Nekram Sharma, a farmer from Karsog valley of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, India revives along with its community an ancient indigenous farming technique.

Nau-Anaj (‘nau’ means nine and ‘anaj’ is crop) is an intercropping or mixed farming method to grow nine foodgrains on the same piece of land. These crops are a combination of lentils, cereals, vegetables, legumes, and creepers.

 “The idea is simple — to have backup harvested crops in case one of them fails due to climatic conditions or pest attacks. This ensures that even if the farmer cannot sell the crops for some reason, he still has food for his family. What makes this technique interesting is that unlike traditional practices, where crops constantly fight for sunlight and water nutrients, the nine carefully assorted crops aid each other’s growth instead,” Nekram, now 58, tells The Better India.

The aim is to choose crops that use less water, fix nitrogen, increase soil fertility, repel insects and grow faster in small lands. It took Nekram nearly 5-6 years to attain that perfect combination as per weather conditions and water availability in the region.

 “Once I was confident of the method’s success, I started teaching others and sharing my experiences. Today close to 5,000 farmers in the district have adopted this practice. My wife, Ramkali, has been running a seed bank through which we preserve desi seeds and distribute them to encourage others. By not using chemicals, the overall water usage has come down by 50%”, adds Nekram.

Ramkali, who helps her husband on the field, says, “I make a spray of garlic, neem, or lassi to prevent plant diseases. We make jeevamruth (a mixture of cow dung and cow urine) from our cow, thus eliminating any expenditures.’’  

The implementation and success of Nau-Anaj inspired other farmers in the region to follow suit. It also led to the formation of Parvatiye Tikau Kheti Abhiyan (PTKA), a co-operative of farmers.

Nekram with his wife, Ramkali, © The Better India