S & T » Agriculture
September 6, 2012Planting trees can help farmers tide over financial loss
For the last 25 years government farms are running at a loss
Answering the phone with a “hello” is a practice for most people, but not for Mr. Thangasamy.
He
prefers to respond with ‘maram’ (tree in tamil) while taking a phone
call. The person’s interest in tree growing is so avid that many people
and organizations call him “Maram Thangasamy.”
Along
the Pudukottai-Tiruchi highway, the numerous well grown trees owe their
existence to this man who dedicatedly planted the saplings. “It was a
sort of penance for me. It is a duty for me towards conserving and
protecting my living abode,” he says with childlike enthusiasm.
Agriculture and nature must be in a harmony; otherwise it can cause negative effects on farm resources, seems to be his view.
Turning point
It
all started with planting 100 teak tree seedlings many years back.
Their excellent growth encouraged him to plant mango, cashew, tamarind,
neem, sandal, rose wood, red sandal, amla, mahogany etc.
Within 5 years, his farm turned into a thick forest. At present the farmer grows more than 150 species of trees on his 12 acres.
Small
plastic tubs filled with water are placed in many places in the farm so
that birds can drink from them. The birds serve two purposes. One, they
prey on the insects and leave their droppings (along with some seeds)
on the soil.
Sometimes a new seedling grows from the
droppings. Thus, it contributes to the establishment of new tree
species in the farm and increases tree diversity.
“Compared to what the birds have contributed, what I may have planted all these years is very little,” he grins.
He
owns another 13-acre farm, where he cultivates a wide range of food
crops for his family needs and the surplus for the market.
Crop rotation
He
has not faced any major pest problem during the last ten years of
organic farming of paddy. The crop rotation pattern followed, reduces
weed growth considerably.
He feels that weeds come up
only if the fields are ploughed. If left unploughed, the growth of
weeds is very low and workload gets reduced.
He
feels that it is difficult to practise organic farming without cattle
and hence he keeps cattle, sheep, turkeys, ducks and chickens. Fodder
for the cattle and sheep is grown on the farm itself.
Different varieties
Coconut
is cultivated along with banana, guava, pomegranate and gourds so that
income is generated from three months onwards from gourds, one to four
years later from guava, banana and pomegranate and five years onwards
from coconut.
He plants trees in long pits of three
feet depth and three feet breadth. Crop waste and other plant materials
are filled in these pits. When the rains come, not a drop runs off from
the pits, thanks to the composting material.
It also
prevents water evaporation from the soil by minimizing direct exposure
to the sun. Further, this method enriches the soil as micro-organisms
proliferate in these conditions and erosion of soil is prevented.
Before
the changeover to organic farming, Thangasamy’s paddy yield was only
1,300 kg per acre. Now he gets 1,800 kg per acre. But he cultivates only
for his family consumption and not for the market.
When
both farms are taken into account, his annual income is enough to meet
expenses. Fluctuations in income and occasional losses from agricultural
crops can only be offset by income from tree crops like teak, rosewood,
etc., which he considers a great wealth that he is accumulating for
future generations.
Seed farms
At present,
there are more than 100 seed farms and nursery farms under the
maintenance of Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Horticulture Department.
According
to him for the last 25 years, these farms are running at a loss. If the
losses are calculated they will run to more than Rs. 25 crore. If the
government farms continue to run at a loss, no farmer will come forward
to plant trees.
“Government should discourage the
cultivation of monoculture trees like mango, coconut etc. Considering
the drought situation, the State should properly guide the farmers on
which trees they should cultivate according to the changing climate
conditions.
“It should allow the farmers to
cultivate high money value trees like sandal and give proper
instructions to the village administrative officers to register them in
the record,” says Thangasamy.
Interested readers can
contact Maram Thangasamy at Senthankudi village, Nagaram post, Alangudi
Taluk of Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu, mobile: 097866 04177.
No comments:
Post a Comment