A man digs into his field with his hand and looks at the soil. Tiny worms are being disturbed from their homestead.
Seven years of work has resulted in a few dirt filled with earthworms. The soil used to be as tough as a brick. It's now a sponge. The soil is rich with vitamins and minerals that are needed for my crops to grow in a healthy way.
Thousands of farmers in Anantapur, a district in the southern Indian state of AP, have taken to what's known as regeneration agricultural practices. Desertification, the process of once-fertile ground turning into dust, can be mitigated with techniques like planting crops alongside trees. The loss of arable land is worsened by climate change.
According to the UN's desertification agency, 40% of the world's land is already degraded. Approximately 1.5 billion people are affected by desertification, which is twice the size of the United States, according to the U.N.
Malla Reddy, who runs a non-profit that encourages natural farming practices in the region, said that people used to farm according to the weather. Farmers can't predict when the rain will come, and many times they lose their crops.
Less water is left in the ground for thirsty crops when the temperature is hot.
Over 60,000 farmers are supported by a non-profit that works with 300,000 acres of land in the district.
Half of India's farmland is dependent on downpours and most Indian farmers rely on rainfed agriculture. The lands are subject to poor agricultural methods, such as excessive use of chemical fertilizers, over tilling and monocropping, the practice of planting just a single crop each year.
Natural farming and agroforestry are methods that Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre and the farmers it supports use to keep the land unspoiled. Cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of dark sugar made from sugarcane, are some of the organic matter used in natural farming. There are plants planted alongside agricultural crops.
Natural farmers in the region grow a variety of crops, unlike other farmers who only grow groundnuts or paddy. As opposed to distinct seeding in harvesting seasons, multi-cropping ensures the restoration of soil nutrients.
Many of the land in the area is no longer usable for farming due to the extensive use of chemicals.
Many trucks with speakers are cruising through our villages, asking farmers to buy pesticides or weedicides. E.B. Manohar is a natural farmer in the village of Khairevu.
Manohar quit his job as a mechanical engineer in Bengaluru to start farming in his hometown. Tomatoes, chilies, cabbage, and other crops are grown on his farm.
Manohar said that he has started giving naturalfertilizer and weedicide to other farmers. More and more people are interested in trying this out since they know that my investment is low and my returns are good.
For initiatives like Manohar's to make a national impact, they need to be rolled out on a larger scale.
N.H. Ravindranath has been researching desertification in India for the last 20 years. The land restoration work in Anantapur is commendable but scaling up is the real challenge.
Government policies that encourage restoration are needed for financing climate adaptation. He said these are the only things that will make a difference. Money for adapting to harsher weather conditions has been discussed at U.N. climate conferences. Funding for vulnerable nations has been promised, but not all of it has been fulfilled.
The lead scientist of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification said that 70% of the world's land is already converted by humans from its natural state for food production and other purposes.
We're undercutting what we've converted because we lost productivity in those lands. "We have a big problem here." There needs to be incentives for sustainable land management. In our conventional form of farming, we rely on chemical fertilization, which works, but it short circuits the natural processes in the soil, which stops it from regenerating, making it useless in the long run.
Land restoration can keep planet-warming gases out of the atmosphere.
The 28-year-old natural farmer is from Anantapur. The man is not concerned.
He said that the trees have grown as much as he expected in 17 months. He quit his job as a software engineer in Bengaluru and went back to his village in Anantapur.
The satisfaction of seeing his crops grow is enough to keep natural farming practices going.
I don't intend to return to Bangalore. I didn't want to work for someone else when I came back. He said that he could give livelihood to a few people. It was that thought that made me decide.
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