www.thebetterindia.com Open in urlscan Pro
23.139.0.1  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET /

<form action="/" method="get" id="vspl__searchform" class="vspl__searchform">
  <input type="text" name="s" class="vsbl__search-inputbar" id="vsbl__search-input" placeholder="Search for Stories">
  <button class="position-absolute" type="submit" data-element="searchform">
    <img src="https://www.thebetterindia.com/wp-content/themes/thebetterindia/build/images/search-icon.svg" alt="The Better India | Search Icon" title="The Better India">
  </button>
</form>

Text Content

 
Igniting Ideas For impact

Embarking on a transformative journey through six chapters, we traverse India's
landscape, exploring pioneering startups and their revolutionary...

2 months
Eng
 * English
 * हिन्दी
 * ગુજરાતી
 * मराठी
 * বাংলা

 * Home
 * Stories
 * About
 * Our Impact
 * Brand Campaigns
 * Advertise With Us



 * Home
 * Read
 * Watch
 * Contribute

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

 * 


SIGN IN
 * Home
 * Topics
   * Sustainability
   * Agriculture
   * Innovation
   * Food
   * History
   * Travel
   * Culture
   * How To
 * About
 * Stories
 * Our Impact
 * Brand Campaigns
 * Watch inspiring videos
 * Advertise With Us
 * Press Coverage
 * Contact
 * Careers

Follow Us On



Download App




AgricultureInnovation


AWARD-WINNING FARMER EARNS RS 30 LAKH/YEAR WITH UNIQUE METHOD THAT SAVES SPACE &
WATER

By Aarushi Agrawal
June 25, 2022


Akash Chaurasia from Madhya Pradesh has won over 20 national awards for
pioneering the concept of multilayer farming. Here’s how it has helped him and
other farmers earn better.

Get inspired! Click here to read about the amazing people making a positive
impact today!
1 Why a Poultry Farmer From Amravati Was Invited to Lecture IAS Trainees at
LBSNAA, Mussoorie
2 7 Years Later: Inside The Workings of Assam School That Accepts Plastic As
Fees
3 2 Chennai Friends Take Authentic Indian Chutneys Prepared in 5 Secs To UK, US
& Germany
4 Chennai Scuba Diver & His 9-YO Daughter Have Collected 1000 Kg Plastic From
The Ocean
5 'I Won't Stop Anytime Soon': 62-YO With Parkinson's Serves Free Khichdi to 100
Patients Daily

Over the past few years, a new farming model has slowly been spreading to the
country’s small towns, giving farmers better yields and a more regular, weekly
income.

Powered By



Video Player is loading.
Play Video
PlaySkip Backward
Unmute

Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 10:47
Loaded: 0.00%


00:00
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE
Remaining Time -10:47
 
1x
Playback Rate

Chapters
 * Chapters

Descriptions
 * descriptions off, selected

Captions
 * captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
 * captions off, selected

Audio Track
 * default, selected

Picture-in-PictureFullscreen

This is a modal window.



Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentText
BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentCaption
Area
BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque
Font Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge
StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional
Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall
Caps
Reset restore all settings to the default valuesDone
Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Advertisement







Called multilayer farming, it allows for more crops to be grown on lesser land.
Spearheading this movement is the pioneer Akash Chaurasia. With over 20 national
awards to his name, the 32-year-old has given practical training to about 80,000
farmers and educated around 12 lakh others about multilayer farming.

Born to a family of beetle nut farmers in Sagar, a small town in Bundelkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, he grew up nurturing the dream of becoming a doctor. “But I
thought about how illnesses, doctors, and the number of hospitals are all
increasing,” he tells The Better India. “I realised that the root of all
illnesses is what we eat and drink. And I decided to deal with the root of the
problem through farming.”


DISCOVERING MULTI-LAYER FARMING

Once he committed to farming, Akash spoke to several farmers and started
thinking about all the different problems they face today, from water and
fertiliser-related issues to climate change and insect attacks to marketing and
sales. So in 2014, as a solution to all of these problems, he came up with the
idea of planting multiple crops on the same piece of land.

He started with two layers of crops, one underground and the other on the
surface. His first crops were tomatoes and bitter gourd, and he experimented
with other combinations as well.


Akash Chaurasia’s multilayer farm. All photos courtesy Akash Chaurasia

Akash soon ran into his first challenge – grass and weeds. “The seeds lead to a
lot of grass, which weakens the crop. And removing them is costly.” To combat
this, he introduced leafy crops like the ones to be planted on the surface —
spinach, coriander, fenugreek and others. By planting leafy crops, which grow
fast, there’s automatically lesser space for grass. “Within this model, the
grass is about 80 per cent controlled.”

His next challenge was a lack of space. “Earlier, I didn’t have land myself so I
knew its value, and how tough it can be.” Besides, most farmers today only have
marginal farms, meaning “a land holding of two to five acres”. One generation
later, as that land will get divided, each farmer will have even lesser. So he
pushed himself to think of a way of growing more on lesser land.



The inspiration came from the city’s multi-storey buildings. “I liked the idea
that in less space they arrange for more people to stay.” His multilayer model
also relies on vertical space. At a height of 6.5 feet, he built a structure out
of bamboo and put a jaali on top, so the structure was partly exposed to
sunlight and partly shaded. On this he grew creepers, introducing a third crop
to the space.

There’s also a fourth crop, which includes seasonal fruit trees like mango,
papaya, or sapota (chikoo), the tallest component of the multilayer farm.


THE MANY BENEFITS OF MULTILAYER FARMING

The several layers of crops prevent water from evaporating. “About 80 per cent
of the water is saved, compared to an open field.” He adds that while an open
field uses 100 litres of water for one crop, a multilayer farm uses only 30 per
cent of that water for four crops. “So each crop grows with about seven per cent
water. And compared to an open field fair, about 93 litres of water is saved,”
he explains.

Akash Chaurasia’s farm

With the four varieties of crops, the farmer is also earning a parallel income
from each. For instance, from March to July the leafy green vegetables, in this
case, spinach, offer income to the farmer. From April to November, the creepers,
like scarlet gourds, are fruiting. In August, the underground crop like ginger
matures and makes itself available for selling. And from December to January,
the papaya tree gives its fruits. “There isn’t a single week in which our income
isn’t being generated,” he adds, talking about how this model makes farmers more
economically independent. Akash himself has an annual income of Rs 30 lakh, he
shares.



This is also a more sustainable model since the bamboo or sticks the farmer uses
are bio disposable, for which the farmer also doesn’t have to go to the market
or spend money. Compared to a polyhouse which uses carbon dioxide, can’t be
disposed of properly, and hurts the environment, the farmer, and offers society
harmful food, this method is eco-friendly, more profitable for farmers, and
offers up good, chemical-free food.

“Good food is everyone’s right. So this work gives me hope and energises me.
More farmers are doing this means chemical-free food reaches more plates. It
feels good when people eat well,” he says.

Besides educating people in person, Akash also has a YouTube channel through
which he spreads awareness about his work. He has made literature readily
available so anyone can practice multilayer farming. “From readying the bed to
preparing medicine, all the way till cultivation, I make farmers do all the
processes by hand and teach them,” he says, adding that farmers don’t have to go
through the hassle of buying the model from some company of subsidy.

Akash Chaurasia teaching farmers about his multilayer farming technique

And the model is spreading far and wide. For instance, Sorav Patra, from the
Nadiya district in Kalyani, Kolkata, has been practising multilayer farming for
three months. “Before I could grow only one crop. Now, I can grow more crops at
once. By keeping the height [of the structure] at 6.5 feet, I can even grow
another crop inside. Even in three months, I am noticing a strong quality crop.
Before I had to wait the whole year for the yield. Now it’s already happening,”
he says.



Akash hopes that as awareness spreads, more people adopt this model. “Normal
farming is easy. Take tractors and sow seeds. In multilayer farming, planning
the structure requires a lot of engineering.”

And while he continues spreading the word, he’s also working on other
innovations, in the fields of water, biodiversity, food processing, and more,
thinking about the complete agricultural process and how it can be developed.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

Support the biggest positivity movement

We bring stories straight from the heart of India, to inspire millions and
create a wave of impact. Our positive movement is growing bigger everyday, and
we would love for you to join it.

Please contribute whatever you can, every little penny helps our team in
bringing you more stories that support dreams and spread hope.

Contribute ₹501 Contribute ₹1001


Sounds Interesting? Share it now!

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

 * 

Follow Us



CONTINUE READING

Previous Article Fascinating History of 6 Indian Motifs That Took The Global
Fashion Scene By Storm
Next Article Meet Rambai, A 105-YO Grandma Who Created History by Breaking a
100m Race Record


VISUAL STORIES


10 COMMITTEES FROM INDIAN POLITY EVERY UPSC CSE ASPIRANT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT


10 RARE PICS OF PEOPLE WHO WROTE INDIA'S GLORIOUS HISTORY IN SPORTS, MEDICINE &
FILM


10 HIDDEN HERITAGE SITES ACROSS SOUTH INDIA FOR EVERY HISTORY BUFF'S TRAVEL LIST


HOW I TURNED MY VAN INTO A COMFORTABLE CAMPERVAN POWERED BY SOLAR PANELS


A 16-YO IS MAKING IT EASY FOR DELHI STUDENTS TO VOLUNTEER & TUTOR
UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS


'WANTED TO BEAT BOREDOM': BIHAR WOMAN STARTED MUSHROOM BIZ WITH RS 1000, EARNS
RS 3 LAKH/YEAR


LOVE BIRYANI? ADD THESE 15 ICONIC EATERIES IN INDIA TO YOUR MUST-TRY LIST


WHO IS NEERU YADAV? 'HOCKEY WALI SARPANCH' WHO TRANSFORMED VILLAGE WITH HER
INCREDIBLE IDEAS


5 NUTRITIOUS MUSHROOMS FROM KASHMIR: PROF WHO IDENTIFIED 100 LITTLE-KNOWN
VARIETIES SHARES

 
Get inspired! Click here to read about the amazing people making a positive
impact today!
1 Why a Poultry Farmer From Amravati Was Invited to Lecture IAS Trainees at
LBSNAA, Mussoorie
2 7 Years Later: Inside The Workings of Assam School That Accepts Plastic As
Fees
3 2 Chennai Friends Take Authentic Indian Chutneys Prepared in 5 Secs To UK, US
& Germany
4 Chennai Scuba Diver & His 9-YO Daughter Have Collected 1000 Kg Plastic From
The Ocean
5 'I Won't Stop Anytime Soon': 62-YO With Parkinson's Serves Free Khichdi to 100
Patients Daily
X

X

 

Agriculture Stories

Food Stories

Innovation Stories

Startup Stories

Travel Stories

Sustainability Stories

Culture Stories

How To Stories

Visual Stories

Work with us

Privacy Policy

Advertise With Us

Contact Us

Grievance

Terms of use

Share your Story

editorial@thebetterindia.com

Send Feedback

contact@thebetterindia.com

Follow Us


Get our newsletter

Uplifting stories, positive impact, and updates delivered straight into your
inbox.

Subscribe