ORGANIC FARMERS IN TAMIL NADU - TNAU Agritech Portal

ORGANIC FARMERS IN TAMIL NADU(Source: Organic Farmers Association of India Survey, 2009)Organic Farmer andS.Noaddress1 Mr.SivaprakasamAranarai, Perambalur,Thiruvalluar District,Tamil Nadu2 Mr.G. BalakrishnanPutharam Farm,Nemam,Thirukkathipalli (Via),Thanjavur District,Tamil NaduRemarks Mr.Sivaprakasam cultivates on six acres of irrigatedand six acres of rain-fed land with assistance fromhis family and hired help. He cultivates cumbu, chilies, groundnut, cholam,coriander, red gram, sunflower, onion, sugarcaneand rice. In one plot he grows a combination ofcrops and trees, namely tomatoes, chilies (threemonth crops), lemon (four years, 20 foot spacing)and moringa (10 foot spacing) with teak andcasuarina plants around. The organic manure needs of the farm are met withanimal waste from his cattle. Vermicompost isprepared on the farm and leaf manure comes fromMorinda tinctoria which grows naturally on thecontour bunds. Mr.Sivaprakasam’s future plans include practicing acombination of permaculture and organic methodson a half acre experimental plot to explore thepossibility of meeting needs of an average familyfrom its produce. This farmer is the secretary of CAD (CommunityAction for Development) and believes thatsustainable agriculture is the only way to stop thecontinuous distress sale of land by small andmarginal farmers. He is an energetic and inquisitive retired engineerlooking after part of the family land. His is basically atree farm. He has planted a variety of trees and hasplans to introduce many more. When he took up the land for cultivation, it was asandy upland, created long ago by the overflowingof the river Cauvery. He leveled the land and startedgrowing trees - primarily timber and fodder ratherthan fruit trees. The trees include teak, eucalyptus,guava, maramalli, gooseberry, etc. He has grown alive fence with trees like subabul and eucalyptus. This farmer is very particular about using organicmatter. He collects whatever organic matter isavailable in the village and makes it into compost.He is also very interested in microbial action onorganic matter during decomposition and has triedtwo different treatments with two different fungi. Oneis Plerotus species and the other is collected byskimming the surfaces of water tanks.

3 Mr. UmeshChandrasekar andMr.Meenakshi -PuvidhamNagarkoodal Village(Po), Indur (Via),Dharmapuri - 636 803,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04342-311641,e - Mail:puvidhamtrust@yahoo.com.4 Mr.GanapathySakthi Farm,Veerapathy, PuliyurPost, Kulathur Taluka,Pudukottai District -622 504, Tamil Nadu. Mr.Umesh is a mechanical engineer by professionand works part time in the NGO, ‘Agriculture Manand Ecology’ (AME). Mr. Meenakshi is an architect,who specializes in low cost housing. Growing up inMumbai, Mr. Umesh and Mr. Meenakshi felt thatworking in rural areas alone would be sensible andmeaningful. Mr. Meenakshi was exposed toagriculture in Auroville, while Mr. Umesh wasmotivated after a stint with AME. In 1992, they invested in 12 acres of land in interiorDharmapuri. The land, located on the slope of a hill,was totally degraded and barren, except for a fewshrubs. Since then, over the past ten years, theyhave planted a number of trees of different varietiesand introduced major soil and water conservationmeasures. Despite the erratic rainfall, the restorationefforts have resulted in regeneration of the land andseveral trees are now re-growing from the existingroot stock. Crops grown include cholam, cumbu, varagu, redgram, cow pea, green gram, groundnut, etc. Thefollowing cropping pattern is adopted: Samai (July) - Sanhemp and Daincha (October)- Wheat (December) Samai - Cholam - Redgram (Samai harvestedafter 75 days replaced with ‘kollu’ which helps incontrolling weeds.) Cow pea is grown as intercrop and groundnut isgrown as single crop. Fodder and green manurecrops include sesbania, subabul and glyricidia,timber such as teak and fruit trees like papaya, citrusand guava are also grown. Vegetables needed forthe family are also cultivated. Seedlings are produced in the farm nursery. Strawfor the cattle is bought from outside. Compost isproduced on the farm itself. Solar pump set helpsirrigation. Pest control measures include: (i) Ash andbuttermilk (ii) Neem extract application, (iii) Cow’surine, (iv) Chilli leaves affected with virus, ground topowder and mixed with cow urine and applied forviral disease on black gram. Mr. Ganapathy lives on a small farm with his mother,wife and three children. He is an innovative,knowledgeable farmer who views each day’s activityin terms of energy spent. Hence he does everythingwith a view to minimizing use of energy while at thesame time satisfying needs. He has named his farm‘Sakthi’.

5 Mr. N.S.A. VeluMudaliar4, ChidamparaVinayagar Kovil Street,Puliangudi,NellaikattabommanDistrict - 627 855Tamil Nadu.6 Mr. P. ThangasamyKarpaga Solai,Sendhangudi,Nagaram Post,Alangudi Taluk,Pudukottai District -614 624, Tamil Nadu.7 Gloria LandSri Aurobindo Ashram,Pondicherry - 605 002,Tamil Nadu.Ph: 0413 2666337,2339017,Cell: 094432 87531,094432 72780,e-Mail:glorialand@sancharnet.in Mr. Ganapathy practices eco-friendly farming on 2.5acres of land. He also owns another eight acres intwo different places where rainfed cultivation ispracticed. The soil is sandy clay with slight alkalinity.Average rainfall is around 650 mm with lightshowers in July and heavy rains in November andDecember. No machinery is used on the farm exceptfor a three horsepower pump set for pumping water,a plough and other simple implements. Work likeharvesting and weeding is done manually by thefarmer, his wife and mother without hiring outsidelabour. Mr. Velu Mudaliar has 45 years experience inagriculture of which, for the past 15 years he hasbeen practicing sustainable agriculture. He is ahighly committed farmer with a remarkableinclination to experiment. He and his youngest sonlook after the farm. Crops: This farmer grows fruit trees like guava,lemon, coconut, mango, gooseberry and other treeslike teak, sesbania, subabul and Nagai. Talkative by nature, Mr. Thangasamy’s life revolvesaround tree cultivation. Whatever the topic hechooses to speak on, he finishes in praise of trees.He emphasizes that trees have given him constantincome, fodder, leaf manure, good micro-climateand what is more significant, they have made him avirtuous man. Mr. Thangasamy owns 25 acres altogether: 12around his home and the rest in another place. Hehas been practicing alternative farming for the past15 years. Spread over 40 hectares (100 acres), Gloria Landdairy farm has been a pioneer in organic farming.Realizing the ill-effects of chemicals and pesticidesway back in 1967, Gloria Land persisted withorganic techniques all through the halcyon days ofthe Green Revolution when the usage of chemicalswas proclaimed as the best way of farming. The dairy is an integral part of the farm, with nearly120 heads of cattle mainly of Indian pedigree. Novaccination is given to the animals. The averagemilk production is 325 litres per day. Approximately250 kg of cow dung is used in the biogas plant.Slurry from biogas plants is used as manure. Approximately 15-20 acres of land is used for riceproduction with an average yield of 40 tonnes percrop.

ooks@auroville.org.in13 Kolunji FarmKudumbam, EzhilNagar, Keeranur,Pudukottai District -622 502, Tamil Nadu14 Santosh FarmOoruppannadi Nivas,Kottur,Malayandipattanam,Pollachi, CoimbatoreDistrict - 642 114,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04259 - 286499 to286504Cell: 09442416543e-Mail:santoshfarms@gmail.comContact: Mr. MadhuRamakrishnan15 Mr. N. NagarajN. N. Farms, 244,Bahuttampalayam,EkkaraithatthapalliP.O. Bhavanisagar Via- 638451, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04295 221895,Cell: 0944307149516 Mrs. S.Poongodi /Mr. R.SelvamPudhu Nilavu OrganicFarm / ManonmaniVermi Farm,Thalavumalai,of paddy, and around 35 acres of millet. Onlyindigenous crop varieties are used. The milletsgrown are barnyard millet (kuderaivalli in Tamil,sanwa in Hindi) and kodo millet (varagu in Tamil,kodon in Hindi). There are also some tamarindplantations, and plots of casuarina trees. The farmalso grows Hibiscus sabdariffa, or Rosella. The fruitof this crop is dried and used for juice production inAuroville’s solar kitchen. This farm was established by Kudumbam, an NGO,in 1992. There are five families living on it andlooking after the activities. At the time of purchase itwas barren land. Thanks to efforts at waterharvesting and planting pioneer trees, the farm isnow well wooded. Mr. Madhu Ramakrishnan hated agriculture in hisyouth, as the income was very low when comparedwith other professions. He studied to be an engineerand then entered industry. Inspite of this, he hasbeen farming for the past 25 years. Only recently hehas begun to understand its real nature after readingFukuoka’s ‘One Straw Revolution.’ The farm layout is as follows: 32 acres coconut, 5acres mango, 5 acres teak, 4 acres tamarind and 2acres of fodder crops. The coconut plantation isinterspersed with cocoa, silveroak, arecanut,kadepela and medical plants as well as leguminouscrops. The teak plantation has pepper plants. Asmall orchard is also maintained with jack fruit,chickoo, amla, guava etc. The plants and treesselected for intercropping provide a large amount ofleaf fall. Vetiver is cultivated to avoid soil erosion. Mr. Nagaraj is a well known jasmine flower grower.He grows banana, turmeric and vegetablesorganically. Panchkavya, herbal pesticide and vermicompost areall prepared on the farm. Surplus is sold. Pudhu Nilavu Organic farm / Manonmani VermiFarm was started in 1999 by Mrs. S. Poongodi andMr. R. Selvam with the aim of producing vermicompostersand not just vermi-compost. Selvam andhis wife wanted to create awareness and trainfarmers in vermin composting. Manonmani is aTamil epic in which the earthworm is referred to in

Arachaloor, ErodeDistrict - 638 101,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 0424 2357537e-Mail :manpulu@rediffmail.com17 Mr. V.S.ArunachalamElunkathir OrganicFarm,P.Vellalapalayam Post,Gobichettipalayam,Erode District -638476,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04285 246301,Cell: 094433 4632318 Mr.K.Mohanasundaram& Mrs.PushparaniAmudha SurbhiOrganic FarmingTraining Centre, 12,Thingalur Road,Nasiyanur Post, ErodeDistrict - 638107,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 0424 255522719 Mr.R. Nallusamy &Mrs.ShantiKoppampatty Post,Thuraiyur Taluka,Trichy - 621 012,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04327-253366detail. Hence Nammalwar gave it this name. The farm is 2.6 acres and has more than 400 treesof 80 different species. Around 1/4 portion of thefarm is being developed as a model farm for trainingprogrammes. Mr. V.S.Arunachalam, son of a small farmer from arural background is an ITI diploma holder. Instead ofusing this training he decided to farm and fortunatelychose to do it the ecological way. The specialfeatures of his farm are: Integrating goat rearing with crops; Preparing panchakavya with goat products; Mixing cattle urine with irrigation water; Vermiculture in between banana trees; Mulching in sugarcane; Single seedling plantation in rice; and, Green manure preparation by sowing 20 kindsof crop seeds. Mr.Mohanasundaram and his wife Mrs.Pushparanifarm, teach and train others in natural/organicfarming on their farm land. The plot is three and halfacres, of which one and a half is owned by them andtwo acres is on lease. They were not always organicfarmers, but have been so for the past eight years.In 1986 when the farm used chemical fertilizers,Mr.Mohanasundaraman’s father got the first prize inthe state for growing maize. However even at thattime they did not use chemical pesticides orinsecticides, only chemical fertilizers. Mr.Nallusamy and his wife Mrs.Shanti are wellknown tapioca farmers who have only recentlyconverted their entire twenty-five acre farmland toorganic. Mr.Nallusamy says that a few years ago hemet Mr.Nammalvar who strongly advocated that heturn to organic farming. However, rather than takeMr.Nammalvar’s word for it, Mr.Nallusamy decidedto visit several organic farms. Being completelyconvinced, he converted his own farm to fullyorganic. The benefits were immediately visible. Ten acres of the 25 acres farmland are undertapioca plantation, turmeric is grown on five acres,coconut plantation occupies another six acres andthe remaining four acres have a mixture of paddy,onions and vegetables. Mrs.Shanti is the one whoactually manages the farm with Mr.Nallusamy cocoordinatingthe activities and assisting from time totime. They own five Sindhi cows. They now prepare

20 Mr.M. KrishnamurthyKullampalayatharThottam,Perumapalayam,Nagalur Post, AthaniVia - 638 502, BhavaniTaluk, Erode District,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 042567-26146321 Mr.V.C. Kannan220, Thirumalirunsolai,Pudukaraipudur Post,Gobichettipalayam -638 313, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04285 - 266303,Cell: 098427 6123222 Mrs.Reeta GanapathyIlluppakkorai - 614202,GanapathiagraharamVia, PapanasamTaluka, TanjoreDistrict, Tamil Naduherbal pesticide, panchgavya and vermicompost.Mr.Nallusamy says that with this combination oforganic nutrients and pest management strategiesno insects dangerous to the crops visit his field.Even rats do not dare to visit his farm, he confidentlyasserts. Despite owning a fifteen acre plot of farmland,Mr.Krishnamurthy almost gave up farming since hesimply could not make ends meet. His is a droughtprone area and the main problem naturally is watershortage. Ironically, however, weeds grew inabundance and this state of affairs nearly drove himto despair. Then he came to know of organic farming. Heswitched overnight to organic farming practices ashe had nothing to lose. To his amazement he foundthat not only was expenditure on maintenance of thefarm greatly reduced but that both the problems ofwater shortage and abundance of weeds becomemanageable issues instead of the nightmare theyearlier were for him. So he has decided to continueto be a farmer instead of selling his land andmigrating to the city. He now owns thirty sheep and two cows. Threeacres of the farm are under coconut plantation, twoacres are sown with maize, two acres have bajra,one acre is for mixed vegetables and the rest of thefarm is reserved as sheep grazing ground. Mr.Kannan converted his six acre farm to ‘fullyorganic’ some years ago. Three acres are forsugarcane, one acre for paddy and two acres have amixture of bananas, vegetables, turmeric, etc. Heswitched over to organic farming as he found thatthe chemical farming which he was earlier practicingwas not profitable. Also he learnt of the negativeeffects of chemical farming & how it degrades the soil. On a five acre plot of farmland, Mrs.Reeta cultivatespaddy, vegetables, coconut and sugarcane, withturmeric being the intercrop in the coconut grove.The farm produce meets the family’s personalrequirements. Only the surplus is sold. Mrs.Reetasays that they regularly get an income from the saleof vegetables and other farm produce. The familyalone works on the farm keeping the costs down byengaging extra help only when they cannot managethemselves. They have become organic farmers since the pastten years. Earlier they used chemical fertilizers and

23 Mr.P.C.SubramaniamNasiyanur,Pallivalayam, ErodeDistrict - 638 107,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04326-24055524 Mr.K.S.RaghavanNo. 2 UppukinarStreet, Kottur, M.Patnam PO, Pollachi,Coimbatore - 642 114,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04259-252227125 Mr.S. Thangaraju andMrs.Banumathi236/4, Akkarai KodiveriPost, Kasipalayam Via,Gobichetti Palayam,Erode-District-638 454Ph.: 04285 264150with it one naturally had to also use pesticides andso on. Finding the fertilizer cost very high theyswitched to organic farming. They also realized thatchemical farming spoils the soil which is why youneed more and more chemicals each year to givethe same results and this is what makes chemicalfarming so costly. Now with the cattle they own theyare able to prepare panchakavya, do vermicompostingand make their own herbal pesticides and so on. Mr.P.C.Subramaniam is a marginal farmer whopractices integrated organic farming. He keeps hissheep in a deep litter house. He gets very goodprices for his sheep. The manure from the deep litterhouse is used to enrich the soil and increase itswater holding capacity. All his sheep are of theindigenous variety; he has carried out all his organicfarming activities and experiments using sheepmanure on his own and are pleased with the results. 430 coconut trees of the age 27-30 years aregrowing on my farm. On this land, not a single ounceof chemical has been utilized since the 1960sdespite the ‘green revolution’. In 1993, I took charge of the farm after my father’spassing away and in 1994, the region experienced asevere deficit of rain. The well on our land couldsupport only an hour of irrigation at a time and so Iintroduced a drip irrigation system for the coconuttrees in order to cope with this water shortage. Thisproved insufficient and following problems in the dripsystem itself I went in for a bore-well, finding waterat around 300 feet. I was able to revert to basinirrigation and introduced some organic inputs. Theyield increased to around 120 nuts per coconut tree. Mono-cropping and the intensive use of chemicalsthat have destroyed the soil are the main culprits.Farmers have not mulched their land resulting in areduced capacity of the land to retain moisture andtherefore large-scale water evaporation. Due toinadequate recharge wells also go dry. His hope is that even without irrigation my land willyield good results in the future and Fukuoka’sapproach will be proved correct in India too. Mr.Thangaraju and Mrs.Banumathi is a couple froma middle income family who decided to switch toorganic farming a few years ago. They follow all thestandard organic practices. They specialize in relaycropping.

26 Mr.V. RaviRajchettyar Thottam,Uppupallam, KenjanurPO, Sathyamangalamvia, Erode District -638 401, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04295 2477927 Mr.N.Gopalakrishnan No. 4/19, Akila NagarFirst Cross,Ganapathy Nagar,South Extension,Mambazhasalai,Thiruvanaikoil, Trichy- 620 005, TamilNadu. Farm: Panickampattyvillage, KuliathaliTaluk, Karur District,Tamil Nadu. Cell:094431 48224,099421 67789,e-Mail:dngopal2003@gmail.com /dngopal2003@yahoo.co.in28 Mr.P.B. MukundanH. No. 92, RajajiStreet, Chingalpet 603001, KanchipuramDist., Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 044 27423902.Cell: 09382337818 Mr.Ravi is growing a variety of trees on his farm likenelli (gooseberry), pathimukham (from Kerala, barkused as a coloring agent), sapota, and guava. Hisfarm looks like a wild patch of upcoming forest. Hehas put in place drip irrigation, inspite of enoughwater in the well. He sells earthworms andvermiwash. I am rooted to the village and my native village isPanickampatti of Karur district. My father and motherhad no basic education. But through hard work theyincreased their land holding from a mere ½ acre to60 acres and provided us with education. Out ofthese 60 acres I inherited 10.5 acres as my share. Iused to follow the agricultural practices adopted byfellow agriculturists. My experience with chemical fertilizers andpesticides was not so encouraging. Cost ofcultivation increased due to price escalation of basicinputs, at the same time there was steady decline inthe yield. My see-saw battle continued with chemicalfarming till 1998. Having strongly felt the need to enhance agricultureproduction and also to do away with chemicals tosave land from degradation and man from healthhazards, I started experiments with natural ways offarming and organic farming in 1998. Mr.P.B. Mukandan has an organic farm and keeps adairy of 40 indigenous breed cows. Five years ago,Mr.Mukandan made a trip all the way from TamilNadu to Rajasthan in search of indigenous, hardycow breeds to start his dairy farm. On his first trip he collected 11 Tharparkar breedcattle from Bassi and Durgapur Gaushalas inRajasthan. Subsequently, some locals helped him toscout remote villages in Jaisalmer and add 30 moreto his collection. He has successfully established hisdairy by selective breeding of these indigenouscows. He says it is ideal to introduce a fresh bull into thegroup after every three years; otherwise inbreedingcauses deficient quality off-springs. He has recentlyobtained a Tharparkar bull from a line that hasrecorded 3200 liters of milk per lactation. He sourceshis fodder from Mr.Sundararaman’s organic farm inSatyamangalam. The feed consists of ragi, makha,black and red gram kernels/powder. Groundnut cake

29 Mr.Ilangovan &Beauty Trust39, ThirumanjanaStreet, Tal: Lalgudi,Dist.-Tiruchirapalli,Tamil Nadu 621601.Ph.: 0431-2543755,Cell: 0984241195330 Mr.V. Antony Samy#53, Westcar Street,Sinthamani,Pulliyangudi, TalukSivagiri, DistrictThirunallvelli,Tamilnadu.Ph.:04636 233343Cell: 944358207631 Mr.R. SrinivasanVil: Kurumbarai, Post:Polambakkam, TalukaCheyyur - 603 309,KancheepuramDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 0988475609032 Mr.A. Raja PandianNo. 2, U.V.Saminathan St.,Maruthi Nagar, RajaKeelpakam - 600 073,Chennai, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 044-22270687,Cell: 09840620660and boiled bran are procured only from knownsources to maintain the quality of milk and health ofcattle. The cows average eight to ten liters of milkper day per lactating season. The 3 hectare farm is located inEdaiyatrumangalam, Lalgudi. He is usingvermicompost and other organic farming methodssince five years, before which the farm usedchemical inputs for 10 years. Rice, sugarcane,banana, coconut are cultivated. Surplus produced issold alongside educating the consumer on benefitsof organic foods. Mr.Ilangovan has been a Zilla Parishad BoardMember for three terms since 1996 and has usedhis position well to propagate organic farmingmethods within the district through the panchayatand the Beauty Trust. The trust works with 45 localassociate groups in close association with 1000farmers within Tirichirapalli through 408 villagepanchayats. Mr.V.Antony Samy is farming organically for the past19 years on his 150 acre farm. In 1991 he convertedto organic methods of farming. His first organic crop was paddy and later he beganto cultivate other crops like sugarcane, fruits, andvegetables using organic practices. Presently he is cultivating sugarcane - 20 acres;lemon - 60 acres; amla - 20 acres, paddy - 30 acres.On the rest of the farm he grows vegetables. The 15 acre farm is in Kurumbarai village. Afterhaving farmed chemically for 40 years he switchedto organic farming a few years ago. Maize, Ragi,Chili, Sugarcane, peanuts, corn, pulses etc aregrown on the farm. He uses sprinkler irrigation for groundnut agricultureafter the harvest of which black gram and maize arecultivated on the same ground. Surplus is marketed. The farm is in Moovalur, P.O. Malliyam inNagapattinam district. After farming chemically for20 years he switched to organic farming two yearsago because the yield on his farm was goingconsistently down. With urbanization creeping intorural areas, availability of labour also was a difficulty. Coconut, paddy, some vegetables, cotton,sugarcane are cultivated. Every acre of land yields25 bags of paddy which is sold to the governmentdepartment, CTNCSC Civil Supply Corporation. Vermicompost, panchakavya, mulching, farmyard

33 Mr.P. Adaikalaraju82/36, S.M.E.S.C.Colony, II Cross, K.K.Nagar (P.O.),Tiruchirapalli - 620021, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 0944358170434 Mr.A. Dhanraj Patil &Arivagam TrustArivagam Trust, 36Thirumangalam Road,Santhaipettai, Lalgudi -621 601, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 0431-6541986,Cell: 09943018554,e-Mail:humenreach@gmail.com,Web:www.tamilwriters.comContact Person:Mr.A.Dhanaraj, ProjectDirector35 Mr.R. RamakrishnanVil. & Post Vaipoor,Tal. & Dist.Tiruvanamalai - 606774, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04175-244791,Cell: 09787179096manure, compost are used. Cows on the farmprovide dung; bore well is used for flooding paddyfield. Paddy and sugarcane crops are interchanged.Paddy and cotton is sown in the proportion of 2:1,paddy and pulses are sown in the proportion of 2:1. This is alternated with growing green manure for oneseason. He is part of a local organization of 700farmers that meets once every three months toshare farming notes. The 4 hectare farm is located in Valanadu ofManapparai Taluka. Raju has been farmingorganically for the past two years. Paddy and cottonare cultivated using cow dung compost and hewishes to now experiment with mulch. Mr.Dhanraj’s 5 acre farm is located at Kovilady inTiruraiyaru. He has been farming organically for thepast 25 years cultivating paddy, banana and growinggreen vegetables for home consumption. Somevegetables are sold to friends at cost. Panchagavya,green manure, organic pesticides are prepared from‘bitter leaves’ and used on farm. He also usesCyanobacteria. Water is sourced through channelsfrom river Kaveri. Arivagam Trust has been working on organicfarming issues for the past five years. They arelinked to 15 NGO groups and 250 women groups.They work directly with 2500 farmers who are beingslowly converted to organic methods. Thesemethods are being introduced for paddy, banana,vegetables and herbals. Their approach is throughtrainings and advocacy. Some experiments incoordination with University of Bharadhidhasan,Trichy on Cyanobacteria in the vegetable gardenshave yielded very good results. The 9 acre farm is located at Vaipoor. He has beenfarming organically since 1998 before which hepracticed chemical farming for 20 years. He grows 3acres paddy, 2 acres sorghum, 4 acres sugarcaneand vegetables for home consumption on 5 cents ofland. Produce is sold to co-operatives and thePasumai Angadi Green House in Erode. This hasbeen set up by member farmers through contributorypayment. He uses panchagavya, pusivariti (organicpesticide), cow dung, mulch, green manure, sanapaion the farm. When panchakavya is applied, paddy is30% larger in size and there are 6-7 times increasein yield.

36 Mr.S.A.Dharmalingam250 Suneisandai ,Taluka SenumpattiBhavani, Erode Dist.-638 504, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 0425-8258527.37 Mr.K.V. Palaniswamy Venkataswamy Illam,Kethanur - 641 671,Tal. Tiruppur, Dist.Tamil Nadu.Ph: 04225 279220/279241,Cell: 09843059241,09943979791 Prakash Paper Mills,Pattam,Pottapalayam - 630611, SivagangaiDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph. 0452 2465744,3092767.38 Mr.K.NallasamyErrikari Thottam,Perumal kovilpudur,Nakalur post, Anthiyur- 638502, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9842729596,984282959639 Mrs.ParvathiVenkateshwaranW/o Venkateshwaran,Pallatu Thottam,Alukuli post,Karatadipalayam,GobichettipalayamTaluka, Erode District,Tamil Nadu. Ph: 04285264103, 264646 The 5 acre land is located at Suneisandai. He hasbeen farming organically since 1985 and convertedfully in 1992 before which he practiced chemicalfarming for 30 years. Chili, papaya, pumpkin, localvegetables, banana, onion, tomato, brinjal andbeans are grown on his farm. The vegetables andfruits are marketed through associations, banks andoffices. Mulching, compost, man-pullu (earthworm)vermicompost and panchakavya are used. The 10 acres of Mr.Palaniswamy’s farm are devotedto organic vegetable farming. He has been farmingorganically for the past two years before which hepracticed chemical farming for 34 years. He has avariety of vegetables that are supplied to the market.He practices raised bed farming and supplies waterfor just 15-20 minutes per day. Pheromone and light traps are used for keepingaway insects. Azolla is fed to the cows and the wateris used for the vegetable plantations. Panchakavyais the main spray used. He uses fish solution for hisvegetable garden. Old fermented butter milk is keptfor 7 days and then sprayed on plants to stimulatehigher flowering. This directly translates into extravegetable produce. Vermicompost is used on the whole farm. Heproduces bitter gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd,lady finger, tomato, gherkins, beans and drumsticks. The seeds are supplied to the localAgricultural University. In the past seven years, he has tried to grow variedcrops like cotton, maize, organic SRI paddy- whiteponni, kichadisamba-native varieties of Tamil Nadu,Kadali banana (with ratooning) and sugarcane. The turmeric crop is exceptional and pest free.Presently he cultivates paddy (white ponni,kichadisamba) on two acres, turmeric on two acresand the 2 nd ratoon banana crop stands on threeacres. The left over sugarcane thrashes aremulched in between in the standing banana crop. Mrs. Parvathi Venkateshwaran is doing organicfarming for the past six years on 40 acres of land.She grows sapota on ten acres, turmeric on twoacres. Coconut & cocoa is intercropped on ten acresof land; white ponni, delux ponni on eight and halfacres.

40 Senthil FarmBangalapudur, 28,New Hospital Road,Gobichettipalayam-638452, Erode District,Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9842089273, e-Mail:mailto:visualv@gmail.comvisualv@gmail.comContact:Mr.V.Senthilkumar41 Mr.RamalingamAnnur GounderThottam,Sathyamangalam-638402, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9965699288.42 Mr.K.R.Sundaram1/1A Kovil thottam,Annur, Coimbatore -641 653, Tamil Nadu.Ph.:04254 264278,Cell: 960091616643 Mrs. IndraRamanathanVadakku Thottam,Kanakkam PalayamPost, Kallipatti, Erode-638505, Tamil Nadu. Mr.Senthil’s father, late Mr.Venkatachalam, aleading organic farmer started organic farming in1998 in horticultural crops like guava, amla andmango. Now Senthil continues in his father’sfootsteps. The farm is 34 acres in size with eight acres each ofguava, amla and mango. Pathimugam (a medicinalplant) is grown on an eight acre farm located atKallipatti in Gobichettipalayam Taluk. Mr.Ramalingam has been farming organically since2000 on 40 acres of land. He is now wellexperienced in growing crops like turmeric, bananaand tapioca. He uses Bio-controllers likePseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus sps. for themanagement of disease and applies chickenmanure to the farm during land preparation tosupplement soil nutrient content. He recommendsPseudomonas + Panchakavya for leaf spot diseaseand Trichoderma viride + Bacillus for rootdiseases.The farm has yielded 13 to 15 kg ofbanana (Kadali variety) per tree and 18 tons oftapioca per acre. He uses biogas slurry asmultiplication base for the microbes, 15 days prior toapplication. Mr.K.R.Sundaram has been farming organically forthe past five years on 3 acres of land. The use andapplication of panchakavya, EM solution, Jeevaamritham have given an yield of 15 to 16 kg banana(netharan variety) per plant. In sugarcane, he hasachieved a yield of 80 tons per acre in the first cropand 68 tons in the third crop He says dipping theyoung banana suckers in the above solutions willavoid most of the pest and disease problem in theinitial stage of the crop. He normally divides his fieldinto two equal parts, in one part he plants bananawhile the other is left fallow for a season. In the nextseason this land is cultivated while the justharvested land is left fallow. The 152 acre Mrs.Indra Ramanathan Farm atKallipatti is being farmed by Smt. Indra since 2008.Itis an organic orchard with tree crops; On 60 acres,2000 coconut trees are intercropped with cocoaplants and a1000 dates palms and 300 mango trees.On 75 acres 3000 coconut trees are intercroppedwith malaivembu, savuku, kumil, rosewood (timber

Ph: 04285 263333,Cell: 934598108144 Mr.S. A. MyilsamyKannakanthottam,Chettipalayam,Aalathur post,Kavanthapaddi via,Bhavani Taluka-638455, Erode District,Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9965154640,996515464245 Mr.P.BalasubramaniumS/oPalanisamygounder,Thoppampatti,Narasimmanayakanpalayam,Mettupalayam,Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu.Cell: 994447509946 Mr.ArunLakshminarayananAIG Farms, Vedapatti,Thondamuthur road,Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9843015951,944222290847 Mr.Kasthuri RangianMalankuli, Thalavadi,Sathyamangalam-638461, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 9443388145,9442222908,9842255908.48 Mr.NandhakumarSri venkateswara BlueMetal, Mangalakaraivalue tree), jathikai, pomegranate, jackfruit andguava. On 15 acres is sapota. White ponni rice iscultivated on two acres Mr.Myilsamy has a 20 acre organic farm and has inthe past decade gained good experience of growingturmeric, sugarcane and paddy. Presently he growsBhavani rice on 2 acres. This land was initially not atall suitable for agriculture; however using organicpractices along with various soil enrichmenttechniques like use of green manures, application ofFYM, panchakavya and jeeva amirtham solution, hecultivated paddy - SRI method.15 acres arecultivated with sugarcane. Mulching has helped inincreasing the biomass to a great extent Mr.Balasubramanium practices organic farming onseven acres of his land and is well experienced ingrowing mulberry and banana. Banana has yieldedbunches weighing 18-19 kg. He says the cost ofcultivation using organic methods is low and thekeeping quality of the fruit is very good. Mr.Arun Lakshminarayanan is farming organically on10 acres since 2000.He has grown 700 coconuttrees, 2500 areca nut trees. The land is fullymulched with areca nut and coconut palms.Glyricidia has been planted to fix the free nitrogenfrom the atmosphere. He applies panchakavya tothe farm once in every 15 days. Mr.Kasthuri Rangian is a former MechanicalEngineer practicing organic farming on 98 acres ofthe 150 acres of total land. He cultivates 40 acres ofamla, 25 acres of cashew, 15 acres of mango, 12acres of coconut, 4 acres of sugarcane. On theremaining two acres, vegetables, sapota, banana,dates and so on are cultivated. Since the land was uncultivated, he offered to buildcowsheds for the local cattle keepers. The cow dungand urine was then purchased by him and used forimproving the soil on his land. Mr.Nandakumar is practicing Biodynamic Farmingon 40 acres since 2007. He has cultivated 20 acresof coconut, 8 acres of banana, 7 acres of curryleaves, 5 acres of mango and sapota. Within the

Pudur, Karamadai Via,Mettupalayam,Coimbatore - 641301,Tamil Nadu.Cell: 98452 7243949 Mr.R.Ramamurthy52-Gt, Annur Road,Mettupalayam -641301, Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04254 223952,Cell: 98422 23952.50 Mr.K. SureshkumarB-4 Lakshmi NarayanaApartments,Dr.Suburayan Street,Tatabet, Coimbatore-12, Tamil Nadu.Ph: 0422 249061251 Mr.S.ChinappanVattakkalvalasu,Malayam palayam,Karumandampalayam, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph: 0424 2351136,Cell: 94430 1978152 Mr.C.V.Subramanium3’ R Spiritual farm,Polumvampatti road,Thanamanallur post,Thondamuthur,Coimbatore-641109.Ph.: 0422 2906200,Cell: 999436899853 Mr.T.S.RamanGreen Kovai farm,AIMS for SEVA,Annaiketti post,banana plantation is intercropped red gram, lady’sfinger, black gram, sorghum, avare (bean) andgreen gram. On the farm, he rears eight Kangayam breed cows,six Jersey cross breed cows and 95 sheep. Heprepares panchakavya, amirtha karisal, Cow pit pat(CPP) 500, 501 and fish based manure. He has adedicated building for the purpose of making thesepreparations, giving it a degree of professionalefficiency. This was developed with the assistanceof Mr. Navaneetha Krishnan of Mettupalayam. Mr.Ramamurthy is doing organic farming on fouracres since 2001.He is well experienced in growingdifferent varieties of banana - kadali, red banana,robusta - using organic methods. The yields havebeen exceptionally high. He grows vegetables usingthe double digging method for his homeconsumption. He says there are less pest anddisease attacks in organic cultivation. Mr.Sureshkumar is farming organically on eightacres since 2000. He cultivates banana-(nethran,kadali), brinjal and tomato. Borders are cropped withridge gourd. He is one of the rare farmersmaintaining country bullocks for land preparationactivities. Initially this eight acre farm had alkalinesoil, which he nursed back to the appropriate pHthrough organic applications. He started organic farming in 2004 growing turmeric.Prior to cultivation he sows green manure crops likediancha, sunhemp. Presently, he has three acresturmeric, five acres coconut intercropped with foddergrasses and one acre ragi. He owns 5 goats and 12cows. Mr.Subramanium, a retired Engineer and his wifepractice natural farming on their 12 acre farm. Ofthese, two and half acres are planted with coconutintercropped with different varieties of banana -redbanana, rasthali, thenvalai, nentharan, kadali -drumstick and pomegranate. Irrigation is suppliedthrough two feet deep trenches along which aregrown pigeon pea, cowpea and maize. Raman ji is the project manager of the 18 acreGreen Kovai farm that is farming organically since2002. The farm is spread in units, cultivatingmedicinal plants and an orchard. The farm keeps 23cows.

Coimbatore- 641108,Tamil Nadu.Ph: 0422 265 7001,Cell: 94426 4671354 Mr.SelvarajM S organic Farm,Uvasimangalam,Alanthurai, Siruvani,Coimbatore-641101,Tamil Nadu. Cell:9344451474,9965975534.55 Mr.C.Ganeshan21,Senguntapuram, IInd. cross, RamanutarNagar, Karur-639 002,Tamil Nadu. Cell:986520921756 Mr.Venkat RasaS/o K.R.Radhakrishnan,No. 2, Erode MainRoad, ValayuthamPalayam Post,Namakkal, Karur Taluk& District- 639 117,Tamil Nadu. Ph.: 04324270398, Cell:9842770398, e-Mail:rasaokr@gmail.com The farm cultivates medicinal and aromatic plantslike sweet margoram, geranium, rosemary,Gymnema silvestris on three acres; amla- two acres;guava and mango- two acres; eucalyptus- sevenacres; and half an acre has different species oftrees. Mr.Selvaraj is farming organically on his ten acrefarm since 2004.He cultivates crops namely banana(poovan variety) intercropped with onion on threeacres, tomato on two acres and ragi on one acre.The predominant crops in these areas arevegetables such as tomato, brinjal, ridge gourd,snake gourd, coconut and grapes. Additionally, he has an organic nursery and sellingpoint, in which vegetable seedlings, flower cropseedlings are prepared. He uses composted coirpith as bed material along with vermicompost in theproportion of 9:1. Coir pith is composted usingpanchakavya. According to him, the survival rate ofsaplings and keeping quality of the fruit is high whengrown in this fashion. The tomato and onions fromhis farm have a shelf life of one and six monthsrespectively. In his experience, organic farmingrequires less water too. Mr.C.Ganeshan is an organic farmer and a breederand collector of high yielding indigenous cattlebreeds since 1980. His experience over the yearshas made him into an expert in this field. . Murabuffaloes; cow breeds -Red Sindhi, Tharparkar,Kangayam, Gir, Sahival; and pure breeds of goat -Telecheri, Jamunapari are maintained on his farm. About 50 acres of land is under cultivation of variousfodder crops like cumbu napier, glyricidia, subabul,fodder sorghum, guinea grass, lucerne, muyalmasal, velli masal. He prepares his own concentratemixture of cattle feed with rice bran, maize, cumbu,red gram, black gram, salt etc. About 20 acres are devoted to cultivation of paddy,coconut, amla and sapota. Mr.Venkat Rasa has been farming organically for thepast ten years on his 20 acre farm. He growssugarcane intercropped with black gram on 11 acresand coconut on six acres. The coconut farm iscovered with coconut palm leaf and sugarcane trashmulch. He prepares and uses panchakavya,avuttam, EM solution for growth promotion and cropprotection.

57 Mr.K.RamakrishnanBangalore Thottam,Poyankuttai, BhavaniTaluka ,Erode District,Tamil Nadu.58 Mr.A.R.SelvarajS/o. RamasamyReddiyar, Aathirediyur,Kettisamuthuram post,Anthiyur via, BhavaniTaluka, Erode-638501, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 0456 263331,Cell: 975005060559 Mr.R.RajuS/o. RamappaGounder, D.No:467,Karuppana MothiliyarThottam, Anna Nagar,Bommanpattti,Bhavani Taluka, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04256 253152,Cell: 997672394060 Perumal KovilThottamBommanpatti,Vellithiruppur, Bhavani,Erode-638 314,Tamil Nadu61 Mr.KarupanarajBejalatti, Thalamalai,Thalavadi,Sathyamangalam,Erode District,Tamil Nadu Mr.K.Ramakrishnan has been farming organically onhis four acre farm for the past five years. He growsgroundnut, cotton and tapioca. Tobacco is grownand ploughed insitu as green manure. Other organicpractices include application of FYM, panchakavya,amirthakarisal and poultry manure. Mr.A.R.Selvaraj is farming organically for the last 5years. He grows cotton, tapioca, groundnut andcumbu, mango and bamboo. VAM production bedshave been installed to enrich the soil withmicroorganisms. The cotton yield on his farm was aremarkable 13.5 quintals/acre. Mr.Raju has been farming organically for the last 3years growing cotton, tobacco and fodder sorghumon 6 acres. There are 12 cattle and 30 hens on thefarm. He practices various techniques likeintercropping black gram, cowpea with cotton,preparing and using various organic solutions likedevaamirtham, panchakavya etc. Perumal Kovil Thottam may be contacted forreaching the following organic farms and meetingthese farmers: Shanthi’s Farm: Smt. Shanthi grows cotton andgingili (oil seed) using organic methods Govindasamy’s Farm: Govindasamy has beenfarming organically for the past four years. He growscotton, turmeric, tobacco on his three acre farm. Suresh’s Farm: Suresh has been farming organicallyfor the past four years. He grows cotton, groundnut,sorghum, gingili on four acres of land Ramados’s Farm: Ramados grows cotton and gingiliorganically on his two acre farm Mr.Karupanaraj is a farmer in a small village in thehills of Thalamalai. He has been farming organicallyfor the past 40 years without giving in into the lure ofthe Green Revolution. The family’s lifestyle is in tunewith agricultural practices and they have used everyinch of land and the available natural endowmentsvery resourcefully. He uses FYM, vermicompost,crop residues and various leaf extracts for cropproduction and protection.

62 Mr.P.B. Murali77, Luz Church,Allvarpattai, Myllapur,Chennai, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 044 24991203,Ph.: 9380691203,e-Mail:pbm50@rediffmail.com63 Mr.M. SethuramanKidathalimeadu, Kalaipost,Mailladuthurai -609811, Tamil Nadu.Ph: 04364236467Cell: 995284446764 Mrs.AnthiyurKalaivaniBommanpatti,Annanagar,Vellithiruppur, BhavaniTK, Erodedistrict, Tamil Nadu.Cell: 986548522165 Mr.G. SitherAgriculturist, Layco’sNature Food Shop,71/1516, VanakkaraStreet, M. Chavady,Thanjavur 613 001,Tamil Nadu.Ph: 04362-239788/272417,Cell: 09443139788,e-Mail:sither_1960@yahoo.co.in66 Auro AnnamGrace, Auroville 605101, Tamil Nadu. Ph.:0413-2622044, Res:0413-2623391, e-Mail:auroannam@auroville.org.in,margarita@auroville.org.in Mr.Murali runs and owns a sprawling 60 acreorganic orchard 90 kms. south of Chennai. OnlyAlphonso, Himampasand, Banganaballi and Rumanivarieties are grown here. The farm is about 12 yrs.old and has been in organic practice from day one.He runs an organic shandy in Chennai everySaturday, sourcing vegetables and fruits from otherorganic farmers. Mr.Murali is a member of the National SteeringCommittee of the Organic Farming Association ofIndia. Mr.Sethuraman is a long term organic farmer. He amember of the National Steering Committee of theOrganic Farming Association of India. Mrs.Kalaivani is an organic farmer and works withSHGs in Tamil Nadu. She single handedly promotedorganic Cotton Cultivation not only around othervillages but also in her village for the past 4 years.Presently the number of Organic Cotton farmers sheworks with is more than 500 and the acreage isaround 700. A very dynamic women willing to takeup responsibilities, she is a member of the NationalSteering Committee of OFAI. Organic Paddy grower Mr.Selvaraj is farming organically for the last 5years. He grows cotton, tapioca, groundnut andcumbu, mango and bamboo. VAM production bedshave been installed to enrich the soil withmicroorganisms. The cotton yield on his farm was aremarkable 13.5 quintals/acre.

67 Mr.R.RajuS/o. RamappaGounder, D.No:467,Karuppana MothiliyarThottam, Anna Nagar,Bommanpattti,Bhavani Taluka, ErodeDistrict, Tamil Nadu.Ph.: 04256 253152,Cell: 997672394068 Mrs.Vanya OrrProject Director, EarthTrust, Ketty Post,Nilgiris, Tamilnadu,India.Mob.: +919787749943office: +914232517036www.earthtrustnilgiris.org69 Mr.T. NavaneethaKrishnanPoonthottam, 21/25,Vellipalayam Road,Mettupalayam,Coimbatore - 64130170 Mr.V. Natarajan66D, Rajapuram Road,BanglameduMettupalayamCoimbatore District-641301Ph.: 04254 224888,Cell: 944201995571 Mr.A.YuvarajKurichan Valasu,Nasiyanur,Erode district.Cell: 986587375172 Mr.R. JayachandranAriyanoor VillagePeriyavenmani PostMaduranthakamKancheepuram-603311Ph.: 044 - 27539608 Mr.Raju has been farming organically for the last 3years growing cotton, tobacco and fodder sorghumon 6 acres. There are 12 cattle and 30 hens on thefarm. He practices various techniques likeintercropping black gram, cowpea with cotton,preparing and using various organic solutions likedevaamirtham, panchakavya etc. Mrs.Vanya Orr is a dynamic woman who hasenergised the organic farming movement in theNilgiris. She has great programmes for involving schoolchildren in organic farming. God give her many moreyears He is Biodynamic farmer since 1997. He is having 5acres of biodynamic maintained farm. He isconsultant for various local biodynamic farms andover Tamil Nadu. Organic farming since 2000. He is doing Organic farming since 2002. He ishaving 5 acres with Organic Turmeric, Ground nut,paddy and Sesame. He is converting his groundnutand sesame in to oil and selling it locally forpremium price. Organic Paddy farmer for last 20 years.