Gritty land, dry wells and indebted farmers: this is how the tribal area of Udaipur in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh has been known to the world around. Growing a crop in the fields of this area has been like milking a dead cow. Some who dared to make their lands yield harvest using high-priced fertilizers and seeds and pesticides could not even repay the loans with the resultant harvest and had to sell their lands.

People were forced by their unemployment and abject poverty to take up the path of agitation against the government machinery, which culminated in the Mehandikhera police firing in April 2001 where four persons were shot dead by the police. However, one now sees a radically changed scenario here with resplendent fields and people bubbling with joy. Persons from far-flung places are visiting them to learn more about the talisman that led them to this prosperity. The transformation is not due to government funds or grants pouring in from some donor agency. The earthworms present in the soil of the area have accomplished the miracle. The tribal farmers used them for preparing vermicompost and thus found the mantra for turning their gritty land into a gold-yielding one. They no longer depend on chemical fertilizers. The earthworm is the only thing they need for lending enough vigour and fertility to their soil. In their words, "urea brought us the burden of debt; the earthworm has blessed us with full barns.

The area, consisting of 40 villages, is known as Ghaat Neech, predominantly inhabited by the Bhilala and Barela tribal communities. Most of them have land holdings of less than two hectares; hence they fall in the category of small and marginal farmers. The discrepancy between small land holdings and ever increasing prices of chemical fertilizers and pesticides perhaps accounts for the gnawing sense of doom which haunted the farmers of the area and forced them to find alternative farming methods with the cooperation of some sympathetic officials in the administration. A tribal farmer of the area, Sakha Ram Rawat, says, "We had heard a lot about organic fertilizers and therefore we tried to know what they were and whether they would reduce farming costs.

Government officials who would tour the area and some other persons told them about vermicompost. In December 2001, four women were sent to Guna district in M. P. for getting training in preparing the organic fertilizer on the initiative of Sakharam, Shobharam, Shersingh, Tanubai and Sitabai. A government programme for preparing vermicompost was being run there. On returning home after the training, they were full of enthusiasm and had also brought about ten thousand earthworms with them for taking up their first experiment. Ganesh Ram, a resident of village Bisali, says that when they first saw the earthworms, they laughed thinking how compost could be prepared with those tiny and insubstantial things, but soon they found that earthworms had changed their fate. For preparing vermicompost, a pit, several feet deep, is dug and earthworms are sprinkled on layers of garbage, soil and dung. In a period of three months, vermicompost is ready for use.

Though the process of preparing vermicompost had begun, the concept of organic farming needed to be disseminated among the farmers and the task required that they be organized. Thus "Haritima" came into being, taking in its fold the tribal farmers of the area. Government officials and other individuals committed to the cause were also included as members. The mandate of Haritima is to run development programmes by preserving forest, water and land. The organization has taken up the task of improving farming methods on a priority basis and has encouraged the use of vermicompost.

For this purpose, a Parivartan Kendra of the organization has been set up at Bisali village. It has a plant nursery and pit for preparing vermicompost. Its activists have been going to the neighbouring villages for popularizing the use of vermicompost and have demonstrated the process of preparing it to the farmers. These efforts have proven to be successful and hundreds of farmers in this area are using the organic fertilizers in their fields. There are some farmers who have not used even a grain of chemical fertilizers for the last two years. One can see numerous vermicompost pits in 30 villages in the area. In villages like Bisali, Jamsindh, Narsinghpura, Sitapuri and Anand Nagar, at least one vermicompost pit can be seen in the fields of each farmer. Bisali alone has 100 such pits.

Another important development is that even some landless people have taken to preparing this organic fertilizer and are earning good incomes by selling it. Shobha Ram, a resident of Bisali, says that he did not possess any land and would earn only Rs. 10,000 a year working as a wage labourer. For the last two years, he had been preparing vermicompost at his home and had earned more than Rs. 50,000. Ganeshi Ram of the same village uses vermicompost and sells the surplus in the market. Many farmers have been using this fertilizer in their fields for the last two-three years. They say that initially one does not see any significant increase in yield as chemical fertilizers have weakened the soil, but eventually, after two-three years of using vermicompost, the land starts yielding gold. Moreover, the fertilizer does not take away the dampness from the soil. The total agricultural produce in the area has increased threefold because of vermicompost. The food quality of the harvest has also been enhanced and it is bought at better prices in the market. There were people who took away the vegetables grown in this area to far-off places and later they came to learn the process of vermicompost preparation. During the last two years, the area has sold fertilizer and agricultural yield obtained from it to other districts and has earned lacs of rupees.

The preparation of vermicompost is usually considered difficult as it involves much labour, but the tribal farmers of the area are of the opinion that in place of paying higher prices for chemical fertilizers, it is more rewarding to put in some additional labour. The dancing and copious crops in this area, previously known for its infertile soil and drought, are ample evidence of the benefits of organic fertilizer. The farmers say that this fertilizer nurtures some crop-friendly insects while they eat other insects like caterpillars that are injurious to crops. One sees lots of caterpillars in Nimad and Malwa area where soyabean is grown, while in this area they do not become a menace.

It is the commitment and zeal of the activists of Hartima, who went to villages for popularizing the concept of organic fertilizer, which has paid rich dividends. The farmers here say that it should be taken to other areas as well. It needs to be mentioned that the organization did not get any government grants for this project. They did seek the cooperation of the officials and experts. Moreover, no activist in the organization draws any salary.

Charkha Features