Dhamnagar: Damodar Sahu, a resident of Radhaballabhpur panchayat under Dhamnagar block in Bhadrak, was known as trainer of mushroom farming. He has since ventured into making vermicompost at a time when environmentalists and the Central government have been laying stress on use of organic instead of chemical fertilisers.
Excess and persistent use of chemical fertilisers in farming for more yields is resulting in loss of fertility of farmland and posing health risks to people.
He had set up the biggest vermicompost farm in the district, but his dream of making it bigger is being scuttled for lack of financial support from government, he said.
Almost all people know Damodar as ‘Chhatu Master’. He has trained many uneducated people in mushroom farming and they have now become self-reliant.
Damodar could not study beyond HSC due to poverty. Then he started working as a farmhand. Though he had no higher educational qualification, he used to think of doing something big.
Before getting into vermicompost, he was doing several odd jobs. He used to make carry bags from newspapers to carry groceries and sold them in villages; then sold chicken, but he was not happy with the earnings.
Then he contacted the Horticulture Department and got training in mushroom farming in Bhubaneswar in 1998. He himself started mushroom farming and began training others.
As a successful mushroom farmer, he was honoured at Bhadrak Tayabhoomi Mahotsav, at District Horticulture Exhibition in 2005, Kisan Mela organized by Ranital Krishi Vigyan Kendra in 2009, the state-level Krushak Samman Mahotsav in 2011.
On the advice of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and the Horticulture Department, he turned his attention to vermicompost preparation five years ago.
The decomposed straws that remained on the mushroom farm, leaves, dirt and vegetable leftovers went into vermicompost. Tonnes of straw wasted after use was reused for the organic fertiliser. Initially, he started with four beds and their number has now gone up to 60 which fetch him Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. He has branded his vermicompost as Jayguru Organic Fertiliser.
With demand for organic fertiliser on the rise, he has been supplying his product to Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Bahanaga, Bhadrak and some other parts of the state. He is also helped by his wife Piyattama Sahu.
He dreams to become one of the leading organic fertiliser makers in the state, but finance is a major constraint, he lamented. If he gets support from the government, he can fulfill his dream, he added.