Bhubaneswar: Retirement now-a-days is seen as the time to bid farewell to the fast-paced lifestyle that you were leading and embrace the new journey ahead as you complete 60 years of life. Retirement from work is traditionally perceived as the resting phase of life mainly due to old age.
For Nanda Kishore Mahakud, retirement is not the end of life. In fact, retirement opened doors to the things he was once passionate about. This retired professor turned farmer is winning praise for his agricultural inputs, cultivating organically and farming in an integrated manner in the challenging terrain. Let’s get candid with Mahakud who has become an example for farmers who use harmful chemicals to reap rich harvests.
Mahakud, who was a sociology professor at Sambalpur University, decided to be an organic farmer post retirement. Despite having a good bank balance and huge property, Mahakud took the call to be a farmer for the rest of his life and chose his village land in Athhamallick in Angul district, for his dream.
Speaking to Ommcom News, Mahakud said, “Though I had an option to rest after retirement in 2013, I decided to go back to my ancestors’ village in Angul district and do organic farming. Since 2015, I have been doing organic farming but for the sake of money. I am into farming because I feel Gen X has equal rights to natural resources. I hold rampant deforestation responsible for the destruction of natural resources. This results in loss of green cover. Along with this, the wildlife suffers from habitat loss which causes them to migrate and eventually get extinct. Another activity affecting resources is the overuse of mines for the production of human luxuries. Concerned over the future of our next generation, I thought of doing organic farming so that I save something for the next generation and die peacefully.”
And what distinguishes Mahakud from other farmers is that he follows a fully organic method of cultivation, right from preparing soil using cow dung, cow urine and earthworms to planting the seeds and fertigation.
In 2016, Sikkim became India’s first fully organic State where cow dung and urine are being used for farming purposes. Sadly, a large chunk of Odisha farmers are unaware of using cow urine for organic farming. Being an exception, Mahakud reaped rich harvests using cow urine in his cultivation and became an example for other farmers.
“Organic cultivation does not involve the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It helps maintain a harmonious balance among the various complex ecosystems. Also, it has improved the quality of the soil which further improves the standards of the crops produced there. Organic nutrients can be obtained from the fermentation of cow urine thereby enhancing soil fertility. In addition, it can be turned into liquid fertiliser as a pesticide for crops”, maintained Mahakud who is an active member of the National Coalition for Natural Farming.
As Mahakud does not allow alcohol consumption in his farmland, no labourers are willing to work in his farmland. As a result, Mahkud is facing a labour crisis to grow vegetables on his land.
By Rashmi Rekha Das
