In news– Nekram Sharma, Himachal Pradesh’s lone Padma awardee for the year 2023, is credited with reviving the traditional ‘Nau-Anaj’ intercropping system in the state.
Nekram Sharma contributions-
- Sharma took to farming after failing multiple attempts to secure a government job in mid 80s.
- He started with cultivation of fruits and vegetables.
- Initially, he also used fertilisers and pesticides, which were subsidised by the government to increase the yield.
- Sharma learnt about the crop biodiversity and in 2005, reintroduced ‘nau-anaj’ (nine crops) system.
- Under the mixed-cropping system, Sharma grows, maize, moong, beans, rajma, urad dal, ram dana (amaranthus), foxtail millet, finger millet and buckwheat. He has developed an orchard too, where he grows mango, pomegranate and litchi.
- Sharma also revived the cultivation of millets. “Apart from being a nutritional power house, millets can be stored for a long time,
- He said millets were also used to treat various kinds of disease when medical science was not this advanced as they also detox the body.
- He has a bank of about 40 indigenous seeds, which he distributes for free to the farmers associated with him.
About Nau-Anaj-
- Nau Anaj, which literally translates to nine crops, is a natural and chemical-free method that improves the fertility of land and reduces water consumption by about 50 per cent.
- It allows nine crops — a combination of lentils, cereals, vegetables, legumes and creepers, to be grown on the same land.
- Natural farming and intercropping pattern leading to diversification of crops strengthen the soil and gradually increase quality and yield besides cutting down on water usage and input costs.
Source: Hindustan Times
