PMDS Under Natural Farming Helps Lakshmi Prasanna Have High Earnings
25 May 2025 11:53 PM IST25 May 2025 11:53 PM IST
Krishna district woman farmer earns ₹10 lakh through natural farming, turns role model with PMDS success.
Battula Hema from Veerapanenigudem transformed her struggling orchard into a thriving natural farm using PMDS, inspiring farmers across Andhra Pradesh. (Image: DC)
Vijayawada: A woman farmer from Veerapanenigudem village in Gannavaram Mandal, Krishna district, has become a role model to the farming community through adoption of Pre Monsoon Dry Sowing (PMDS), a natural farming method.
The farmer, Battula Hema Satya Venkata Lakshmi Prasanna, said this endeavour helped her earn Rs 10 lakh this season from a mango orchard. Hema has emerged as a beacon of hope for many farmers in her region.
Hema was once on the brink of quitting. She’s now a successful farmer and a community resource person with RySS, guiding other farmers.
Alongside the mango orchard, Hema cultivated vegetables, leafy greens and marigold flowers. The family now earns up to Rs 10,000 per month by selling surplus vegetables, while their two indigenous cows benefit from year-round green fodder.
She recalled that by practising chemical farming, she once found being on the verge of quitting agriculture. With a mere one-acre landholding of her own and three additional acres taken on lease, she struggled to make ends meet. Her mango orchard, inherited and cultivated with chemical inputs, was ‘yielding’ losses year after year.
It was during a time of despair that the community-managed natural farming programme, implemented by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), gave her hope through the Pre-Monsoon Dry Sowing (PMDS) method. In 2020, Hema adopted PMDS by sowing 12kg of Navadhanya (nine traditional grains) per acre before the monsoon. The technique was repeated each year from 2021 to 2025 by increasing the seeds up to 30 varieties.
Hema explained that she started using bio stimulants, including Ghana Jeevamrutham and Jeevamrutham, along with botanical extracts such as Agnastram, Panchagavya and cowdung-asafoetida solution. Fallen mangoes were fermented and used as a jaggery substitute in preparations of bio stimulants and growth promoters, completing the cycle of on-farm resource utilisation.
With each passing year, Hema witnessed a steady rise in income. From Rs 1.20 lakh in 2020, her earnings soared to Rs 3 lakh the next year, Rs 4 lakh in 2022, Rs 5 lakh in 2023, Rs 5.60 lakh in 2024, and a phenomenal Rs 10 lakh in 2025.
Alongside the mango orchard, she cultivated vegetables, leafy greens and marigold flowers. The family now earns up to Rs 10,000 per month by selling surplus vegetables, while their two indigenous cows benefit from year-round green fodder.
Hema, by thanking PMDS, said that under natural farming practice, she now irrigates her orchard far less frequently, even during summers, because of improved soil moisture retention. The natural quality of her produce created high demand in the local market. With the help of SHG members and RySS staff, Hema began promoting her farm products through WhatsApp groups. This direct communication led to advance bookings, particularly for her mangoes.
Hema was once on the brink of quitting. She’s now a successful farmer and a community resource person with RySS, guiding other farmers.
Alongside the mango orchard, Hema cultivated vegetables, leafy greens and marigold flowers. The family now earns up to Rs 10,000 per month by selling surplus vegetables, while their two indigenous cows benefit from year-round green fodder.
She recalled that by practising chemical farming, she once found being on the verge of quitting agriculture. With a mere one-acre landholding of her own and three additional acres taken on lease, she struggled to make ends meet. Her mango orchard, inherited and cultivated with chemical inputs, was ‘yielding’ losses year after year.
It was during a time of despair that the community-managed natural farming programme, implemented by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), gave her hope through the Pre-Monsoon Dry Sowing (PMDS) method. In 2020, Hema adopted PMDS by sowing 12kg of Navadhanya (nine traditional grains) per acre before the monsoon. The technique was repeated each year from 2021 to 2025 by increasing the seeds up to 30 varieties.
Hema explained that she started using bio stimulants, including Ghana Jeevamrutham and Jeevamrutham, along with botanical extracts such as Agnastram, Panchagavya and cowdung-asafoetida solution. Fallen mangoes were fermented and used as a jaggery substitute in preparations of bio stimulants and growth promoters, completing the cycle of on-farm resource utilisation.
With each passing year, Hema witnessed a steady rise in income. From Rs 1.20 lakh in 2020, her earnings soared to Rs 3 lakh the next year, Rs 4 lakh in 2022, Rs 5 lakh in 2023, Rs 5.60 lakh in 2024, and a phenomenal Rs 10 lakh in 2025.
Alongside the mango orchard, she cultivated vegetables, leafy greens and marigold flowers. The family now earns up to Rs 10,000 per month by selling surplus vegetables, while their two indigenous cows benefit from year-round green fodder.
Hema, by thanking PMDS, said that under natural farming practice, she now irrigates her orchard far less frequently, even during summers, because of improved soil moisture retention. The natural quality of her produce created high demand in the local market. With the help of SHG members and RySS staff, Hema began promoting her farm products through WhatsApp groups. This direct communication led to advance bookings, particularly for her mangoes.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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