A dimension within Healthy Harvests
Covers traditional farming, organic methods, and historical perspectives on land use in rural areas.
149 voices speak to this
Each dimension splits this theme further — keep drilling to see how it breaks down.
Neutral
Overall Community Sentiment
Traditional agriculture
— Common Ground · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha
Traditional agriculture
— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha
We farm using the old method.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
We farm using traditional methods.
— Sunil oraon · Bero, Ranchi, Jharkhand
My ancestors used to emphasize farming using organic methods.
— Madan Hantal · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha
Our ancestors generally followed traditional farming methods using cow dung manure.
— Jogeshwar Naik · Kalahandi, Odisha
Traditional agriculture and heritage
— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha
Our ancestors used to farm with plows.
— Batakrushna Sahoo
Sawa, Medo, Mijhri are our traditional crops, which our ancestors used to cultivate by plowing with bullocks and a plough. They consumed these crops throughout the year and saved seeds in their homes for the next year's sowing. We still practice farming today.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.
— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha
Even today, we farm with a plough and oxen and earn our livelihood. Since ancient times, our ancestors have ploughed fields with a plough and oxen, and sow only the seeds preserved at home, such as kurthi, sawa, medo, and mijhri.
— Ram Kumari
They were cultivating paddy using organic methods or traditional soil methods.
— Gourang Adhikari · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha
The methods that our ancestors taught, which is farming, and now if we implement that, considering the market's demand, if we adopt our old methods, then we...
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
Our ancestors used to follow cow dung manure and clay soil farming methods and found them profitable.
— Premsila Naik · Kalahandi, Odisha
I am a farmer. Our father, grandfather, and uncles used to cultivate using traditional methods. They used to farm without fertilizer and without chemicals. And that farming was good for crops like horse gram and ragi.
— Parikshit Majhi
Farming
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
But we need to protect the traditional farming that was done before.
— Niranjan Bisi · Bissamcuttack, Rayagada, Odisha
Our fathers and grandfathers used to cultivate traditional crops earlier, fertilizing them with cow dung, and grew pulses like moong, urad, kulthi, along with millets such as ragi and bajra.
— Parikshit Majhi
From the time of our ancestors, they used to cultivate with a plow. Immediately after paddy cultivation, they would grow mustard, groundnuts, horse gram, black gram, and green gram. Our subsequent generations have forgotten this practice.
— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha
From the very beginning, we cultivate a second crop without irrigation using old methods and traditional seeds. The method of storing these seeds is also traditional, and our fields are ploughed using bullocks.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
We are a tribal community, we farm using ploughs and bullocks, and we sustain our lives. We clear forests and bushes to make fields, and we cultivate sawa, medo, mijhri, and maize, which were grown by our ancestors, and we also preserve their seeds.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our plows and bullocks till the fields, we sow millet, maize, make furrows, and plant small seeds, and also save seeds for the next year. This is a legacy from our ancestors, which we still have today and which we utilize.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
They farm using plows pulled by oxen, practicing traditional farming where they sow and grow old varieties, and now they also sow some new hybrid varieties.
— Ram Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Traditional methods, the traditional methods of farming that were used before. All the earthworms would survive and loosen the soil. Now, when we plow with a tractor or our power tiller, the earthworms...
— KARUKAR MURMU · Gandhinagar, Rayagada, Odisha
Agriculture farming
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Farming and agriculture
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We used to do farming through the creeper/vine.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Our ancestors used to farm with plows and bullocks. But nowadays, all those things are disappearing.
— NAGRIK VIKASH SANGATHAN · Kalahandi, Odisha
Old seeds should be preserved using organic fertilizer, and traditional farming should be practiced following natural methods. This can benefit the agricultural sector.
— Mohan AHARI · Sarera, Udaipur, Rajasthan
I will do traditional farming.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
I will do traditional farming.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
Old people used to do mixed farming, they used cow dung manure.
— Kachala Choudhary
Yes, on our fallow fields, even without irrigation, we grow other crops and use traditional seeds, ploughing and sowing with oxen according to old methods.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Our ancestors used soil cultivation methods, farming with cow dung manure. They also used goat droppings as manure for cultivation.
— gobardhan pangi
In earlier times, what method did people use for farming? The answer is, they used to farm by applying fertilizer with a plough.
— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha
We sow with great effort without irrigation, and cultivate crops by plowing with oxen and a plow. We save seeds for many years, which come in handy.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
In ancient times, what kind of methods did your people use for farming? So, they farmed with plows and used oxen for farming.
— Rajesh Mallik · Boudh, Odisha
Traditional farming, meaning Yudung, Pandala, Janana, maize, finger millet, and so on.
— James
In our village, earlier, people used to cultivate fields with ploughs and oxen and worked very hard. At that time, they would sow Kodo, Sawa, Medo, and Mizri, and grow them without fertilizer. They used to sustain themselves with that, from which individuals...
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
We cleared and tilled land in the forest to create our farms, and today we continue to cultivate that same land. Previously, we used to plough with bullocks and a plough, but now we also use tractors for tilling. Furthermore, pigeon pea (arhar) cultivation can be done without water.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.
Even without irrigation, our traditional seeds and old farming methods ensure our crops ripen, providing food for our homes.
Our community remembers a time when farming with natural manure fostered both abundant harvests and deep respect for the land.
By embracing traditional and organic farming methods and saving our own seeds, we ensure resilient harvests and preserve our heritage for future generations.
By transforming natural materials like cow dung, dry leaves, and neem leaves into compost, I nourish the soil and grow healthy crops using ancestral wisdom.
The voices in this theme were gathered by these organisations through their community reports.
