Like any other sector, agriculture has witnessed many changes in the last few decades. Farmers, apart from growing food, are also engaged in innovative practices to make farming more viable and sustainable. And, in the process, many have set a model for others. One such innovative farmer is Dayanand Appayyanavaramath in Kuragund village of Bailhongal taluk. After studying Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dayanand returned to his village eight years ago to take up farming . Over the years, he has tried different methods and motivated many others in the village.
He has divided the 15-acre land into different plots and grows multiple crops. Likewise, he has developed the two acre land near the house under agroforestry system. This patch is a mix of horticulture and forest varieties. This system has both ecological and economical benefits, Dayanand opines. Beekeeping is a subsidiary activity, which brings some income and helps improve crop productivity. He realised the importance of beekeeping at an exposure visit and decided to try it. He learnt the basics by trial and error method, and now has over 10 bee colonies in the farm. Mechanisation has made things easy for him.
With over 10 cows, Dayanand has set a model dairy, which not only provides
manure to the farm, but also generates energy for home consumption. The methane gas produced from the gobar gas plant is used as cooking fuel and also as a source of electricity. The slurry produced is used as a chemical-free fertiliser. He also prepares compost from the bio-waste generated at the house and farm.
Understanding the environmental and health problems caused by open defecation, he has constructed toilets alongside his farm for the villagers.
While Dayanand has adopted various ways to sustain agriculture, he is also open to experiments. A certain patch of the land has been reserved this. For example, he has taken up cultivation of a hybrid variety of cucumber in polyhouse. “I have invested about 10 lakh to grow the crop in 10-gunta area. The polyhouse is set up with the help of government loan. In the last two years, I have not faced major problems and the market is also steady. But I know that this crop won’t be profitable in the long run,” he says. In another 2.5-acre patch, he grows different types of vegetables.
“Having crops that yield in different seasons helps us get a steady income. Though the major crop is sugarcane, other crops and subsidiary activities are equally important to sustain in farming,” opines Dayanand.
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