Filmmaker Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah’s tryst with farming

Spending three months of lockdown in hometown Tumkur made filmmaker Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah look at the paddy fields around his home with a fresh perspective. “That’s when I realised that while all other activities had come to a halt, consumption of food hadn’t. In fact, many families bonded over food during lockdown. Which meant that farming/agriculture was one activity that kept our nation going. It was such an enlightening moment for me and that set the tone for my interest in farming,” shares Pushkara. ‘Learning the technicalities of soil is half the battle won’Ever since the lockdown eased, the filmmaker has visited over 150 farms to learn the nuances of agriculture. “I saw first-hand the ground reality of our farmers and unfortunately, it isn’t in their best interest. For example, even the basics like soil testing before one ventures into farming is not done by our farmers. There is one soil testing unit for every district and farmers have to travel far and from interior locations to these units. Hence, they sow crops without even testing if that particular soil is suitable for the said crop. There is no information on the nutrients supply in their soil, either. As for seeds, most of them are hybrid and the costs involved are high,” he points out. As for fertilisers, Pushkara says the fertiliser shops loot farmers by giving them expensive products and not the ones that are recommended scientifically. “And they are chemically loaded, so they’re harmful to our bodies in the long run,” he observes.‘There is a way to help out farmers’Disheartened by the reality, Pushkara has now decided to set up a non-profit organisation to help the farming community. “We are formulating a campaign to educate farmers on how to go about the three foundations of farming: soil testing, seeds and fertilizers. We also want to set up a forum where farmers and customers are in direct touch without a middleman,” states Pushkara. And aiding him in this mission is Shashi. “He is beyond just the game of Bigg Boss. Shashi is a gold medallist in MSc, Agriculture. He’s taught us a lot about sustainable and organic farming which is what we are promoting to our farmers. We will soon have a band of volunteers who have all done their degree in agriculture to further help us in our vision. And that is to make organic farming the order of the day and make it equally profitable for our farmers,” sums up Pushkara.