This farmer grows everything he needs, except for salt and tea

Puttaiah, a farmer from HD Kote taluk, Mysuru district, doesn’t buy anything except for tea powder and salt, thanks to integrated farming.

He has come to Bengaluru to attend the ongoing Krishi Mela (farmers’ fair). Back home, he grows an array of vegetable produce, fruits, sugar cane, turmeric and foodgrains on his 40-acre of farm land. He strongly believes in the concept of integrated farming which entails cultivating more than one crop.

“Every year, some or the other crop which I grow gives yield. So, I do not really have the fear of facing loss. I haven’t borrowed a single rupee ever since I adopted integrated farming,” he said, beaming.

Not just him, his entire family of 40-50 members are also into farming. “The State government had granted a four-acre land to my forefathers, whose expanse has now touched 40 acres,” Puttaiah said.

N Manjunath from Haradanahalli village, who once took loan for farming, is also a successful farmer now. He grows turmeric, beans, coriander and other vegetable crops.

He said that his plan was to manufacture turmeric powder. “If all goes well, then in the next Krishi Mela, you can see packets of turmeric powder under the brand name ‘Kamadhenu’,” he said.

Forty-seven progressive farmers from Mandya, Hassan and Kolar districts were honoured at the fair for adopting sustainable agricultural techniques. About two lakh people have visited the fair at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) so far and the footfall is expected to go on Sunday, the last day of the event, said the organisers.