Volunteers at farm replace machines, transplant paddy by hand

Mangaluru: About 20 volunteers, including international competitive swimmers, stuck at the Varanashi Organic Farms in Adyanadka due to the pandemic, 50km from Mangaluru, have decided to help in cultivating paddy without machines.
Volunteers from different walks of life are involved in transplanting paddy on nearly three acres through the system of rice intensification (SRI), a method of paddy cultivation developed in Madagascar and promoted in South India by organic farmer Narayan Reddy.
Dr Varanashi Krishna Moorthy, chief, Varanashi Development and Research Foundation, said, “All around the year we have volunteers from across the world learning various farming practices. While the foreigners have managed to return to their respective countries, 20 Indian volunteers are camping at the farm along with swimming champions. During discussions on paddy cultivation, we decided to revive the SRI method that was attempted at our farm almost a decade ago.’’
He said, “This is an agro-ecological methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice. By implementing this, we have done away with the machines for transplantation. The uniqueness of the system is that seedlings that are 8-12 days old are transplanted singly, one per hill, and in a square pattern,” he said.
SRI methods help increase yields by over 20%-100% while using 40% less water than conventional methods. The method was initially developed in the 1980s in Madagascar and has been validated in 43 countries. In SRI paddy cultivation, less seeds are used. About 2 kg/acre of seeds are required as against the normal 20kg of seeds per acre, said Dr Krishna Moorthy.
Currently, 20% of the transplantation has been completed, and the enthusiasm of the volunteers continues to remain high.
Swim coach Partha Varanashi, who is also working on the fields said, “International swimmers including Likith S P, Aron D’Souza and Raj Banwadia, who have been training at the farm since February, have also joined in. In Australia, I have been part of WWOOF, a worldwide movement linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchange, thereby helping to build a sustainable, global community, and currently we host volunteers from WWOOF, Workaway, and FSL-India.”
The advantage of working on this farm is that volunteers get to explore a wide range of adventure activities.