Subodh Singh is a dynamic farmer of Ratanpura village, Motipur block, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He feels that traditional farming requires lot of effort to get satisfactory yield. To overcome this, he adopted a zero-tillage farming technique in his field, with the assistance of project Gram Utthan of PTC Foundation, which is implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation. Prior to using a zero tillage machine, he was skeptical about this method as seed is sown directly without ploughing. He consulted many fellow farmers who already had used this machine and decided to take a chance. In a zero tillage practice, seed quantity and depth of sowing is apt, the seed is sown in line with proper distance, fertilizer placement is optimum, and water requirement for irrigation is low as compared to traditional practices. Subodh has been using this technology for the past three years, through which he saves INR 2,500–3,000 per acre in sowing, as labor and land preparation is not required in the field, and there is also a simultaneous increase of about 440 kg/acre in wheat production.
Authors: Ashutosh Singh and Ellora Mubashir
(Ashutosh is Assistant Program Lead, Agriculture in Bihar and Ellora is Manager, Partnerships at S M Sehgal Foundation)
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