Padma awardee farmer who turned barren land into heavenly orchard with innovation

The innovative farmer from Karnataka was given a piece of barren land on a steep hill that had no water source.

Image credit: ANI

New Delhi:  Amai Mahalinga Naik, an innovative farmer from Karnataka's  Adyanadka village in Dakshina Kannada, has been conferred with the Padma Shri award 2022 for transforming a barren sloping hill into a fertile farm. 

Using the innovative Zero-Energy Micro-Irrigation System, Naik turned a barren plot of land into an oasis comprising Arecanut Palms, Coconut Trees, Cashew Trees, Banana Saplings, and Pepper Vines.

But the heavenly orchard did not come easy. Years of hard work comprised of many failed attempts made Naik's dream come true.

"I was working at a landlord's house at the age of 22. One of them gave me a piece of barren land on a steep hill. There was no water source. I didn't have money to spend on irrigation or dig borewells. So I started digging a tunnel into hard rocks to reach groundwater," Amai Mahalinga Naik told to ANI.

(Image credit: ANI)

Naik single-handedly dug 6 tunnels to bring water to his farm. He also constructed 300 percolation trenches alone in the hills surrounding it. 

Sharing his story to ANI Naik told that he failed in the first 5 attempts, people called him mad and he had no other work after his 4 years went in vain. 

But the failure could not discourage Naik and after digging around 30 feet deep, the sixth tunnel, he found the water source for his farm. Innovative farmer Amai Mahalinga Naik now uses the same water source for irrigation purposes.