A retired Indian Revenue Service officer has been doing wondrous work in the field of natural farming. He is Mr. Patanjali Jha, an expert in food forestry, who has been managing over 100 acres of food forests for 20 years now!
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Jha shared his love for natural farming and gave details about the food forests he has grown with his friends over the years.
FROM WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
It all started decades back when the officer first read the book, The One-Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka, a natural farmer from Japan. The book inspired Mr. Jha deeply when he read about different soils and their farming methods and thus began his journey into the world of natural farming.
“My father had around 10 acres of ancestral land in Khalghat, Madhya Pradesh, adjacent to the Narmada riverbank. I bought the land from him, and together with five other farming enthusiasts, we bought around 60 acres of land in the region. Most of it was barren because of illegal mining and sand mafias and we decided to transform it,” said Mr. Jha.
The enthusiasts started planting trees and even though they made many mistakes, they were firm in their ideology of not tilling the land. Inspired by the book, he delved further into the concept of natural farming and vowed to use only natural means for growing the forests.
“During that time, the temperature on our farm would go up to 49 degrees and by the next decade, it went to 50! Birds started dying and plants started burning. It was necessary to bring down the temperature for them to survive,” he told Indian Masterminds.
CREATING FOOD FORESTS
Solely through natural farming, Mr. Jha and his partners were able to create 60 acres of perennial food forest over the years. They did this by growing around seven to eight different plant varieties in a multi-layered arrangement.
A series of 80-foot-tall moringa trees that he and his friends had planted way back in the early 2000s thrive in the central zone of the food forest. These are dotted around with smaller shrubs of citrus plants like kafir lime, mausambi, gondhoraj lime, some seedless varieties of lime as well as the regular lemon.
“I believe forests should be created in the most natural way possible. Just look at natural forests – who goes to water them every day and who gives them pesticides, fungicides, or any kind of chemical fertilizers? No one. The secret to nature’s bounty is to leave it alone,” he shared.
Right from the first year of farming, the officer has covered every inch of soil on his farm. Natural farming was a form of spiritual awakening for him and his team. Due to his efforts, the temperature came down by two degrees every year, and today, the temperature doesn’t go beyond 36 degrees on his farm, thus bringing back the birds and the bees and their natural pollination.
FOR THE WELFARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
The plants and trees that Mr. Jha uses in his natural farming are filled with medicinal properties. He wishes to fight grave illnesses like cancer, which is gradually becoming common in the country.
“I wish to bring down Earth’s soaring temperature with the help of these forests, year by year. The glaciers are already gone, and the rising level of seas and oceans is irreversible now. In a matter of 20-30 years, sealine cities will be submerged. It is very important to save the environment today to avoid the catastrophe that is awaiting us,” he said.
INSPIRING OTHERS
The officer also generated employment by appointing a few village women who help in growing 40 acres of turmeric and yam at the lowest layer, interspersed with groves of fruit trees like mango, litchi, and berry. The farm also has a dairy unit comprising cows and goats.
Understanding that bees are the biggest pollinators in the world, Mr. Jha seeks to invite them to his farm. To do so, he has planted marigold plants to invite them in abundance. “We have also been running an apiary for the past four years on my farm in Bihar,” he said.
Inspired by his work, over 150 farmers in and around Khalghat have replicated the model on over 4000 acres of land, earning huge profits, while protecting the environment at the same time.
In conclusion, Mr. Jha requests every individual to learn to rely on nature and adapt to a more organic diet, eliminating all the chemical-laden produce from one’s plate.
