Hello,
I am new to Agriculture, and I wanted to do Organic farming, I stay in Hyderabad. Can any one suggest how to proceed on this?
Thanks,
Bhuvana
1. Know your land. If you have already purchased your property understand how the soil works. See what grows naturally in your area without much human intervention. I live in kerala and everything grows here. Its kind of hard to decide what grows here and choosing between 1000 odd varieties of fruits and trees makes it impossible. 60 KM away is tamil nadu , and the scenario is completely different. coconut is great but nutmeg is not. Jackfruits are good and so is tamarind. Mangoes are Late cultivars but grow naturally. sapota is rare. You need to find out what grow in your land without effort. Once you identify the plants, move forward in seeing how economical it is to go ahead and plant them in your land. Is it feasilbe to cultivate 500 JAckfruit trees in your farm? is there a market for it? would it be better if you go for mangoes or coconut instead. Do the math. This is not going to be easy and may take weeks. Decision at this point is the factor between success and failure. And when its failure, its phenomenally big. So be careful. Its best not to try something new. No point in growing colored capsicums, Lettuces or Strawberries where none of them actually are suitable!
2. Prepare the land : This is going to be one hell of a task and one point where your income is going to disappear. After purchasing your land if you dont have muuch in hand, you are going to be left with a piece of land which cannot be worked upon. So ensure that you have at least 1 Lakh in cash per acre for preparation of land. This may include removing existing trees , flattening the area, getting drip pipes and water provisions, preperation of hedges and getting your borders secure. 1 Lakh is too small an amount and often will require a lot more if you dont plan right. So.. Prepare to fail if you are not planning to have enough to invest in the land.
3. Water : one of the 3 things which makes farming possible is water. And its very important one too. Ensure that you have a borewell or two. Irrigation facilities to your farm should be sufficient to last at least half the summer with the remaining half through borewells.
4. Labour and macinery. Where machinery is not possible, use labour. if labour is not possible... You need to get your hands dirty and do the stuff yourself. Be prepared for the worst. Ensure that you have enough machinery for rent, lease or your own.