Integrated farming: The future of agriculture in Tamil Nadu?

DW (English)

A Tamil Nadu farmer is helping the environment with integrated farming methods and making a healthy profit. Instead of chemical fertilizers, he uses manure from his livestock. Multi-cropping helps avoid weed growth and cuts the risk of harvest loss.

Transcript

00:00Sambath Kumar is an engineer by trade, but for 14 years now, he's been running his own

00:07farm.

00:08On 10 hectares of land, he rears animals and grows crops in an almost completely circular

00:14system.

00:16He uses no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

00:19After initially trying out various approaches, business is now good.

00:26In addition to crops, cattle and poultry, we also rear fish and rabbits in our integrated

00:33farm.

00:36We use the faeces as manure for our crops.

00:40That's how integrated farming becomes very profitable.

00:46The government of Tamil Nadu offers financial support to farmers who switch to sustainable

00:51integrated farming, because starting out is not easy.

00:58Sambath Kumar has not ploughed his fields for 12 years.

01:02The natural manure from the animals provides everything the soil needs.

01:07The microorganisms and worms loosen the upper layers of soil all by themselves.

01:12But this process takes time.

01:15And you won't find any large fields with monocultures here.

01:21To avoid weeds, we do multi-cropping.

01:24In the first acre, we have coconuts.

01:27In the second, tree crops.

01:29In the third, crops like plantain and papaya.

01:32In the fourth, moringa trees and fodder crops.

01:34And in the fifth, peppers.

01:36We order them according to the sunlight.

01:38When there's enough shade, the growth of weeds is automatically controlled.

01:44Here in Tamil Nadu, as elsewhere, farming has long been affected by climate change,

01:49with droughts that last far too long, followed by very heavy rain.

01:55Sustainable farms like Sambath Kumar's are much better placed to cope, as marketers are

02:00well aware.

02:02Given these changes, the risk factor is way higher for farmers than for other sectors.

02:08But doing multi-cropping gradually decreases the risk.

02:11If there's no rain for three months, we can still earn from one crop to another.

02:16But farming a single crop is like gambling.

02:18There's only one option.

02:20You win or lose everything.

02:27Another factor in the farm's success, Sambath Kumar processes his own produce.

02:32He dries the coconuts or turns them into oil with his own mill.

02:37Bananas also earn him more if they're dried before sale.

02:40Professional marketers link him with customers.

02:45We are constantly establishing markets for organic farmers and produce.

02:50Customers want multiple organic products from one farmer.

02:53So when a farmer does multi-cropping, it's easy for us to create a direct link with customers.

02:59But mono-cropping makes it more difficult to reach customers and sell the produce.

03:05So integrated farming is very beneficial.

03:10Sambath Kumar's farm has long been a profitable business thanks to integrated farming.

03:16It's a model for success also for other farmers in the region.

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