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Rises up the success ladder with natural and inter-crop cultivation of sugarcane to jaggery processing
“I took voluntary retirement from my government service to take care of the ancestral farm. Initially I was doing chemical as well as organic farming but finally I took decision to quit using chemical based farming inputs in 1994,” Mr. Basavraj Siddappa Kapsi, Secretary, Organic Food Club, recollects. Till 2005, he cultivates veggies and sugarcane in his farm located at Yamakanmardi village, Belgaum district, Karnataka as there were no problems to get labours, water and electricity. “Since last 10years there is shortage of labour, water and electricity hence I reduced vegetable cultivation, and switched mainly to sugarcane, turmeric, pulses (green gram, cowpeas and black gram), some grains and fig,” he shares. “Besides we started value adding sugarcane into jaggery in three forms namely lump form, powder and syrup. Also we powder turmeric also and sell under our brand.”
“We grow 30-40 tons sugarcane in 3 acres,” says Mr. Kapsi. The water requirement is high but lower compared to paddy. Sugarcane is planted at a distance of about 2-3 ft. “But we follow 5ft in some plants and 8-9ft in between two paired rows. In this broad space, we grow pulses, vegetables etc.” The difference in space is done to see the changes in the yield. In 8-9 ft space it is possible to grow intercrops like pulses and vegetables. In 5ft, however, the intercrop may not get good sunlight because within 3months sugarcane grows taller thus obstructing sunlight. “So within the period of 2-3months we have to harvest intercrop.”
The harvested sugarcane is processed into jaggery. Nearly about 30-40tons jaggery is produced every year. It begins in December 2nd week and ends by February. Sugarcane is not sold to the factories because the factories “do not differentiate the organic and chemically grown sugarcane. If we give it to the factory, at the most we can earn Rs. 60,000/year. But here we can earn double the price,” he asserts.
1kg of jaggery is sold at INR 55/kg at wholesale rate, INR 75/kg for powder and INR 80/kg for syrup and retail prices are INR 60/kg and 80/kg respectively for jaggery and powder. Through these prices we get net profit of Rs. 40. Our expenditure through the process from cultivation to packing is Rs. 15/kg.
“To maintain soil fertility we prepare green manure,” he highlights. It contains mainly sun hemp and in small quantities black gram, nizer (black sesame), pundi leaves, amaranthus and coriander. “We take the plant at the time of flowering and mix all together to make green manure.” Before sowing main crop the green manure is fed in the soil. “In case if there is no sufficient time before sowing sugarcane, we add this in between the sugarcane crops. The green manure is the major input to keep our soil fertile. We also use vermicompost, slurry from biodigestor.”
In the biodigestor tank, agricultural waste, cow urine, leaves with medicinal property like neem karanja; some cultures like phosphate solubilising bacteria, rhizojium cultures etc are added. After giving a thorough mix it is left to decompose. “Then we mix about 10-20% liquid extract of the mixture + 80-90% water for irrigation. We then irrigate the field with this either through flood irrigation or drip irrigation or sprinklers,” he elaborates. Panchagavya, jeevamrutha, fresh cow dung, urine, water and fresh pulse flour, some soil with microorganisms is also used. “We mix for 5-7days and then apply to the soil.”
“We face major problem in storing the jaggery till the order comes. We have to wait min 6months for the order,” he shares the challenges faced. “It is difficult to keep the jaggery out of moisture to prevent fermenting. All the stores will order quantity per week but nobody wants to store major quantity.” The products are sold in local market, ayurvedic medicines are sold mostly in Delhi and organic products are sold mostly in Hyderabad and Bangalore for a total of 85 outlets.
Speaking about selling farm produce directly to the end user Mr. Kapsi says, “We have 10 farmers group called Organic Food Club. We sell our products collectively through this group. In addition the jaggery processing plants is also set up jointly at one of our member’s farm Mr. Abay Mutalik Desai. His farm is located on the banks of river Ghataprabha. We process sugarcane into jaggery at the same plant on our scheduled turn. It is systematically planned between all of us.”
“I am planning for mango plantation,” he shares his future plans and concludes, “Farming is profitable if done in alliance with nature and interdependence with fellow farmers.”
Contact details:
Organic Food Club
Mr. Basavraj Siddappa Kapsi, Secretary
Yamakanmardi AT & Post, Taluk Hukkeri,
District Belgaum-591246, Karnataka
Mobile: 09449734320
Email: basavarajkapsi4320@gmail.com
“I took voluntary retirement from my government service to take care of the ancestral farm. Initially I was doing chemical as well as organic farming but finally I took decision to quit using chemical based farming inputs in 1994,” Mr. Basavraj Siddappa Kapsi, Secretary, Organic Food Club, recollects. Till 2005, he cultivates veggies and sugarcane in his farm located at Yamakanmardi village, Belgaum district, Karnataka as there were no problems to get labours, water and electricity. “Since last 10years there is shortage of labour, water and electricity hence I reduced vegetable cultivation, and switched mainly to sugarcane, turmeric, pulses (green gram, cowpeas and black gram), some grains and fig,” he shares. “Besides we started value adding sugarcane into jaggery in three forms namely lump form, powder and syrup. Also we powder turmeric also and sell under our brand.”
“We grow 30-40 tons sugarcane in 3 acres,” says Mr. Kapsi. The water requirement is high but lower compared to paddy. Sugarcane is planted at a distance of about 2-3 ft. “But we follow 5ft in some plants and 8-9ft in between two paired rows. In this broad space, we grow pulses, vegetables etc.” The difference in space is done to see the changes in the yield. In 8-9 ft space it is possible to grow intercrops like pulses and vegetables. In 5ft, however, the intercrop may not get good sunlight because within 3months sugarcane grows taller thus obstructing sunlight. “So within the period of 2-3months we have to harvest intercrop.”
The harvested sugarcane is processed into jaggery. Nearly about 30-40tons jaggery is produced every year. It begins in December 2nd week and ends by February. Sugarcane is not sold to the factories because the factories “do not differentiate the organic and chemically grown sugarcane. If we give it to the factory, at the most we can earn Rs. 60,000/year. But here we can earn double the price,” he asserts.
1kg of jaggery is sold at INR 55/kg at wholesale rate, INR 75/kg for powder and INR 80/kg for syrup and retail prices are INR 60/kg and 80/kg respectively for jaggery and powder. Through these prices we get net profit of Rs. 40. Our expenditure through the process from cultivation to packing is Rs. 15/kg.
“To maintain soil fertility we prepare green manure,” he highlights. It contains mainly sun hemp and in small quantities black gram, nizer (black sesame), pundi leaves, amaranthus and coriander. “We take the plant at the time of flowering and mix all together to make green manure.” Before sowing main crop the green manure is fed in the soil. “In case if there is no sufficient time before sowing sugarcane, we add this in between the sugarcane crops. The green manure is the major input to keep our soil fertile. We also use vermicompost, slurry from biodigestor.”
In the biodigestor tank, agricultural waste, cow urine, leaves with medicinal property like neem karanja; some cultures like phosphate solubilising bacteria, rhizojium cultures etc are added. After giving a thorough mix it is left to decompose. “Then we mix about 10-20% liquid extract of the mixture + 80-90% water for irrigation. We then irrigate the field with this either through flood irrigation or drip irrigation or sprinklers,” he elaborates. Panchagavya, jeevamrutha, fresh cow dung, urine, water and fresh pulse flour, some soil with microorganisms is also used. “We mix for 5-7days and then apply to the soil.”
“We face major problem in storing the jaggery till the order comes. We have to wait min 6months for the order,” he shares the challenges faced. “It is difficult to keep the jaggery out of moisture to prevent fermenting. All the stores will order quantity per week but nobody wants to store major quantity.” The products are sold in local market, ayurvedic medicines are sold mostly in Delhi and organic products are sold mostly in Hyderabad and Bangalore for a total of 85 outlets.
Speaking about selling farm produce directly to the end user Mr. Kapsi says, “We have 10 farmers group called Organic Food Club. We sell our products collectively through this group. In addition the jaggery processing plants is also set up jointly at one of our member’s farm Mr. Abay Mutalik Desai. His farm is located on the banks of river Ghataprabha. We process sugarcane into jaggery at the same plant on our scheduled turn. It is systematically planned between all of us.”
“I am planning for mango plantation,” he shares his future plans and concludes, “Farming is profitable if done in alliance with nature and interdependence with fellow farmers.”
Contact details:
Organic Food Club
Mr. Basavraj Siddappa Kapsi, Secretary
Yamakanmardi AT & Post, Taluk Hukkeri,
District Belgaum-591246, Karnataka
Mobile: 09449734320
Email: basavarajkapsi4320@gmail.com