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.
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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.