Paddy cultivation

Kerala farmer P Bhuvaneshwari’s Maruti Gardens is a vast organic farm with a variety of fruit, vegetables, and fish. She converted her barren land without the use of chemicals.

Sugandhadevi, a terrace farmer from Kerala, has been growing paddy on her terrace for the last decade. She was recently awarded the ‘best woman farmer’ title in her panchayat.

In a span of 6 years, 300 lorries loads of rock was removed from the land, with 5 acres set aside for paddy and almost 20 varieties of fruits, pepper, cardamom and even coffee!

A career in astrophysics was his lifelong dream. But Ajay gave it up to help hundreds of struggling farmers increase their profits by 20%!

Amidst discouraging statements like ‘women cannot plough the land’ and ‘you won’t get a fair price’ -- Yasmin Arimbra from Kerala formed her own rice brand like a boss and went on to empower many others on the way.

“I am a fan of Spiderman and of his famous dialogue ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ I am responsible for the welfare of my people and the district. Whenever I get an opportunity, I go outside my office to understand people’s problems, it is an easier way to address the crisis.”

“I will never stop serving my nation,” says former R&AW Chief PK Hormis Tharakan, who is showing that it's never too late to live organic! #OrganicFarming #Kerala

“The benefit of using Azolla is that it is locally available and inexpensive. It is cheap and renewable."

And it also the reduces the methane footprint of paddy farming, thus helping in tackling global warming!

Recognising the significance of traditional crop varieties that can withstand climate-related vagaries and offer nutritional security, tribal farmers have started to conserve and propagate local cultivars. Hiren Kumar Bose takes a closer look.