G. Nammalvar

Deceased Person

– 2013

30

Who was G. Nammalvar?

G. Nammalvar was an Indian organic farming scientist. Hailing from the agro-based Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, he was involved in preaching the farmers to get an edge in organic farming.

Nammalvar born in 1938 in Elangadu, Tanjore District, and he graduated from Annamalai University with a B.Sc degree in Agriculture. In 1963 he began working for the Agricultural Regional Research Station, a government organization in Kovilpatti, as a scientist, conducting trials on spacing and manure levels of various chemical fertilizers in cotton and millet crops. During his tenure there, the government was conducting experiments in rain fed land, using expensive inputs like hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides which Nammalvar considered futile as the rain fed farmers were resource poor. Based on his experience he felt very strongly that it was imperative to totally reorient the research work undertaken but his peers at the institute paid little attention to his advice. Frustrated, he left the institute in 1969.

For the next 10 years he was an agronomist for Island of Peace, an organization founded by the Nobel Laureate Dominique Pire. His focus was on improving the standard of living through agricultural development in the Kalakad block of Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. It was at this time that he realized that in order to get optimal results in farming, farmers should rely only minimally on external inputs. All inputs should come from within the farm. So called wastes should be recycled and used as input. This revelation was a turning point in his life. He completely lost trust in conventional farming practices and began experimenting with sustainable agricultural methods.

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Died
Dec 30, 2013
Pattukkottai

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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