Himachal’s woman farmer increases income 6 times by shifting to natural farming; provides free training

Whenever Anita Negi sprayed fertilisers or pesticides on the crops in her farm in the Talagali village of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, her hands would itch and she would get a severe headache. She also noticed the hardening of soil and a decline in the production of fruits and vegetables annually. As new plant diseases cropped up every season, her expenses only increased, and profits became almost zero.

“I have been in agriculture since 2000. We cultivated garlic, tomato, cauliflower, French beans, peas and other seasonal vegetables using chemicals. The decline in crop production was steep after 2013,” Anita tells 30Stades.

Things changed when she attended a natural farming camp in 2018. "The two-day camp, led by agriculturist Subhash Palekar, gave me a solid grounding in the principles and methodology of natural farming. Natural farming requires only mulching, and all the inputs are prepared on the farm,” she says.

Natural farming - proof of concept

However, rewriting 18 years of history was not easy, and her family told her that any shift from chemicals to natural farming could result in even bigger losses.

“So I started with a kitchen garden to prove the concept. I followed the four principles of natural farming – using Jeevamrut, Bijamrita, Acchadana (mulching) and Waaphasa (soil aeration).” 

Jeevamrut is a mixture of fresh cow dung and aged cow urine from indigenous Indian cow breeds, jaggery, pulse flour, water and soil. “I used it extensively. Using Jeevamrut in generous amounts is important to bring back the soil's natural fertility,” the woman farmer says.

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Bijamrita is used for insect and pest management and involves the treatment of seeds with a concoction of neem leaves and pulp and green chillies etc. Mulching requires covering the soil with bark, leaves and other organic material to protect the top fertile layer. Waaphasa is the building up of humus to increase soil aeration.

She cultivated many seasonal vegetables over the next eight to ten months, and the results were extremely good. 

“One, I did not get any skin irritation or headaches; two, the taste of vegetables was much superior, and three, there were no pest attacks or diseases with natural farming,” she says.

When her family tasted the tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and other naturally-grown vegetables, they understood the difference. “That’s when I decided to convert the rest of our land into a natural farm,” she says.

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Expansion and training in natural farming

Today, Anita grows apples, plums, persimmons, and pears along with seasonal vegetables over 10 bigha (two acres), earning Rs 14 lakh annually. 

She also runs a plant nursery over 10 bigha to provide saplings to farmers. She sells around 25,000 saplings of apple, persimmons, pears, and other fruits annually, earning over Rs 45 lakh. The total income from four acres is Rs 60 lakh.

After the kitchen garden experiment, Anita converted her land in stages, beginning with three bighas. 

“I added a lot of cow dung and jeevamrut to the soil and planted high-density apple trees with small seasonal intercrops like tomato, brinjal, etc,” she says.

The results of apple farming were good, and the trees began yielding fruit in the third year. “Now, in their sixth year, each tree gives a minimum of 35 kg of apples. The yield was never more than 18 to 20 kg with chemicals. The taste and colour of naturally-grown apples is also much better,” she says.

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She has now converted 20 bighas into a natural farm. Anita says natural farming involves growing different plant species together, called intercropping. This enhances soil health, improves nutrient cycling, controls pests, and supports pollinators, resulting in higher yields.

“The two acres under farming are a mix of fruits and vegetables. I have 1200 apple trees, 100 pear trees, 60 persimmon and plum (200). In summer, I intercrop with tomato farming, cauliflower, beans, and other vegetables, while winter is mostly about growing garlic and peas,” she says.

With her expertise, she has trained over 500 people through various camps and field visits. “Many local women have started natural farming here. From farmers to students, I train people from various parts of India,” she says.

For her nursery business, Anita prepares grafted seedlings and grows them on soil enriched with jeevamrut and other inputs. “I sell the saplings for Rs150 to Rs200 each, depending on the fruit variety and plant age,” she says.

“I began the nursery segment in 2020, producing 1,500 saplings. The demand kept increasing annually, and now I prepare around 30,000 saplings annually using natural farming methods,” she adds.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai- based journalist specialising in financial, business and socio-economic reporting)

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