Asifabad techie, lecturer excel in natural farming

Ravi and Sunanda are now successful role models to farmers in eco-friendly agriculture and are winning plaudits from experts

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: The Covid-19 pandemic brought about unexpected changes in the lives of almost everyone. The case of Madanu Ravi and his wife Sunanda too is no different.

Till 2019, Ravi, from Vijayanagaram village in Koutala mandal, used to be as software engineer at a leading multinational company in Hyderabad, while Sunanda was a lecturer (associate consultant) at Padmavathi Mahila University of Tirupati. They both tried their hand at natural farming whenever they got time while working from home during the lockdown in 2021.

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Two years later, Ravi and Sunanda are now successful role models to farmers in eco-friendly agriculture and are winning plaudits from experts.

“Influence of my parents, certain problems and the Covid-19 lockdown propelled us to venture into farming. We are able to carry forward farming, besides staying healthy by consuming organic farm produce,” Ravi and Sunanda told ‘Telangana Today’

Native crops using soil solution

The farmer couple said they were growing five native varieties of paddy, legumes, pulses, oil seeds and eight types of vegetables in their 14 acres of land. They apply a unique soil solution prepared with topsoil, subsoil and castor oil invented by Padma Shri awardee Chintala Venkat Reddy. They said they were registering more yield of these crops than modern ways of farming, adding that natural farming was easy and low in cost.

How soil solutions work

The pair reasoned that the mud solution works as a pesticide, fertilizer and improves fertility of the soil, resulting in high yield. Subsoil contains micro nutrients and elements required for growth of a plant. Topsoil consists of organic matter and fat content essential for the growth of the plant. Pests die if they consume plants that are covered layers of the soil. Castor oil has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties.

Studied natural farming

The couple visited scores of farms located around Hyderabad, and in Nagarkurnool, Nizamabad and Mancherial districts before venturing into natural farming. They won the Nari Shakti Puraskar by Grama Bharati in 2023, the best farmer award from Adi Guru Bharati Sangha of Yadadri district, and Rythu Raju organic award by Maha News channel and were felicitated by many agriculture organisations.

YouTube channel, FB page

Sunanda, an MSc Chemistry graduate, also operates a channel on YouTube titled ‘Sunandanam natural farms’ and a Facebook page in order to sensitize farmers on natural farming and shares her insights. She also sells the organic farm products online to customers of several parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka by shipping consignments through the TSRTC Cargo service.