ICAR award for Karimnagar farmer

He is the only farmer from the State selected for the award.

Karimnagar: Mavuram Mallikarjun Reddy, a young farmer from Karimnagar district, has been selected for the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) award for cultivating different varieties of crops through organic farming. He is the only farmer from the State selected for the award.

Mallikarjun Reddy received intimation from the ICAR authorities on Thursday. District Collector K Shashanka, who came to know about the award, invited Mallikarjun Reddy to the Collectorate on Friday and congratulated him on the award.

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A native of Peddakurmapalli of Choppadandi mandal, Mallikarjun Reddy and his wife Sandhya took to agriculture after quitting their software jobs in 2014 and have been cultivating a variety of crops in 17 acres of land through organic farming.

After completing his education, Mallikarjun Reddy joined a software company in Hyderabad in 2006, and got married to Sandhya, an MBA graduate, in 2010. Both worked as software engineers in Hyderabad.

Dissatisfied with their jobs, the couple quit the profession and started cultivating crops in 12 acres of land owned by the family in the village. After tasting success in farming, they took on lease another five acres to cultivate 26 different varieties of crops.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Mallikarjun Reddy said he was happy with the ICAR selecting him for the award. “It will encourage me to practice more innovative methods in cultivation,” he said, adding that after cultivating paddy in 12 acres that did not fetch him much, he approached agriculture scientists in Professor Jayashankar Agriculture University to learn new techniques.

Instead of chemical-based manure, he started practising organic farming that he prepares using farm animal dung and neem leaves among other stuff. Besides paddy, 26 varieties of crops including vegetables and ginger are being cultivated by the couple.

 

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