You can read the Open Letter (and Annexure 1) here:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6839

The supporting documents below provide:
*An Introduction to Bhaskar Save's Farm
*Opinions of Visitors
*A Biographical Note on Bhaskar Save
*Guidance on Dryland Mixed Cropping for Diverse, Continuing Yield in Low Rainfall Areas
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ANNEXURE 2: An Introduction to Bhaskar Save’s Farm, Kalpavruksha

(Adapted extracts from Chapter 2 of  ‘The Vision of Natural Farming’ by Bharat Mansata, Earthcare Books)

ANNAPURNA: NATURAL ABUNDANCE

(On Nature’s way and her silent workers the soil-dwelling creatures, earthworms, weeds at  Kalpavruksha.)

“Natural farming is blessed by Annapurna, the mother goddess of abundant food for all that lives.” Bhaskar Save, 84 year-old man of the earth, speaks with quiet conviction, grown from long experience. He has lovingly nurtured a magnificent natural orchard and farm near the coastal village Dehri, a few kilometers north of the Gujarat-Maharashtra border.

 “Thousands of useful plant species, indigenous or long-adapted to local conditions, grow in this country. Thus graced with Nature’s generosity, why should our people ever have to suffer lack of food or any basic want?” asks Bhaskar Save.

At the gate of Save’s verdant 14 acre orchard-farm, Kalpavruksha, a bright blue sign in white lettering reads “Su-Swagatam”, the traditional Indian greeting of an auspicious welcome. About twenty steps from the gate is a sign that says: “Co-operation is the fundamental Law of Nature.” A simple and concise introduction to the philosophy and practice of natural farming!

Further inside the farm are numerous other signs that attract attention with brief, thought-provoking sutras or aphorisms. These pithy sayings contain all the distilled wisdom on nature, farming, health, culture and spirituality, that Bhaskarbhai has gathered over the years, apart from his extraordinary harvest of food!

If you ask this warm, humble farmer where he learnt his way of natural farming, he might tell you, “my university is my farm”. His farm has now become a sacred university for many, as every Saturday afternoon (Visitors’ Day) brings numerous people. Included in such weekly entourage have been farmers from all over India, as also agricultural scientists, students, city folk, senior government officials, ‘V.I.P.s’, and occasional travellers from distant lands, who have read or heard of Bhaskar Save’s work. 

Kalpavruksha compels attention, for its high yield easily out-performs any modern farm using chemicals. This is readily visible at all times! The number of coconuts per tree are among the highest in the country. Some of the palms yield over 450 coconuts each year, while the average is almost 400. The crop of chikoo (sapota) planted over forty years ago is similarly abundant, providing an average of 300-350 kg of delicious fruit per tree each year.

Also growing in the orchard are banana, papaya, and a few trees of date-palm, drumstick, areca-nut, mango, jackfruit, toddy palm, custard apple, jambul, guava, pomegranate, lime, pomelo, mahua, tamarind, neem, audumber, ”¦; apart from some bamboo and various under-storey shrubs like kadipatta (curry leaves), crotons; and vines like pepper, betel leaf, passion-fruit, etc.

Nawabi Kolam(or Surati Kolam) a delicious and high-yielding, native variety of rice, several kinds of pulses, winter wheat and some vegetables too are grown in seasonal rotation on about two acres of land. These provide enough for this self-sustained farmer’s immediate family (consisting of ten members, including four grand-children), and an average of two guests. In most years, there is some surplus of rice, which is gifted to relatives or friends, who appreciate its superior flavour and quality.

The diverse plants on Bhaskar Save’s farm co-exist as a mixed community of dense vegetation. Rarely can be seen even a small patch of bare soil exposed to the direct impact of the sun, wind or rain. The deeply shaded areas under the chikoo trees have a spongy carpet of leaf litter covering the soil, while various weeds spring up wherever some sunlight penetrates.

The thick ground cover is an excellent moderator of the soil’s micro-climate, which Bhaskar Save emphasises is of utmost importance in agriculture. “On a hot summer's day, the shade from the plants or the mulch (leaf litter) keeps the surface of the soil cool and slightly damp. During cold winter nights, the ground cover is like a blanket conserving the warmth gained during the day. Humidity too is higher under the canopy of dense vegetation, and evaporation is greatly reduced. Consequently, irrigation needs are very low. The many little insect friends of the soil thrive under these conditions.”

Tillers and Fertility Builders at Kalpavruksha

It is not without reason that Charles Darwin declared a century ago: it may be doubted whether there are many other creatures that have played so important a part in world history as have the earthworms. Bhaskar Save confirms, “A farmer who aids the natural regeneration of the earthworms and tiny soil-dwelling organisms on his farm, is firmly back on the road to prosperity.”

Earthworms flourish in a dark, moist, aerated soil-habitat, protected from extremes of heat and cold, and having an abundance of biomass. These tireless workers digest organic matter like crumbling leaf litter along with the soil, while churning out in every cycle of 24 hours, one and a half times their weight of rich compost, high in all plant nutrients.

Vermi-compost or earthworm compost is a treasure of fertility. In relation to the surrounding parent soil, the intricately sculpted worm castings may contain twice as much magnesium, five times as much nitrogen, seven times as much phosphorous, and eleven times as much potash [8]. Moreover, the bacterial population in such castings is nearly a hundred times more than in the surrounding soil. Save estimates that at least 6 tonnes of nutrient-rich castings are provided by the earthworms each year in every acre of his land. That is more top-grade organic fertiliser than most farmers can afford to buy!

The earthworm’s tunnelling action efficiently tills the land, imparting a porous structure to the soil. This increases its capacity to hold air and moisture, the most important requirements of plant roots. The worm castings are similarly well-aerated and absorbent, while allowing excess water to drain away. They also form stable aggregates, whose soil particles hold firmly together, and thus resist erosion.

Various other soil-dwelling creatures ants, termites, ”¦ many species of micro-organisms similarly aid in the physical conditioning of the soil and in the recycling of plant nutrients. And there are innumerable such helpful creatures in every square metre of a natural farm like Kalpavruksha.

Bhaskar Save, however, does not claim to have any special method for making the armies of insects toil for him. “This is Nature’s way,” he says. “The most important step is to let it happen by not adopting short-sighted technological interventions, such as the use of chemical fertiliser or pesticide, heavy tillage or too much irrigation.”

Modern agricultural practices have proved disastrous to the organic life of the soil. Many of the burrowing creatures are crushed under the weight of heavy tractors, or killed by the toxic effect of the chemicals used. The consequent soil compaction, resulting from the death of these Nature’s cultivators, has reduced soil aeration and the earth's capacity to absorb moisture. This is further aggravated by soil-surface salinisation, caused by excessive irrigation and poor drainage.

By ruining the natural fertility of the soil, we actually create artificial ‘needs’ for more and more external inputs and unnecessary labour for ourselves, while the results are inferior and more expensive in every way. “The living soil,” stresses Bhaskar Save, “is an organic unity, and it is this entire web of life that must be protected and nurtured. Natural Farming is the Way.”

Weeds: Wild Friends

“In nature, every humble creature and plant plays its role in the integrated functioning of the eco-system. Each is an inseparable part of the food chain. The excrement of one species is nutrition for another. In death too, every organism, withered leaf, or dry blade of grass leaves behind its contribution of fertility for bringing forth new life.” Consequently, pleads Bhaskar Save -- if we truly seek to regain ecological harmony and sustainability, the very first principle we must learn to follow is, “Live and let live”.

“Since all plants are provided by Nature in her wisdom to fulfil certain functions in relation to the soil and the creatures of the soil, we must think most carefully before removing what we consider undesirable weeds. In particular, violent methods like spraying chemical weedicides or herbicides, and the use of heavy tractors should be totally given up.” At Kalpavruksha, no labour is wasted even in manually rooting out weeds, though sometimes such weeds that are over-shading young saplings may be cut and mulched.

The manual uprooting of weeds disturbs the organic life of the soil less than mechanical tillage, but is still usually undesirable. On the other hand, the cutting of weed growth above the land surface without disturbing the roots and laying it on the earth as ‘mulch’, benefits the soil in numerous ways.

With mulching, there is less erosion of soil by wind or rain, less compaction, less evaporation, and less need for irrigation. Soil aeration is higher. So is moisture absorption, and insulation from heat and cold. The mulch also supplies more food for the earthworms and micro-organisms to provide a nutrient-rich compost for the crops. Moreover, since the roots of the weeds are left in the earth, these continue to bind the soil, and aid its organic life in a similar manner as the mulch on the surface. For when the dead roots get weathered, they too serve as food for the soil-dwelling creatures.

Bhaskarbhai points out that the irrational and violent prejudice against weeds in modern tree-cropping can be traced back to our colonial past. Due to the much slower rate of decomposition of plant matter in the colder, temperate conditions (where soil bacteria are comparatively fewer and less active), most Englishmen were not conscious of the vital importance of weeds and leaf litter in maintaining soil fertility and checking soil erosion in warm, high rainfall conditions, like ours.

Most of the ‘nutrients’ of weeds indeed all plants are derived from elements present in the air and moisture. The minerals drawn from the soil constitute barely 5% of their total weight. The problem of competition for these does not arise, for nature is never so foolish as to select such weed species, whose mineral needs are less than adequately catered in the soil where they are chosen to grow. And since weeds are shorter, have comparatively shallow roots and brief life-spans, they do not hinder the taller, deeper-rooted, long-life trees in any way at all.

Some of the so-called weeds found in Kalpavruksha, like the koucha, dhaincha, and ikkad,are leguminous. (The latter two belong to the Sesbania family of plant species.) Along with other leguminous shrubs and trees, these are nature’s agents for supplying nitrogen. In their root nodules dwell billions of specialised rhizobium bacteria that ‘fix’ atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. For this reason, traditional crop rotation systems almost always included a leguminous crop of ‘nitrogen supplying’ pulses between two crops of ‘nitrogen consuming’ cereal/s.

“Even if some weeds threaten to become rampant and over-shade crops,” says Bhaskar Save, “the modern methods of weed control are sheer madness. After all, we do not tear out the hair on our head when it grows too long. Nor do we spray poison on it! And so with weeds, the saner way is to moderate their growth, where needed, by cutting.”

“The only lasting ‘root-cure’ to situations of weed rampancy among field crops is to restore the health of the soil by adopting mixed planting and crop rotation, while discontinuing chemicals and deep tillage. Since the problematic weeds will only phase out gradually as the soil regains its health, a farmer may still find the weed-growth tending to over-shade her/his food crops in the interim period of recovery. The way to manage this is to periodically cut the weeds (before they flower), and mulch them at least 3-4 inches thick on the soil under the crops. Without any sunlight falling on the weed seeds buried in the soil, their fresh germination is effectively checked. [See also: ‘On Weeds among Crops, and Controlling Weed Rampancy’]

Multi-storey, Multi-function

Above the ground cover of weeds that constitute the lowest storey of vegetation in the orchard area, are numerous shrubs like the ‘kadipatta’ (or curry leaf, Murraya koenigii) and the homely croton that line the pathways through the orchard. The latter plant, of various spotted and striped varieties, is relatively shallow rooted. It serves as a ‘water meter’, indicating by the drooping of its leaves that the moisture level of the soil is falling!

The shrubs of curry leaf or ‘sweet neem’ contribute to moderating the population of several species of crop-feeding insects, while also providing an important edible herb widely used in Indian cooking. From this minor crop alone, Bhaskar Save earns an income of at least Rs 2,500/- each month, at zero cost. (Even the harvesting is done by the purchaser.)

Here and there, one may see climbers like the pepper vine or betel leaf in a spiral garland around a supari (arecanut) palm, or perhaps a passion fruit vine arching across a clearing. These provide additional bonus yield on the side.

Excluding the two acres under coconut nursery, and another two acres of paddy field, the average food yield from the orchard is about 15,000 to 20,000 kg per acre per annum! And in nutritional value, this is many times superior to an equivalent weight of food grown with the intensive use of toxic chemicals, as in Punjab, Haryana and many other parts of India.

(abridged)

Post-script: Bhaskar Save says: “A young tree sapling is like a child that needs some initial care. But soon it looks after itself, and then it looks after us!”

Shri Save’s mature orchard has, since many years, reached the stage of almost pure, ‘do-nothing natural farming’. The labour needed is mainly in harvesting. The occasional irrigation in dry months (about once in 2 or 3 weeks for every row) is still attended to entirely by Bhaskar Save, despite his advanced age.

The field crops, however rice, wheat, various pulse legumes, vegetables, onions, etc. are ‘organic’, rather than ‘natural’ in the no-till way of the well-known Japanese natural farmer, Masanobu Fukuoka. Here, significantly more seasonal labour is required in ploughing, transplanting and harvesting.

Apart from the sale of fruit, considerable income is obtained from the sale of coconut saplings, which are always in high demand. Even from distant Kerala coconut country there are farmers visiting every year or so, who carry back some saplings.

Thus, Bhaskar Save comfortably makes a net income of several lakhs every year, apart from being self-sufficient in most food needs. And this, without succumbing to the temptation of exporting his produce to ready buyers of organic food in Europe, offering a much higher price.

(author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., publisher: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) 
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Annexure 3: Opinions of Visitors to Kalpavruksha

*        “I have seen many farms all over the world. This is the best! It is even better than my own farm.” -- Masanobu Fukuoka, well-known Japanese natural farmer and author of ‘One Straw Revolution’, ‘The Road Back to Nature’ and ‘The Natural Way of Farming’. (as recorded and translated on tape during Fukuoka’s visit to Kalpavruksha.)

More comments from the ‘Visitors' Opinion Book’ at the Farm

*        "The amount of natural wisdom and ripened experience which can be found in this farm can only be found in few places in the world. It is an enormous error that this wisdom and these experiences are not yet widely used by other farmers. ...This is the right way to farm to overcome the many problems we are confronted with in `modern' agriculture." -- Coen Reijntes (co-editor, `Farming for the Fu­ture', and ‘ I.L.E.I.A Bulletin’, published by                  the International Centre for Low-External-Input Agriculture, The Netherlands.)            

*        "It was a great pleasure to visit the farm of Shri Bhaskar Save and discuss with him. ... May his message of natural farming spread fast to all corners of our country." -- Dr S.B. Kadrekar, Vice Chancellor, Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (Konkan Agricultural University), Dapoli, Ratnagiri

*        "I am highly impressed with the innovative approach of Mr. Save in sustainable management of soil and plants. ...We scientists must interact and learn better from his experiences for the cause of horticulture." -- Dr. H.P. Singh, Project Co-ordinator (Tropical Fruits), I.I.H.R. (Indian Institute of Horticultural Research)

*        "Your method is potentially revolutionary for India. It's about time the government realised how cheaply it could be promoting wasteland development and rural employment." - Alistair, Editor `Food Matters Worldwide', Farming Maga­zine, England.

*        "I am really happy to visit Kalpavruksha. I felt as though I was moving in the natural surroundings of our country, with which I am fully engaged during the last 50 years. ...May God bless Shri Save and his family."  -- Prof. Dr. R. Seshagiri Rao, Former Director, Botanical Survey of India.  

*        "Congratulations on your splendid, wonderful example of `biological agriculture." 

-- Pierre Lemaitre (President, `Nature & Progress')

*        "This farm is efficient and very impressive. The lessons to be learnt here are not only relevant on a local and national level in India, but also on a global level. The implications of this system of natural farming for tackling India's problems of rural poverty are far-reaching." - Jill Windle, Dept. of Agriculture, Union of Queensland, Australia..

*        "I am studying and enjoying natural farming in Japan with Masano­bu Fukuoka. When I came to just (the) entrance (of Kalpavruksha), I felt some wonderful power. Rice and coconut (are) beau­tifully shining together. This farm has harmony of nature. Everything is living together, and totally enjoying. So I said so many times, "wonderful!" and no more word. I like this farm! Thank you! I was very happy." --  Nagomi Chiba, Japan..

*        "I would like to call Shri Bhaskar Save as Indian Fukuoka.  ...The Govt. should look into this, and promote natural farming." -- Dr. T. Sampath Kumar, AFPRO, New Delhi

*        "We were greatly impressed. We have seen farms in other parts of the world, but this was the most interesting." -- David Reuben, Agricultural Consultant, Israel.

*        "I am absolutely amazed by what I have seen on this farm. The perfect balance that has been created between man and nature is an eye opener for all of us who keep raving about the wonders of the Green Revolution. The real green revolution has been taking place in this farm so lovingly nurtured by Shri Bhaskar Save. May his tribe increase! --  M. Sahni, Chief Secy, Union Territory of Daman, Diu, Dadra & Nagar Naveli..

*        "Nature or God, works with the UTMOST ECONOMY, and I have closely observed that Shri Revered B.H. Save also works in that mould."  --  Anand Prakash Arya, Loksabha Secy, MPs Consultative Parliamentary Committee, New Delhi.

*        "Your farm ”¦. seems to me unique in India.  I am personally much benefited, and have enriched my knowledge of agriculture." -- Matilal Kar, Jt.Director of Agri, West Bengal.)

*        "This is a pilgrimage place for farmers."-- Shantilal Shah, Farmer & Regional Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj.

*        "His principle of natural farming is really fascinating. ... All his experiments need to be given publicity."  -- Dr.Prakash Mahindre, Dir. of Horticulture, Maharashtra.

*        "I have toured around not only India, but also the west, and my observation here is that Kalpavruksha is a monumental farm ... The harmony, bliss, beauty of the place throws a visitor towards the Divinity's work in the vegetable kingdom. I recommend every Indian to visit this farm and be benefited". -- Dr.Gopal Swami Sachchidanand, (Lecturer), Bilimora.

*        "I had only read Fukuoka's book. It was a concept and an activity in distant Japan. It was now a great experience to enjoy here.  It is a similar idea but which has taken shape according to the local climate, culture and soil. Mr.Save is a wonderful person. Here is a man who lives the eco­logical balance, unlike many who only talk about it. I would like to come back here and learn more."   -- D.N.Kulkarni, Chief Engineer (Irrigation) & Jt.Secretary, Man­tralaya, Bombay.
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Annexure 4: A Biographical Note on Bhaskar Save

(Adapted extracts from Chapter 4 of ‘The Vision of Natural Farming’)

Smriti: Remembrance

   (The life and times of Bhaskar Save; experiments and experiences spanning seven decades and diverse agricultural systems.)

   In the charming coastal village of Dehri, looking out on the Arabian Sea, was born Bhaskar Hiraji Save. The date was 27th January, 1922; the family, one of the Wadwal community of farm-tenders.

   Looking back on his early years, Bhaskar Save reminisces, “The life was simple then. There were none of the modern conveniences like electricity, but the people were a contented lot. Farming was a natural, integral part of life, changing according to the season. It was a fulfilling occupation. Not the alienated, anxiety-ridden struggle it has become with modern methods. People often worked together on each others’ fields when transplanting or harvesting paddy chatting, joking, or singing in chorus.”

   Young Save sometimes accompanied his father on bullock cart trips through forests to neighboring areas. He encountered the Warli tribals, whose way of life and culture fascinated him. He was particularly awed by their belief that God lives in green trees. (These were never cut down till they dried and shed all trace of green from their body.) The idea struck a chord somewhere.

   With the approach of the monsoon began the busy season. Like most other local farmers, Bhaskarbhai’s family grew mainly rice, pulses and some vegetables. The planting of tree crops was not a part of their traditional agricultural activity, probably because an abundance of tree produce could be readily obtained from the rich, surrounding forests and the many, full-grown trees in the village neighbourhood. [The chikoo (sapota) orchards in the area were mainly started by the Parsi/Irani settlers.]

   After the harvest of rice, there were other tasks to attend. And abundant leisure as well to observe, ponder, and enjoy the gifts of Nature. In such an environment, grew Bhaskar Save. His formal education was till Standard 7 of the old system (equivalent to class 10 today), followed by two years of P.T.C. or Primary Training Certificate. This qualified him to teach in a school, which he did for 10 years. From 6 to 10 in the morning, he would attend to his family farm, then eat something, and walk through the forest to the school where he taught in a neighbouring village. By the time he returned home, it was dusk. 

On 19-2-51, Bhaskarbhai wedded Maltiben, who has since been his companion, sharing the work, and the joys and trials. The same year, the Save family began digging their well. By 1952, it was ready. A water-wheel was built. After harvesting their monsoon rice, they grew irrigated winter vegetables. And for the first time in his life, Bhaskar Save used chemical fertilizer, together with dung manure for his vegetable plants.

   In 1953, Bhaskar Save used chemicals for his rain-fed paddy as well. The harvest he reaped attracted much attention. A director of the Gujarat Fertiliser Corporation visited Save, congratulated him, and offered an agency for marketing chemical fertilizer! Save’s job included guiding farmers in its use, and he was promised a commission of Rs 5 on every bag of the chemicals he sold.  

   Soon, Save became a ‘model farmer’ for the new technology. Several agricultural scien­tists from Pune, and elsewhere, drew on his experience for conducting their field trials. By around 1954-55, he had already earned enough money to buy himself 2.5 acres of land, suitable for growing paddy. This was the first of the plots purchased on which stands the Kalpavruksha farm.

   Though fortune seemed to be smiling on him, Bhaskar Save realised within a few years that he needed to use more chemicals, and incur more expense just to check the yields from falling.

   From his early youth, Save was impressed with Gandhi’s (or perhaps Tolstoy’s) saying, “Knowledge only forms through engaged personal experience.” Before that, one has at best untested information! It was this insight that spurred Save to try out things, and to conduct all manners of ‘experiments with truth’. While in adopting chemical agriculture, he had strayed from the Gandhian path, he still enjoyed the writings of Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave, particularly those of Vinoba on farming. These were two men Bhaskar Save admired for their integrity.

   One day, inspired by Vinoba’s article on the farming practices of certain adivasis, Bhaskar Save decided to revert to organic paddy, only changing the impounded water several times in one plot (during pauses in the monsoon rains), without using any chemicals. It worked! And since the tall, native variety of rice he planted, grew well above all the unplanted (Nature seeded) vegetation in the field, there was no need of weeding. Though his yield declined this first year, so did his costs. Save resolved that he would gradually shift back to organic farming, at least for his rice crop. For the vegetables he sold to the market, he was still reconciled to using chemicals.

   A part of Bhaskar Save’s land was henceforth reserved entirely for organic experimentation. Here, he followed crop rotation, planting un-irrigated pulse legumes like beans, gram, moong, etc., after harvesting his organic paddy. The winter pulses grew entirely on the sub-soil moisture still present from the recent monsoon; and they supplied an abundance of atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. When the pulses too were harvested, cattle were allowed to browse the crop residue in the field, providing it considerable dung manure as well.