recommends.

Harpreet says that one should also be careful about the timing for watering the plants. “Early morning before the sunrise and late evening when the day temperatures cool down are ideal timings. Watering plants in the afternoon during peak heat can prove to be unhealthy and may destroy them,” she adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Momee Pegu (34) from Majuli, a river island in Brahmaputra River, Assam, had never aspired to become a farmer, despite the fact that she belonged to a family that practised the profession. She says she was aware of the sheer hard work the field demands, and always thought farming reaped fewer results.

Instead, she pursued a masters in social work. Coincidently, the course took her towards organic farming, as part of extra-curricular activity. But this, she says, changed her perception, allowing her to see how farming can address health, environment and sustainability-related concerns of a village.

“I undertook training from Samir Bordoloi, an expert in organic and sustainable agriculture, and learned how to start small and scale up farming practices. It gave me a different insight into farming and its importance. To take sustainable practices to the masses, I began organic farming in 2009, and launched an NGO, RIGBO, in 2015, which is the name of the local tribe means community volunteering for a cause in Mising,” she tells The Better India.

Not only did Momee become an organic farmer, but she also inspired her community to adopt the practice. Along with encouraging organic farming among villagers, her initiative addressed the environmental issue of water hyacinth in the river, by turning 11,000 kgs of the invasive weed into organic manure.

A community initiative

Momee says the initiative began to create a safe space for young women in the village to be able to bond and express themselves. “They could express their concerns. Many youngsters discussed the deteriorating health of the soil, which was affecting agriculture produce directly. After connecting with a few women, I started involving them in organic farming, creating organic pesticides, and other sustainable activities,” she says.

In 2016, Momee and 32 women came up with an idea to “make something out of nothing”. “The issue of water hyacinth has been long pending in the village. The invasive weed blocks sunlight in the water body and affects aquatic flora and fauna,” she says.

Water hyacinth, a bio-indicator of a polluted water body, is known to cause evapotranspiration and create favourable conditions for mosquitoes and snails. The rapidly growing weed affects irrigation, reduces oxygen for fish, and destroys native aquatic plant species.

Momee and other women in the village began by removing the weed to decompose it into organic manure. Research suggests that organic compost made from water hyacinth has an optimum balance of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content. The compost can help improve the physical characteristics of soil, and gradually releases nutrients to enrich it. The compost also assists in microbial activity.

“In the first couple of months, we prepared around 1,000 kilos of organic compost. After the initial success, we scaled the process to produce 6,000 kilos of compost,” Momee says, adding, “The first batch earned the women Rs 2.2 lakh. I did not take any cut from the profits, but distributed equally among the women.”

Black gold

Impressed by Momee’s work, officials of the district agriculture department visited the facility. Agriculture Development Officer, Hariprakash Lagashu, describes her work as unique. “A proposal for setting up a compost unit from water hyacinth has been submitted to higher authorities. Once implemented, it will also help create employment for the villagers,” he says.

The organic compost received tremendous response, and over a hundred farmers began demanding it. “We are unable to meet the increasing demands, as some farmers have even demanded the manure in tonnes,” Momee says.

Jyotimai Pegu, associated with Momee, says she earns Rs 5,000 a month by selling the compost. “The villagers are learning about the hazards of hyacinth, and the benefits of treating it. The income has helped pay the monthly fees for my children’s education.”

Momee says convincing villagers to produce and sell compost was not an easy job. “Though many villagers practice agriculture, farmers do not see it as a business. To them, it is more of a source of livelihood. Besides, changing the mindset, and packaging and marketing of the compost was a new concept to learn for all,” she adds.

The organic farmer says that a lot more work is awaited, despite initial success. “A systematic approach is planned for mass production. The efficient collection of hyacinth from water is getting streamlined,” she says.

Momee says she wants to spread the message of sustainable farming. “Farming and conserving the environment should go hand-in-hand. Farmers should adopt practices that will not harm the environment, which is important for human existence,” she adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

In 2017, after Kanak Lata’s husband Vasudev Pandey retired from a co-operative bank, the couple travelled to the USA to spend some months with their son. But, after a while, the couple decided to return to India to spend their retirement in Vittalpur village, which is about 30 km from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

With no pension to support their expenses, the husband and wife decided to start farming in their 1.5-acre farmland. However, neither of them had the required experience.

“Both of our families have a background in agriculture, and I always saw my grandfather and other relatives toil in the field,” says Kanak. The 57-year-old started with little know-how from her family and grew wheat, peas and tomatoes. But she was not satisfied with the outcome.

“The yield was too little, and the harvest was unstable. The soil fertility was poor and neighbouring farmers taunted us about growing vegetables in low-fertile land,” she says.

After a few setbacks, Kanak built her knowledge on farming and adopted a scientific approach that enabled harvesting 7 quintals every day. Their organic farm produce not only peaked demand in nearby markets but also drew customers from the UK and Oman.

A Scientific Approach

Kanak took special efforts to turn the situation in her favour. For this, she consulted Nav Chetna Agro Center Producer Company Limited, an associate venture under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Undergoing training in organic farming, she loaned Rs 50,000 from Prayatn Sanstha in Delhi to make the required changes on her farm.

“I decided to grow tomatoes and treat the land with organic manure, vermicompost, and enrich it with other natural elements,” Kanak says.

In August 2020, she planted tomatoes of two varieties — Durg and Aryaman. “I harvested the Durg variety recently that instantly became popular in the market. I earned Rs 100 more [as compared to regular tomatoes] per crate. The tomatoes are less sour and more juicy. They also have a thicker flesh that allows for a longer shelf-life,” she says.

District Horticulture Officer (DHO), Mewaram, also visited the farm and took samples from Kanak’s produce. He says, “The tomatoes can last for at least two weeks without storing them in the refrigerator. They are long, round and taste better compared to other desi varieties.”

Kanak claims to harvest 50 crates of fruit every day. “Each crate carries 25 kilos. I earned a decent income that helped to repay the loans and other investments. The profits will start flowing soon and I am expecting to earn around Rs 2.5 lakh,” she adds.

The Tangy Taste of Success

Mukesh Pandey, CEO of Nav Chetna Agro Center Producer Company Limited, says, “Adopting scientific methods, like mulching, drip irrigation and other aspects, helped Kanak achieve success. The tomatoes were sent to Rajbhavan and appreciated by the governor of Uttar Pradesh. She has become an inspiring figure because of her popular tomatoes,” he adds.

Mukesh says that Kanak’s success inspired other farmers in the area as well. “They will grow the tomato variety in the next season,” he adds.

Kanak says that apart from learning farming methods, she overcame issues such as shortage of labourers, water supply and technical difficulties.

Satisfied by her achievement, Kanak is all set to experiment with capsicum, strawberry, dragon fruit and black tomatoes.

“I could taste success because of the guidance of experts in the agriculture field. It feels good to know that people are liking the farm produce and that I continue to get repeat customers. The sight of the flourishing farm is satisfying. And my husband has helped me in this endeavour,” she says.

Vasudev adds here that many people feel depressed after retirement but instead this should be perceived as a new phase of life. “People often feel that their purpose in life is over when they’re retired. But it must be spent by pursuing hobbies and trying out activities that one could not do during their professional career,” he says.

Kanak urges all farmers to use irrigation techniques to save water and electricity. “Mirzapur is a hilly area, and the farmers often face a shortage of water. Drip irrigation will help consume less water and increase yield. Farmers should start trusting scientific methods and give up traditional farming,” she signs off.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

In busy cities, several residents are taking to terrace gardening. While some use their terrace or backyards, others grow produce in their balconies. Finding ways to grow the maximum amount of plants in limited space is always a challenge.

C V Varghese, a vegetable farmer in Wayanad, Kerala has come up with an innovative solution to grow potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables in limited spaces using a vertical mesh tower method. Apart from that, he was able to grow these vegetables in dry leaves, wet and dry cow dung, goat dung, organic fertilizers like jeevamrutha and neem cake, and very little soil.

Here’s how he did it:

Making the mesh tower

Step 1: Purchase a metal mesh wire that has 2-inch gaps and is 5ft tall.

Step 2: Cut the mesh in 1.5-metre width and paint it if you wish.

Step 3: Bend the mesh to form a cylindrical shape or tower and bind the ends together using plastic zip ties.

Layering the tower

Before you begin adding the elements of the potting mix, such as the dry leaves, cut a PVC pipe of 0.75 diameters and 5 ft length. Put holes with 3.5 inches gap between them to release water. Place this inside the tower and then start layering the soilless mediums.

Step 1: Add 4 or 5 inches of dry hay. This layer will prevent the potting mix from leaking below.

Step 2: Then add 50cms of dry leaves. Use a long stick or pipe to shove the leaves and pack them together.

Step 3: Add a layer of wet cow dung.

Step 4: Prepare a dry mix of goat dung, dry cow dung, neem cake, and some organic soil mix.

Step 5: Add the dry mix layer. Then, place a few sprouted potato cuttings, evenly spaces, in a circular order.

Step 6: Add dry mix again to cover the potatoes.

Step 7: Repeat the process by adding more layers of dry leaves, cow dung, dry mix and potato sprouts.

Varghese says that in one tower, he was able to plant 20 potato sprouts.

Plant maintenance

In November 2020, Varghese planted potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, capsicum and a few more vegetables in 10 towers.

“In some of the towers, I planted potatoes at the bottom and tomatoes or chillies at the top,” he says, adding that this did not affect the growth of the plants or the produce.

After planting the sprouts, Varghese watered them regularly. Within one month, the leaves started growing outside the mesh tower, and he added organic fertilizers like jeevamrutha and neem cakes to replenish the potting mix.

By the end of January, the vegetables were ready for harvest. While Varghese did not calculate how many kilograms he cultivated, he says that from the 10 towers, he was able to grow 120 potatoes.

Varghese’s 28-year-old son, Akhil Varghese says that there were so many vegetables that they could not consume it all themselves. “After taking what we needed, we shared the rest with our neighbours,” says Akhil.

If you wish to know more about how to grow plants using the mesh tower you can contact Varghese at 9744367439.

Shankar Jaat from Salera village Rajasthan is a traditional farmer, growing tomato, beans and wheat on his 1.25-acre land. However, the 45-year-old marginal farmer never earned more than Rs 60,000 a year, because unlike other fertile regions of India, the state’s harsh weather and arid climate conditions do not allow farmers to get surplus harvest. Shortage of water often limits farmers to only one crop rotation per year. They often rely upon the mercy of the monsoon for a good harvest.

However, over the years, Shankar has adopted scientific techniques that have now aided him in earning Rs 4 lakh a year, with the same crops on the same amount of land.

“I started growing tomatoes on the farm in 2016. But the yield was low. I did manage two crop rotations, but could barely cover the expenses of a family of six,” Shankar tells The Better India.

He says that after training and learning scientific techniques under the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) Research Foundation, his income has steadily improved.

A 70% reduction in water requirements

“Experts in the field helped me procure the ‘1057 variety’ of tomato from Dev Company on one beegha (0.6 acres) of land using techniques of mulching and drip irrigation. I learned organic methods of growing the fruit by making jeevamrut, a combination of cow dung, cow urine, water, gram flour and jaggery,” he says.

Shankar also started systematic plantation of crops for efficient utilisation of space. Additionally, implementing mulching on the land helped him reduce the rate of evaporation. “The use of these two techniques alone saved water requirements by 70 per cent,” he says.

Instead of the earlier practice of watering the farm for an entire day once in three days, Shankar started watering the plants every day for 20 minutes. He immediately reaped the results of a good harvest. “The same method was replicated on an additional 0.6-acre land. The collective harvest helped me achieve bumper produce and earn lakhs of rupees,” he adds. Shankar says he continues to grow wheat on the remaining land, which earns him additional income.

“I struggled with spreading mulching. BAIF helped me with expenses on the initial 0.6-acre land, but arranging the loan for investing in expansion of cultivation was a challenge. I borrowed money from relatives,” he adds.

An outcome that inspires others

Nagin Patel, associate programme manager at the foundation, says, “A demonstration is provided to farmers on their land to show them a methodical approach to adopt in farming. The farmer saves electricity and expenditure on pesticides and insecticides, which in turn reduces the production cost.”

Nagin says the exercise helps farmers build confidence in shifting from traditional farming methods to adopting a systematic approach. “Keeping distance between the plants, reducing excess irrigation, and regular maintenance of plants helps improve the harvest,” he says, adding that the overall outcome betters the lives of the farmer and his family, while motivating others to follow the same process.

Shankar has become an inspiration for his success, and around 50 people from neighbouring villages have visited his farm. “Farmers approach me to seek guidance about the methods I have used. Three from my village have decided to adopt this scientific and organic approach,” he says.

The farmer says the additional income has helped him provide better education to his children and lead a better life. “I have never earned so much money from agriculture in my life. I am glad I took the risk,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Traditionally, villagers of Sikhar in Uttar Pradesh had relied on cow dung and other organic material including wood to use as fuel for cooking. However, when the Central government announced the Ujjwala scheme and supplied LPG cylinders of subsidies, the use of cow dung in cooking became redundant.

The immediate effect of this was that villagers stopped sorting cow waste. “It created an issue of unhygienic conditions. The government’s effort to provide clean energy to villagers ended up adversely impacting the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which focussed on cleanliness and maintaining hygiene,” says Mukesh Pandey (36), a villager and social entrepreneur in the village.

After 2014, when the scheme was announced, the hygiene conditions of the village started deteriorating. “Cow dung lay on the streets, and water sources became contaminated, giving rise to diseases. The problem would worsen during the rain, as cattle waste would enter the river and streams running along with the village. The school buses refused to ply,” Mukesh adds.

Moreover, visitors and relatives of residents would avoid making trips to the village. “The village stank, and it became difficult to organise social events and functions,” Mukesh says.

Creating wealth from waste

Today, however, the village’s story reads differently. Mukesh and his brother Chandramouli have transformed Sikhar by treating 200 quintals of animal waste generated every year and converting it into vermicompost, earning Rs 20 lakh a year. The move has helped bring hygiene levels in the area back to normal, and farmers are now practicing organic cultivation for a healthier lifestyle.

The brothers’ motivation, other than the poor hygiene of their hometown, was the demise of their father, owing to mouth cancer. “Our father passed away in 2008, and left us indebted with Rs 7 lakh worth of loans. Weak economic conditions forced us to drop out of college,” he tells The Better India.

Mukesh says that for years, he had seen farmers in the village queuing up at the chemical fertiliser shop. “Chemical fertiliser and pesticides also contribute to health ailments such as cancer. My brother Chandramouli was working with a construction company in Lucknow, and I asked him to return to help me with the venture,” he adds.

In 2016, the siblings learned about converting cattle waste into vermicompost. “It seemed like a practical solution, as treating cattle waste in the village would solve the problem of managing it. It could also be used by farmers as vermicompost,” Mukesh says, adding that both brothers undertook training with IIT-Kanpur, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a Central government finance institute.

Mukesh and Chandramouli sought initial funding from the government, and hired two persons to start treating cattle waste in the village by forming the Navchetna Agro Centre Producer Company Limited in 2017. However, they received heavy backlash. “The villagers mocked us, saying that we lost our jobs and despite being educated, were now working in a business with cow dung, which was ‘inferior’ work. No one supported the cause. Our friends and classmates made fun of us,” says Chandramouli.

Promoting sustainable practices

He adds that ignoring their criticism, he and Mukesh worked quietly and convinced farmers to buy their cattle waste to prevent it from reaching the streets. “We also cleaned the streets by collecting the waste. Within a year, the change was visible,” he adds. The brothers also conducted awareness camps among villagers to explain the importance of hygiene.

Eventually, more farmers joined the cause. “They agreed to give their cattle waste and receive 60% of vermicompost in return. We tried multiple ways to help farmers shift to organic farming. Some villagers sought training. Hence, we started workshops for free,” Chandramouli says.

The cattle waste, after being processed into vermicompost, generates a turnover of Rs 78 lakh a year. In the last few years, the siblings have hired 27 employees and now, collect cattle waste from 21 neighbouring villages to convert it into vermicompost. They have also exported organic fertiliser to countries such as Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and others.

“We wish to promote vermicompost and make the business a cattle waste management hub in the district. Farmers should soon move to organic farming practices. Our aim is not to earn money, but develop an ecosystem to encourage sustainable practices,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

In 1988, Raj Seelam, an agriculture graduate from Hyderabad, joined a chemical fertiliser and pesticide manufacturing company. Over the next 12 years, he worked closely with farmers, guiding them with seed purchase and the use of chemicals.

But in the process, Raj realised the harmful impact of these chemicals on agricultural land, as well as the ecosystem at large. “These insecticides and pesticides were designed to kill. They terminated microbes and other living organisms that were vital to maintaining the health of the soil,” the 56-year-old says.

Raj also found that the need for these chemicals had increased over the years. “Massive amounts of chemicals were being sprayed on vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum, potato and others. It was like bathing these vegetables with poison. A few farmers used 2-3 rounds of chemical fertilisers for a short 60-day crop,” he tells The Better India.

The heavy use of chemicals led to a drop in soil fertility and affected crop production. Raj also became witness to the farmers falling into debt traps and subsequently dying by suicide. “As they failed to earn enough money, the burden of debts increased. By the mid-1990s, I started realising the importance of sustainable farming techniques,” he adds.

Triggered by a personal loss

Raj’s final trigger came in 1999, when his father was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away the following year. “I am sure that it was the pesticide infused food and environment pollution that caused the illness,” he says.

Pained by his loss, Raj quit his job to start a sustainable livelihood venture. He launched Sresta Natural Bioproducts in 2004 and, to date, has helped over 45,000 farmers turn to practicing organic farming. They sell their produce to the company, which markets it under the brand 24 Mantra. Farmers say this helps them earn 30% more than the market price.

Raj says he decided to create an ecosystem to provide uncontaminated food to customers and reduce the negative impact of chemicals on the environment. “I researched for a couple of years and decided to source organic produce from farmers and sell it in the market. I began working with farmers in Nahargarh in Rajasthan and Murtizapur in Akola district of Maharashtra. Around 10-20 of them were trained in growing organic food in each state, with the help of local NGOs and agriculture experts,” he explains.

A few years later, Raj tried to sell the products in the retail market, but they did not receive acceptance. “This was in 2005, when the concept of organic food was not so popular, and the market was not ready. No one was ready to buy the products, and retailers complained that they occupied unnecessary space. The company outlets in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai began suffering losses. The only way to overcome this was by educating potential buyers. We decided to sell the products through farmer groups and create awareness simultaneously,” Raj says.

By 2008, N Balasubramanian, his friend, had joined him in the cause as CEO of the venture.

Getting farmers on board

Raj says it was difficult to change the mindset of farmers. “They believed that only the use of chemical fertilisers would deliver a good harvest. Moreover, it would take 3-4 years for the land to convert into organic soil. Farm production would reduce in the initial few years due to change in technique, before witnessing the expected outcome,” he says.

Hence, demonstrations on organic farming were held on an acre or two of land to win the farmers’ trust. Raj also travelled to states such as Gujarat, Uttarakhand and other parts of the country to meet those practising organic cultivation and understand what aspects could help convince other farmers. “We also started reaching out to farmers who we thought could easily be motivated. They were told about how their expenses could reduce, and how the health of the soil would improve. Some members of their families had suffered from cancer due to the handling of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Such farmers agreed to experiment with us,” he says.

Moreover, it was important for farmers to form a cluster of at least ten individuals, covering a substantial amount of land. “The purpose for this rule was that collective farming would prevent contamination of soil and water from neighbouring farmers adopting chemical techniques,” he says.

Raj says that to bring farmers on board, the company promised to pay them a premium for the purchases, which was 10-30% more than the market price. “If the price of turmeric in the market was Rs 35 per kilo, we paid them Rs 55. They started joining the cause and, at present, over 2 lakh acres of land across 15 states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have been converted into organic farms,” he adds. Over 200 products are available in 10,000 stores across India. Besides, the products are exported across 50 countries.

The company has a drop out rate of around 6%, as some farmers discontinue and find it hard to abide by the strict norms of quality.

Commitment to nature

Raj says all products undergo five-point checks. “There are station heads located at every 15-20 km of the clusters. They supervise, guide and inspect the farms. A third party inspection of farms from station heads outside the state ensures overcoming any flaw in the checking process,” he says.

Other steps in quality checks involve conducting scientific tests to identify traces of heavy metals or microbial contamination. “The mobile app also helps GeoTag the farms and monitor them. Agronomists deployed at the farms ensure the quality of compost, biopesticides and biofertilisers, and that their usage is in prescribed proportions. The necessary certifications obtained from global agencies help build trust among customers and monitor farming practices,” he adds.

Raj says the system allows each product to be traced back with the help of the batch number, enabling the tracking of its journey to its origin.

Baldev Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan, has been associated with the company since 2013. “I sell wheat to the company that I grow on 5 acres of land. The company pays Rs 200 more per kilo compared to the market price. Once the crop is sold, the money is deposited in the account within 60 days,” says the 39-year-old.

Another farmer, Arun Raut from Akola, says he receives regular guidance and encouragement from the company to grow organic food on his 8-acre land. “I became part of the venture around nine years ago, and now earn Rs 200-300 more per kilo for selling tur and chana dal to the company, making it a better deal than the market,” he adds.

Raj, however, feels that more work is waiting to be done. “The company aims to reach a million farmers to create a bigger impact. It has become vital for humans to go back to basics and stop unsustainable farming methods. The techniques should be modern, yet we need to connect with our roots. A handful of soil has millions of microorganisms, which give it fertility, increase water retention capacity and grow healthy food,” he says, and adds, “Nature has a lasting impact on our lives, and should be preserved.”

Edited by Divya Sethu

Four years ago, John Varghese (30), a resident of Thrissur in Kerala, began growing a few plants, including tomatoes and brinjal, on his home’s terrace. He wanted to reduce his dependence on vegetables sold in markets. “I learned through friends that Kerala is a consumer state, and that it sources vegetables and fruits from other states. Owing to this, fresh produce often comes laced with pesticides and other harmful chemicals. So I started growing whatever I could myself,” says John.

Two years later, he began experimenting with aquaponics, wherein plants are grown in a soil medium, but nutrition and water are provided by fish, their waste, and the water they live in. “I chose aquaponics because I wanted to grow a wide variety and a larger quantity of plants,” John says.

Today, his little experiment has proven to be a success, and John is growing a variety of plants, including a banana tree on his terrace. He is also the owner of Growcerys, a Thrissur-based store that sells indoor plants.

A week-long process

In 2019, John decided to venture into aquaponics, and changed the setup of his terrace. He had an 800 litre grow bed made with help from a friend. “It was made using fabric coated PVC to ensure it could withstand wind pressure, as it would be placed on an open terrace. The grow bed also has draining holes in the bottom, provisions to insert mesh filters, and two holes on the side for the water pipe’s inlet and outlet,” says John.

This grow bed was placed on the terrace and filled with Quartz Silica sand sourced from Hyderabad. John chose this grade of sand because the soil medium should be clean and chemical-free. Otherwise, it would alter the PH levels of the water, which is harmful to both the fish as well as the plants. He chose to grow his plants in the sand instead of the commonly used medium, clay balls, because the former requires less maintenance.

“On the ground floor, I placed a 500-litre fish tank and started breeding Tilapia fish. They are also known as ‘poop fish’, because they produce large quantities of waste, which benefits the plants,” John says, adding that he currently has 80 fish in the tank, but the number can be altered depending on the number of plants that need to be watered.

From the fish tank, there is an outlet connected by a pipe leading to the grow bed on the terrace. This system is attached to a 60-watt motor that ensures water circulation takes place for half an hour, three times a day. In the grow bed, the fish water is first filtered through the sand, where the solid waste is collected at the surface. “Then the water passes through a fine mesh filter, which collects the sand particles. Finally, the clean water is directed back to the fish tank,” says John.

Growing a banana tree

Initially, John would grow leafy vegetables such as lettuce, red amaranthus, and coriander, as well as plants including tomato and brinjal. Four months ago, he saw the banana tree growing in his backyard garden, and wondered if he could grow this on his terrace using aquaponics.

“I cut a banana sapling and placed it in the sand. I gave it the same duration and amount of water as my other plants. Today, there is a full-grown banana tree that has produced a flower and a stalk of banana, which will ripen within the next few weeks,” says John, adding that he did not add extra nutrients, organic fertilisers or pesticides.

Neighbours and those walking past John’s house always stop for a few minutes and marvel at the banana tree on the roof. Some have even approached John to take a look at his terrace garden.

As part of his next experiment, John has planted a papaya tree. However, in the future, he hopes to understand the techniques better and help others set up an aquaponics farm in limited spaces.

In the early summer of 2010, Nataraja Upadhya was feeling the need to set up a water cooler to deal with the impending heat. As he geared up for temperatures to soar in Bengaluru, where he lives, he thought of how he could help regulate the temperature in his own home. He was already maintaining a garden in front of his house, located in Vivekanandanagar in Banashankari area, so he decided to begin gardening on his terrace as well, to have a relatively cool roof.

“Bengaluru is known as a garden city, but today, the scenery has been replaced by a concrete jungle. Rampant tree cutting due to growing urbanisation and climate change have all resulted in rising temperatures,” Nataraja tells The Better India.

Up until 2008, the 58-year-old IT professional had been leading a hectic lifestyle. Once he retired, his aim became to concentrate on his health. “I was working 18 hours and driving around five hours a day. My specially-abled wife and two daughters needed me. Hence, I quit to focus on my health and family,” he says.

Nataraja belongs to a farming family, hailing from Parampalli in Udupi. So he decided to go back to his roots, and pursue his love for gardening and nature. “I’d spent years of my childhood growing plants with my father. Even before I began pursuing engineering, I used to maintain the plants on our balcony,” he recalls.

Creating a self-sustaining ecosystem

Banking on this previous experience, Nataraja began growing plants in rice bags and discarded containers. “I started by growing a few vegetables and medicinal plants. My home has a terrace of around 1,500 sq-ft, which opened the potential to grow bigger plants and trees. So by 2012, I started growing trees in recycled 55-litre drums,” he says.

Over the past years, Nataraja’s consistent efforts have seen the growth of 300 varieties of plants, including 100 trees of 72 species, creepers, fruit trees, and vegetables. The terrace has a dense green cover, with trees including moringa, bamboo, drumstick, tamarind, and wild fig. The view is a sight for sore eyes, as the garden hosts 50 varieties of butterflies, about a dozen species of birds, hundreds of insects, squirrels, and bats, among others. The best part here is that Nataraja does not need any cooler or fan during the summer, but definitely a thicker blanket in winters, he admits.

“I call it an urban evergreen forest, as the greenery never fades. The creepers from the ground are connected to the roof and create a natural curtain. There are some plantations on 400 sq-ft of the garden, as well as along the protection wall of the house. The overall greenery helps keep temperatures at bay by 2-3 degree Celsius,” he adds.

The plantation is, in no way, haphazard. In fact, a lot of thought and planning has gone into creating the green zone.

Nataraja says the house is old, having been constructed in 1987. Hence, to reduce the stress on the roof, he placed the drums along the periphery of pillars. “The burden is put on the pillars to keep the slab safe. I also took care of leakages and other waterproofing of the terrace,” he adds.

“The micro jungle is a demonstration of how an urban green cover can be created by maximising per sq-ft area, which houses plants, birds, insects and other elements that support biodiversity. In the age where species face threats of extinction, such private and public urban spaces could serve as a place for refuge,” Nataraja says.

He adds that all plants in his house are grown in compost, and using organic methods. “Using compost helps reduce the weight of the drums. Since there is no demand for productivity in terms of harvesting vegetables from the forest, the focus is not on improving soil quality. Hence, there is no stress on the outcome, and the compost alone suffices,” he explains.

He adds that he never needs insecticides or pesticides for protecting the plants. “The jungle has created an ecosystem in the process. The insects in the food chain ensure that no infestation occurs, and keep the plants healthy,” he says, adding, “Rainwater automatically percolates in the ground, and installing a rainwater harvesting system is not required to recharge groundwater.

How nature supports itself

Nataraja says the trees grown in the drums do not grow over 15 feet. “The area around the tree hosts several bushes and plants, which all complement each other’s growth. Nature has supported itself. Such propagation has about 1,700 plants growing in these drums,” he adds.

He also says that since 2010, he has not thrown any kitchen waste out of his house. “All waste is converted into compost,” he adds. He says his efforts are benefitting the neighbourhood. “There is more oxygen generated in the space, and people around get fresh air. The benefits are for the community at large, and not limited to a personal level,” he says.

Nataraja has documented the progress of his initiative on YouTube. His channel has over 450 videos that address different aspects of biodiversity through his experiences in creating the urban jungle. He also runs a Facebook page to interact with nature lovers and guide them through his knowledge.

He expresses his views on conserving nature through his blog, Billion Trees and Beyond, to create awareness among people. “I appealed to readers to pledge and plant trees in their lifetime. Many have agreed to support the cause. I have also distributed over 2,000 Mexican sunflower seeds among the neighbourhood to encourage the urban population to grow trees,” he adds.

Nataraja says that through the exercise, he wants to send multiple messages to people. “I want to show that creating a green space in a small area of land is possible. There is no threat to the structure, or any other constraints. It is not rocket science, and anyone can do it,” he adds.

“Most importantly, converting our urban spaces into green zones has become imperative with the increasing threat of climate change. Such initiatives will help the society at large,” he says.

Edited by Divya Sethu

In 2014, a relative of software professional Mavuram Mallikarjun Reddy passed away from cancer, which had been detected a few years earlier. What was shocking, Mallikarjun recalls, was that none of the family members, or previous generations of the relative, had any known cancer history.

A native of Pedda Kurmapalli village in Telangana, Mallikarjun learned through oncologists and reports that food contamination was the culprit behind his relative’s illness. Food laden with chemical fertilisers and pesticides had entered their system to affect the health of the body.

Shaken by the incident, a realisation dawned on Mallikarjun that he had to switch to producing and eating food that was free of these evils, in the interest of health. He quit his job in Hyderabad and decided to begin organic cultivation on his 13-acre ancestral land in the village. His wife Sandhya, an MBA graduate, followed suit.

At present, the couple practises organic and residue-free agriculture and has grown over 26 varieties of rice, vegetables and medicinal plants. Mallikarjun’s efforts have won him the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) award, making him the first person in the state to achieve this feat. He is also the recipient of eight other awards. These accolades did not come only for his organic farming, but also for the innovative techniques he has applied to increase the produce, which he says earns him Rs 16 lakh a year.

Creating an integrated ecosystem

“We wanted to give our children safe and healthy food. Incidentally, my wife confirmed her pregnancy around the same time, which only helped us cement the decision,” Mallikarjun tells The Better India.

The 40-year-old says he started growing paddy on a small patch of land and extended the cultivation gradually. Later, he progressed to growing varieties such as paddy, cowpeas, ginger, sesame, groundnut, vasaka leaves and other medicinal plants. His extended farm, which he has taken on a lease, expands over 20 acres.

“I reap 42 quintals of rice per acre in a season, which is 10-12% more than the average yield grown through conventional techniques. I do not sow seeds through the broadcast method, which involves spreading the seeds or creating saplings for paddy. Instead, I directly sow them. It helps in reducing the number of seeds required for planting and, in turn, the cost. The conventional method requires 25 kilos of seeds per acre, whereas direct sowing needs 5 kilos,” he explains.

The measures helped him reduce the cost of the seeds from Rs 25,000 to less than Rs 12,000.

Mallikarjun follows an integrated farming technique that involves growing multiple crops in a shared space. “The method helps plants exchange nutrition and supplement growth,” he says.

Besides drip irrigation, he has introduced rainwater harvesting in his farm to recharge the groundwater levels and maintain the soil moisture. “I have also implemented aquaculture to breed 600 fish in a pond that stores rainwater. There are sheep, hen, goat and other cattle that help provide natural nutrients to crops from their waste. I use organic fertilisers like jeevamrut, neem, and other such natural means to improve soil fertility and prevent infection,” he adds.

“I require less farm labour, and I manage most of the work alone. I have reduced six kilos of weight and put sincere efforts into a 12-hour shift, which starts at 4 am. The effort earns me four times more against the IT job, which paid me Rs 4 lakh,” he says.

Speaking about some challenges he faced along the way, Mallikarjun says, “I did not get the expected yield initially. Hence, I consulted experts in the agriculture field such as Subhash Palekar and Rajiv Dixit. I also took advice from officials at the state agriculture department,” he says. He adds that friends and relatives mocked his decision. Villagers thought that quitting a well-paying job to enter farming was the wrong move. But with the support of his wife Sandhya, he kept working relentlessly.

For a healthier society

Mallikarjun has not kept the success mantra to himself, and has instead helped hundreds of farmers by sharing ideas and helping them prosper.

“I am a member of the advisory committee at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), a member at Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), a faculty at the Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University and part of various farmer groups. This way, I share my knowledge with the community at large,” he adds.

Dr N Venkateshwar Rao, senior scientist and head at KVK, Jammikunta, Karimnagar, says the integrated farming method is a way for farmers to increase their income and ensure a steady flow of cash. “Practising a single form such as agriculture, horticulture or animal husbandry alone will get slow and limited income. It usually earns income once in six months. But using integrated techniques by combining all will ensure a regular income from multiple sources throughout the year,” he says.

Venkateshwar says that farmers should also grow pulses, grams and other unique crop varieties to increase their market value.

Mallikarjun further plans to experiment with other crops including grass, pulses, grams and different varieties on his farm. “The sole aim is to create a better and healthy society for which it is important to produce successful young generation farmers who grow chemical-free food for all,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

To escape a hectic city life, full of woes and stress, and relocate to a quiet abode in the hills might very well be every urban dweller’s dream today. But how do you shift to an organic way of life in the hills without infringing upon the rights and agencies of the area’s original inhabitants?

Amrita Chengappa, who left behind her bustling city life in Lucknow in search of something simple, remains mindful of these questions. In 2002, she, along with her husband Santosh, moved to Chitai Pant village in Uttarakhand’s Almora district to lead a better life. “The idea was not to come to a village and turn it into an industrial area,” Amrita tells The Better India. “People come to the hills with many agendas and ideas in mind, but then they build a house on someone’s land, and the owner of the land ends up becoming a watchman for their home.” This, she says, was something that both her and Santosh wanted to avoid.

Together, the couple runs SOS Organics, launched in 2008, to integrate sustainable farming with producing a vast range of organic products, including candles, natural cosmetics, seasonings, honey, health foods, salt lamps and home care items.

‘Small is beautiful’

Amrita has always been interested in traditional knowledge including ayurveda, something she says is very prevalent in the southern region of the country, where she is from. The entire idea of SOS Organics was inspired by E F Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful: A Study Of Economics As If People Really Mattered. “In the book, he talks about an economic system which is more decentralised and small, where people do work that they actually enjoy or can take something away from, besides only monetary benefits,” she explains.

“We wanted people to understand that you can make a viable project without actually taking from the Earth. Locals in the Kumaon region are generally only employed by the government or the army. Our idea was to do something women-centric. We were also clear that we wanted the project to be sustainable, economically or otherwise,” she adds.

It took Amrita and Santosh five years of travelling and acquainting themselves with the area before SOS organics took shape. “We did research and looked into the lives that locals were leading. Gandhi had talked about how villages should be making their own candles and other products, which I thought was a good idea to implement,” she says.

At SOS, the idea is to take as little from nature as possible. “The entire project runs only on rainwater harvesting. We don’t even have a Jal Nigam connection. We’re living in a rain shadow area that experiences a lot of water problems. Watching a local carry a 50-litre can of water so you can take a bath is an eye opening experience, and really made me think twice about my own water usage. So one of the first things we did was build water harvesting tanks, where around 2 lakh litres of water has been harvested. Around 70% of our power is solar-generated. We also aim to use whatever produce is already available here,” she says.

Going into further details about what exactly goes into SOS’s products, Amrita explains, “All the colours we use in our soaps are natural. We use the bichu buti, or stinging nettle, which gives a lovely green colour. We also use haldi, and neel patta (indigo). We use essential oils instead of fragrant oils, which have artificial smells. We make teas from tulsi, rhododendron, stinging nettle, and other herbs that are found here easily. We also use them to make Italian mixes where we take, say, junglee ajwain, to be incorporated. We wanted to use whatever was already growing here, and then look at value addition.”

“We have access to junglee apricot kernels, which we use to make cold pressed oils using our kachi ghani. The skin that’s left is powdered, dried and made into other products. So we avoid as much wastage as we can, and leave behind small footprints. You actually need very little to create a livelihood,” she says.

Their candles are priced at around Rs 160, cold-pressed honey at around Rs 220, and seasonings at around Rs 140.

While COVID-19 slightly impacted their earnings last year, SOS Organics was able to generate a turnover of around Rs 1.2 crore. They receive around 25-30 orders per week. “One of the best things has been repeat customers who contribute to around 60% of our total orders,” Amrita notes.

‘Prepare yourself for what’s to come’

“Because we don’t use chemicals, the shelf-life of our products is around one year. So we can’t really get into a massive distribution model and produce a million pieces. In any case, that’s not our vision. We’re different from a big brand that just calls themselves ‘organic’,” she says.

She adds that they’ve never had a budget for marketing, and most of their popularity has spread through word-of-mouth. Most of their funding has been private. It took them around five years to break even.

To make the products, SOS has employed a small team of local women who make everything by hand. “They all live about a 5-minute walk from where they work, and do so in two shifts. They come in at 9.30 am and leave at around 1 pm. Then they come back at 2 and leave at 5,” Amrita says. The women leave before it gets dark, as they have to carry wood and water back home. In addition, the area is often frequented by leopards, so maintaining the women’s safety is a priority for SOS, she adds.

They have a separate self-help group of women that only sort their grains. Around 7 women have been employed to make the products. They’re interchangeable with their skills, Amrita says, so while she comes up with the smells and combinations, it’s the ladies who see the final product through. The village is plagued with a massive problem of alcoholism, she adds, so she ensures the money goes directly to the women’s bank accounts, instead of the hands of other family members who might misuse these earnings.

Coming to what challenges she faced in starting and running the business, she says, “People were a little suspicious when we first came here, possibly because they’ve seen their lands being exploited by urban dwellers. We were met with a bit of resistance from locals, which dissipated when they understood our intentions better. When we first came here, we also found that people were not aware of or well-connected to their roots. For example, to them, ragi used to be gareeb ka khana [food of the poor]. They were also apprehensive about anything that was ‘traditional’. We had to convince them that there was a market for the produce found in their region.”

On what advice she would give to people hoping to make an all-round lifestyle change to a more sustainable way of life, Amrita notes, “Sustainable living starts with yourself. People have this misconception that they can go to the mountains and have the same lifestyle as they did in, say, Delhi. That’s not how it works. If you want to fly first class and drive a Beemer and then come to a village to start a project — those two things don’t go hand-in-hand. You also need to know that you can’t just go into this expecting an abundance of profits. So if you’re not mentally prepared, it can be quite taxing. People looking to shift to a more sustainable lifestyle need to be open and prepared to learn a lot. When we began, we did everything by ourselves, because we couldn’t afford to hire anyone. Designing our first label, setting up our first website, the first photographs we clicked — that was all us.”

Her transition from the city to a village in the middle of nowhere, Amrita says that there were challenges but adds, “I have access to fresh air, clean water, and an uncontaminated environment. So what more could I have asked for?”

For orders, or more information on the importance of sustainability and how to lead this lifestyle yourself, you can visit SOS Organic’s website.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Amidst the hustle and bustle in one of Chennai’s busiest streets, Chrompet, 51-year-old S Sathyanarayanan has created a green paradise on his 1,200 sq ft terrace. He grows 400 plants including ornamental flowers such as moss roses, medicinal plants like moringa, fruits like figs, and vegetables like lady’s finger, potatoes and more.

However, what’s unique about Sathya’s garden is that he prepares a variety of liquid fertilizers using kitchen ingredients to nourish his plants. Further, he also prepares a mix of water, jaggery, and an organic Waste Decomposer (WDC) solution in a 250-litre drum. This is fed to all plants regularly, which ensures healthy and pest-free growth.

“I started terrace gardening in 2015 after my family and I moved into our newly constructed home here. Earlier, we were living on the ground floor of a rented home and I could not grow many plants, as the availability of space was an issue. I started my gardening journey with 50 pots of money plants, tulsi, tomatoes and others. Today, my garden has over 400 pots, which grow ornamental flowers, fruits, and vegetables,” says Sathya, adding that regular visitors to his garden include buzzing honey bees and chirping love birds.

Understanding terrace gardening

Five years ago, Sathya took up terrace gardening as a hobby to escape his busy life as a French teacher in Chennai’s Anna Gem Science Park school. He purchased 50 terracotta pots, filled them with organic potting mix, and planted saplings for various ornamental flowers.

Apart from that, he watched videos on the internet on how to prepare seeds from kitchen ingredients to grow vegetables including tomatoes, capsicum and chillies.

“I placed some plants on the balcony, and the others on the terrace. As months passed, I purchased more pots, and my family warned me about spending too much money and adding extra load on the building,” says Sathya.

To learn about terrace gardening and to clarify the doubts he had, Sathya enrolled himself in a one-day workshop at the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department.

“Several important topics were covered, from making light-weight potting mixes to harvesting produce. However, I could not learn everything in one day. So I watched YouTube videos, spoke to experienced gardeners on Facebook gardening groups, and read blogs to understand terrace gardening concepts,” says Sathya.

He prepared a lightweight organic potting mix using cocopeat, cow dung, and powdered kitchen waste. He added some red soil to add a little weight, as the city is prone to floods and cyclones.

Within a few years, Sathya was growing vegetables including basil, curry leaves, and brinjal, as well as fruits such as pomegranate, strawberries, mulberries and guava. To add to the aesthetic of his terrace garden, he created a mini pond using a plastic bucket to grow pond lilies.

Additional nutrition for plants

As Sathya’s garden began to expand, he continued to learn through experienced gardeners and the internet. Over time, he experimented with more varieties of plants and even succeeded in growing native varieties of spinach such as ponnanganni keerai, arai keerai, and mudakathan keerai, to name a few.

While he was browsing through one of the Facebook groups, he noticed a post that explained the importance of providing additional nourishment to plants, especially during the summer months.

Owing to Chennai’s scorching summer heat, Sathya immediately got to work to protect his plants.

He started by collecting the water used to wash rice and pulses, as it is rich in protein. Sathya placed a bucket in the kitchen and asked his wife not to discard the water in the sink. He also placed a separate bin to collect vegetable peels, and one to collect eggshells.

“The dried and powdered shells are used as a source of calcium for plants. Tomato plants which are prone to such deficiencies benefit from this powder,” says Sathya.

On his dining table, beside the fruit basket, Sathya placed two jars. He requested his wife and two children to dump banana peels and watermelon rinds into them so he could make a fertilizer.

“The peels and kitchen waste are allowed to ferment in water for one week, blended in a mixer and fed to/sprayed on the plants regularly,” says Sathya.

Preparing the liquid fertilizer

Though Sathya was making different types of fertilizers from kitchen waste, he wanted to find one source of nourishment for all his plants. After doing some research online, and speaking to experienced gardeners, he decided to prepare a fertilizer using water, jaggery and a WDC solution.

WDC is an organic solution innovated by the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF),and is used for accelerating the composting of organic waste.

“I prepare the solution by mixing 200 litres of water, 2 kilograms of jaggery, and one bottle of WDC solution in a 250-litre drum. Then, I mix it well with a wooden stick and cover it with a cloth to allow air circulation. It ferments within a few days and emits a fruity odour. One cup of the solution is further diluted with water before being served to the plants,” says Sathya, adding that he prepares this twice a month. To ward off pests, he adds neem oil to the mix.

Sometimes, he even prepares the same kind of fertilizer but adds cow dung to ferment the waste instead of WDC. Though this process is slower, it is equally efficient, says Sathya.

“Nowadays, along with water, I add homemade enzymes to the pots as additional nutrition. For some plants, I add a jaggery solution mixed with water regularly. To date, none of my plants have wilted due to dehydration, nor have they caught diseases,” he adds.

Converting terraces to gardens

By 2018, Sathya had understood his garden well and all his plants were flourishing. He says, he not only provided them with nutrition, but also love. While watering his plants, he speaks to them with kind works, which allows them to grow faster and healthier.

On seeing Sathya’s lush garden, many of his friends approached him to learn more about terrace gardening. Soon, he even started conducting summer workshops for batches of up to 20 people.

“Last year, I conducted a few virtual workshops that had at least 60-80 people who participated. The participants included both men and women. Some were homemakers who wished to start growing organic vegetables, while others were working professionals who wanted to take up gardening as a hobby,” says Sathya.

Today, both his terrace garden as well as balcony have over 200 pots each. Sathya says that along with store-bought containers, he even recycled jute baskets and plastic bottles at home to make hanging pots. He grows 100 types of vegetables including sweet potatoes, white-brinjal, groundnuts, and fruits such as bananas, figs, guavas, pomegranates, strawberries, mulberries, and over 100 varieties of ornamental plants.

If you wish to know more about Sathya’s terrace or workshops, visit his YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Around 2012-13, Dr Salim Channiwala, an engineer who worked as a director at Sardar Vallabhai National Institute of Technology in Surat, was left deeply impacted when he lost four relatives to cancer. Reports suggested that the illness had been triggered by a heavy dose of chemicals and pesticides in vegetables.

Moved by the incident, Dr Salim, who had been in this profession since 1981, decided to address the issue of food toxicity. He vowed to work towards a cause that would benefit the health of the masses, and decided to ensure that no chemical substance is used in agriculture. And making an effective organic fertiliser was a feasible move.

Despite being a graduate in mechanical engineering from IIT-Bombay, Dr Salim put years of research and study to conceive a bio-organic liquid fertiliser made from biogas slurry, which is more effective than its chemical counterpart. He says the organic feed for plants provides 20% more production, and sells at 20% cheaper than chemical fertilisers in the market. So far, 400 farmers from Gujarat, Maharashtra and neighbouring areas have benefitted from the same.

Engineering a bio-organic fertiliser

Recalling his journey with The Better India, Dr Salim says, “Watching my relatives struggle and then ultimately losing them pained me. After learning about the role that toxic chemicals had to play in their deaths, I decided to bring a healthier solution for both the soil, as well as humans.”

He read scientific journals, and referred to research material to understand the fundamentals of organic fertilisers and plant nutrients. “I had no background in environmental science and soil health. I learned the concepts of nitrogen fixation, the importance of potassium, role of microbes and other aspects responsible for a healthy life in the soil,” he says.

Salim adds that he learned about biogas, slurry and the valuable nutrients in them. “I realised that slurry is rich in nutrients, but it lacked concentration of certain micronutrients required for the growth of the plant. Hence, I focused on enriching the nutrition value in slurry,” he explains.

“I kept looking for organic substances that were easy to digest by plants and soil. Moreover, all the nutrients needed to be in the right proportion and work effectively and at par with chemical fertilisers. I experimented with 49 different nutrients between 2017 and 2020, and narrowed it down to 16 micronutrients,” he says, adding that the micronutrients, when mixed with biogas slurry in the right proportions, yield a high performing, nutrient-rich liquid bio-organic fertiliser.

“It contains around 9% of organic carbon, microbes and minerals including magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. The field trials proved this. In the latest report, the vegetables grown with the bio-organic fertiliser showed an absence of 263 toxic chemicals,” he says.

Dr Salim worked on the formula with a biogas plant owner in Surat, and commercialised the product. “The businessman was generous in letting me experiment and patent all the research work and technology for setting up the plant and producing the bio-organic fertiliser,” he says.

Health more precious than monetary gains

The bio-organic fertiliser is available as Glow Green Biotech – Glow Liqvitonic, at Rs 65 per litre. Sanjay Bhor, a Nashik-based farmer, says he has been using the liquid bio-organic fertiliser for almost a year now. “I grow beans, lemon, tomato, cauliflower, broccoli and peas. I saved around 30% on my input cost. The quality of vegetables and productivity also increased significantly,” he adds.

Sanjay says that earlier, he practised farming with chemical fertilisers and switched to organic methods after feeling convinced about the product. “Now the workers do not complain about skin irritation as they did with chemical fertilisers. The soil remains soft and retains more moisture than before,” he adds.

Dr Salim, who retired in 2019, has also successfully attempted to create solid fertilisers from the biogas residue and slurry. “I have innovated technology that filters slurry and other biogas waste through 120 membranes. The residue is processed with other nutrients to produce solid fertiliser. I am in the process to finalise the product and commercialise it,” he adds.

“I want more farmers to shift from using chemical fertilisers to organic farming. It is the sole reason the product is offered at a cheaper rate than the chemical ones. The profit margins are negligible, and I want to keep it that way. The health of the masses is more important than monetary gains,” Dr Salim notes.

To order Glow Liqvitonic, call 9712993552.

Edited by Divya Sethu

Odisha-based Krushna Nag has always held affection for nature in his heart, he says. He began working as a driver of light and heavy vehicles in 1996, but alongside his work, he’d spend hours admiring little flowers and fruits on trees.

About a decade later, in 2006, Krushna, who is from Kalahandi, began giving his love for nature more serious thought. “I wanted to grow trees,” he simply says. While he continued driving, he also took up planting around 50 mango trees across his 0.25-acre ancestral land.

He says he believed in following organic methods for health reasons as well as low investment costs. In the process, he learned that it would take around four years until his mango trees would mature and bear fruits. In the meantime, he decided to plant tomato and chilli in the space between the mango trees, to experiment with intercropping, and planted coconut trees on the boundaries of the farm.

“My aim was to be able to sustain myself and earn a steady income,” Krushna tells The Better India.

Eventually, the 48-year-old switched to farming entirely. He says he earned Rs 2.6 lakh from his first chilly harvest. Since then, the farmer has steadily increased the size of his land under cultivation to 11 acres, grows a wide range of vegetables and fruits, rears poultry, and practises pisciculture, which collectively earns him Rs 18 lakh a year. Moreover, he has earned kudos from the state Agriculture Department and become an inspiration for hundreds of farmers.

‘They called me crazy’

Krushna says he was impressed with his initial high earnings. “To put better efforts, I pursued training from Horticulture Mission, a state government programme, and learned effective techniques of organic farming and space utility. The tomatoes and chillies I harvested using the methods had a longer shelf life and shone better than the ones grown using chemical fertilisers,” he says.

Feeling inspired, he continued growing vegetables and selling mangoes, bananas, pomegranates and coconuts. He used the earnings to increase his agricultural land gradually, by a quarter of an acre to an acre over the years. But the task was not simple.

“The region has hard soil and is ideal for growing mostly paddy. My grandfather and father called me crazy, and insisted that the lower ground level of the farm was unfeasible for the growth of other vegetables. But I brought more soil and increased the ground level. They thought I was insane for making such changes,” he says.

Krushna says that he and his wife started reaching out to farmers in the region to buy cow dung to prepare organic manure. “It was a humongous task to increase the fertility of the hard soil by organic methods and achieve better productivity. The practice continues today, and we procure cowling from a 30 km radius, making 100 trips a year. We used cans of 20 litres and carried them back on our shoulders to irrigate the farms. As the land area increased, we dug a small well to lift the water via a pump, and channelised the water through canals,” he adds.

To learn better farming practices, Krushna also travelled to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country. He tried to understand how the farmers practice agriculture and what the best ways to grow food were. In 2009-10, he learned about drip irrigation and started installing the system to save water in phases.

He constructed two ponds to rear 1,000 fish and set up poultry. Selling the fish, eggs and chicken helped him earn additional income. He also installed a polyhouse, vegetable grading equipment and a drying machine. The overall integrated farming arrangement ensures cash keeps flowing through the year by some means or the other.

Krushna says he harvests about 2,000-3,000 mangoes from the 50 trees. “Each tomato plant produces around 30 kilos of fruits, while a chilli plant provides 7 kilos. The watermelons grow to massive sizes, weighing as much as 12 kilos each. The total earnings come to Rs 6 lakh per acre, out of which Rs 4 lakh are profits,” he adds.

Tomatoes that last two months

Krushna says achieving such feats took years of hard work, and that he sought benefits from government subsidies to create the entire ecosystem. His success reflects in the number of customers, praises from the agriculture department, and how many farmers have been inspired by his work.

Chandramouli Panda, a pharmacist living nearby says, “Krushna is popular in the area for his farming. I read about him in local newspapers and always wanted to visit the farm. One day he came to the store, and I immediately recognised him from the pictures in the newspapers.”

Chandramouli says that he has been sourcing seasonal vegetables and fruits including mango, banana, watermelon from Krushna’s farm since 2016. “Tomatoes from his farm remain fresh for up to two months without refrigeration. His efforts have been commendable and can be seen in the quality of the produce,” he says.

Agriculture officers are equally impressed with his work. “Krushna was the first to introduce high-tech farming such as mulching, drip, and polyhouse in the region. Many farmers are inspired by him and are adopting his methods. Krushna also guides them through every step, including pest control,” says Raghunath Jal, a village agriculture worker with the agriculture department.

Raghunath says Krushna uses drip to provide nutrients to hundreds of trees on his farm. “He emphasises on the use of coco peat and even sources quality seeds from states such as Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and others. He goes the extra mile to receive the desired outcome,” he adds.

Many farmers across the country also pay a visit to his farm. “Some farmers have 500 acres of land and still find interest in travelling and understanding the agriculture practices I have adopted. It feels like a privilege,” Krushna says.

Assistant Agriculture Officer Nihar Naik says farmers should invest in modern technology and progress from traditional farming methods. “Krushna is an ideal example of this, and has displayed an example of high-quality farm produce from minimal investments,” he adds.

Echoing similar sentiments, Krushna says there is no reason farmers should feel afraid of experimenting. “One may fail once or twice. But if the efforts are put in the right direction, a farmer is destined to succeed. It is important to remove negative thoughts and focus on achieving the outcome. It is with sheer determination that I could weave success,” he adds.

Edited by Divya Sethu

As a child, I fancied having a huge garden to myself and despite several attempts, I faced tough luck in growing mango plants at home. After extracting the juicy pulp, for years we have been discarding the skin and seed of the mango. I felt sad thinking about the number of seeds that are going to waste and wondered if there was any way they could be used. It was only a few years ago that I finally got myself to do something about it.

I began researching the seed to know more about how to germinate it at home and if it is even possible to grow a mango plant from the seed of the fruit without processing it. After all, it was the child in me waiting to taste success to have a mango plant of my own.

It took some failed attempts but when I finally learnt the right way to germinate a mango seed, it began feeling that with every wasted seed, there’s a sapling I am losing which has the potential to turn into a tree. And it wasn’t even nearly possible for me to house saplings at home for all the mangoes we, as a family, consumed. This got me thinking if the seeds of a mango are consumable and what health impacts does it have.

To my surprise, mango seeds have been used for years in Indian cuisine as a post-meal mouth freshener, and more importantly, in powdered form, they are considered a good choice for people battling high blood pressure and cholesterol. After this knowledge, I frantically saved every seed to either germinate or process it to make it consumable.

It has been 3 years now since I grew my first mango sapling at home and the plant is thriving on my terrace garden. However, it was during the previous year when the experience and learning took an interesting turn in the growth chart. While the lockdown and uncertainty around COVID-19 loomed, I experimented with different methods on how to germinate the mango seed from the fruit.

With one particular method, I ended up successfully germinating more than 30 seeds with barely any resources.

All that I needed were mango seeds, a bagful of coconut fiber (coir), water and a container with a lid. After the seeds began germinating—since I did not have many small pots immediately available—I used milk packets to plant them so that it would be easy to give the saplings away to any person who has space to plant it in soil.

Based on several attempts, here is the easiest method with a high success rate:

Step 1: After devouring the pulp of the mango seed, clean its hard shell.

Step 2: Carefully cut open the shell without damaging the inner seed.

Step 3: Peel off the thin brown layer on the smaller seed and wash it clean.

Step 4: In a container with some coconut fiber (coir), place the washed seed and sprinkle water so that the coir absorbs it.

Step 5: Cover the container with a lid and place it in the shade.

Step 6: Sprinkle some water every few days if the coir is dry. Ensure that the water is just enough to keep the coir moist and there is not too much of it.

In just a few days, the seed should begin to sprout and in 10 days, the seed should grow inch-long roots with a stem popping out in the other direction. It can then be planted in a small pot and covered with potting mix, and placed in an area with a lot of sunlight to watch it turn green into a healthy sapling.

The germinated mango seeds do not take too long to give their first few leaves after they’re potted, so there is something new to watch out for every week in the garden. The first 30 days of the seed’s journey are a fascination to watch. So, next time before you drop the seed into the bin, think again.

Regarding the skin of the fruit, ever since I began mixing it with a little mud and keeping it in a closed lid, there has been a free supply of nutrient rich compost at home. Moreover, the brownie points for saving it from contributing to the pile of landfill waste is always an added bonus.

(Written by Naina Sarda, Cloud functional Consultant; Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Growing up amid the hills of Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Babita Bhatt’s childhood had made her privy to the rich crop diversity of the Himalayas. Eating delicious and organic food was a daily affair she had known all her life.

After marriage, the 43-year-old moved to an urban landscape to work as a software professional in a big media house. For years, she worked in the shelter and safety of her comfortable job, but things changed when her baby girl was born.

“I was looking for millets and maize that would have been good for my baby, and found that whatever I could get my hands on was far from pure, and completely polished. My childhood in Garhwal had equipped me with the understanding of what real organic produce is, and my search for the same in big cities came up short. From the look to the taste of the produce I found, everything seemed artificial and laden with chemicals,” Babita tells The Better India.

‘We can grow, but where do we sell?’

Babita was also acutely aware of the remarkable variety of crops that were found in the Himalayas. “If you consume 50 per cent organic products, but the rest is laden with chemicals, then the entire purpose of eating organic is defeated,” she notes. “I wanted to bring the lesser-known and indigenous produce of the hills to people’s doorsteps.”

Alongside she harboured a desire to provide Himalayan farmers a better market to sell the vast range of produce that they were growing. “I also had relatives back home who grew their own produce, and everyone’s complaint and fears were centred around the fact that even if they grew crops, where would they sell it?” she says.

In 2016, Babita quit her high-paying job to move to Dehradun, and began Himalaya2Home, an online platform that sells a vast range of produce grown by a network of over 2,000 farmers in the region. From flour to pulses, millets, spices, rock salt, ghee, oil, pickles, sugar, herbs and tea, the venture’s portfolio includes over 140 products that aim to cover as much of the hill’s rich crop diversity as possible.

Each crop is grown, processed and packaged in an ethical and sustainable manner, without the use of any chemical fertilisers or pesticides. While promoting organic eating and preserving Himalaya’s diversity, the company also aims to establish direct partnerships and empower farmers by providing them a channel to sell their produce.

“Giving up a stable job to enter the risky world of entrepreneurship was definitely a challenge,” Babita says, adding, “I moved there with an idea in mind, and spent over a year finding and trying to connect with different farmers in the area to get them on board. I met villagers to understand what crops they grow, how they grow them, and what challenges they were facing in selling them. I got myself registered with Uttarakhand’s Organic Board. To collect the information of thousands of organic farmers single-handedly was also a challenge.”

Speaking about Himalaya2Home, Babita says the name is a reflection of the company’s aim. “Our idea is to show that everything you need in your kitchen can be organic. We started with pulses and spices and eventually expanded,” she says. The platform currently ships to all over India, receives at least 3,000 orders a month and has a customer base of around 4,000 buyers.

Additionally, Babita also collects heirloom seeds from all over Uttarakhand to sell to farmers. She also introduced a native variety of black rice—indigenous to Imphal—to farmers in Dehradun. “I studied both Dehradun’s as well as Imphal’s environment to understand that the climatic conditions are similar. I procured the seeds from Imphal and gave them to my network of farmers. The rice took to Dehradun very well, and now many farmers grow it,” she says. “Many of these organic seeds are not available in other parts of Uttarakhand, so I want to popularise them and propagate organic farming,” she says.

Towards healthy eating

Babita gives a 100 per cent buyback policy to the farmers. She says. “No matter what happens to their crops, the amount that is paid to them won’t be reduced.”

In Maldevta, 70-year-old Kathait ji, is a testament to this. “I have been a farmer all my life. Our entire family has been in it for generations,” he tells me. “I have been selling my produce to Babita ji for the last 4-5 years,” he says, adding, “Earlier, I used to sell to another company. In the first two years, they gave us a decent rate for our produce, but later they started slashing our rates and stopped a major chunk of our payment. Our livelihood came to a standstill. We survived by selling locally. But the officials of the organic board introduced us to Babita ji, and things have improved since. She pays us for whatever she buys from us without flinching.”

“I think of the benefit to farmers in two ways. One, of course, is steady income that they receive for their produce. The other is that, say, when these farmers feed their cows this organic grass, the animal is healthier, and their milk is of superior quality. So their hard work is paying off,” she says.

On her journey as a woman running a business of her own, Babita notes, “Balancing motherhood and your own business is certainly tough. When I was a software professional, I’d get certain hours of free time. But ever since I began Himalaya2Home, I’ve been working day and night. I am constantly supervising the packaging and production, and making sure that all crops are being grown with the standards of ethics and sustainability that our company aims for. These challenges always exist for a woman entrepreneur, given the society we live in. I try my best to maintain the balance,” she says.

As far as women entrepreneurs are concerned, she says, “You have to take charge. Draw your own lines and find your own balance. Remain focused regardless of what notions others might hold about you running a business and taking care of a family.”

To see Himalaya2Home’s vast range of products, or for more information, you can visit their website.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

In the last five years, farmer Sultan Singh from Tarsikka village in Punjab has been able to earn lakhs per year by growing organic turmeric. He started with cultivation on a 1-acre land, and over the years, has been able to scale up to cover 11.5 acres.

Apart from his own hard work, he credits Amritsar-based Gunbir Singh for his success. “He motivated me to try organic cultivation and supported me through the entire process,” Sultan says.

Like him, at least 20,000 farmers have Gunbir to thank for their success in organic farming. Gunbir’s efforts have extended beyond the organic food movement to hundreds of schools, colleges, and terrace gardeners.

However, he is no farmer himself, but a businessman who helps others switch to growing via organic methods. So what motivated him to work towards making vegetables free of toxins and benefit the society at large?

Going organic, one acre at a time

In 1997, Gunbir faced a personal loss.

“I owned a fabric manufacturing industry at the time, and it was doing well. However, I lost five people close to me to cancer. Two were family members, while three others were company directors. I later learned that toxic chemicals used in food had a significant role to play in their deaths,” he tells The Better India. “The huge financial and emotional loss led to the closure of my business in 2004, and I sold my ancestral house to cope.”

Meanwhile, reeling from the loss of loved ones and his business, Gunbir decided to reach out to farmers to convince them to switch to organic farming to promote healthier living. “This would have tremendous health benefits, and I thought that if I managed to convince even 5 per cent of them, the rest would follow,” he says.

A few months later, the then 54-year-old launched the Dilbir Foundation in the name of his father, Dilbir to further this cause and began creating awareness about the harmful effects of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilisers, explaining its toxic effects. “I noticed that many farmers in Punjab dedicate a small portion of their land for self-sustenance. They opt for minimal use of synthetic fertilisers or pesticides as the vegetable produce is for personal consumption and does not demand mass production,” he says, who is 61-year-0ld now.

Gunbir started convincing them to use organic methods for commercial farming as well. “I asked them to experiment with environmentally-friendly and organic techniques on a 50 yards family plot expanding it to an acre for extra marketable produce. If the results were satisfactory, they could expand. Slowly, the farmers reaped results and started understanding the benefits and advantages of organic farming,” he adds.

However, as more farmers began increasing production, a common feedback that Gunbir received was that many found it hard to sell. They had never ventured into the territory of organic vegetables, they were unable to ascertain potential buyers. Food production also dropped in the initial years of the business. Hence, farmers began facing issues with price realisation.

“To solve the problem, the foundation started organising a weekly organic farmers market in 2016. The market offered farmers a platform to sell their produce at an affordable price and eliminate middlemen, ensuring direct profits. The event was also an opportunity to interact with the customers to explain to them the benefits of chemical-free food,” he says.

Gunbir adds that customers became confident about the produce as they met farmers regularly and developed a relationship with them. “The farmers, in turn, developed their marketing skills in the process. They could understand customer behaviour and changing demands accordingly,” he says.

Sultan says he met Gunbir on one such occasion in 2016, and that it changed his approach towards agriculture. “I was attracted by the concept of organic farming and sought advice from Gunbir about it. I told him that I had leased some agriculture land on a contract basis,” he says.

Sultan adds that he started growing aloe vera and turmeric on a portion of land to sell in the weekly market. “Initially, I sold raw produce. But as the market grew, I started value-adding to make aloe vera products and turmeric powder. Now, I sell the products across the state,” he says.

The organic farming movement then evolved further. “Customers shared feedback that while the vegetables are organic, grains and other edibles were still being grown with chemicals. Hence, in 2017, we launched The Earth Store in Amritsar, which offered organic products such as grains, pulses, oils, spices and other items under one roof. The second store came up in Ludhiana in 2018, followed by Chandigarh in 2019. The products were sourced from organic farmers from Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and other parts of the country,” Gunbir says.

Need for an organic revolution

Gunbir shared the response of increased demand with the organic farmers who, till then, had been limiting themselves to growing a small variety of crops. “They were explained about how diversifying from traditional wheat, rice and other thirsty crops to grow more sustainable produce such as millets helps fulfil a wider range of customer requirements,” he says. The foundation also organised millet melas to create awareness among the farmers and buyers.

Gunbir further started reaching out to families, encouraging them to sell pickle, papad, chat masala, oils and other homemade value-added products to offer them in the weekly markets and melas.

Avatar Singh is another organic farmer who has benefited from Gunbir’s organisation. He processes biscuits and pickles from the produce grown on his farm. “I started using wheat, milk and other items from the farm to prepare products and sell them under the brand Mother’s Rasoi,” he says.

The foundation further extended the organic food movement from farmers to schools and terrace gardeners. “We started undertaking workshops for NCC students, as well as school and college students on tree plantation, waste recycling and organic farming. Many terrace gardeners are growing organic produce at home after learning its health benefits,” he says.

Major Singh, a Merchant Navy professional, is one such person who was impressed with Gunbir’s terrace garden. “I visited him in 2020 and was inspired after seeing a variety of chemical-free vegetables grown on the terrace with zero-waste generation. I also made a second trip with my father and daughter. We returned home, inspired to use all the space in and around the house to grow vegetables,” he says.

Major says he grows okra, white gourd, bitter gourd, capsicum, brinjal and others in his terrace garden.

Of what challenges Gunbir faced in his endeavour, he says, “It is difficult to convince farmers to move out of their comfort zones of producing crops that give assured success and do away with the usage of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.”

“The farmers switched to organic farming only when they saw value in adopting the changes along with an assured market. The transition cannot be a knee jerk reaction but should follow a smooth transition,” he adds.

Gunbir says the government should also come forward to support farmers in the cause. “The successive governments failed to support and bring in change, because of which farmers feel sceptical and have lost confidence in experimenting with new ideas. They have proven how they can contribute to the country during the Green Revolution. The next could be an organic revolution, where they can repeat the same success with some enterprising lessons and handholding from the government,” he says.

Edited by Divya Sethu

The Dabas family belong to Jat Khor, Delhi, and own 28 acres of agricultural land. For years, the family owning the ancestral land limited themselves to using the farm produce to serve the grain and food requirements of their family and relatives. However, an incident in 2009 made the younger generation in the family take a different path.

Mrinal and Lakshay’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Her health condition came as a shock to the family who relied mainly on organic methods of growing vegetables since 2002.

Mrinal says the family learned the importance of healthy food and wanted to push for better and chemical-free food. “Despite her illness, the organic food saved her from undergoing painful chemotherapy. She passed away in February 2018 but we believe that the quality of food helped her survive for so many years,” the 30-year-old tells The Better India.

Despite having graduated in electronics and communication engineering, Mrinal and his brother Lakshay, 27, a post-graduate in environment and development, decided to take the health benefits of organic food to the masses.

“We started working on the mass production of vegetables and grains on the farm. We then increased production of vegetables, wheat, lentils, mustard, rice, millets and fruit crops in 2013,” he says.

The brothers started selling organic food products under the brand — Organic Acre. Currently, they serve around 5,000 families in Delhi, providing fresh produce within 12 hours of the harvest. They also promote agro-tourism to bring urban dwellers closer to farming and understand the importance of organic food. They also conduct workshops to help people and farmers switch to organic. The business earns them Rs 3.5 crore annually.

A systematic approach to farming

Mrinal, who is also the managing director of the company, explains that over the years, the brothers devised a model and crop pattern which ensures a steady harvest and a steady stream of income throughout the year.

“We plant seasonal vegetables and have a systematic method to follow. They are planted in batches and grown in a gap of 15 days. So, when the harvest begins, there is a continuous flow of the produce,” Mrinal says.

Moreover, the plantation also involves using crop rotation techniques to maintain the nutrition levels in the soil. Citing an example, Mrinal says they plant black-eyed peas with corn. “The black-eyed peas consume high amounts of nitrogen from the soil, but the corn releases the same and hence compensates for the surplus utilisation of the nutrition,” he adds.

Explaining the organic agriculture techniques, Mrinal says they only focus on using organic manure and pest control measures. “We spray neem extract with water and emulsifiers on greens and other vegetables,” he says, adding that the vegetable sale alone earns them Rs 4 lakh a month.

Mrinal says that he also processes the crops in the mill set up on the farm. Flours made from pulses and wheat are also sold in the market while the oil and cakes made from mustard extract have a high demand in the industry. The cattle provide milk and desi ghee which adds to their income.

The farm also rears bees and conducts workshops for people who wish to learn about bee-keeping and dive into the honey business.

Mrinal says that a lot of experimentation and planning went behind the success. “We tried multiple ways and methods to understand crop patterns and come up with the agricultural model. We suffered losses but continued to move ahead,” he adds.

He says that apart from growing organic farm produce, marketing and creating linkages became a challenge. “The market for organic produce was at a nascent stage when we started, and it is still growing. We worked to develop a network of buyers. Moreover, we needed to create solutions for the packaging, pricing and other aspects. To solve this problem, we reached out to customers on social media and to customers in Delhi who were willing to buy fresh farm vegetables. We guarantee freshness,” Mrinal says.

He further adds that the customers needed a little persuasion. “We explained how the organic vegetables could benefit their health in the long run,” he says.

He says that transportation was another issue as vegetables had to be kept fresh even during the summer heat when temperatures soared to 45℃.

Teaching the farmers

Once the organic business model was set up, the brothers extended their support to farmers.

Lakshay says the farm organises and conducts workshops, training and live demonstrations for farmers who wish to switch to organic farming. “We handhold the farmers in integrated pest management, conduct soil testing, help them prepare the land, make vermicompost and address their queries. Our courses stretch over weeks to offer internships,” he adds.

He says that farmers are also given lessons on marketing and setting up the linkages. “Many farmers express concerns about a lack of avenues for selling organic produce which deters them from making the switch. They are also not always tech-savvy. We assure to help them sell their produce with the help of government agents or traders. There is also an alternative where we buy the produce in bulk and sell it through our network,” Lakshay shares.

Shubham Pratap is one such farmer from Baghpath who has recently switched to organic farming. “My family has been growing wheat, rice and sugarcane using chemical fertilisers and pesticides for the past 35 years. However, the market trend is changing, and customers are shifting towards organic food. So, I decided to undergo training in 2020,” he says.

Shubham adds that though it will take a couple of years for his land to be completely organic, he already sees visible differences. “The land has become softer, and the texture is improving. The production is less but has a better quality outcome. The production will increase in the next couple of crop cycles,” he adds.

The farmer says that Organic Acre has proved beneficial for newcomers like him. “I needed support to make the changes in my farm and Mrinal promised to help sell the vegetables and even process the sugarcane into jaggery. It assisted me in changing the mindset and understanding the needs of the market,” he adds.

Lakshay says that besides farmers, they offer training to students from agriculture universities and city-dwellers. “We promote agro-tourism where people visit and stay at the farm. The visit allows the farmers to experience different aspects of organic food. The guests are free to harvest vegetables or pluck fruits. The food is prepared from fresh harvest on the farm,” he adds.

So far, 450 people, including farmers, have been trained on the farm.

Lakshay says that India needs a revolution in agriculture through organic farming. “The farmers will prosper if they receive the appropriate marketing platforms along with preparing them for the changing customer base,” he adds.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Nimble Growth, a Bengaluru-based startup, was founded by Rahul Saria and Nagendra Kalkuli in 2017 with a vision to ensure their customers eat healthy organic foods while securing farmers a sustainable income by ensuring they avoid the pitfalls of chemical use on the soil.

To fulfil their vision, both of them left their cushy corporate jobs behind. Rahul gave up a successful career as a chartered accountant. He had earlier served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a couple of well-known startups like Rentomojo and Vedantu. Nagendra left behind a successful two-decade-long career in the software industry working for global giants like Microsoft and Dell. But he also comes from a family of farmers, who gave him a worm’s eye view of the ground realities associated with the farm sector in India.

Both of them were joined by Pradeep Kumar, a computer science graduate with 20 years of corporate experience who heads sales at Nimble Growth, and Abhisek Bhagchandka, an expert in Operations and Analytics. Working in coordination with their farmer partners, the startup is today engaged in the supply of authentic organic fruits and vegetables.

“Presently, we serve the Bangalore [Karnataka] and Hyderabad [Telangana] market with maximum share in organic food supply. We partner with farmers and take care of the complete production process from sowing to harvesting, to ensure the quality of the process and the product is maintained. Our farms are certified organic by accredited agencies under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA),” says Rahul, speaking to The Better India. Nimble Growth’s (NG) USP lies in its production methodology which they claim is “scientific and original made in consultation with the award-winning organic farmers of India”.

Package of Practice

Taking nothing for granted before embarking on their startup idea in 2017, the co-founders embarked on a process of learning about and understanding best organic farming practices. They spent months interacting with leading agricultural scientists and farmers, who were already engaged in the practice of organic farming. This process led to the creation of their unique and proprietary knowledge bank called the package of practice (PoP).

“NG has its own proprietary in-house developed PoP, which entails a stepwise plan from sowing to harvesting for each crop that we produce. Say, if a perennial crop has a cycle of 90 days. The PoP would contain daily activity for the said crop from day 1 to day 90, from sowing to application of bio-fertilizers, irrigation, bio pest control measures like neem spray, etc. At NG, we ensure that our farms follow the PoP to ensure the quality of the produce, which was prepared after a lot of experiments and consultation with award-winning organic farmers of India. We continue to experiment in some patches of land and study the data and outcome as we add new SKUs (Stock-Keeping Unit) and processes,” claims Nagendra.

Their farmer engagement and the production process entails the following steps:

1. Onboarding – Identify the right farmer / landowner – negotiate long term deal
2. Training – Train the farmer on NG’s philosophy & how we deliver quality output
3. Enabling & Review – Give access to all tools, resources and to NG’s expert consultants
4. Distribution – Once the output is ready, get the produce certified and enable sales

The entire process is driven by tech-enabled controls in place.

So far, the startup claims to cultivate more than 150 tonnes of organic produce a month and is engaged with over 250 farmers cultivating organic produce spread across 500 acres at Haveri, Gundlupet, rural Bengaluru and other areas of Karnataka, while the produce is sold in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Convincing Farmers to Take The Leap

So far, the Bengaluru-based startup has helped 250 farmers switch from conventional chemical-based farming to organic, which has over time improved soil quality as well.

“Initially, convincing farmers was a big challenge for two reasons — lack of trust owing to past experiences and the initial dip in production yields. In the first two years after transitioning to organic, there is a dip in the production yield of about 30% to 40%,” says Nagendra.

To match the yield generated by chemical cultivation, the startup claims, it takes about three years, following which output levels tend to rise. NG addressed these teething problems by convincing farmers that they would buy their produce at predetermined prices before the sowing season. While it didn’t entirely make up for the loss, it did soften the blow.

“We solved these challenges for our farmer partners and ensured that they did not lose money on any of these fronts. To build trust, we have also created a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), in which we make our farmers members, which gives them a sense of belonging. In the future, through this FPO, we plan to create provisions for education and insurance for farmers and their families as well,” says Rahul.

NG enrols these farmers by first meeting them and conducting checks on facets like soil type, local environmental conditions, irrigation facilities, climate, types of produce best suited for, chemicals being used in the land and the surrounding lands, etc.

After this, based on the startup’s requirements, they enrol the farmer and plan production depending on the season, train them in the organic crop production process and give them quantity and price commitments even before sowing. “Once onboard, we support them through the complete process from sowing to harvesting,” adds Rahul.

By the end of this year, the startup plans to onboard more than 1,000 farmers. Meanwhile, the startup also deals with more than 80 SKUs, of which, say, 20 to 25 contribute towards 70% of the volume. “In total, we have almost all the fruits and vegetables that one can think of on our produce roster. We even deal in greens and exotics. We sell our produce in the Bangalore and Hyderabad market to independent organic stores, large format retail (LFR) stores, B2C online aggregators and other such enterprises,” says Pradeep.

As part of its evolving business model, NG aims to enter into contract farming with the farmers, where it sources its produce at a predetermined price.

For the time being, however, farmers are seeing an increase in income as compared to conventional chemical farming owing to the premium prices that organic produce fetches. The startup claims a few of their farmers even make as much as Rs 1.5 lakh per month. Most of the farmers they work with are in the marginal segment working on 3 to 5 acres.

“We commit to the quantity to be produced as per our demand prediction for the year and the sowing is done accordingly. We also commit to a minimum support price (MSP) for each crop. Generally, organic produce fetches approximately 30% to 60% premium to conventional pricing,” explains Abhisek. After all, data plays a key role in the company starting from predicting annual demand. This figure is further broken down into three seasons and, eventually, monthly and weekly harvesting plans at an SKU level.

Achieving this requires expertise in data science and number crunching.

“We have our processes built-in to control the complete process since we cannot compromise on quality. Every step in the PoP is captured through an online application and also through our employees (agri-graduates) who are allocated to various farms. During visits, they hold discussions with the farmers as per the PoP. Further, we conduct regular farmer meets based on area clusters,” explains Nagendra.

Unlike most businesses in the world, COVID did not have a significant negative impact on their business. “After all, our customer base didn’t stop eating but ate more when at home. Of course, operationally, it has been quite challenging, but our team has worked relentlessly even during these tough times. One thing the COVID has taught all of us is that health is critical and eating good food is pertinent, which has increased the demand for organic fruits and vegetables. This shall help us further drive growth,” notes Rahul.

NG is now looking forward to becoming a “production powerhouse” of organic fruits and vegetables.

“We have the first-mover advantage, as there is no brand across India in this space. Although we are a bootstrapped venture, we have begun to raise some angel funding from investors. For FY21, our revenue was more than $1.2 million. In the next 18-24 months, we are aiming for a $5 million to $7 million top line in revenues,” claims Rahul.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

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While terrace gardening keeps us busy and allows us to grow organic produce, many worry that this is an expensive hobby. This is because purchasing new plants, organic potting mixes, fancy planters and more can burn a hole in one’s pocket.

However, Mohammed Mohin, a Telangana-based entrepreneur, has a simple solution to reduce the money spent on buying planters. He recycles things in his home that are otherwise set aside to be discarded, including broken kitchen utensils, empty metal oil cans, water drums, old shoes, and even denim jeans.

“I started my gardening journey in 2017 by growing a few vegetables on my terrace. I planted most of them in terracotta pots initially, but slowly stopped purchasing them as I realised that anything and everything around my home can be converted into a planter. Today, in my 1,500 sq ft terrace and the space surrounding my house, I have over 400 plants, including 12 varieties of fruits, 10 varieties of vegetables and others, growing in recycled containers,” says Mohammed in an interview with The Better India.

He often paints these containers or creates external covers using recycled denim to add aesthetic value and brighten up his space.

Aesthetic setup

Some plants Mohammed grows include tomatoes, moringa, palak, chillies, petunia flowers, chikko, pomegranate and dragon fruit. While the ones with a widespread root system like chikoo tree or moringa are grown in 500-litre water drums or 20-litre cans, the others with shorter roots are grown in tires, oil cans and more.

“Initially, recycling these materials made me feel enthusiastic about being eco-conscious. However, my garden looked boring. So I started to paint each container to add some colour,” says Mohammed.

During the lockdown, he came across a video on YouTube of a gardener converting their old jeans and cotton pants into planters to make them look attractive. Today he has recycled three old jeans into planters.

“Recycling jeans reduces the waste generated, and when used as a planter, it will hold any potting mix that may spill. If you are placing indoor plants inside, then it holds water that seeps from the bottom and prevents the floor from becoming damp,” says Mohammed.

Deepika Aggarwal (35), a resident of Dehradun also makes planters by recycling old jeans.

She says, “I started gardening as a hobby last year during the lockdown. To keep my indoor plants, I followed some YouTube videos and made planters from old jeans and cotton pyjama pants. This not only keeps my surface clean but also makes it look like my plant is an actual person.”

These gardeners share how they made these planters from old jeans so you can try them out too.

Things you will need:

• Old jeans or cotton pyjama pants
• Old cloth, newspaper, or cotton
• Rubber bands

Step 1: Tie the bottom parts of both legs with rubber bands and ensure there is no gap.

Step 2: From the top, start filling in old cloth or cotton to make both the legs look full.

Note: Fill it up to 3 inches over the knees. You can also use any flexible material as stuffing.

Step 3: Position this like a person sitting on a stool, wall or shelf.

Step 4: Place a plant in any circular recycled container or a pot filled with organic potting mix.

Step 5: Finally, place this container at the hip of the pants, and lift the sides of the jeans and fold it into the container’s rim.

Image courtesy: Deepika Aggarwal and Mohammed Moiez.