In Kerala, Alappuzha Muhamma Panchayath, KV Dayal, a great nature lover, created a great forest on one and a half acres, which is a model for the world today. He is a great man who has created new changes through organic farming methods. On the one and a half acre land adjacent to the house, there are about two hundred different plants, about a thousand creatures, and two small ponds.
Dayal Sir calls this rich forest ‘Sreekovil’ (house name). Prepared in such a way that the sunlight does not fall on the ground, he conveys a lot of good messages to the present generation. He conveys the importance of the forest in our habitat to others through his work. When he bought the place 20 years ago, it was just a sand dune. His role in creating such a huge greenery there is indescribable. During this time many coconuts were planted there but he did not get any significant result from them. Despite many different applications, it has not been successful. It was during this time that he learned about Masanobu Fukuoka's natural farming methods. Many books by this Japanese farmer made a positive difference in Dayal's life. It was as a result of the message conveyed by these books that he came up with the idea of planting trees around the house.
He planted trees in this place in the early eighties. In addition, he and his children participated in a nature study fellowship conducted by Nature signature foundation in 1986 in the Kodancherry forest in Kasaragod district under the leadership of Professor One Mr. Johncy Jacob, the founder of’ One Earth One Life’. This nature study association also made a change in him. After that he formed the Vembanad Natural Club, an environmental organization. It was during this time that a training program was conducted on December 4 and 5, 1992, under the supervision of Professor Johncy Jacob. Many nature lovers also participated in it. It was inaugurated by CR Verma, a naturopathic teacher who popularized nature life all over Kerala.
Together with Shri CR Varma, he started following and working on the messages of nature. It was during this period that the first Organic Farmers' Committee was formed in Kerala under the leadership of Professor Johncy Jacob. He also became the convener of this committee. He was awarded the ‘Vriksha Mitra Award’ by the Government of Kerala in 2006 for presenting his ideas on nature conservation and organic farming to the community. He realized that the problems of agriculture and the problems of farmers were two different things. He reiterated to the society that traditional knowledge alone is not enough for organic farming and it should be studied at the scientific level. So in 2009 he went to MG University, Kerala and came up with the idea of an organic farming certificate course.
In 2011 the university marked the beginning of the Organic Farming Certificate Course. He demanded that a farmer be required to prepare the syllabus for this course. Thus a farmer first joined the Syllabus Committee. Many who have completed their organic farming studies are now active in agriculture. After graduating from here, Mr. MR Unni started an Inter University Center for Organic Farming and Sustainable Agriculture at MG University. In addition, about 45 members of the Spices Producer Company, which specializes in organic farming, came to MG University to study organic farming. Sir Dayal was able to find his successors from these. Today, MG University and SPC are conducting research for advances in organic farming. Studies are being carried out to reduce the cost of production in agriculture and the compost system so that the bio-waste reaches the plant completely within 10 days.
Dayal Sir has also started a treatment system called ‘Health and Ecology’. Through the Sarojini-Damodar Foundation, he provides Rs. 1 lakh to the best farmer of Kerala every year and various incentive prizes to those of all ages who love agriculture to bring the best farmers into the mainstream of society. Since November 2009, NSS has started a fest for farmers with the help of volunteers to find solutions to their problems and convey their problems to others. Today he runs ‘Vanaprastham’ a Home Stay Teaching Centers in five districts of Kerala. He called on the government to bring in new changes for the benefit of the farmers. He urged the government to create a fair market for the products of the farmers in our country and to give bonus and pension to the farmers in proportion to their production. Today, he is engaged in research that will be of great benefit to farmers and will conduct research to preserve vegetables for 20 days without damage. It has been many years since he took up coir production and export as his main business and passed it on to his children and became active in agriculture. Knowledge of such personalities is the main factor that attracts us to agriculture. Those who love farming must know about such personalities.
We provide an opportunity for those who want to see Sir Dayal's classes. From this coming Monday, he will be taking classes on Krishi Jagaran Kerala's Facebook page from 4 pm. Through these classes we can get acquainted with advances in agriculture and innovative methods of organic farming.
