Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Oct 18: The experiment made by an engineering graduate from Puttur taluk to use dung powder as an alternative to chemical fertiliser and thereby improving the yield, has succeeded. We keep hearing about the efforts being successfully made by farmers to rid the land of chemical fertiliser. Jayaguru Achar, a resident of Hindaru village in the taluk, has given the field of organic farming a new weapon in the form of dung powder. He does not use chemical fertiliser, and is entirely dependent on dung manure. He has improved fertility and got increased yield.

Usage of dung in agricultural fields is not a new experiment. But this youngster has shown that by processing dung, various by-products that are useful in agriculture can be obtained. Achar's focal point is to bring to the fore the importance of organic manure.

The dung collected from cattle shed is put into a tank. By using a pump, it is passed to the machine that separates water from the dung. Dung powder and water with extracts of dung get collected separately. Achar uses the dung powder remaining after using in his plantation. He has now been selling the powder in 40 kg sachets. Some people come in vehicles to buy this powder. Every month, 750 to 1,000 sachets are sold.

Achar also prepares slurry by mixing urine of the cattle, water which was once used to wash the cattle, and dung extract water. The slurry obtained is supplied through the tank to areca, coconut and vegetable gardens. He also supplies the slurry to farms located up to a distance of 25 km. Slurry too has good demand. After he started using dung manure to his farm, in place of chemical fertiliser, Jayaguru Achar reveals that rotting disease of the areca nut has now subsided.

Jayaguru is fully involved with dairying for the last two years. He has 130 cows and contributes 750 litres of milk to the dairy every day. He says that using dung powder is advantageous as it has a bad smell and it can be easily transported. He plans to expand experiments on a big scale.

Jayaguru Achar was employed in an IT company after becoming an engineering graduate. In 2019, he left that job and supported his father's dairy activity. He dreamt of stopping the use of chemical fertilizers. For the future, he has started the experiment of preparing liquid manure and thereby moving towards heralding a revolution of cattle-based farming.