With the planting of 37 lakh saplings, Valsad district will be adorned with green forests, even today the tradition of worshiping trees in the district continues. With the planting of 37 lakh saplings, Valsad district will be adorned with green forests, even today the tradition of worshiping trees in the district continues.

Environment has been given a unique glory in Indian culture. Preserving the environment is something we have inherited from our religious traditions. That is why it is said that, “Ranchod in plants and God in nature”. In Dharampur and Kaprada talukas of Valsad district, the tradition of worshiping trees continues even today. Which is the best example of environment protection. But nowadays, when the issue of environment has become a challenge at the global level, the World Environment Day is celebrated all over the world on June 5 every year to create awareness among the people for the protection and preservation of the environment. If we talk about Valsad district which is covered with green forests, in the current year 2023-24, Social Forestry Department will plant 7,72,333 trees in 943 hectares of land area while 30.16 lakh saplings will be distributed by nursery through public participation. Thus a total of 37,88,333 saplings will be planted in the district. Through which our green Valsad district will become more beautiful with green sheets.

Since 1972, with the good intention of increasing public awareness about the environment and making people participate in the work of environmental protection, “Environment Day” is celebrated on 5th June. World Environment Day is a global platform to reach out to the public. Conservation of the environment requires abundant rainfall, clean air, flood control, maintenance of proper ground water table, fodder for livestock, employment and industries. An adequate amount of wood can be obtained only by preserving the natural elements. Air in the environment and making them harmful to human health. Over the years, the fertility and productivity of the soil also decreases, so to protect the environment and human health, one should turn to organic farming. .

Talking about the inspiration and experiences regarding organic farming, Dineshbhai says that around the year 2017, I participated in the organic farming training camp organized by Subhash Palekarji at Vadodara. And also received guidance and training in natural farming under the Atma project. After this training I realized the importance of organic farming and decided ‘I will do organic farming’. About the forest system of farming adopted by him, he said, I have adopted Subhash Palekarji’s ‘Mixed Crop System Model’. According to this model, monocot, dicot crops are planted around each other. Vegetables and fruits are planted mixed. Only dung manure is used for growing crops, the field is not tilled. Forests have chomer trees. At a glance, the farm looks like a forest.

In the first year I started organic farming, I had a hard time. In the first year, I got little income and after that the income increased. Now a net profit of more than Rs.1 lakh is being made every month. The most important thing is that, even in Mavtha and Taute storms, there was no damage to the crops arranged by forest system. Apart from this, soil erosion during rains is prevented due to this method. Seeing my income and production, the surrounding farmers are also turning to natural farming. And they are also practicing organic farming, he further added.

Benefits of organic farming
Talking about the benefits of natural farming, Dineshbhai said that chemical farming reduces soil micro-organisms, earthworms and organic carbon. Due to which the water absorption capacity of the soil has decreased due to hardening of the soil. Along with the increase in the cost of fertilizers and medicines, the incidence of diseases in agriculture has also increased. Since the introduction of organic farming, costs have been reduced, production and profits have increased, and most importantly, the need for water has started to decrease.

At present, Dineshbhai has created a ‘jungle model’ of fruits and vegetables in his agricultural land using natural farming methods of Bor, Guava, Sitafal, Mosambi, Pomegranate, Apple, Fig, Mango, Orange, Sitafal, Papaya, as well as Sargava, Turmeric, Mung etc. fruits and vegetables. So that the production continues one after the other and as soon as the cropping season ends, the income also continues as the next cropping season begins.

Dineshbhai has 15 desi cows. They are using cow urine and cow dung as fertilizer. Drip irrigation system has been installed in the field to ensure adequate water supply to the crops. The manure or waste in the field is used as mulch, so that the soil has become loose. And earthworms have increased in the soil. Not only this, the moisture storage capacity of the soil is increased. Thus, the agricultural produce produced through organic farming is marketed and sold by itself after value addition. Dineshbhai’s farm is on Saila Highway and he is selling fresh vegetables and fruits from the farm under the banner ‘Prakrti Jungle Farm’ in the patangan of the farm and also making organic sugarcane juice to feed the people.

Cultivating fruit and vegetable crops with forest model, Dineshbhai is earning profit by doing natural farming and also contributing to environmental protection. Apart from this, he is also giving training to the farmer friends of 8 villages of Saila taluka for natural farming and he is waiting for other farmers of the district to adopt natural farming for the protection and enrichment of our water, soil and environment.