Mr. Anand Kadakol, farmer, Devataru Farm, Dharwad, Karnataka, narrates the story of creating an organic farm – 14 years in the making.
I was working in corporate setups in various countries, and I always had a feeling that we had to go back to India, to our roots, and do whatever we wanted to do. In 2017, we came back and established ourselves in a tier 2 city. We had a farm land of 15 acres which we were developing since 2010. This is where we do farming, develop products, and the location of the farm is half coastal and half inland. So the vagaries of rains is quite large. We have to figure out which crop is suitable for this zone. Mango is mainly grown in this area, especially Alphonso variety.
From day one, our goal was to make the farm chemical free, avoid pesticide, fertiliser etc. We wanted to make it fully organic. The whole process involves lot of learning, soil content, carbon content in the soil, nutrients in the soil etc. Once we got a hang of it, we got involved in the process fully, and we started using the materials available in the farm to develop products. Things such as neem extract, a juicy milky leaf used as good pesticide, and another linseed kind of a tree, a type of cactus are available in the farm itself.
We make jeevamrut, Pancha Gavya for which we use 5 things and ferment for a month.
Neem cake is another thing that everybody uses, we work with the neem for a month so that the healthy bacteria grows inside the cake. One ton of cake becomes 2 tons after a month. In the last 14 years, we have not tilled the farm. Only a small belt where we grow vegetables, the surface gets cleaned of the weds. So when the other farmers visit us, they get a different feeling. People have not seen earthworm in the last 10 years because of the heavy pesticide and weedicide they use. These spoil the soil condition. But in our farm, people can see layers of fungus inside which is a healthy sign. We have 13 different kinds of bacteria and 5 kinds of fungi. The master culture is taken, and we grow cultures which go into the farm as an input. These are naturally available and healthy too. The quality of mango produced in our farm after using these is unimaginable in terms of taste, quality, and texture.
The first two years, we sent samples to all the customers locally and abroad and to our friends who would distribute them in turn to their friends because of the exceptional quality. After the deterioration in the quality of mangoes in the last 20 to 25 years which became sour and spoilt because of application of calcium carbide.
These were not actually ripened, but only the colour changes due to chemicals, also these mangoes are harvested premature so the taste normally is bland.. So when the customers asked the sellers for yellow mangoes, big ones, and looking good, traders took advantage of the situation and sold such fruits.
After tasting our mangoes, people said that they went back 30 years when they used to get good quality mangoes. Parents used to bring green mangoes, put to ripen under the bed with rice hay. It used to take a 10 - 12 days to ripen. That is the natural time the mangoes take to get to edible stage by converting the sour ingredient into sweet one. When we harvest the mangoes, we do not remove the stem or clean the juice out of it. The juice near the stem is the main ingredient to make the sour mango into sweet one. When we harvest the mangoes, we pluck them with the stem, pack the fruits along with the stem and send. The customer can keep it for 12 to 15 days before consuming them as they fill the house with aroma. This is the difference we brought in after entering the market. We do not go to distributor or dealer or shops. We give them to customers and corporate clients who take hundreds of dozens. One happy customer brings in many customers for us. Each year, even before the season starts, we get orders. The major win for me is that people stopped buying mangoes from other markets and have started taking boxes from us.
We created our own brand and sent supplies to Dubai too. During the covid, it was a problem as we could not send the fruits to our customers. The next year we had the issue of fruit flies. Since the courier services were not normalised, we could not get the traps and lost many fruits.
The heavy rains last year made the moisture in the ground remain till November or December which is bad for mangoes. When there is a stress in the soil such as no moisture, the plant thinks that it has to duplicate as there is some stress. So it starts flowering, and thus the mango cycle starts. Last year due to excess moisture, flowering and harvesting were late and happened in hot summer.
As a result, there was loss of crop. So we did not send fruits to many customers but started converting the mangoes into different products such as mango flakes and processed dry mangoes. We used the same technology for sapota, strawberry, jamun, and we started cultivating high quality turmeric with high levels of curcumin. When we sent the turmeric sample to Algeria, the customers found the taste of the food very different. We have created lot of products in different form.
We have some single source flower honey, such as eucalyptus flower, litchi flower, mustard flower, and multifloral honey. We have created a brand for them called PO meaning Pure and Organic. We have applied for registration and trade mark. Once we get it, we will send the samples to Jakarta, Dubai, Australia, and Thailand.
In a premium hotel, they use the combination of products to be used in smoothies and other things. The response we get is unbelievable. We are working on a similar concept in Jakarta, Hongkong, and Dubai markets. Our customers believe in our products which are of high quality, without any preservative, additives, and are natural. We have grapes which are naturally grown without any chemicals.
Our products are not very highly priced, but we are able to sell them at least 2 to 3 times the price in the local market. We do not believe in quantity but in quality of product. Customers will stay with us if we offer the quality products. We work with the farmers, pickup goods from them, give them good value about 50% more than what the markets give. We should understand the hard work they do and pay accordingly.
What inspired you to start your organic farm?
A few decades ago, there was no prevalence of diseases like cancer in the country. Since a lot of pesticides are used in the farm, diseases like cancer are due to the harmful effects of chemicals, the instances have multiplied manifold.
In Karnataka, in a rice belt, such instances are rising because of the fertilisers and pesticides they use. It deeply affected me as I know whatever happens in our body is because of food. We eat the food without knowing what they apply to the crop. Farmers only know chemicals kill the insects and weed, but they do not know how safe it is. So we have to allow people eat healthy, and with this purpose in mind I started cultivating in my own way.
What were the initial challenges you faced when transitioning to organic farming?
Everybody discouraged us that organic farming would not work. Even agricultural universities said it was not possible. They felt that organic farming would not yield well, and such issues. But I had a different understanding of this. I felt since the soil was already spoilt, it would take at least 2 years to get the health back. I started the farm with this belief. We have planted Shali variety of paddy which needs very little water. Other farmers who grow this have applied fertiliser. But they are surprised to see that our crops have grown the same height as their crops and how it is possible without fertilisers or pesticide. The answer is since the soil was allowed to gain its health, such luscious growth is possible. We want to encourage people to shift slowly into this practice.
How did you acquire knowledge and skills related to organic practices?
If you are curious, you can figure out everything in the world. You need to ask somebody, go out, do experiment, and learn from it. Only then you will smile happily to see what you are doing is working. It is a hard think like any other skill needed for any other job. You will never get it right in the first attempt. We need to gain knowledge, understanding, meet people all over, and I have visited villages to pick up local seeds they have preserved for generations. We need to try and understand from the practices.
What role did community involvement play in the development of organic farm? Can you highlight the sustainable practices you implement in your farm?
The whole of community was negative about this first. They said it would not work. But today everyone comes to us to buy the fruits. They say they will not get this quality anywhere. So it is a proof that it works. The community has changed its behaviour slowly and steadily. We have found 250 farmers growing organic and naturally grown mangoes in the group. We share with each other, and there is lot of acceptance. We have 15 farmers on board, we want them to get the certificates and more FPOs to come. This is a group certification, and now everybody understands when they see our produce, and that will create the magic. We do not use any chemical and do not burn in the farm. Everything we produce goes back into the farm, into the pit, or for developing fertiliser, or mulching and so on. The carbon content of the farm is very important. We grow jute which is a robust material and a fantastic carbon producing plant. We can mulch it, goes well with soil, and gives nutrient. We mix and rotate the soil so that the sustainability of the soil is maintained and develops.
Were there any specific setbacks and obstacles in these 14 years?
Initially, we had trouble with finding the team for nearly 2 to 3 years. We could not do anything, but the farm was there. Once the team was formed, they have stayed with me, and it is a fantastic team. They know what to do. Though they were sceptical about the process in the initial days, they understood it now and are working very diligently to go by the plan. I have transferred my knowledge to them. Getting the right sapling and seedling is the next challenge. The soil is spoilt due to chemicals. There are places in India where they preserve seeds for many years in a natural way, but commercial companies do not do it. So we need to find them which is a difficult task.
How have you seen the impact of organic farming on soil health and biodiversity? How has the local ecosystem and wild life responded to the organic farming methods?
When you go around a farm, you will not find any butterflies, bees, or any activity in the soil. It is dead. When the mycelium works, it gives extra life to the soil. It allows communication between plants. It transfers nutrition from one plant to another. Bees and birds are important part of the farm to develop naturally grown trees which we find in plenty in our farm, and this helps in soil health and biodiversity.
Since I do not use any harmful things birds, bees, and insects are part of the farm. They are interdependent on each other. If you do not care about them, the ecosystem is affected. This is something we do not do.
What future plans do you have for your organic farm after all these years? What advice would you give others looking to start organic farming?
We grow diversified products, going to bring different products, and we are adding product lines. I may collaborate with others who are genuine like us, certified, and who have put in lot of effort to keep things in a certain way. We may create the market place for the products, and that is our plan now. We will soon be promoting lot of products. We are doing it in a subtle way and connected to different market links to build networks. Every farmer has an opportunity to go out into the market and sell the products to the customer to build their customer base. I will be working on this line to make customers. Many farmers have done their own sales, found their customers, delivered to them, and replaced products that were not good. So it is a movement slowly growing over a period of time. It takes time to get the soil prepared, but then the quality of produce is good. Since the ingredients are pure, the vegetables are also pure. The message is you have to eat healthy and provide others also healthy food. You need not sell all your products at one go. Preserve some for the off season to sell at a higher price. It works on demand and supply principle.
Anand Kadakol
Devataru.farms@gmail.com
I was working in corporate setups in various countries, and I always had a feeling that we had to go back to India, to our roots, and do whatever we wanted to do. In 2017, we came back and established ourselves in a tier 2 city. We had a farm land of 15 acres which we were developing since 2010. This is where we do farming, develop products, and the location of the farm is half coastal and half inland. So the vagaries of rains is quite large. We have to figure out which crop is suitable for this zone. Mango is mainly grown in this area, especially Alphonso variety.
From day one, our goal was to make the farm chemical free, avoid pesticide, fertiliser etc. We wanted to make it fully organic. The whole process involves lot of learning, soil content, carbon content in the soil, nutrients in the soil etc. Once we got a hang of it, we got involved in the process fully, and we started using the materials available in the farm to develop products. Things such as neem extract, a juicy milky leaf used as good pesticide, and another linseed kind of a tree, a type of cactus are available in the farm itself.
We make jeevamrut, Pancha Gavya for which we use 5 things and ferment for a month.
Neem cake is another thing that everybody uses, we work with the neem for a month so that the healthy bacteria grows inside the cake. One ton of cake becomes 2 tons after a month. In the last 14 years, we have not tilled the farm. Only a small belt where we grow vegetables, the surface gets cleaned of the weds. So when the other farmers visit us, they get a different feeling. People have not seen earthworm in the last 10 years because of the heavy pesticide and weedicide they use. These spoil the soil condition. But in our farm, people can see layers of fungus inside which is a healthy sign. We have 13 different kinds of bacteria and 5 kinds of fungi. The master culture is taken, and we grow cultures which go into the farm as an input. These are naturally available and healthy too. The quality of mango produced in our farm after using these is unimaginable in terms of taste, quality, and texture.
The first two years, we sent samples to all the customers locally and abroad and to our friends who would distribute them in turn to their friends because of the exceptional quality. After the deterioration in the quality of mangoes in the last 20 to 25 years which became sour and spoilt because of application of calcium carbide.
These were not actually ripened, but only the colour changes due to chemicals, also these mangoes are harvested premature so the taste normally is bland.. So when the customers asked the sellers for yellow mangoes, big ones, and looking good, traders took advantage of the situation and sold such fruits.
After tasting our mangoes, people said that they went back 30 years when they used to get good quality mangoes. Parents used to bring green mangoes, put to ripen under the bed with rice hay. It used to take a 10 - 12 days to ripen. That is the natural time the mangoes take to get to edible stage by converting the sour ingredient into sweet one. When we harvest the mangoes, we do not remove the stem or clean the juice out of it. The juice near the stem is the main ingredient to make the sour mango into sweet one. When we harvest the mangoes, we pluck them with the stem, pack the fruits along with the stem and send. The customer can keep it for 12 to 15 days before consuming them as they fill the house with aroma. This is the difference we brought in after entering the market. We do not go to distributor or dealer or shops. We give them to customers and corporate clients who take hundreds of dozens. One happy customer brings in many customers for us. Each year, even before the season starts, we get orders. The major win for me is that people stopped buying mangoes from other markets and have started taking boxes from us.
We created our own brand and sent supplies to Dubai too. During the covid, it was a problem as we could not send the fruits to our customers. The next year we had the issue of fruit flies. Since the courier services were not normalised, we could not get the traps and lost many fruits.
The heavy rains last year made the moisture in the ground remain till November or December which is bad for mangoes. When there is a stress in the soil such as no moisture, the plant thinks that it has to duplicate as there is some stress. So it starts flowering, and thus the mango cycle starts. Last year due to excess moisture, flowering and harvesting were late and happened in hot summer.
As a result, there was loss of crop. So we did not send fruits to many customers but started converting the mangoes into different products such as mango flakes and processed dry mangoes. We used the same technology for sapota, strawberry, jamun, and we started cultivating high quality turmeric with high levels of curcumin. When we sent the turmeric sample to Algeria, the customers found the taste of the food very different. We have created lot of products in different form.
We have some single source flower honey, such as eucalyptus flower, litchi flower, mustard flower, and multifloral honey. We have created a brand for them called PO meaning Pure and Organic. We have applied for registration and trade mark. Once we get it, we will send the samples to Jakarta, Dubai, Australia, and Thailand.
In a premium hotel, they use the combination of products to be used in smoothies and other things. The response we get is unbelievable. We are working on a similar concept in Jakarta, Hongkong, and Dubai markets. Our customers believe in our products which are of high quality, without any preservative, additives, and are natural. We have grapes which are naturally grown without any chemicals.
Our products are not very highly priced, but we are able to sell them at least 2 to 3 times the price in the local market. We do not believe in quantity but in quality of product. Customers will stay with us if we offer the quality products. We work with the farmers, pickup goods from them, give them good value about 50% more than what the markets give. We should understand the hard work they do and pay accordingly.
What inspired you to start your organic farm?
A few decades ago, there was no prevalence of diseases like cancer in the country. Since a lot of pesticides are used in the farm, diseases like cancer are due to the harmful effects of chemicals, the instances have multiplied manifold.
In Karnataka, in a rice belt, such instances are rising because of the fertilisers and pesticides they use. It deeply affected me as I know whatever happens in our body is because of food. We eat the food without knowing what they apply to the crop. Farmers only know chemicals kill the insects and weed, but they do not know how safe it is. So we have to allow people eat healthy, and with this purpose in mind I started cultivating in my own way.
What were the initial challenges you faced when transitioning to organic farming?
Everybody discouraged us that organic farming would not work. Even agricultural universities said it was not possible. They felt that organic farming would not yield well, and such issues. But I had a different understanding of this. I felt since the soil was already spoilt, it would take at least 2 years to get the health back. I started the farm with this belief. We have planted Shali variety of paddy which needs very little water. Other farmers who grow this have applied fertiliser. But they are surprised to see that our crops have grown the same height as their crops and how it is possible without fertilisers or pesticide. The answer is since the soil was allowed to gain its health, such luscious growth is possible. We want to encourage people to shift slowly into this practice.
How did you acquire knowledge and skills related to organic practices?
If you are curious, you can figure out everything in the world. You need to ask somebody, go out, do experiment, and learn from it. Only then you will smile happily to see what you are doing is working. It is a hard think like any other skill needed for any other job. You will never get it right in the first attempt. We need to gain knowledge, understanding, meet people all over, and I have visited villages to pick up local seeds they have preserved for generations. We need to try and understand from the practices.
What role did community involvement play in the development of organic farm? Can you highlight the sustainable practices you implement in your farm?
The whole of community was negative about this first. They said it would not work. But today everyone comes to us to buy the fruits. They say they will not get this quality anywhere. So it is a proof that it works. The community has changed its behaviour slowly and steadily. We have found 250 farmers growing organic and naturally grown mangoes in the group. We share with each other, and there is lot of acceptance. We have 15 farmers on board, we want them to get the certificates and more FPOs to come. This is a group certification, and now everybody understands when they see our produce, and that will create the magic. We do not use any chemical and do not burn in the farm. Everything we produce goes back into the farm, into the pit, or for developing fertiliser, or mulching and so on. The carbon content of the farm is very important. We grow jute which is a robust material and a fantastic carbon producing plant. We can mulch it, goes well with soil, and gives nutrient. We mix and rotate the soil so that the sustainability of the soil is maintained and develops.
Were there any specific setbacks and obstacles in these 14 years?
Initially, we had trouble with finding the team for nearly 2 to 3 years. We could not do anything, but the farm was there. Once the team was formed, they have stayed with me, and it is a fantastic team. They know what to do. Though they were sceptical about the process in the initial days, they understood it now and are working very diligently to go by the plan. I have transferred my knowledge to them. Getting the right sapling and seedling is the next challenge. The soil is spoilt due to chemicals. There are places in India where they preserve seeds for many years in a natural way, but commercial companies do not do it. So we need to find them which is a difficult task.
How have you seen the impact of organic farming on soil health and biodiversity? How has the local ecosystem and wild life responded to the organic farming methods?
When you go around a farm, you will not find any butterflies, bees, or any activity in the soil. It is dead. When the mycelium works, it gives extra life to the soil. It allows communication between plants. It transfers nutrition from one plant to another. Bees and birds are important part of the farm to develop naturally grown trees which we find in plenty in our farm, and this helps in soil health and biodiversity.
Since I do not use any harmful things birds, bees, and insects are part of the farm. They are interdependent on each other. If you do not care about them, the ecosystem is affected. This is something we do not do.
What future plans do you have for your organic farm after all these years? What advice would you give others looking to start organic farming?
We grow diversified products, going to bring different products, and we are adding product lines. I may collaborate with others who are genuine like us, certified, and who have put in lot of effort to keep things in a certain way. We may create the market place for the products, and that is our plan now. We will soon be promoting lot of products. We are doing it in a subtle way and connected to different market links to build networks. Every farmer has an opportunity to go out into the market and sell the products to the customer to build their customer base. I will be working on this line to make customers. Many farmers have done their own sales, found their customers, delivered to them, and replaced products that were not good. So it is a movement slowly growing over a period of time. It takes time to get the soil prepared, but then the quality of produce is good. Since the ingredients are pure, the vegetables are also pure. The message is you have to eat healthy and provide others also healthy food. You need not sell all your products at one go. Preserve some for the off season to sell at a higher price. It works on demand and supply principle.
Anand Kadakol
Devataru.farms@gmail.com
