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A Farm Visit to B.G.Kere on 28.05.2017

I, my father and fellow farmer friends visited Mr.Veerabhadrappa garu farm at B.G.Kere village, Molakalmur Taluk, Chitradurga In his 80 Acre Farm he is doing Dry land agriculture farming with limited available resources.

We were welcomed with best Greenery in that village Area..irrespective of lowest rainfall in South India.. Average rainfall is 400mm.

Veerabhadrappa garu used the available resources in his farm and created a dense forest literally. Farmers income comes not only from farm produce but also from Value added products..He is the best example for Value added products..here are few details about it below.

From Coconut trees He is extracting NEERA

Neera, also called palm nectar, is a sap extracted from the inflorescence of various species of toddy palms and used to quench thirst.[1] Neera extraction is generally performed before sunrise. It is sweet, translucent in colour, and high in nutritional value. It is susceptible to natural fermentation at ambient temperature within a few hours of extraction. Once fermented, Neera becomes toddy. Neera is widely consumed in India, Sri Lanka, Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Neera should not be confused with the juice made from palm fruit.

The drink is popular on account of its high nutritive value, delicious taste and agreeable flavor. Its production requires neither mechanical crushing, as in the case of sugarcane, nor leaching, like beet-root; it is obtained by slicing the spathes of the coconut, sago, and Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) palm, and scraping the tendermost part, just below the crown.

Neera Storage:

Extracted Neera should keep in Cool place. otherwise with in hour it turned to wine😃

Veerabhadrappa garu Served us Chilled NEERA.. It was great taste. We had interaction with him around an hour in his meeting hall..He shared about his 50+ years of agriculture experiance and how he expanded his farm.

Initially he gave importance to restore the health of the land through many treatment measures such as mulching, earthen bunds, application of tank silt, natural manures, agriculture residues, vermi-compost etc.

He has also implemented all kinds of water conservation methods such as earthen bunds, gully checks, water bodies etc to prevent the rain water flowing out of his farm. As a result soil and water are fully conserved. He has also introduced micro irrigation system to minimize the usage of water for agriculture. As a result even today his 12 irrigation borewells are functional and there is water in 4 open wells out of 7, while most of the borewells of other adjacent farmers have dried up.

Today one can see an excellent combination of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry and many other experiments in his farm. He is successfully growing coconuts, tamarind, mulberry, coffee, vanilla, drumsticks, banana, papaya etc. At the same time he is growing forest species like sandal wood, teak, silver oak, date palm, subabul etc., most of which have naturally grown. He is also promoting vermi-culture in a natural state. Honey bee rearing is also practiced.

Best examples of Integrated farming at Veerabhadrappas Farm

Cow Farm: Daily income from Milk, Gobar gas from Cow dung, slurry for vermicompost what not...

Fodder management:

Very beautiful Hydroponics set up at Farm..

Rearing South African Sheeps Goats at his Farm:

Showing Earthworms from the soil:

Bee-Keeping :

Very Big Open Well:

Sericulture : Cultivation of Mulberry for Silk worm in Poly house, Silk worm rearing..

Kashmiri variety of Mulberry leaf

Water conservation methods such as earthen bunds, gully checks, water bodies:

Water Storage Tanks:

Energy Conservation - Solar Pumps set up:

Income Earning Trees: Coconuts, tamarind, mulberry, coffee, vanilla, drumsticks, banana, papaya etc. At the same time he is growing forest species like sandal wood, teak, silver oak, date palm, subabul etc.