When the farming community is in deep distress with traditional farming methods proving to be their nemesis, a progressive farmer at Deval Gangapur in drought-prone Afsalpur taluk in Kalaburagi district has shown a way to reap rewards by introducing innovations in traditional farming methods.
Dattatreya Kollur, who was a pioneer in introducing solar power for irrigating his farm lands a couple of years back, has now shown a way for farmers in distress to make profit from dairying.
Mr. Kollur is among the few farmers in the district who have successfully reared the Gir variety of cattle, found in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The Gir variety of bullocks is known for its strength to work for hours in the agriculture field without rest and the cows are known for yielding record quantity of high-quality milk, with high percentage of fat and proteins.
Mr. Kollur had visited Gujarat to purchase a pair of cattle of Gir variety a couple of years back, and has 16 hea d of cattle, comprisingng a dozen cows and four bullock to work in the agriculture field.
Mr. Kollur, who is also a pioneer in introducing organic farming in his horticulture farm, does not use chemical fertiliser or pesticides.
The dung and urine of the cattle is processed and recycled as manure and pesticide in the horticulture farm. Only organic fodder is fed to the cattle. “This has helped in getting high yield and the fat content in the milk is one of the highest in the region,” Mr. Kollur told The Hindu .
His horticulture produce, including mango, guava, banana and other fruits, fetches good prices and are sought after in Bengaluru and Mumbai markets.
Traders come directly to the farm of Mr. Kollur to purchase the produce at the price quoted by him. Along with this, milk byproducts fetch him a good profit. “Only 75 per cent of the milk is drawn daily from the cows, and the remaining 25 per cent is left back in the udders for the calves… While a portion of the milk is sold in the local market, most of it is processed to prepare shrikand, basundi and ghee,” he adds. Mr. Kollur sells the ghee, made using traditional methods, at Rs. 1,500 a kg. It is highly sought after by companies making Ayurvedic medicines.
