“We should be very careful while stepping into this distinct farm. The next footstep can always be on a small but important plant. Each inch of the soil has its own value here. Such a vision and utilisation is rare.”
- This note in the visitors' book of Bengali farm gives a proper prologue to Bengali Venkatesha's efforts in tune with nature at his farm.

A walk through this one-acre land reveals a new experiment in farming. Bengali Venkatesha has been practicing farming in his farm near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district for the past four decades. Mr Venkatesha has saturated the entire land with varieties of plants considering the household necessities and market value. Multiple cropping is practiced at its best in his farm. There are 180 varieties, including medicinal plants, at this one-acre farm.

Bengali Venkatesha took up farming from his father Narayana Hegde in 1972 after the completion of his high school education. Narayana Hegde was also a progressive farmer but continuous diseases to the areca plantation in the early 70's had restrained him. So the situation was not favourable when Bengali started his profession as a farmer. However, this didn't affect his enthusiasm to create sustainable livelihood from locally available resources.

Bengali tank

Initially, he tried his luck with short-term crops without much success. He realised that careful observation and proper understanding of nature’s laws is a must for farmers to sustain and flourish. Then he concentrated on enriching degraded soil. The vast Bengali tank beside his farm proved very helpful to him. Like any other lake in the area, Bengali tank was also covered with aquatic weeds, which in turn increased the silt in the tank. These weeds not only affected the quality of water but also proved deadly to the tank. Bengali Venkatesha thought of utilising these trouble makers as fertilisers in his field. Once he found them to be useful, he continued using them instead of 'doragu' (dry leaves) for mulching.

Bengali says, "If we utilise the resources in our vicinity suitably, we can cut down a lot of expenditure. For example, I replaced 'doragu' with weed bed, which was economical for me. I use this as raw material in vermicomposting also. To transport green and dry leaves from the faraway forest I had to spend Rs 5,600 per year while carrying  jondu (aquatic weed) costs only Rs 500. We farmers should not be conventional. Like in any other field, we also have ample scope for research and improving our approach."

Though coconut and arecanut are the major crops, equal importance is given to intercrops like cardamom, pepper, ginger, clove, garcinia indica (cocum), vanilla and banana also. The Bengali family works hands-on right from the selection of plants to value addition and marketing. They even try and grow everything necessary for the kitchen, including spices, in their yard.

Ginger and turmeric are spread all over the farm. Bengali considers them as his bank balance. Though all the plants are grown naturally, he maintains a close watch on their progress.

Direct marketing

Bengali feels that good quality and proper approach towards market enhances the prospects of selling a produce. He feels that farmers should always opt for direct marketing. He has a white cocum plant - with high medicinal properties - in his farm. His wife Ganga extracts fruit essence, mixes it with sugar or jaggery, depending on the demand, and prepares squash. This squash has a regular clientele and people approach the Bengali family during the season.

This year, the tree has fetched them Rs 4,000 in the form of fruit pulp. Similarly, bright coloured, fragrant, pure turmeric powder has an ever increasing demand. The fact that they never compromise on quality has brought them customers from as far as Bangalore. Bengali Vankatesha's coconut plants are also very popular. He prepares 200 plants every year and sells them at a rate of Rs 20 per plant. As his mother says, "The prices are fixed to compensate our work and the material cost. Even if the demand is more, we do not increase the price. Profit should be reasonable."

Eight organic farmers with similar interests have formed an outlet in Sirsi to market their produce. A vegetable vendor in the market has agreed to sell this organic produce at a portion of his shop for a small commission. The farmers supply the produce once a week. Vegetables, value-added products and fruits form a major part of supply from the Bengali farm. Every produce has its own customers.

Ganga says, "We are practical in what we do. We add value to products like cocum and turmeric and sell them in the local Sirsi market. No produce in our farm is overlooked. Most of the products get sold at the doorstep itself. This has helped us in leading a satisfied life with all the necessary facilities."

A voracious reader, Bengali Venkatesha keeps experimenting in his farm. He evaluates the value of each plant in his farm and utilises it accordingly. While experimenting, he keeps in mind that every patch of land is different and that the nature of soil changes for every yard. He says that replication is not possible in farming and that every farm is a model in its own way. This has helped him in discovering methods like using aquatic seeds for mulching. Enriching soil and minimal outside intervention are the keys to his success.

Diseases and pests have not left their farm free. Though Bengali tries his best to restrain them, the rest he leaves to nature.

Bengali learnt his lessons in self-reliance from his father who is active even at the age of 80. Though Bengali is capable of managing all the activities in his farm without employing regular labourers, for specialised jobs like harvesting arecanut from tall tress, he prefers skilled labourers. However, if the person he has assigned the job to fails to show up on the fixed day, Bengali will do the job!

All the members of the Bengali family sit together while preparing the annual budget for the family. Each one of them is expected to maintain a record of his/ her expenditure and earning. For students, yearly expenses are credited in the bank. Sons Goutham and Chinmaya are happy about this system and feel this transparency has built good values in them.

Family budget for the year 2005 goes like this - income: Rs 1,28,606, expenditure: Rs 4,775, excluding self-labour. Since 1980, the family has not availed any loan or subsidy. Every year, they donate ten per cent of their income to a charitable cause. Bengali Venkatesha says that he and his family are content with what they have. In fact, they have shown their counterparts that farmers can also lead a life of honour.
For details, contact: 08384 - 247147.

Weeds as fertilisers

Aquatic weeds have ruined several tanks in the State. Community tanks are the most affected.  Floating weeds spread fast and double once in 12 days. Emerged (roots in the soil, visible over the water) and submerged weeds (underwater on the ground) are also equally dangerous. Again, there are many species in these three categories.

Weeds lead to silting and finally tanks disappear. Root respiration degrades dissolved oxygen and thus pollutes water, making it difficult for even fish to survive in such water. The use of chemical weedicide has also been tried out but on testing the sample in the lab, it has been found that chemical residues including nickel and cadmium remain in the soil.

Bengali Venkatesha has evolved a practical solution to free tanks from weeds, a method where even farmers are beneficiaries. He manually removes the weeds (submerged) and uses them for both mulching his farm and as raw material for vermicomposting. He is also trying to use them as cattle feed.

However, mechanical deweeding has not yet been tried. Many farmers in his village have pursued and cleared the Bengali tank. The effort should be continuous to make sure that the tank doesn't get refilled with fast spreading weeds. Farmers in the neighbouring villages too have followed this example.