All India Radio Coimbatore broadcast a popular live programme 'Kalaththu Medu' from the fields/ farm every month last Tuesday. Live interactive programme with farmers was broadcast in Primary Channel 999Khz. Shri.B.Saravanan, Programme Executive incharge of Farm and Home section planned ,broadcast this programme for the past seven months.
This episode was broadcast from Shri Madhu Ramakrishnan's Farm where Nature - Zero Farming is followed. Interactions with other natural organic farmers also done there. The 50 acre farm where the programme was done ,contains plantations such as Coconut, Pure Teak, Lemon and Arecanut, Casuarina, Rose wood, Kumil, Amla, Suppotta, Melia Dubia and Vakai. The farm took up inter-cropping in 2007.
The farm strictly follows the principles of Masanabhu Fukhoka, the father of natural farming. “We don’t plough the land, don’t remove the weeds out, don’t bring fertilizers or pesticides from outside, but we use minimum water and never depend on chemicals for any reasons what so ever,” shares Mr. Madhu Ramakrishnan. He is currently educating other farmers about organic farming. He strongly believes, “farmer can never enjoy the real profit from his profession, until he becomes a merchant of his products. Value addition is the only solution”. Hence he is making handmade herbal soaps with the coconut oil using his solar drier . Also plans to prepare pickle using his farm grown organic pepper and lemon. Mr. Madhu Ramakrishnan completed his post-graduation in engineering in 1970 and went on to work as a Junior Engineer in Agricultural Engineering Department of Tamil Nadu and as an associate professor in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He was also a senate member of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for two terms. He now serves as a research council member of T.N.A U and a private college in Pollachi.
Contributed by :- T.K.Gayathridevi, PEX (Co),phaircoimbatore@gmail.com