Cultivation in most difficult conditions: Dalit farmers' firm commitment to natural farming

By Bharat Dogra*

In Bamauri village of Talbehat block (Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh) Maniram and his wife Shanti work in most difficult conditions to cultivate their small one hectare farm. The farm is located in such a remote place and so highly exposed to grazing by wild animals that few would persist with cultivating this land for long.

However Maniram and Shanti have created a livable shelter right on the farm and keep chasing away wild animals at night (mainly neelgais), helped by a few dogs.

Despite working so hard, what is remarkable is that they are a very happy couple. They were smiling so frequently in the course of our conversation that while speaking to them we also became very happy and it was only with a lot of reluctance that I had to leave the farm due to the pressure of keeping other appointments.

Secondly, it was clear that they are very devoted to each other, enjoy working together and have a lot of respect for the contribution made by each other. When we praised Maniram, he immediately said, Oh she has worked so hard.

Together, they have worked to create a very beautiful farm and garden. Within one hectare in a mixed farming system with appropriate crop rotations they grow cereals and millets, fruits and vegetables, legumes and oilseeds, also some flowers, herbs and spices.

They have trees of lemon and other citrus fruits, anvla or gooseberry, pomegranate, guava, mulberry, banana and different varieties, small and big, of marigold flowers.

Another very remarkable aspect of this beautiful farm and garden is that both Maniram and Shanti are completely committed to natural farming. They do not use any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Maniram said, “I must care about my health and my family’s health but equally important is that I must care about the health of everyone who eats the produce of our small farm and their health must also be protected.”

Shanti generally did not speak a lot but she nodded her head strongly in agreement when Maniram said this and quietly said—it has to be like this only. Otherwise it is not good, not useful, not worth doing.” It appeared to me that these two simple farmers have inherent natural wisdom which the top scientists of multinational companies do not possess.

Most of the farmers here have started hiring tractors even if they do not have their own tractors. When I asked Maniram regarding this he said—I love my bullocks, they are my Hira-Moti, and I will never leave them.”

This farm has two cows, two bullocks, and one calf.

However even such a highly creative farmer like Maniram was once unable to work on his remote, isolated field due to non-availability of water. So he had to migrate to places like Indore in search of work. The situation changed when a water pond was created by the government, and to feed water to it check dams were constructed by Parmarth voluntary organization, while the village community contributed with some voluntary work as well as with land. It was this cooperative effort of Parmarth, the village community and the administration which created the basic water support on the basis of which Maniram could make his journey from being a migrant worker to being a largely self-reliant and happy small farmer. Parmarth also helped them in other ways with seeds, plants etc.

Their dependence on diesel for irrigation is proving expensive and as we are leaving Maniram asks Parmarth’s local coordinator Sidhgopal whether an electricity connection can be available in the near future. Sidhgopal promises to do his best, although he is also keeping open the solar option.

So while Maniram and Shanti still have to sort out this and some other issues, on the whole they have succeeded in creating a beautiful farm in very difficult conditions. It is a sustainable, ecologically protective farm whose only fossil fuel connection relates to the use of diesel for lifting water but it creates organic soil and grows many trees which can absorb much more carbon. As a low-cost, self-reliant and sustainable farm that has more hardy and resilient mixed crop systems, it is also very useful from the point of view of climate change adaptation. It is protective towards both environment and health.

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*Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include ‘India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food’, ‘A Day in 2071’ and ‘Man over Machine’

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