Shrirampur, Maharashtra: Hard work goes into farming, and most of the time, the yield also turns out to be good. However, once the fruits are ripe and ready for sale, they soon become over-ripe or rotten, and unfit for consumption. This is mainly due to the usage of chemicals in farming, said Bhaginath Bapurao, a farmer aged 42, from Khokar, Shrirampur. Packaging and marketing also play a key role in making the produce reach the consumer fresh and juicy.
Five years ago, Bhaginath started using organic products in his 95-acre farm, after he attended an Art of Living workshop in Bangalore. Highly impressed by the techniques and methods taught during the workshop by Subhash Palekar (organic farming expert), he soon adopted them and found them very cheap and effective.
Bhaginath said, “I was looking for something like this for quite some time and Gurudev Said that I take up organic farming. The training was an eye-opener on what organic farming can do for us. During the workshop, the methods were demonstrated practically and the results were right there, in front of us. At the same time, some of the farmers who had already adopted these techniques were also present there to share their personal experiences. I wanted to introduce these methods on an experimental basis and the results were outstanding. My pomegranate production went up by nearly 30 percent.”
Jivamrut (a mixture of water, cow dung, black jaggery and cow urine), sanjivani enzyme ,(a mixture of water, fruit and vegetable pulp, black jaggery) and Dashparni (a mixture of water and ten types of leaves) are very effective in increasing crop production, quality, taste and color. These also act as natural pesticides and insecticides.
“After using the above mixtures, the pomegranates produced on my farm have become the most preferred ones because of the quality. The mangoes are also sweet and golden yellow,” said Bhaginath.
“We have been marketing our products in Delhi, Nasik and Latur. Delhi being the farthest, the mangoes reached the city at least four days after the harvest. With chemical fertilizers, the fruits lost taste, colour, freshness and the glow. But after the use of organic fertilizers and natural products, our fruits remain fresh.”
Bhaginath thanked Gurudev for creating awareness among farmers and encouraging them to shift to organic farming, while enhancing the quality and production. He said the total production has touched one crore in the recent past.
Reported by: Sanjeevani Warkade
