Couple turns barren land into lush green farm in Mangaluru


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A couple has turned the barren, laterite land in their backyard and around their house into a lush green paddy field.

Hard work, a keen interest in farming and perseverance have helped Mark Sera and Suguna, of Mary Hill, become self-sufficient in rice and vegetables. When Mark built the house 20 years ago, it was a barren land with laterite stones. It is now a fertile farm with green surroundings.

Mark toldDH:“I started paddy cultivation seven years ago on 27 cents of land (100 cents make one acre). I hail from a traditional agricultural family of Madantyar in Bantwal taluk and always prefer traditional methods of farming. I cultivate three crops — Enelu, Suggi and Kolake — every year and reap three to four quintals of paddy in each crop. I get maximum yield in all the three crops as I use the high-yielding variety of seeds and follow organic methods of cultivation.”

Since water is crucial for cultivation, Mark has also scripted a success story in water conservation through rainwater harvesting. He has built a 40,000-litre percolation tank in a manner that the water does not go waste but recharge the groundwater. Thewater in the percolation tank is used for the paddy field.

The tank serves many purposes. Mark rears Katla fish in it. Water from the roof enters the well which is 40 feet deep. The water that recharges in the percolation pit also enters the well. As a result, the water from the well never goes dry even during the peak summer. Mark’s water recharge technique has also recharged other wells in the neighbourhood.

Mark does not hire any labourer to till the land, harvest the paddy or undertake post-harvest processes such as drying, storage and milling. He uses the modified tiller to mill all the paddy that his family needs.

Mark also cultivates ridge gourd, ash gourd, okra, brinjal, Malabar spinach, harive, ginger, turmeric, snake gourd, bitter gourd, elephant foot yam, green chilly, tomato and sambar cucumber. He has also grown around 100 trees of areca nut and coconut.

Mark does not use any pesticide. He uses only organic pesticides, besides releasing fingerlings of Guppi fish and frogs into the paddy field so that crops are free from pests.“People do not know the importance of percolation pits, rainwater harvesting and significance of water conservation,” he said.

Mark has joined hands with two of his friends under the auspices of ’Manadalu krishi mahithi’ to create awareness among schoolchildren and college studentson how to dofarming on a small piece of land. The schoolchildren also visit his house.

Mark asks farmers to make use ofseveral governmentschemes for their welfare. “If we grow all the necessary vegetables in our backyard, our dependence on the market decreases and we consume fresh vegetables that are good for health,” he concluded.

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