Hola nodu ilakali, mannella savakali; Ilukaligadda oddu haku, savakali agada hamge; Mannu savakali agada hamge, mannu neeru hidiyhaamga; Mannu hodare raitara kannu hodamte… (If the field is sloping, the soil will wash away. Construct bunds across the slope to check the soil erosion and hold the water too. Because soil washed away is equal to eyes lost).

This bit of poem is just a sample of hundreds of vachanas written by the late Shankaranna S Nagaral. It was his father, Sanganabasappa Nagaral who started a passionate campaign for drought-proofing in the beginning of this century. He was greatly influenced by the book, Krushi Jnaana Pradeepike, written by a seer, Ghanamatha Nagabhushana Shivayogi 170 years ago.

The swamiji had penned the book based on his immense farming experiences. Of course, now, after its publication, this book has turned into a bible for farmers of bayaluseeme who have to raise crops under risk-prone rain fed conditions. One glance and young Sanganabasappa was overwhelmed by the book, then in the form of a manuscript. He was keen to possess a copy and so Sanganabasappa took the original manuscript and painstakingly made a hand-written copy of it. This copy is now a prized possession of his grandson Mallanna, better known as M S Nagaral.

Sanganabasappa read and reread the handbook many times. Its influence was such that the youngster took to full-time farming. Krushi Jnaana Pradeepike emphasises construction of contour bunds and cultivation of multipurpose trees like neem. Sanganabasappa then went on a study tour to Pune to learn the intricacies of soil and water conservation. After his return, Sanganabasappa created a workable model in his own farm and spread the knowledge around. Once he realised that these measures were checking the erosion of topsoil and water, which helped a better yield even in worst rainfall years, there was no holding him back.

Sanganabasappa's formula for drought-proofing, albeit expensive, was very simple to understand even for a layman. 'Level your fields, if necessary divide it into separate plots, put contour bunds across it and facilitate safe exit of excess water without losing your valuable topsoil.'

Hungund taluk (now under Bagalkot district) has deep black soil, with patches of red soil here and there. Though the black soil has good water holding capacity, during times of water stress, uneven fields encounter problems in crop production. Stretches that are slightly elevated dry faster; low lying patches suffer from excessive moisture. If the plots are well levelled, rainwater spreads uniformly all around, thus ensuring good yield.

In those days levelling had to be done only with manual labour and it would take months. But now levelling can be done in under a week, points out son Sangannabasappa (65). He recalls, "My father worked with a twine tied to two stumps".

To level the plots, sometimes bigger field was spilt into 2-3 plots of different elevation. Soil from higher patches has to be scraped and put to sunken stretches. Sometimes, these interventions would reduce the fertility of the soil as sub-soil would replace topsoil. Sanganabasappa had solutions like addition of green manure etc to improve the soil condition.

It was Nagarals' field that was by and large fully levelled for the first time in this area and to have a concealed water outlet locally called gundavarti. Levelling work of 48-acre plot belonging to Nagarals started in Sanganabasappa's time and was completed by his son Shankaranna.

It was in 1913, that the first gundavarti of the taluk was built in Nagaral's fields. It is a part of soil and water conservation system - an underground channel to send the excessive water outside, but retains the topsoil. Gundavarti is constructed with pucca stones. It has a circular mouth that opens to an 'L' shaped concealed canal below which in turn opens to the plot below.

Also a good number of contour bunds too were raised. If black soil alone is used in bund construction it would be damaged and in summer cracks develop in the bunds. To prevent this, red soil was brought from nearby area and used in bund construction. Concentration of bunds in Nagaral fields was such that many farmers begun to comment that it s a waste of productive space.

But Mallanna knew what he was doing, "In a land of black soil, we shouldn't hold all the water that flows from the upper lands. We have to check it for a while, ensure our field is moist and then allow the excessive water to flow out", he clarifies.

The awareness campaign started by Sanganabasappa was continued by his son Shankaranna more zealously. Starting at the age of 22, he spent most of his lifetime for this mission. "There were occasions when apart from offering free on-farm guidance, my father would give money to the farmer if he did not have the required amount. 'Repay me after you get a good harvest', he would say," reminisces Mallanna, "till the ripe age of 74 he continued this service. Even when he couldn't walk, he was willing to be taken in a vehicle, to inspect the fields," he adds.

Shankaranna's area of operation extended outside home taluk of Hungund too. Entrusting the responsibility of his profession of farming to younger brother Sangannabasappa, he would travel frequently on call by other farmers. He was often invited to address farmers' meets. Realising that most of his target group is illiterate, he wrote hundreds of vachanas to spread the message. His son Mallanna has inherited this talent.

Here is a sample of his unique way of expression: "My field is my bank. I deposit all my savings here. The topsoil I conserve is my capital. The bunds are the security boxes."or "Sala madi habba madabeda; sala madi oddu hakisu." (Don't celebrate a festival by raising a loan but its okay if you borrow to construct the bunds in your field).

It took two generations to level the 48-acre fields belonging to Nagarals, but it was the effort. "Even with one good rainfall, we get a fairly good crop", son Sangannabasappa says proudly.

Shankaranna says "The initial rains don't even cross my fields. By the time it reaches the gundavarti, water flows to all the four corners of the field, making it moist. As such, there is coolness in my fields even in February. There are no cracks. Even when my neighbours' jower plants dry up and fall down, mine remain green. I get eight annas crop in aragala and four annas in baragala." (Aragala means year of half rainfall; 8 annas crop means 50 per cent; baragala is drought year; 4 annas crop means 25 per cent of normal yield).

It is very interesting to note that how simply these farmers are able to regulate the moisture level of their fields with one stone because of the design of the gundavarti. It is only in the lowest plot (where the run-off quantity is more and pressure is higher) and sometimes in the last but one plot on the lowest elevation.

An opening is left in the mouth of gundavarti to let the run-off in. Whenever it rains, the farmer closes the mouth with a stone. Only after the whole field is drenched with water, the stone is lifted to allow the excess water out. The mouth of gundavarti is kept on a raised level. How does a farmer control the moisture? "Simple," replies Mallanna, "in normal rainfall years, we allow the excess water only after allowing it to percolate for 24 hours in the field. If it is a rain-scarce year, we get an indication in time. So, we ensure that the water remain in the fields for a slightly longer time."

Even last year, when it was successive 4th year of drought and there were very scanty rains, (320 mm ) Sanganabasanna's 36 acres provided him 100 bags of jower (120 quintals) in the Rabi season. Mallanna too had a similar level of yield.

Through their demonstration, extension and free on-farm guidance, three generations of Nagarals have rendered such a great service to the local farming community that probably neither the agriculture department nor the watershed department might not have achieved in the field the drought-proofing.

Thanks to their sustained campaign, hundreds of farmers in Hungund taluk and around have been enjoying the fruits of similar land husbandry activities. "A good number of farmers have constructed bottom bunds. But very few have levelled the fields. One reason is that it requires money ranging from Rs 10,000 to 25,000 per acre," points out Mallanna.

Eminent journalist Patil Puttappa had said that, "If Shankaranna was in US, the agriculture universities there would have conferred honourary doctorate on him."

Our rural development experts, thinkers and planners would do better by making an on the spot study as to how Nagarals and farmer families influenced by them have successfully insulated themselves from drought. These villages might provide a lesson or two for tackling the social problem like that of farmer suicides.

Courtesy: Spectrum, Deccan Herald: December 21, 2004
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec212004/spt3.asp.

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