The field has been cleared and ploughed with a power-tiller
The plot has been cleared and tilled
The land has been cleared, the stone walls mended where they were broken, to ensure that stray cattle are kept out and the laat-stand has been taken down to make way for a pump-house where a 1.5HP kerosene+petrol pump will be installed. This will greately facilitate the watering of the field.
Beds have been made to raise nurseries for various crops. The first round of planting consists of tambadi bhaji (visible as red patches in the photo above), radish, spinach, chillies etc…
Seed collection
We have gathered seeds from different places (Auroville’s Annadana, Navadayna from Deheradoon, and some from our local seed stockists in and around Panjim).
Miguel Braganza provides support for the experiment
Miguel Braganza, who is closely linked with the Organic Farmers Association of India (OFAI) and the Peer Guarantee System (PGS) of organic certification is our advisor for this esperiment. He has committeed to visit Chorao once a week, every Monday afternoon to check on progress, torubleshoot and provide guidance. Thanks Miguel!
Shilan pokes around to see what's germinated
Nursery beds are covered with straw to keep the seeds warm and facilitate germination. Once the seeds sprout, the straw is moved back and they seedlings are allowed to grow under full sunlight.
Nine members of the Chorao Farmers Club attended the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Organic Farmers Association of India (OFAI). This conference was held on the farm of Shri Sarvadaman Patel (also the President of OFAI), who has been practicing Biodynamic farming on his 40-acre farm near Anand, in Gujarat.
Sarvadaman-bhai takes visitors around his biodynamic farm
Conference hall created within a bamboo grove
The conference was held over a 3-day period and covered both lectures as well as practical demonstrations that helped farmers exchange ideas and learn new techniques in a hands-on manner. Topics covered included the impact of climate change on agriculture, the role of organic farming in the context of changing climate, pest management, making growth promoters etc.
Interactive session on pest-management
Besides the conference, there was also an exhibition area where farmers had stalls and were able to exchange or sell their products, seeds and demonstrate new techniqies too. Our farmers set up a stall and sold our locally available seeds as well as farm-produce.
Chorao Farmers Club's Stall at the "Pradarshani"
Since we were near Anand, we ensured that we visited the Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) Factory. Here we saw their museum that documents the growth and history of AMUL. We also saw the plants that make the various Amul products.
A group of women, who visited Chetna Vikas in Wardha have been inspired to conduct an experiment in organic and chemical-free farming.
The plot in October 2010
Gita, Vandana and Shilan identified a plot of land where nothing has been grown in more than 15 years, so that we could be sure it was “organic”. The land abutts other agricultural land that has been fallow for several years.
This esperiment has two key aims:
- to demonstrate that it is possible to grow vegetables without the assistance of any chemical inputs
- to show that organic farming can also be profitable
The size of the land is about 2,000sq.mts and it falls under the category of Morod Land (i.e. upland areas). There is a dug-out well in one far corner of the property, but we ahve no electricity connection to install an electric pump. The traditional method os watering, using a laat, is installed but the farmers felt that this would make for very hard work, and therefore a kerosene+petrol pump would be useful.
We got the soil tested and we found the land is neutral, with high levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. We are still to receive the results for micro-nutrients.
Over the last two and an half years, the Chorao Farmers Club has been trying to research, through practical experience, different models of farming (crops and methods) to arrive at more sustainable models for agriculture in Chorao (Goa).
As a part of this process we decided to visit Wardha, where we had heard local farmers practice a model of mixed farming (called swavalmbhi sheti) that produces about 30 crops in just one hectare of land despite low water availability. This meets their grains, pulses, vegetables, oil and fibre requirements which was extremely interesting to our members Namita, Gita, Shilan, Sunita and Pallavi.
Seeing is believing - 30 crops from 1 Ha in one season
The visit to Chetna Vikas in Gopuri village in Wardha was organised by Miguel Braganza of OFAI and funded through TERI and the Toyota Foundation.
Subhash Sharma explains the benefits of contour planting
We also visited a commercially successful large scale farm (owned by Mr. Subhash Sharma) to study the practices employed there and collected seeds that we plan to use for a similar experiment by our farmers in Chorao this winter season.
Case worm infected paddy leaves
Case Worm (Nymphula depunctalis known as Dhovem Pisollem in Konkani) pests appear in low-lying areas whenever heavy rainfall occurs during July-August. The case-worm larvae cut the leaf blades into short lengths, construct tubular cases, remain inside these small rolls and feed on the foliage. This pest is semi aquatic in habits and is able to breathe under water. In a badly infested field, a number of these leaf cases, white in colour could be seen attached to the plants. The case worm also appears in the Rabi season and causes severe damage.
The whitening of the grass blades in paddy is a typical sign of CASE WORM attack. The greenish caterpillar eats the leaf mesophyll that contains the green chrophyll pigment and hence it looks white. It rolls a small (about one inch long) beedi of the rice leaf and cuts it to fall and float on the water to pupate before emerging as the white moth that is known as “dhovem pisollem” in Konkani.
Solution
Important is the water regulation. If one can drain the water from the field and float a coir rope at the outlet, it will trap the pupae in the leaf beedi. Collect and crush on the road or any hard surface. Where the earhead (of rice) has not emerged, CUT the affected leaves with a sickle and destroy the caterpillars inside.
You can also use VIKARSHA ORGANIC REPELLANT (from Jafer Ali’s AgriHelp – 94466 38348| Email: agrihelp@rediffmail.com). It is ovicidal, (kills insect eggs) and a repellant. It works on lepidopterans (moths and Butterflies) and also reduces Plant Hoppers including Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) which is a problem in rice paddies.
DOWNLOAD HANDOUTS BELOW
Case Worm – English (PDF)
Dhovem Pisollem – Roman Konkani (PDF)
The Chorao Farmers Club moved into its new office in Chodan village on August 21st, 2010.
We became the first farmers club in Goa to set up our own office, and we will use this facility as a point of interaction with our members, clients, for storage of equipment and produce and for conducting training programs and other events.
Inauguration of Chorao Farmers Club Office
The inauguration was done by Dr. N.P. Singh (Director ICAR), Mr. Satish Tendulkar (Director of Agriculture) and Mr. Arun Shandilya (GM NABARD Goa) all of whom have been instrumental in supporting the Club in various activities.
According to Mr Arun Sandilya, “The Chorao example is a good model for the other farmers clubs in Goa, many of which are either not functioning regularly, or are only recently formed”.
At this event our Club members also outlined their ‘Vision for 2015′ which will serve as a reference for all our initiatives over the next 5 years. Read our Vision 2015.
Currently our office hours are:
Tuesdays – 10 AM to 12 PM and 4PM to 6PM AND Sundays – 10 AM to 12 PM and 4PM to 6PM
