Reaping it rich through natural farming

Arumalla Sambi Reddy grows a variety of vegetables in his farm

Way to go: Arumalla Sambi Reddy at his farm at Kunchanapalli village.

At a time when farmers are wary of treading on conventional farm practices, a progressive farmer who has adapted natural farming is reaping rich dividends.

Arumalla Sambi Reddy, a native of Kunchanpalli village near Tenali, is now growing a variety of vegetables in his farm.

“I began cultivation of sweet corn in 1984 and I have now switched over to naturally grown vegetables. The daily demand for sweet corn in Vijayawada alone is 60 tonnes, and Guntur needs 40 tonnes. Now, people drive down to my farm located on the Vijayawada-Tenali road and buy farm fresh vegetables,” said Mr. Reddy. Mr. Reddy began organic cultivation of papaya, banana and other fruits.

High returns

With many people preferring the fruit for breakfast, Mr. Reddy has begun to reap the harvest. After attending a training programme on natural farming by Subhash Palekar, Mr. Reddy has taken up natural farming.

“I use a mixture of cow urine, dung, multi-mineral flour and store the mixture for 15 days. We use the organic manure twice a month. The fruits and vegetables grown on my farm have become so popular that people come to my farm near Pathuru village on the national highway to buy them,” said Mr. Reddy.

A tonne of papaya is sold for ₹25,000, while a normal variety is sold for ₹10.000 to ₹15,000.

“We have 900 Papaya plants on an acre and the crop is there for two years. Papaya along with banana offer high returns as they are organically grown,” Mr. Reddy said. Mr. Reddy along with other farmers has registered a society of Organic and Natural farmers and set up a shop in Vijayawada. And now, Mr. Reddy supplies vegetables and greens to the kitchen at the State secretariat at Velagapudi on a daily basis.