Kashmir’s Anantnag district is widely known for its lofty mountains with snowy peaks, candy waters of its springs and streams, whilst apple and walnut orchards had been dotting its fertile valleys for many years.
Then again, indiscriminate utilization of chemical fertilisers and insecticides began degrading soil high quality and water our bodies within the area. “Whilst farmers relentlessly used chemical substances to get extra manufacturing in much less time, it progressively destroyed our soil to an extent that it began shedding its richness,” Abdul Ahad Lone tells The Higher India.
Abdul’s circle of relatives was once amongst this sort of farmer households till 2002 when he transformed his 40 kanal (5 acres) land into an natural farm. To succeed in this, the innovative farmer discovered to make vermicompost – trojan horse manure that complements soil construction, fertility, and drainage.
With vermicompost, no longer most effective did Abdul give a boost to his farmland fertility but in addition became it into an extra supply of source of revenue. Nowadays, the farmer makes vermicompost in 1,000 beds with a day-to-day manufacturing of 5 tonnes, incomes him a day-to-day source of revenue of Rs 50,000. Remaining yr, his annual turnover was once Rs 1.5 crore!
Boarding the gravy teach
It was once in 1996 that Abdul first heard of natural farming. On a teach adventure from Mumbai to Kashmir, Abdul met an natural farmer from Sikkim who defined the long-term perils of inorganic farming. Despite the fact that the teach adventure got here to an finish, he launched into a brand new trail to undertake natural farming in his circle of relatives farm.
“I remained involved with Swagata. Again then, there was once no YouTube, so we might speak about natural farming strategies at the landline community. In 2002, she prompt me to organize vermicompost to get extra manufacturing from the natural farm,” he says.
“Vermicompost is wealthy in nitrates and minerals corresponding to phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Those paintings as very good natural fertilisers and beef up soil high quality,” he says.
The innovative farmer went directly to take a 15-day coaching from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Anantnag, to grasp the nitty-gritty of vermicompost making. “I used to be a curious farm boy. The educational greater my pastime to enforce the learnings,” he says.
Utilising uncooked fabrics – cow dung, agricultural and kitchen waste – to be had at house, Abdul started getting ready vermicompost for his natural farm. For this, he spent Rs 10,000 to determine a small shed, a pit, and tarpaulin sheets. He used natural manure and far to his expectation, Abdul were given double manufacturing from his farm of apples, walnuts, paddy, greens, maize, and peaches. The manufacturing stored expanding day-to-day.
Empowering unemployed villagers with waste
Seeing his good fortune, native farmers began frequenting Abdul’s manufacturing unit to grasp some great benefits of vermicompost. “Steadily, they began purchasing vermicompost in small amounts from me. The call for grew after they seen excellent manufacturing in comparison to inorganic farming,” he provides.
Abdul felt that the vermicompost had the possible to be become a trade. By means of 2009, he scaled up the paintings to a industrial point and began promoting trojan horse manure beneath the label Ahad Agro Farms. Quickly after, his gross sales surged and he began getting repeat orders from native farmers.
To cater to the call for, he built 350 vermi beds. “I get ready vermicompost the use of the mattress approach the place composting is finished at the kaccha flooring via making beds of natural manure. Previous, I used to organize it in cemented pits however needed to discard this system because it didn’t supply a secure atmosphere for worms to thrive,” he says.
“Worms require optimal warmth to live to tell the tale within the harsh wintry weather of Kashmir. There was once a time when I discovered maximum of my worms to be lifeless. Then again, there was once one cemented pit that was once kaccha in a single nook. The worms had discovered their method into the soil thru it and survived the wintry weather. This gave me an concept to stay them in open beds in order that they seep into the bottom when it snows outdoor and are available out in summer time,” he provides.
Abdul manages to promote no less than 5 tonnes of vermicompost day-to-day to native farmers in Jammu and Kashmir. Along with his efforts, nearly all of the Simthan village has discarded chemical fertilisers to make use of natural manure.
Yearly, he manufactures 36,000 baggage of 50kg every. “However there’s a large call for for vermicompost in complete Kashmir. With the present manufacturing, I’m catering to just 10-15 villages. I’m making plans to spice up manufacturing to one lakh baggage now,” he provides.
The usage of his trade type, Abdul has additionally inspired unemployed citizens in his village to soak up the vermicompost trade via giving unfastened coaching. As of now, round 25 rural adolescence and 150 girls homemakers educated via him are operating their devices throughout Kashmir.
For his paintings, Abdul has won a number of national-level awards together with the Innovative Farmer and the Entrepreneur Award via the Govt of India.
He has additionally won the most efficient farmer award via the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sher-e-Kashmir College of Agricultural Sciences and Era of Kashmir (SKUAST-Okay), and popularity via the Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat governments.
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“I’m humbled to get reputation from such a lot of states. As a part of it, I met many ministers and governors however my actual award is to empower those homemakers and rural adolescence who at the moment are incomes char paise (further source of revenue) from what was once a waste to them. Previous, they’d get Rs 100 via promoting 50 kg of cow dung, however now they’re incomes Rs 400 via simply changing it into vermicompost. It offers me immense pride after I pay them,” he provides.
Edited via Padmashree Pande. All footage: Abdul Ahad Lone.