Madhusudan Rao and his wife Karamma, from the Soura community in Andhra Pradesh, fought challenges like illiteracy to embrace progressive farming techniques. Their success has inspired others from the region.
If you visited the home of farmer Madhusudan Rao, 60, and his wife Karamma, 55, in Seethempeta village of Andhra Pradesh’s Parvathipuram Manyam district, you would be greeted by a blanket of yellow and orange marigolds in full bloom. These flowers earn the couple anywhere between Rs. 100 to Rs. 5000 per kilo during festivals like Dussehra and Deepavali.
Moving further, fully grown gourds that are ready for harvest can be seen hanging. On the opposite end is a field of ripe papayas.
“I was the first one to grow papaya in Seethampeta mandala,” says Rao proudly.
The papayas, marigolds and gourds are some of the produce that occupy his 1.2 acre patch of land. Amid the papaya plants, one can also see beds that have nurtured vegetables like carrots and beetroot.
Rao rears chicken for poultry and has just begun with apiculture. Two blue boxes containing honey bees stand on the elevated land behind his home. He also has a small nursery providing vegetables and other horticultural plants. Next to the nursery stands a huge drum, which contains biostimulants.
A set-up like this where a farmer has the opportunity to earn income from multiple sources is called the Integrated Farming System (IFS). Under IFS, different agricultural activities take place on a single land. Notably, this is a natural farming practice that does not use any chemicals.
Since adopting this system, Madhusudan’s income has risen significantly. If one crop fails, other sources can keep him and his family afloat. There are also ecological benefits like improvement in soil quality when the land is covered by crops throughout the year.
Rao is one of the success stories of the Jiva programme by NABARD and supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the SuATI project. The programme is implemented locally in Seethampeta by Action in Rural Technology and Service (ARTS).
“Madhusudan is a wonderful farmer,” gushes Swetha Koduru, the coordinator for the Jiva programme at ARTS, “He is self-motivated and always shows great interest in our interventions.”
His faith in governmental and non-governmental agencies can be attributed to the high success rate of the interventions they provide. When the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) recommended he grow papayas, he took it positively.
Rao belongs to the Soura community, which is recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). Both Madhusudan and his wife Karamma are illiterates.
“We did not go to school,” Rao says, while Karamma stuck her thumb out teasingly.
Now with multiple sources of income, Rao is recognised as an exemplary farmer not only in his village but also in his district and beyond.
Married when he was 15, Rao began working as a farmer the same year. Twenty years ago, the use of pesticides was commonplace till his father saw the benefits of organic farming. However, the nudge towards natural farming happened after the intervention of ARTS and the Jiva programme.
The pilot programme began in January 2024, with 45 farmers from six villages within the Seethampet mandal. Rao was already familiar with ARTS, which had previously implemented NABARD’S renowned ‘Maa Thota’ programme locally.
Now, under the JIVA programme ARTS has been encouraging the farmers to adopt the A3 model that is “aaharam, aarogyam and adayam” (food, health and income).
“Each selected farmer has to try natural farming in at least one acre of his land. If they like what they see, they can expand it to the rest of their land,” explains Swetha.
ARTS recognises that it’s encouraging to have even one farmer adopt their recommended interventions. Once the other farmers see the benefits, they are bound to implement the same in their fields as well.
However, finding that one farmer who is open to new ways of doing things can be difficult. A farmer like Rao is a rarity.
“Now, if we send him 20 farmers, he can train all of them,” quips Swetha.
As we chat with Rao, a customer arrives to buy his famed papayas. As they scrutinise each papaya, a few deemed not good enough are immediately thrown on the ground. Within seconds, a hundred or so chickens descend to peck at the fruit.
“Plant waste is used for poultry, poultry waste is used for the plant,” explains Swetha. “That’s the beauty of the IFS, where there is a chain linking one farming activity to another.”
As the chickens continue to peck and the customer happily loads the fruits into a gunny, the sole cow of the family moos. Rao was given the cow as part of the Jiva programme. But, unlike growing horticultural crops, rearing a cow comes with its own set of learnings.
“I don’t know how to recognise when the cow goes into heat,” reveals Rao. This knowledge is essential for artificial insemination.
Traditionally, Souras have been closer to goats, which feature prominently in their culture and traditions. Most farmers have no idea that cow dung and cow urine can be used to protect their crops and stimulate growth. Preparing biostimulants and biofertilisers like ghanajeevamrutham, drava jeevamrutham, and neemastram is new for them.
Currently, Rao is looking forward to building structures to support creepers like pumpkin and other gourd varieties, while the ground is left free to grow marigold flowers.
Due to the varied timelines of harvest, the couple does not feel the need to hire extra labour.
“We want to work in our own land. If it’s ours, no one can dictate terms to us,” she concludes wryly.
The lead image on top depicts Andhra farmer Madhusudan Rao hard at work on his farm in the state’s Seethempeta village. (Photo by Amulya B)
Amulya B is a multimedia journalist, writer and translator based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. She is interested in stories at the intersection of culture, society and technology. She is the winner of Toto Funds the Arts for creative writing (2021) and Laadli Award (2022).
