When Janni Jyoti adopted natural farming techniques, she had no idea that her entire village would soon follow in her footsteps. Read about the trailblazer from Andhra Pradesh’s Rankini village.
Rankini, a small, tranquil village in Andhra Pradesh, may seem unremarkable at first glance. However, bubbling under the surface is the stirring of an agricultural revolution led by Janni Jyoti, a 47-year-old woman transforming her community with the power of natural farming.
Married at the tender age of 13, Jyoti spent most of her life as a devoted wife and mother, with no knowledge of farming. Yet, she has risen to become a powerful and inspiring voice in her village.
Her journey began in early 2023 when her husband, Jani Chandra Rao, attended a meeting organised by NABARD and JIVA, an agroecology programme supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Among the first to attend these village-level meetings, he felt enthused but bewildered by the technicalities of organic farming. He turned to Jyoti, who embraced the challenge and began attending the training sessions.
Armed with the knowledge and confidence to transform their three-acre ancestral land from chemical-intensive farming to sustainable natural farming, Jyoti, along with her husband, pioneered natural farming in their village.
The couple began their experiment by dedicating an acre of their land to natural farming. Years of chemical use had depleted the soil of nutrients, but Jyoti decided to revive it using jeevamrit—a nutrient-rich mixture of cow urine, cow dung, jaggery, and other natural ingredients.
The results were astonishing. By the first harvest, their paddy crop showed significant improvement in quality and yield. Motivated by this success, they expanded their efforts to the rest of their land.
JIVA’s training sessions introduced farmers to a variety of natural farming techniques, including preparing compost, pest repellents, and nutrient-rich soil enhancers using easily available materials. Jyoti didn’t stop at applying this knowledge to her farm alone; she became a mentor to her fellow villagers, addressing their questions and challenges.
“I would visit other households and encourage them to adopt natural farming,” Jyoti recalls. “One by one, small-scale farmers in the village joined the movement,” she adds.
Her innovative use of the line-sowing method for paddy cultivation reduced costs and improved yields. Meanwhile, the couple diversified by planting vegetables such as ridge gourd, brinjal, tomatoes, and beans on the edges of their farmland, creating an additional source of income.
The transformation was not just ecological but also financial. The couple observed that naturally grown paddy fetched Rs 1,000 per bag, compared to Rs 800 for its chemically grown counterpart. Additionally, eliminating expensive pesticides saved Rs 9,000 per acre annually. “The natural paddy was bigger and the percent of crop damage due to high winds and pest attacks was also less,” Chandra recalls.
Jyoti started selling pesticide-free vegetables near her village and soon the word spread about her higher-quality vegetables. Government employees began buying from her directly. “The ridge gourd would typically sell in the market for Rs 30 whereas I was selling mine for Rs 50 and people were happy to buy them since they’re pesticide-free,” she says.
The couple says the new agricultural practices augmented their annual income by Rs 30,000. The use of jeevamrit revitalised the soil, and the line-sowing method reduced weed management costs while enhancing crop resilience. The couple even began generously distributing jeevamrit for free to help their neighbours adopt sustainable practices.
Jyoti is a beacon of hope and progress for Rankini. Her story isn’t just about farming but also about empowerment and the courage to lead. She has helped transform her community into a hub of natural farming, where healthier crops and higher incomes have improved the quality of life for many.
Everything new seems challenging and scary in the beginning, but once you start, you realise the positive impact. My dream is to see organic farming becoming a norm for farmers across our country.
With a confident smile and unwavering determination, Jyoti represents the power of knowledge, resilience, and community spirit. Rankini’s silent revolution is now a story of inspiration, driven by a woman who dared to take risks and aim higher.
The lead image on top depicts Janni Jyoti and another woman from her village sharing their harvest. (Photo by Shreya Pareek)
Shreya Pareek is a solution journalist based in Uttarakhand. She has extensively covered positive social change stories from South Asia. She is the founder of The Stories of Change, a publication that focuses on documenting lesser-reported solution stories from across the globe.
