Integrated Farming Proved Beneficial By A Farmer

The land inherited from his parents became a boon, as after SSLC education Niranjan pursued agriculture. In this small piece of land he is growing mixed crops such as arecanut, blackpepper, rubber, banana, coconut and varieties of vegetables. Arecanut yields upto 50 quintals per year. His organised planning and timely undertaking of work has given him good results. It has been 22 years since Niranjan started farming and he says he has found happiness in agriculture.

He rears gir, jersey, HF breed cows in his two cattle sheds. He is a proud owner of 11 cows, milking upto 30 litres, all together, everyday. He doesn’t use any milking machine as he is not at ease with it. He has set up a gobar gas plant of which the waste slurry is used in plantation crops.

Adding to the crops on his land he also has grown papaya, mango, sapota and vegetables like long beans, okra,ash gourd and pumpkin. He has utilised the hillock area for areca plantation and built a check dam across the steam to naturally increase the water table level of bores and wells in vicinity. He also plans on fish rearing in ponds.

Niranjan also has a goat rearing unit with 25 goats and separate pens for swarnadhara and local poultry bird breeds. He also rears the special BV 380 breed of Kerala which lays eggs for two years without aid of roosters. Niranjan’s farm has been a destination for farm visits for more than 400 farmers over years where they get to know about the unseen differences and benefits of integrated farming. He is also a candidate for taluk level integrated farming award.

Waste in one unit turns into a resource for another. So cycling of resources is the main idea behind integrated farming ultimately having low capital investment and maximising profits. Finding joy toiling on his land and farm, Semitha advises everyone to opt for integrated farming. He is proof that integrated farming is beneficial and only adds to farmers’ income.