Farmer

Uravakonda, Anantapur
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2019
Grows: Groundnut, Castor, Green Gram

Adilakshmi joined her mandal’s natural farming programme five years ago, starting with a single acre. Today all three acres run on ghana jeevamrutha and mulching — and her input costs have fallen to almost nothing.

“Earlier, half my earnings went back to the input shop. Now my inputs come from my cattle and my own field. Whatever I harvest is truly mine.”

Kushtagi, Koppal, Karnataka

Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Foxtail Millet, Toor Dal, Groundnut

In the dry plains of Koppal, Basavaraj practices what his grandfather called “akkadi saalu” — the old Kannada tradition of intercropping. Rows of foxtail millet stand between his toor dal, so his land never depends on one crop alone.

“When I intercrop, the land feeds itself. The dal fixes the soil, the millet shades it. One crop protects the other — that is how our elders farmed.”

Molakalmuru, Chitradurga
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2019
Grows: Proso Millet, Groundnut, Toor Dal, Ashwagandha

Bhagyamma farms at the edge of the Andhra border, where rainfall is stingy and every crop must earn its water. She switched to millets and organic methods in the same season — and never looked back.

“Chemicals need water to work, and water is what we don’t have. Millets and compost ask for so little. My land finally matches my farming.”

Honnali, Davangere
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Paddy, Finger Millet (Ragi), Sunflower

Chandrashekar farms along the Tungabhadra in Honnali, growing paddy in the wet months and sunflower after. His farm diary — every input, every date — has become the model record for his farmer producer group.

“Traceability starts in my diary. Every load of compost, every seed lot, every harvest date is written down. When you farm honestly, records are easy to keep.”

Pandavapura, Mandya
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Sugarcane (Jaggery), Finger Millet (Ragi), Sesame

Chikkamma’s small holding near Pandavapura produces jaggery the way her grandmother made it — no superphosphate in the boiling pan, no bleaching, just lime from the market and patience.

“My grandmother’s jaggery was dark and honest. When Pure & Sure said they wanted exactly that — no whitening, nothing added — I knew I had found the right partner.”

Madanapalle, Chittoor
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2013
Grows: Groundnut, Finger Millet (Ragi), Toor Dal, Amla

In the cool uplands of Madanapalle, Chinnappa grows groundnut and ragi on terraced red soils. His tank-silt applications every summer have doubled his soil’s water-holding over a decade.

“Every summer I bring silt from the village tank to my field. It is ten generations of goodness that washed away — I am only bringing it home.”

Hunsur, Mysuru
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Finger Millet (Ragi), Urad Dal, Sesame, Chia Seeds

Devaraj rotates ragi with urad dal so the pulse feeds the soil for the grain that follows. His sesame, sown on the field borders, goes into cold-pressed gingelly oil, and a half-acre of chia — the Mysuru region’s surprising new dryland crop — rounds out his rotation.

“Every crop in my rotation has a job. Urad feeds the soil, ragi feeds my family, sesame pays the school fees. A good plan needs no chemicals.”

Byadgi, Haveri
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Byadagi Chilli, Bengal Gram, Groundnut

Fakirappa grows the famous deep-red Byadagi chilli in its very home town. Sun-dried on his own terrace and hand-sorted by his family, his chillies carry the colour and aroma that made Byadagi a name across India.

“Byadagi chilli is our pride. Grown without chemicals, its colour is deeper and the flavour cleaner. Why would I spoil something my village is famous for?”

Kundgol, Dharwad
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Bengal Gram, Khapli (Emmer) Wheat, Flax Seed, Jowar

Gangubai grows winter chana and khapli wheat on the residual moisture of Dharwad’s black cotton soil — no irrigation, no chemicals, just timing learned over thirty years of watching the sky. A border strip of flax rounds out her rabi season.

“People think organic means new methods. For me it meant going back to what my mother-in-law taught me. The land remembers the old ways.”

Tiptur, Tumakuru
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2011
Grows: Coconut, Finger Millet (Ragi), Groundnut

Tiptur copra is legendary, and Gowramma’s palms have been organic for fifteen years — among the first in her hobli. She dries her copra the traditional way, slow and sun-cured.

“Everyone in Tiptur knows coconut. But organic coconut, dried slowly in the sun — that oil smells like my childhood. That is what I want to give people.”

Challakere, Chitradurga
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Groundnut, Foxtail Millet, Coconut

Challakere’s sandy red soils are groundnut country, and Hanumanthappa’s crop goes into cold-pressed oil. Along his field bunds stand forty coconut palms his grandfather planted — still bearing, still watered by nothing but rain and care.

“The groundnut I grow becomes the oil in someone’s kitchen. When you press it fresh from organic pods, the aroma tells you everything — no label needed.”

Gokak, Belagavi
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2013
Grows: Sugarcane (Jaggery), Turmeric, Jowar

Iranna’s cane fields near Gokak feed a family-run jaggery unit that has worked every winter for three generations. His turmeric grows as an intercrop between the young cane rows.

“Cane and turmeric grow together in my field like brothers. The turmeric pays the bills while the cane matures — intercropping is the small farmer’s insurance.”

Belur, Hassan
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Coffee, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Vanilla

Jayalakshmi farms in the shadow of Belur’s ancient temples, at the eastern edge of the Malnad coffee belt. Under a canopy of silver oak, her coffee grows alongside pepper vines climbing the shade trees, cardamom in the damp hollows, and vanilla — hand-pollinated flower by flower each morning. She leads her village’s ten-member women’s organic farming group.

“Ten of us women converted together. When one field struggled, nine families helped. Organic farming is not a lonely road when you walk it as a village.”

Harur, Dharmapuri
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Little Millet, Foxtail Millet, Toor Dal, Sweet Potato

Kanagavalli farms the millet heartland of Dharmapuri, where samai and thinai have grown on dry slopes for centuries. She stone-cleans and sun-dries her grain at home before it leaves the farm.

“My grandmother raised eight children on samai and thinai. These grains built our bones. I grow them so today’s children can be as strong.”

Bhalki, Bidar
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Bengal Gram, Masoor Dal, Soybean, Jowar, Sesame

On her three acres of deep black soil, Kasturibai swears by farmyard manure from her two desi cows. Every season begins with compost, not a shopping trip to the fertilizer shop.

“My two cows give me everything my field needs. Dung, urine, jeevamrutha — why should I buy from a shop what my cattle shed gives me for free?”

Narasaraopet, Guntur
Land: 7 acres
Organic since: 2021
Grows: Chilli, Turmeric, Bengal Gram

Guntur means chilli, and Koteswara Rao grows his fiery crop the hard way — neem sprays, pheromone traps, and hand care instead of the heavy pesticide loads his region is known for.

“Guntur chilli is famous, but so is its pesticide. I wanted my chilli famous for the opposite reason — tested clean, every single harvest.”

Bangarpet, Kolar
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Finger Millet (Ragi), Groundnut, Toor Dal, Horse Gram

In water-scarce Kolar, Krishnappa grows what the land can honestly support: ragi, groundnut, and toor, all rain-fed. His secret is tank silt and compost worked into the soil every summer.

“Ragi needs so little water and gives so much strength. In a district like ours, organic ragi is not just farming — it is common sense.”

Sindhanur, Raichur
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Sona Masuri Rice, Sesame, Toor Dal

Lakshmamma manages her family’s paddy fields in the Tungabhadra command area, where Sindhanur’s famous Sona Masuri grows. After her husband’s health scare, she was the one who insisted the family stop spraying chemicals.

“I cook what I grow. When I stopped the sprays, I stopped worrying about what my children were eating. That peace of mind is worth more than any yield.”

Nanjangud, Mysuru
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Sona Masuri Rice, Finger Millet (Ragi), Groundnut

On the banks of the Kapila river, Mahadevaswamy grows paddy in the kharif season and ragi on residual moisture after. His fields host more egrets and frogs every year — his own measure of a healthy farm.

“When the birds came back to my paddy fields, I knew the poison had truly left my land. Nature keeps better records than any certificate.”

Indi, Vijayapura
Land: 7 acres
Organic since: 2013
Grows: Jowar, Bengal Gram, Kabuli Chana, Sunflower

On seven rain-fed acres, Mallanagouda grows the white jowar that north Karnataka’s rotis are made of, with desi and kabuli chana through the winter. Sunflower borders his fields — an oilseed his father always planted “for the oil and for the bees.”

“Jowar has fed this region for centuries without a drop of chemical. I am not doing anything new — I am just refusing to forget.”

Arsikere, Hassan
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Coconut, Finger Millet (Ragi), Kodo Millet

Manjunath’s farm mixes coconut palms with hardy millets that thrive in Arsikere’s dry belt. He composts every frond and husk the palms drop — nothing leaves the farm except the harvest.

“On my farm, nothing is waste. Coconut husk becomes mulch, fronds become compost, and the soil grows darker every year. That is my bank balance.”

Attur, Salem
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Sesame, Groundnut, Little Millet

Murugesan’s sesame goes into traditional cold-pressed gingelly oil — the marachekku way, pressed slowly in a wooden mill. He seeds his fields with sunhemp every summer and ploughs it back in.

“Green manure in summer, sesame in season. The wooden press takes our organic seed and gives back oil the way our great-grandfathers tasted it.”

Harapanahalli, Vijayanagara
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2017
Grows: Jowar, Toor Dal, Cowpea, Groundnut

Nagaraj farms the hot, dry uplands of Harapanahalli where jowar outlasts every other crop in a poor monsoon. His toor and groundnut fill in the better years.

“Jowar never betrays a dry-land farmer. Even in the worst year, it stands. Grown organic, it feeds my family first and the market next.”

Kalyandurg, Anantapur
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Groundnut, Foxtail Millet, Toor Dal, Quinoa

Anantapur is groundnut country — among the driest districts in India — and Narasimhulu’s rain-fed crop goes into cold-pressed oil. His foxtail millet stands guard in the rows between, insurance against a failed monsoon, and an acre of quinoa — Anantapur’s surprising new dryland crop — has joined the rotation.

“In Anantapur we farm on hope and 400 millimetres of rain. Organic methods hold that little water in the soil like a mother holds a child.”

Ron, Gadag
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Green Gram, Jowar, Sunflower

Ningappa’s family belongs to the Lambani community that has farmed the Gadag plains for generations. His green gram is sown with the first monsoon rains and harvested in barely 65 days — a crop he calls “the quick blessing.”

“Green gram asks for little and gives back a lot. It even leaves the soil better than it found it. Organic farming is just working with such crops, not against them.”

Rayachoti, Kadapa
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Jowar, Groundnut, Turmeric

Padmavathi grows jowar and groundnut on her dry fields and turmeric on the half-acre served by her farm well. She leads the women’s self-help group that brought organic certification to her village.

“Fifteen women in my group went organic together. We share seeds, we share labour, we share the certificate. Together, even small farms stand tall.”

Kodumudi, Erode
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2013
Grows: Turmeric, Groundnut, Sesame

Erode is India’s turmeric capital, and Palanisamy’s rhizomes are grown on Cauvery silt with nothing but farmyard manure and pressmud compost. His curing pit has been in use since his father’s time.

“Erode manjal is famous across the world. My duty is simple: keep it as pure as its name. No chemicals touch my turmeric from soil to sack.”

Maddur, Mandya
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Sugarcane (Jaggery), Paddy, Finger Millet (Ragi)

In the heart of Mandya’s sugar belt, Puttaswamy chose a different path: organic cane, crushed at a small unit near his village and boiled down into chemical-free jaggery in open pans.

“Factory sugar is white because of chemicals. My jaggery is golden because of nothing but cane and fire. People taste the difference in the first bite.”

Pollachi, Coimbatore
Land: 7 acres
Organic since: 2011
Grows: Coconut, Cocoa, Groundnut

Pollachi coconuts are prized across South India, and Ramasamy’s seven-acre grove has been organic for fifteen years. Under the shade of the palms grow cocoa trees — a pairing Pollachi farmers have perfected — while groundnut covers the open floor as a living mulch and second income.

“A coconut grove is a forest you plant yourself. Feed the soil, let the groundnut cover the floor, and the palms will outlive you — giving all the way.”

Kollegal, Chamarajanagar
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2017
Grows: Turmeric, Finger Millet (Ragi), Toor Dal

Rathnamma grows turmeric on raised beds enriched with farmyard manure and green leaf mulch from the forest edge near her village. Her rhizomes are boiled, sun-dried, and polished the traditional way.

“Turmeric is medicine, so it must be grown like medicine — pure from the soil up. Chemicals in turmeric? That would be a lie against its very nature.”

Jamkhandi, Bagalkot
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2017
Grows: Jowar, Sunflower, Groundnut

Renuka took over the family farm after her father’s retirement and immediately began the organic conversion he had always talked about but never dared to start. Her sunflower fields are now a local landmark each September.

“My father dreamed of chemical-free fields but feared the risk. I took that risk for him. Three years later, he walks the fields every evening, smiling.”

Banaganapalle, Kurnool
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2017
Grows: Bengal Gram, Jowar, Sesame

Saraswathamma farms with her son on land her late husband converted to organic. Her winter chana crop, grown entirely on stored soil moisture, is her proudest harvest each year.

“My husband began this journey and I completed it. Every chemical-free harvest from this land is my tribute to him.”

Hiriyur, Chitradurga
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2019
Grows: Sunflower, Groundnut, Finger Millet (Ragi), Amla

Sarojamma runs her three acres with her daughter, rotating sunflower and groundnut with ragi so the soil is never left bare. Hardy amla trees along her field bunds give a winter harvest even when the rains disappoint, and her farm pond, dug under a watershed scheme, sees her through the dry spells.

“Small land teaches you big lessons. I cannot waste a single foot of soil or a single pot of water — organic farming rewards exactly that kind of care.”

Sathyamangalam, Erode
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Turmeric, Ginger, Finger Millet (Ragi), Coconut, Honey

At the foothills of the Sathyamangalam forests, Sellammal grows turmeric and ginger side by side under partial coconut shade, and keeps a row of bee boxes at the forest edge that give a wild-flavoured honey every season. Elephant visits are part of life here — she plants her borders with crops they ignore.

“Living beside the forest teaches you respect. We take from the soil gently, and the forest, the bees, the birds — they all farm alongside us.”

Aland, Kalaburagi
Land: 7 acres
Organic since: 2012
Grows: Toor Dal, Bengal Gram, Jowar

Kalaburagi is the toor dal capital of Karnataka, and Sharanappa’s seven acres sit right at its heart. One of the earliest farmers in his taluk to go fully organic, he now mentors a dozen neighbouring families through their conversion years.

“The first two years were hard — I won’t lie. But Pure & Sure stood with us, bought our harvest at a fair price, and today my soil is the richest it has been in my lifetime.”

Athani, Belagavi
Land: 7 acres
Organic since: 2012
Grows: Sugarcane (Jaggery), Jowar, Bengal Gram

One of Athani’s earliest organic converts, Shivabasappa uses jeevamrutha brewed in a 200-litre drum by his cattle shed — a weekly ritual he has not missed in fourteen years.

“Jeevamrutha costs me almost nothing — cow dung, urine, jaggery, gram flour. Yet it wakes up the soil like nothing I ever bought in a bottle.”

Gubbi, Tumakuru
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2013
Grows: Coconut, Jackfruit, Finger Millet (Ragi), Toor Dal

Siddesh’s farm in Gubbi is shaded by over a hundred coconut palms and a scatter of old jackfruit trees — Tumakuru is jackfruit country — with ragi and toor growing in the open patches between them. His copra goes into cold-pressed coconut oil, and his tender jackfruit is harvested young for the kitchen.

“A coconut tree gives for sixty years if you feed the soil, not the tree. Compost at the roots, mulch all around — that’s the whole secret.”

Papanasam, Thanjavur
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2014
Grows: Traditional Rice Varieties, Urad Dal, Sesame, Palm Sugar

In the old Cauvery delta, Subramani grows heritage rice varieties like Mappillai Samba alongside urad dal for the region’s famous idli batter tradition. Palmyra palms line his field bunds, tapped each season for dark, mineral-rich palm sugar. His seed comes from a farmer-run traditional seed bank.

“Our delta fed kingdoms with these rice varieties long before chemicals existed. Growing them organically is not a choice for me — it is their birthright.”

Oddanchatram, Dindigul
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2017
Grows: Coconut, Moringa, Green Gram, Sesame

Thangammal farms in Oddanchatram, one of India’s great moringa belts. Her drumstick trees line every bund, while green gram and sesame fill the spaces between her young coconut palms — every square foot of her four acres earns its keep while the grove matures.

“Young palms take seven years to give. But my green gram and sesame pay me every season in between. The land never keeps me waiting.”

Polur, Tiruvannamalai
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2016
Grows: Paddy, Groundnut, Green Gram, Banana

Vasanthi farms tank-irrigated fields near Polur, following the water calendar her village has kept for generations. Her rotation of paddy, groundnut, and green gram keeps the soil fed year-round.

“The tank fills, we plant paddy. It dries, we plant groundnut. Our ancestors designed this rhythm — organic farming simply honours it.”

Chintamani, Chikkaballapur
Land: 4 acres
Organic since: 2019
Grows: Finger Millet (Ragi), Little Millet, Groundnut, Tamarind

Venkatalakshmi revived little millet on her farm after finding a pouch of her mother’s saved seed in an old trunk. Today, that heirloom seed covers a full acre alongside her ragi. Chintamani is famous for its tamarind, and the old trees on her land — older than anyone in the family — still give a generous harvest every summer.

“That handful of my mother’s seed had waited twenty years for me. Old seeds, old wisdom — they were never gone, only waiting for us to return.”

Adoni, Kurnool
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Foxtail Millet, Bengal Gram, Sunflower

Kurnool’s korra (foxtail millet) is an old pride of Rayalaseema, and Venkataramana grows it in rotation with winter chana and sunflower on deep black soil.

“Korra fed Rayalaseema through every famine in our history. It deserves better than to be forgotten — so I grow it, organically, with pride.”

Mundargi, Gadag
Land: 3 acres
Organic since: 2018
Grows: Barnyard Millet, Green Gram, Sunflower, Coriander

On three modest acres, Halappa grows barnyard millet — oodalu, as his village calls it — a forgotten grain now finding its way back to city kitchens through Pure & Sure.

“Twenty years ago people laughed at oodalu as poor man’s food. Today the city asks for it by name. The old grains are having the last laugh.”

Gangavathi, Koppal
Land: 5 acres
Organic since: 2015
Grows: Sona Masuri Rice, Sesame, Toor Dal

Gangavathi is called the rice bowl of Karnataka, and Yallamma’s organic Sona Masuri comes from fields where azolla and neem cake have replaced urea entirely.

“My neighbours spray and I spread neem cake. At harvest, our yields are nearly equal — but my rice sells with pride and my soil is alive.”