Odisha scientist quits job to grow and conserve native paddy varieties; helps farmers adopt natural farming

When Dr Subhasisa Bal started his career as a junior research fellow in 1998, he realised the toxic impact of chemical fertilisers and pesticides on agricultural land. Alongside, he discovered how native paddy was cultivated for hundreds of years naturally without any chemicals and while retaining soil fertility. 

At that time, he worked in the Post Graduate Department of Botany of Bhubaneswar-based Utkal University. Taking time out from his busy schedule, the young researcher began collecting samples of indigenous varieties of paddy from different parts of Odisha.

Today, he has a collection of 750 native varieties including over 70 aromatic landraces. His repertoire also comprises more than 40 varieties recommended for diabetic patients. 

The stock has a segment of medicinal varieties of red, black, and brown rice.

Also Read: How Assam’s organic farmer is conserving 1,000 varieties of native paddy and vegetable seeds

Dr Bal, who completed his PhD in 2003, has set up his enterprise LANDRACE, which works to conserve native paddy varieties and promotes the 5G model of natural farming. The 5Gs in the model refer to Green, Gram, Grain, Grocery, and God’s Grace. 

“The work at LANDRACE has two parts - promoting the cultivation of aromatic rice, and BGA Conservation Centre which I call ‘Crop Cafeteria’. BGA stands for Blue, Green and Algae. Blue in BGA stands for water, followed by Green Manure and Algae in my 5G model,” says Dr Bal. 

Quitting the job for natural farming

He worked as a research scientist at the Bhubaneswar-based Regional Research Laboratory and Regional Plant Resource Centre, the Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and several other institutes of repute. His last job was at the Hyderabad-based Directorate of Oil Seeds Research where he worked as a research scientist from 2013. Though he was engrossed in different projects, he continued working on his 5G model which successfully shaped up after a series of experiments.  

In 2014, he quit the job and returned to his native village Garh Guatira in Puri district where he started implementing his 5G model to grow indigenous paddy varieties.

He commercially grows paddy in seven out of 10 acres at his village in Puri while the remaining three acres are used to cultivate indigenous native varieties in small patches for conservation. 

He grows nearly 100 varieties including 'machha kanta', aromatic rice like 'kala jeera' and varieties like 'lalat' and 'swarna' that are said to be suitable for diabetic patients. He also grows all three medicinal rice varieties - red, black and brown for commercial purposes.

Dr Bal sells his native varieties only to those who grow indigenous paddy. He has also developed a 10-acre demonstration plot near Konark where he grows indigenous varieties to motivate and mobilize farmers to adopt his 5G model of natural farming and end the use of chemicals. 

“The adoption of the 5G Model is steadily going up. Many farmers have given up using chemical fertilizers and pesticides that had assumed priority during the Green Revolution in the 1960s. The number of these farmers is increasing,” says Dr Bal.

The low-cost 5G model for natural paddy farming

His 5G model starts with strengthening the fertility of the soil using natural farming techniques. First, cow dung compost is mixed with the soil. Then jaggery is added to the soil as it helps grow beneficial microbes. After a fortnight, he sows seeds of different grams including moong, green grams, horse grams and beans as they improve the nitrogen content of the soil. 

After three months, Dr Bal sows seeds of Dhainicha (Sesbania), a green manure crop. 

When plants grow out of the grams and Dhanicha seeds, he uses a tractor to till the land that mows and mixes the plants with the soil to pose as green manure. Finally, with the onset of monsoon, he sows paddy seeds.

“I use blue-green algae powder while sowing paddy seeds, as flakes (saibala) grown out of the powder provide nitrogen to paddy crops,” says Dr Bal who also worked as a consultant in 2021 for Bhubaneswar unit of the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines.

Also Read: Debal Deb: Seed warrior who has conserved 1,480 traditional rice varieties 

Nearly five tons of cow dung compost, seven kg of jaggery, 15 kg of different gram seeds and 10 kg of Dhanicha seeds are required per acre. These processes collectively need investment of Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 per acre. However, the investment decreases over time after the continuous adoption of 5G Model,” he says. 

The per acre yield of indigenous paddy grown using the 5G model is between 12 and 15 quintals.  

The impact

The 5G Model, he says, helps paddy retain its essential nutrients, unlike using chemical fertilizers and pesticides that make the yield and land toxic. 

Now over 120 farmers inside and outside Odisha use Dr Bal’s 5G Model to grow different varieties of indigenous paddy.  

Sangram Keshari Mohanty in Chikinia village of Jagatsinghpur district grows indigenous aromatic rice like ‘machha kanta’, ‘haladi gundi’, ‘geetanjali’, ‘kalajeera’ and ‘nua kalajeera’ on five acres using Dr Bal’s 5G model.

Also Read: This septuagenarian Odisha couple has saved 1072 native rice varieties; shares seeds free with farmers

“I procured seeds of aromatic rice from Dr Bal three years back. Since then I have been growing them in my native village and have also been promoting the 5G innovation among other farmers. About 30 farmers in Nayagarh and Puri districts now grow aromatic rice in over 25 acres,” says Sangram, former assistant professor of botany at the Bhubaneswar-based Regional Institute of Education.

One Japjee Singh in Kurukshetra, Haryana, uses Dr Bal’s 5G Model to grow wheat and Basmati rice alternatively on his 30 acres of land, and says he has immensely benefitted from it. 

While Singh’s per acre yield of wheat ranges between 17 and 20 quintals, for rice it is between 30 and 32 quintals. 

“Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides hardens the soil and hinders water absorption. On the other hand, adoption of Dr Bal’s 5G Model makes the soil soft, enabling it to absorb water adequately, and improves the yields,” Singh says over the phone.

Recently Dr Bal delivered his presentation on 5G Farming: Doubling Small and Marginal Farmers’ Income with Safe Food’ at the Agro Expo (Agro, Livestock Industrial Exhibition) organised at Biratnagar of Nepal by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI), Koshi Nagar, Nepal.

“Impressed with my talk, FNCCI has decided to replicate my 5G Model in Nepal,” says Dr Bal.

(Niroj Ranjan Misra a Cuttack-based freelance writer. He writes on rural and tribal life, social issues, art and culture, and sports)

Also Read: Odisha man declines government job to conserve native paddy seeds; saves 1200 varieties

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