Subash Chandra, a farmer and high school teacher of Makhdumpur village, used to apply chemical fertilisers in his field. But, his land kept getting degraded and crop production had also started to decline.
“I was using chemical fertilisers like urea and potash in my two acres of land. But I was never satisfied with the quantity and quality of the crops. I am a small farmer with a family of six. We eat what we grow and I was uncomfortable at the thought of the urea I used in my field. I knew it couldn’t be good for health,” the farmer from Bankati block in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti told Gaon Connection. Chandra also found that even after irrigating his land, the soil would not be as moist as it should be.
“At the start of kharif [monsoon] season this year I got to know about BomLife bio fertiliser and decided to try it in half an acre of my land. I just harvested my crops and I was surprised with the result. I got fifty per cent more produce than when I used the chemical fertilisers,” the 40-year-old farmer said.
He has decided to use the grains that were grown with the biofertilisers for his personal consumption. The ones for which he used chemical fertilisers, he said he would sell. “From this rabi [winter] season, I will use BomLife products on my entire land”, he added.
Farmers got 30 to 35 clumps in a paddy plant by using bio-fertiliser.
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BomLife Biofertiliser
BomLife is an agritech startup founded in December 2020 in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is supported by Startup India Seed Fund of Government of India.
According to the company, BomLife’s proprietary hi-tech organic model is a one stop solution for chemical- free agriculture, providing complete bio-organic solutions and consultancy services for agronomic study, input and farm management as per specific geo-climatic conditions from pre-sowing stage to harvest.
“Our product can easily replace urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP). The advantages of using BomLife is that the soil requires no synthetic inputs at all, it fosters healthy plant growth and small doses are enough for crops,” Amlan Datta, co-founder of BomLife, told Gaon Connection. “It also prevents pest attacks. It increases shelf life, produces quality crops, and requires twenty five per cent less water,” he added.
“Currently we are selling the biofertiliser at factory price and farmers have to pay only thirty per cent at the time of buying it and the rest after harvesting,” Datta said.
According to him, with the help of Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF) they are trying out the biofertiliser in the Bankati block of Uttar Pradesh as a pilot project.
“In June this year, I visited Bankati block, and attended several village organisations meetings to inform farmers about the product. We provided training to some of the farmers who wanted to try it, ” Datta added.
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Technical assistance by TRIF
TRIF is a Delhi-based grassroot level non-governmental organisation working to promote rural livelihoods across the country. The non-profit is providing technical assistance to the farmers who want to use BomLife.
Small doses of BomLife products are enough for crops.
“TRIF stabilised a link between BomLife and the farmers of Bankati block. In cluster level and village level meetings, we are informing farmers about the product and telling them the advantages of using a bio fertiliser instead of chemical,” Shekhar Anand, Bankati Block Manager of TRIF, told Gaon Connection. “TRIF with the Agriculture Entrepreneurs is giving training to the farmers who want to try it in the upcoming rabi season,” he added.
About a dozen farmers used it for the first time in this kharif season and have given positive feedback, Anand said.
Vilsun Kumar, an Agriculture Entrepreneur in Makhdumpur village of Bankati block is the distributor of BomLife products in Bankati block. While encouraging others to use it he also tried the products in his own farm in this kharif season.
“After getting trained by Amlan Datta, my brother and I decided to use the products for the first time in our one acre of land. In another one acre I used chemical fertilisers. In the drought-like situation in our area this year, I got 30 to 35 clumps in a paddy plant on which I used bio fertiliser, which is around 15 to 20 more in comparison to the area where I used chemical fertilisers,” Kumar told Gaon Connection.
Farmers are getting 50 to 60 per cent more paddy from the field in which they used BomLife.
“I just harvested my crops and got 50 to 60 per cent more paddy from the field in which I used BomLife. It cost me 8,000 rupees per acre of land and I only paid thirty per cent of it, the rest I have to pay after the harvesting,” the 28-year-old farmer added.
“After seeing the results of BomLife on my paddy crops, many farmers are now contacting me. I am giving them information about the product and when they will use it for the first time in their field I will be there to train them,” Kumar added.
This story has been published as part of collaboration with Transform Rural India Foundation.
