As you sow...

[S.Annadana]

As you sow...

He is a farmer who has resourcefully used every inch of space in his land to reap rich dividends. Sudha Rayanagowdara meets Devendrappa, the progressive farmer from Hosahalli.

If you have ever thought four acres of land is of not much use, then you must meet Devendrappa. A farmer from Hosahalli near Gadag, Devendrappa has used every inch of space available in his four acres of land and successfully grown both agricultural and farm crops. A staunch follower of organic and natural methods of farming, he has even set up a nursery in his farm to grow saplings.

Till recently, Devendrappa only grew groundnuts in his land, managing to get an yield of about six to seven bags of groundnut per acre, earning a profit of about Rs 18-20,000. Bound to his land only for about 3-4 months a year, Devendrappa would while away the rest of his time travelling. At this juncture, Gadag MLA Patil suggested to him to avail the benefit of the Government-sponsored Ganga Kalyana Yojane that gives out loans for the sinking of tubewells.

Acting on this suggestion, Devendrappa availed the loan under the aforesaid scheme and sunk a tubewell in his farm land. On getting only about 3/4 inch water, Devendrappa took the help of scientists at the K H Patil Agricultural Science Foundation to know how best this water can be used. With able assistance from the Department of Horticulture, Devendrappa set up drip irrigation system in his farm and decided to plant mango saplings.

Leader of opposition in the legislative council H K Patil, who had come for the inaugural function of drip irrigation system in Devendrappa’s farm, advised him to develop his farm into a model for other farmers to follow. With able guidance from the Science Foundation, Devendrappa planted a variety of saplings comprising 150 mango, 250 chickoo, 60 lemon, 170 curry leaf, 50 guava, 100 fig, 80 coconut, 100 tamarind, 15 pomegranate, 25 custard apple, jackfruit, cashewnut and a variety of flowering plants including 700 roses and 50 jasmine. Since most of these saplings take atleast 3 years to bear fruit, Devendrappa started growing a number of vegetables like ridge gourd, okra, brinjal, cucumber and chilli in the rest of the space available. Selling these veggies at markets in Hulkoti and Gadag, Devendrappa earns up to Rs 20-25,000 per year. Regular sale of flowers also earn him Rs 50 per day. Last year, Devendrappa earned over Rs 20,000 from the sale of potato seeds.

Apart from fruits and vegetables, he has also been growing groundnut, cowpeas and bengal gram in his farm, just enough to meet his family’s requirements.

Devendrappa, who is against the use of fertilisers in his farm, has been successfully following the advise of experts in the field of organic farming and has been using only manure and pesticides prepared in his farm.
The green house in his farm, set up on the direction of officials of the Department of Horticulture, houses about 50,000 different varieties of fruit saplings.

“Earlier, when I was only into groundnuts, I never used to have any money in my pockets. But now, I am quite comfortable,” says Devendrappa, adding that he distributed over 2,000 mangoes grown in his farm last year among his relatives and friends.

Devendrappa is living proof for the fact that agriculture is a profitable venture if one is willing to work hard. His effort and achievements have won him many awards and accolades, including the title of ‘Progressive Farmer’.
A man who was till recently wasting his time roaming around aimlessly has now become a resourceful person, encouraging other farmers to follow suit. In fact, many farmers from Gadag and surrounding places visit Devendrappa’s farm looking for guidance.

Those interested can contact: 9449737958.
Translated by
Chethana Dinesh