Notes to broadcasters
This script is the first part of a two-part series about the Reddy farm. Part two (Package 46, script 3) discusses Reddy’s biogas plant and his use of compost for fertilizer.
Script
Thursday is visitors’ day at Narayan Reddy’s farm. This 5-hectare farm is a half-hour drive from the city of Bangalore, in southern India.
What makes this farm so special? Why do people – some from very far away – want to visit it?
Reddy grows the same kinds of crops that his neighbours do: coconuts, fruits, vegetables, mulberry, finger millet, and rice. Also, like many other farmers in the area, he keeps dairy cows and rears silkworms.
Why is Reddy’s farm special?
What makes Reddy’s farm special are the methods he uses. His goal is to make his farm self-sufficient. He and his family grow or make nearly everything they need. They try out new ways of doing things, to see if they can do the tasks faster or better or at a lower cost.
Sometimes they find that the old methods still work best. And they are always willing to share what they have learned.
Reddy’s father began cultivating the land more than 20 years ago. He used chemical fertilizers and pesticides because that was the modern way. At first this worked well. But after a few years, he found he was losing money. The chemicals were not always available. They were expensive. Crop yields were decreasing. What’s more, the soil was deteriorating.
So Reddy decided to use different farming methods. He knew about the old, traditional ways of cultivation. He felt that if he combined the best of the traditional methods with modern technology, he could improve his farm. And that is just what he did.
Reddy learns all he can about modern scientific ways of farming. He chooses and tries out those ideas that he thinks will work for him. But he also makes sure that the methods will not pollute the soil and water or make him too dependent on outside sources for his supplies.
For example, one of the first things Reddy did was to stop buying chemical fertilizers and pesticides. At first this meant that he had to bring more organic materials onto the farm. For instance, he gathered animal manure from other farms. He collected leaves on roadsides and in the forest. He started to make lots of compost. He grew green manure crops, such as sesbania (Sesbania sesban) and sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea). And he used the leftover leaves and stalks of harvested crops for compost or mulch instead of burning them.
He also reduced pesticide use. Reddy now makes his own insecticide from ground neem seeds, cow urine, and other materials available on the farm. His crops look perfectly healthy, and the fruit trees are laden with fruit.
During the time that Reddy was changing from chemical farming to organic farming, he needed more labour on the farm. And his yields went down a little, but because his costs also went down, his profit was about the same. With time, as the soil improved, and he started growing a number of different crops each season, his overall profit increased.
The main crops Reddy grows are coconuts, fruits _ especially sapota (Achras sapota), mango, and watermelon _ finger millet (Eleusine coracana), and mulberry (Morus spp.). He also harvests two crops of rice a year. In between the coconut trees he grows vegetables to sell in the city.
All the food for the family is grown on the farm. They have their own cereals _ rice and millet _ and their own vegetables, fruits, and coconuts. They get plenty of milk from their cows. Even the coffee they drink at breakfast is their own, grown on a row of shiny coffee bushes just outside their house.
Over time Reddy has added other enterprises. One of these is rearing silkworms. In nature, silkworms live and feed on mulberry trees.
They can also be reared indoors by farmers if they are fed the right kind of mulberry leaves regularly.
Silkworms are valued for the cocoons they spin. These cocoons are reeled into silk yarn, which is used to make costly silk cloth.
On one side of Reddy’s farmhouse is a large shed with shelves from floor to ceiling. Here the silkworms are kept in flat round bamboo trays and fed mulberry leaves. In about 4 weeks they spin their cocoons. These cocoons sell for a high price.
Rearing the silkworms does not cost much. Because Reddy has planted a large area of his farm with mulberry, he always has mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms. He has also planted several bamboo clumps. The bamboo is split and woven to make the trays where the silkworms live.
Reddy has planned his farm enterprises carefully. Each one links with and supports the others. The many different farm activities ensure that Reddy and his family have a secure income all year round.
Acknowledgements
- This script was written by Vrinda Kumble, Editorial Consultants, Mysore, India.
Information sources
- Interview with Manjunatha Reddy by Vrinda Kumble during a visit to the Narayan Reddy farm, Varthar, Bangalore, India, January 1993.
- “The Reddy farm”, in ILEIA Newsletter, Volume 7, Numbers 1 and 2, May 1991, page 50. Information Centre for Low-External-Input and Sustainable Agriculture, Kastanjelaan 5, P.O. Box 64, NL-3830 AB Leusden, Netherlands.