Farmer the Brand is a Krishijagran Initiative. #ftb happens in all almost all regional languages on Sunday 11 AM including Agriculture World in English. Manomani hails from Vadakkadu village of Alangudi Taluk, Pudukkottai district, Tamilnadu. Manonmani is a natural farmer, and was part of the Krishi Jagran #ftbevent. Inspite of being a Natural farmer she also takes up every opportunity that comes her way. She is an amazing entrepreneur too. In the conversation she talks and elucidates how she made her livelihood sustainable and Profitable. She is a farmer and at the same time has build a platform for herself where she sells her selection of legume seeds and also natural fertilizers. She is proficient in making Vermicompost also sells it to her nearby farmers too.
In the Conversation with her she describes the various earthworms in India, the Red wigglers (Eiseniafoetida or Eiseniaandrei) are the only earthworm species to be used for composting and 1200 kg of goat and cow dung should be managed to make a cutting bed, followed by 2 kg of earthworm.
Manonmani Method of making Earthworm Compost
To make earthworm compost, she makes a tank-like structure according to the accommodation. First the pebbles are settled under the tank and sand is spread over it and the farm waste is filled on top. The coir waste is put into the pit and she sprinkles the 'cane pulp' waste on it. Next, well-dried manure powder also wet manure is poured on it and she leaves earthworms in it.
She adds on to explain about the Vermicompost that it plays an important role in solid waste management. Earthworm compost is the process by which earthworms excrete the residues of naturally occurring agricultural wastes such as dung, leaves and foliage in small pellets. It contains nitrogen, humus and ash. Manonmani says the earthworm fertilizer will be produced in 45 to 60 days. Vermicompost beds have a capacity of 800-900 kg. She has around 4 beds. Three beds are in size of 4/10 m and one bed is 20 by 10 m. After finishing the Vermicompost product she sells it after enriching the mixture with Cocoa butter and Panchagavya. In a span of 3 months the profit could be anywhere between 10,000-15000. She does Vermicompost on rotational basis. She sells Vermicompost at 7 Rupees a Kilo and a Tonne at 7000 Rupees. She says its much better for the soils than the chemical fertilizer and everyone should attempt doing this.
Manomani, who is also saying that farmers are returning to cultivate the farms in the natural way and her compost, is in great demand. She also is happy at the fact that many farmers, local and out-of-state, are taking fertilizer from her, and with her 20 years of experience, she has been training local farmers too. Increasingly, it reduces the use of fertilizer, which leads to lower costs for the farmer, he said.
She also doubles up as a seed conservator and conserves seeds of Wamban 6 and Wamban 8 Black gram seeds and grains too and sell them. Manonmani said that black gram seeds are being sold for 100 rupees for one kilo and grain seeds for 70 Rupees a KILO. In one Season she would sell 500 kg to traders and 1500 kg to farmers. She also adds on to say that these sustainable livelihood models could help small farmers and women farmers and even those who have small spaces can also set up a fertilizer garden on their terraces and make compost and sell them. It can also be adopted in cities.
Manonmani has been awarded the Best District Nature Farmer Award in recognition of her agricultural service, as well as various other awards, including the Abdul Kalam Award, the Plowman Award, and the High Yield Award in Peanut Production. Manonmani’s life is an inspiration to be followed.
