Visit Srinivas Bhat in the picturesque Kudi Village in District Udupi of Karnataka to see a confluence of technology with tradition and innovation with enterprise leading to sky-rocketing success within a span of less than 7 years.
His three hectare farm is a model of the Integrated Organic Farming system, and perfect example of a self-sustaining system.
Srinivas has completely turned around his life in the past seven years, and has been felicitated with several prestigious awards as recognition of his extraordinary success.
Srinivas has set up a system of organic farming by using only natural by-products such as poultry manure, bio-digester slurry and the Japanese method of composting.
While the bio-digester is being used for enhancing plant growth, the vermicomposting unit helps in enriching the soil with beneficial micro organisms and micronutrients.
Extensive arrangement for low cost drip/sprinkler irrigation and trenches for borewell recharge for optimization of water usage has been made.
Srinivas grows Paddy under the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and cultivates Bananas using bio-digester plus poultry manure and vermicompost. Arecanut is also grown organically and Kole disease is controlled by using Trichoderma and Bordeaux spray.
Organic technology is used in his other crops also such as the use of pollinators in Vanilla. For trapping insects too, he uses only natural products.
His techniques in pepper farming are worth emulating, such as the effective management of wilt in Pepper apart from the use of organic manure. Value addition is provided by an innovative technique of hot water treatment of bunches for 2 minutes followed by drying in shade.
By intercropping Pepper along with Cocoa and Coconut and having high productivity in all crops, he has dispelled the traditionally held belief of the Agriculture Department. In his poultry unit too, Srinivas uses innovations like mixing milk in poultry feed which considerably enhances Feed Conversion. Ratio (FCr) and reduces mortality rate.
His monkey-catcher design and electrical fencing are some engineering innovations worth patenting.
With this integrated organic farming of Paddy, Banana, Arecanut, Coconut, Pepper, Cocoa,and Poultry, his net income has gone up to Rs. 5 lakh per hectare per annum, which is approximately two and half times of what he used to earn earlier. (PIB Features)