Karnataka - Mysore   

He lets nature take its way

Kailash Murthy showing plantains grown on his farm.

Mysore: Kailash Murthy, a bank employee by profession and farmer by conviction, has proved beyond doubt on his 6.5 acres of land in Doddinduvadi village of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajanagar district that the dream of rural prosperity lies in adopting natural farming.

A decade ago, Mr. Murthy, like most other farmers, was using fertilizers and pesticides as specified by agricultural experts. He achieved a record yield in his neighbourhood.

However, to his dismay, the yield reduced each year. An inquisitive Mr. Murthy stumbled upon the book The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer in natural farming, and gave established farming methods a break and left the land to itself — no tilling, no chemical fertilizers and no pesticides. In short, nothing except strewing seeds at random. The transformation was remarkable. The natural balance of the soil was restored on his land, which was transformed into a mini-forest, a self-sustaining ecosystem.

More than 3,000 varieties of plants, including many medicinal plants, sprang up. The interplay of natural forces and the presence of a variety of species enhanced soil fertility. This silent revolution has not only attracted nearby farmers but also scientists from various disciplines.

They are surprised as Mr. Murthy has not used any outside agents, except electricity to pump water, to raise crops.

Mr. Murthy has grown a record 33 quintals of paddy on an acre of land as against 18 quintals grown by his neighbours by using chemical fertilizers and modern techniques. Now, he is self-sufficient and no longer invests money on either seeds or fertilizers and pesticides, as in natural farming the input is zero and the output is plentiful. He has also proved wrong agricultural scientists who claim that yield is directly related to the use of hybrid varieties, chemical fertilizers and pest-control techniques.

Experts in natural farming are frequent visitors to Mr. Murthy’s farm.

According to Nandini of the Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University, the soil in Mr. Murthy’s farm is fertile with high organic content, and microbial biodiversity is making the soil more productive besides protecting the soil cover and soil biodiversity.

Similarly, a report from the College of Forestry, Ponnampet, notes that there is a kind of symbiotic relationship as observed in natural forests. Different horticultural plants are growing luxuriantly and they are better than those grown under chemical and conventional practice. The soil structure and texture are excellent compared to the adjacent soil. The ecosystem is almost akin to a forest ecosystem as no chemicals have been used in the last few years. Emulating Mr. Murthy’s experiment will help in fighting the greenhouse effect, the report observes.

When asked about the impact of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s initiative to promote organic farming, Mr. Murthy says that switching directly from chemical farming to natural farming is a risky proposition. It is better to maintain soil productivity by adopting organic farming for at least three years before switching over to natural farming.

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