Farmer the Brand is a Krishi jagran Initiative. #ftb happens in all almost all regional languages on Sunday 11 AM including Agriculture World in English. Jagdeesh Reddy from Chitoor, Andra Pradesh was among the first who presented himself with his Natural farming products in the Agriculture World Platform for #ftb. Nature Farming is a holistic method in which farmers are discouraged to buy market based inputs like chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides for growing plants and are encouraged to grow healthy soil with earth friendly earthworms and thereby healthier plants. #ftbJagdeeshReddy practices methods which combines the scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes.
Natural farmers are careful in their cultivation practices like crop rotation, usage of green manures, legumes and compost, biological pest control and selection of plants. Legumes are planted to fix nitrogen into the soil, natural insect predators are encouraged, crops are rotated to confuse pests and renew soil and natural materials such as potassium bicarbonate and mulches are used to control disease and weeds.
Having a large area and growing crops like groundnut and rice requires the land being ploughed a bit. Jagdeesh Reddy chose a 20 HP Sonalika Mini tractor for his farm. He says “Every square Foot of land has a capacity to weigh 35 Kg weight only. If we run a big tractor 200 kg Pressure will fall on every square foot so all microorganisms and earth worms will die. So he says he chose the Mini Tractor” which is a welcome suggestion.
Mini tractors markets have substantially increased in India. ` Tractors below 30 hp and width, less than 1.2 m are classified as Mini Tractors in India. The Sonalika Group is an Indian multinational company headquartered in Hoshiarpur (Punjab). Reports say that Mini Tractors made up an estimated 10% of the entire tractor industry in 2018. While talking to Dev Anand, the Sonalika Tractor Dealer in Chittoor, he says the work done will be the same but the time taken and the pressure given on the soil is the difference. Mini Tractors are designed to work in small spaces with optimum power and efficiency. All kinds of operations can still be continued to perform in Mini Tractor also. When the Big tractors finish the work in 1 hour,the mini tractors takes 2 hours to finish the same job,but it is worth the time taken. Plough, Cultivator, Rotavator and Haulage can be attached to the Mini Tractor also. The Price range is from 3.5 Lakhs to 4.80 Lakhs.
By following these objectives I want to save soil health, environmental health as well as the health of people around me says Jagdeesh Reddy before signing off.
