Back to Roots: How this mantra is transforming farmers' lives

Art of Living has made natural farming profitable for 30,000 Latur farmers. After the training farmers are seeing increased revenue streams from ancient methods which are helping create healthier produce, preserve soil health and cutting down expenses on harmful chemicals.

As farmer protests intensify at the Capital, the whole nation awaits to hear whats next for these farmers? While dialogue between the government and farmers is awaited to resolve the MSP conflict, some experts have also come forward and highlighted the urgent need for diversification of crops. This age old technique is known to bring additional relief to farmers.

There is a growing interest among the farming community in going back to their roots. They are ditching murderous chemicals for an integrated farming model that includes chemical-free, near-zero input cost natural farming; and importantly diversified multi-cropping that helps reduce the excessive reliance on minimum support prices for single crop- a system of farming that owes its origins to ancient Vedic times.

A better example of this is how farmers in Latur for the longest time depended on growing water-intensive sugarcane owing to its demand from the sugar mills around, despite sugarcane being one of the most water-intensive crops. Today thousands of farmers in Latur have been trained by The Art of Living to diversify and grow multiple crops, selected carefully to complement each other; to keep generating revenue all around the year; and to make farming climate resilient.

“The awareness programs helped us understand the water needs of different crops, time, and yield co-relation. For example, we learned that wheat needs less water and is ready to yield in three months. Poor yield isn’t just a result of water shortage but ill-informed decisions too,” says Amrut Gample, a farmer in Latur who has been trained in natural farming by the Art of Living, turning the tables with a produce of 1 ton of wheat from just 0.5 acres of land.

While farmers in the area struggle with shortage of water, crop failure, and debts, on one hand or excessive flooring on the other, Gample has been able to reap 1.5 times the average yield of an Indian farm. Gample, before finding a new lease of life in natural farming, had decided to give up agriculture and took up a job at a petrol pump nearby to supplement his agricultural income.

When we delve deeper into the causes of farmers’ distress, we find a dark and dangerous myth perpetuated among farmers for years - the use of chemicals increased yield. A fact that is conveniently kept from them is the nutritional degradation and the permanent damage caused by the chemicals to the fertility of the soil, forcing farmers to incrementally increase the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, adding to the existing financial pressure on them. Pesticides affect the produce and the health of the farmers as the first line of consumers and users of the chemical, apart from affecting the health of ultimate buyers.

What is natural farming?

Natural farming uses ancient technologies that weave farming into pre-existing symbiotic relationships in nature. The Art of Living spearheading the natural farming project borrows from the wisdom of the Vedas and our ancient Rishis, methods coming from a deep understanding of how nature enables life through mutually beneficial relationships.

For example, pulses and cereals can be grown together on the same land, because bacteria on the roots of the pulses fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, an essential nutrient for the cereal. Concoctions like the Jeevamrut made from the indigenous cow’s dung and urine contain microbes that help break down nutrients present in the soil for easy consumption by the crop, in return for a longer lifespan for the microbes.

“Earlier I used to prepare a slurry of cow dung and just throw it on the farm but the training taught me how to enrich the manure and now I can see the difference that it has made,” shares Saravanan, another farmer trained in natural farming methods, “The produce that I receive from natural farming has higher nutritional value as compared to chemically grown ones,” he explains, “for example the coconut contains lauric acid, which will be almost 50% in naturally grown ones as compared to 30% on which chemicals are used. Even for storing the dry coconut, he ensures that they are sun-dried.

So far 22 lakh farmers in India have received this ancient wisdom of reviving and reclaiming their agricultural lands from the clutches of MNC-sold fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, and pesticides. The training has helped farmers reduce their cost by 1/5th vis-à-vis chemical farming while preserving and multiplying rare and precious desi seed varieties through the seed bank. The Art of Living has primarily trained small and marginal farmers, who own less than 5 acres of land. Typically they spend up to Rs.10,000 per acre on seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. But with the help of the great Indian cow, their costs have come down to about Rs.1,000 per acre. They require less than one-fifths of the water they previously needed for cultivation.

Despite drought-like situations, when crops of other farmers in the region have failed, these farmers stand as a beacon of hope, getting a healthy, disease-free, chemical residue-free crop, making profits, when others receive drought compensation from the government. Not just the training but The Art of Living also creates a thriving marketplace for these farmers to find thousands of customers looking to buy healthy, nutritious, clean produce at one place.

This marginal farmer made Rs. 4 lakhs from his 4-acre land, thanks to natural farming

Case in point is 36-year-old-Balasaheb Yadav, who took up work at a petrol pump in Latur city, traveling for an hour from home, all for a measly Rs. 1000 a month, despite owning 4 acres of land in Latur district’s Jevdi village.

With chemical farming, for produce worth Rs.70,000, Yadav’s input costs were about Rs.35,000. Also, he had a family of six to take care of, and a big loan to repay for the borewell he built through a government scheme, adding to his financial instability.

The Art of Living trained Balasaheb Yadav in making inputs at zero cost at home to drastically cut down on input costs. With his crucial training in agroforestry, a technique of planting trees along one’s agricultural lands, in 2017, Yadav took up banana in one acre of land with drip irrigation with the idea of efficiently producing more crops per drop, while other farmers still grew sugarcane, a rather water-intensive crop.

“In 2018 I implemented it in my banana plantation, developed using drip irrigation and chemical-free farming. The market price was Rs.10- Rs.12 for others, while bananas from my farms were selling for Rs. 40. The customers were impressed with the quality and taste. It stayed edible even for 3-4 days after purchase,” says Yadav.

“I made Rs.4 lacks in my 4 acre of land and all the bananas where sold via order. My input cost was under Rs.40,000,” Yadav shares.

“Later, I planted cucumber and reaped Rs. 40,000 over 15 gunthas cultivated. There is not even a rupee of external cost involved here.” The Art of Living helped him and 15 other farmers tie-up with a major oil mill in the area, which agreed to purchase their produce directly for the following 3 years, while farmers earned a successful certification in the process.

Balasaheb’s mother says, “I used to work as labor in others farm but that was not enough. After practicing chemical free farming and cutting down on inputs, we had more profit margins for the last two years, we have been able to pay off our loan as there are no expenses. Nobody has fallen ill in my house after we have started eating naturally grown food.”