53.
Story Of Life And Death
A Tale Of Two Farmers
Here we narrate the story of two farmers who live in the same area in south India. One is happy and prosperous and the other is broke and dead. This may shed some light on the satanic forces responsible for farmers genocide in India. These reports were published in the newspapers on the same day.
Lankan Farmers Take Lessons In Cow Based Farming
Decca Herald, February 11 2012
A delegation of farmers from Sri Lanka visited farm of natural farmer Ramesh Raju at Kurahatti, Karnataka India last week.
Raju has succeeded in reaping good yield by adopting natural farming. Instead of fertiliser and other stimulants, Raju uses cow urine, cow dung cakes and jaggery to increase productivity of crops like banana and sugarcane.
Sharing his success story with his Sri Lankan counterparts - led by Jayant Tilak on a study tour, Raju said he cultivated 50 tonnes of sugarcane on one acre of land, spending Rs. 30,000. He has already earned Rs. 50,000 by growing sub-crops like brinjal, chilly and others.
The sugarcane expected to be harvested in five months will help produce 50 quintals of jaggery. According to the prevailing price jaggery costs Rs 3,500 per quintal.
He advised the delegates to adopt natural farming as propagated by Subhash Palekar - invest less and earn more without depending
on fertilisers or pesticides. "Already five workshops have been conducted in Sri Lanka. It was the workshop that aroused the curiosity of farmers and hence we are on a study tour. We will also urge the government to adopt natural farming to increase food production to meet the growing demand," he said.
The delegation included Sri Lanka Farmers' Association president Darshan de Silva and Subramanya Pillai among others.
Raju has succeeded in reaping good yield by adopting natural farming. Instead of fertiliser and other stimulants, Raju uses cow urine, cow dung cakes and jaggery to increase productivity of crops like banana and sugarcane.
Sharing his success story with his Sri Lankan counterparts - led by Jayant Tilak on a study tour, Raju said he cultivated 50 tonnes of sugarcane on one acre of land, spending Rs. 30,000. He has already earned Rs. 50,000 by growing sub-crops like brinjal, chilly and others.
The sugarcane expected to be harvested in five months will help produce 50 quintals of jaggery. According to the prevailing price jaggery costs Rs 3,500 per quintal.
He advised the delegates to adopt natural farming as propagated by Subhash Palekar - invest less and earn more without depending
on fertilisers or pesticides. "Already five workshops have been conducted in Sri Lanka. It was the workshop that aroused the curiosity of farmers and hence we are on a study tour. We will also urge the government to adopt natural farming to increase food production to meet the growing demand," he said.
The delegation included Sri Lanka Farmers' Association president Darshan de Silva and Subramanya Pillai among others.
Two Farmers Commit Suicide In State
Deccan Herald, February 11 2012
Two farmers, unable to repay debts, commit suicide in separate incidents on Saturday.
Venkate Gowda, 65, a resident of Hosakote village in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, committed suicide by consuming insecticide at his field in the morning. The villagers, who saw him writhing in pain, rushed him to the district hospital. However, the treatment was ineffective and Gowda was declared dead in the afternoon.
Venkate Gowda, 65, a resident of Hosakote village in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, committed suicide by consuming insecticide at his field in the morning. The villagers, who saw him writhing in pain, rushed him to the district hospital. However, the treatment was ineffective and Gowda was declared dead in the afternoon.
In India with small holdings and small scale farming, there is no better alternative to employing cattle in farming.
While ploughing, the oxen stride with gentle gait, not harming the surface of the earth, unlike tractors.
Even as they plough the land, the oxen defecate and urinate, fertilising the land.
Cattle Manure : organic manure, green leaf manure, earth-worms, and slurry manure with cattle manure bond with the nature and make the land fertile. They do not create the challenge of chemical waste.
99% of the pests in nature are beneficial to the system. Insecticides prepared from cow urine or well fermented butter milk do not affect these helpful pests.
Dung from one cow is adequate to fertilise upto 30 acres of land and its urine can protect upto 10 acres of crops from insects.
The farmer grew sugar cane, paddy and ragi on his three-acre field. He was depressed due to repeated crop failures, despite purchasing seeds from reputed companies.
He had availed a loan of more than Rs. one lakh from State Bank of Mysore. In addition to this, he had borrowed Rs two lakh from private moneylenders.
In Sira
Eeranna, 45, committed suicide by consuming insecticide at his farm at M Dasarahalli village of Sira taluk.
He died while being taken to the hospital. The number of suicides by farmers has risen to 12, following the drought in the taluk.
Disappointed after repeated crop failure, Eeranna set up a petty shop, availing a loan of Rs 15,000 from Canara Bank. Losses in business led him to try his hand at manure business.
He had availed loans from private moneylenders also.
Both Ramesh Raju and Venkate Gowda’s villages are about 6 kilometers distance.
Now what is the differences between these two farmers?
The difference is in their methods of farming. And these methods make a difference of life and death.
He had availed a loan of more than Rs. one lakh from State Bank of Mysore. In addition to this, he had borrowed Rs two lakh from private moneylenders.
In Sira
Eeranna, 45, committed suicide by consuming insecticide at his farm at M Dasarahalli village of Sira taluk.
He died while being taken to the hospital. The number of suicides by farmers has risen to 12, following the drought in the taluk.
Disappointed after repeated crop failure, Eeranna set up a petty shop, availing a loan of Rs 15,000 from Canara Bank. Losses in business led him to try his hand at manure business.
He had availed loans from private moneylenders also.
Both Ramesh Raju and Venkate Gowda’s villages are about 6 kilometers distance.
Now what is the differences between these two farmers?
The difference is in their methods of farming. And these methods make a difference of life and death.
Joys of Cow Based Farming
Indian agriculture has variety. There is no farm-product that Indians don’t cultivate. This land grows all kinds of grains, pulses, vegetables, fruits, flowers, cotton and silk.
About 70% of Indian population depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Majority of them are small farmers, owning one or two acres of land.
Indian agricultural landscape is diverse and vivid – in land topology, soil type and quality, irrigation method and frequency of harvesting.
Cattle are integral part of this huge canvas of agriculture. We use oxen to plough, to pick and move harvested crops and in irrigation. Cow manure is used as fertiliser, and cow urine as insecticide.
