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In dry, unreliable weather, Indian farmers restore arid land

A farmer walks in his rice field in Thammaiya Doddi village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) E. B. Manohar 26, farmer applies cow dung, a natural fertilizer on his crop at his farm in Khairevu village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh,India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) E. B. Manohar farmer applies cow dung, a natural fertilizer on his crop at his farm in Khairevu village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. On his farm he grows tomatoes, chilies and cabbage, among other crops and vegetables. “I have also started supplying natural fertilizer and weedicide to other farmers in my village," Manohar said. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Arid land that has been prepared for cultivation in Pavagada Tumkur district, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, India, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Malla Reddy, who runs Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre, an organization that encourages farmers to take up natural farming, explains the reasons why Anantapur district is among the driest regions in the country using a rainfall variation and aridity map at his office in the town of Anantapur, India, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. “It was always a dry region but we knew when it will rain and people used to farm accordingly,” Reddy said. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) E. B. Manohar farmer sprays natural fertilizer on his crop at his farm in Khairevu village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. On his farm he grows tomatoes, chilies and cabbage, among other crops and vegetables. “I have also started supplying natural fertilizer and weedicide to other farmers in my village," Manohar said. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Ajantha Reddy, a natural farmer trims his sweet lime plants at Kadiramapalli village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Sweet limes require farmers to wait for many years before they can see any return on their labor and investment. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Women sow paddy that is grown through natural farming methods at Hampapuram village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Farmer Ramesh Hanumaiya displays soil with earthworms in it in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. “This soil used to be as hard as a brick,” Ramesh said. “It’s now like a sponge. The soil is rich with the nutrients and life that's needed for my crops to grow on time and in a healthy way.” (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A woman plucks betel leaves grown through natural farming methods from her farm in Khairevu village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A woman carries rice saplings for replanting in a paddy field that is grown through natural farming methods at Hampapuram village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A woman hold a crop of groundnut as she posses for a picture at a groundnut farm in Khairevu village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Ramesh Hanumaiya, a farmer, cuts grass at his farm in Thammaiya Doddi village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. “This soil used to be as hard as a brick,” Ramesh said. “It’s now like a sponge. The soil is rich with the nutrients and life that's needed for my crops to grow on time and in a healthy way.” (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Arid land that has been prepared for cultivation is seen in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Anantapur and its people are greatly impacted by desertification — the process by which fertile land becomes a desert. Climate change only hastens this transformation. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) M. Venkatapathy, center, a natural farmer, prepares 'Ganajeevamritham', a natural fertilizer using jaggery, flour, cow dung, and other non-chemical materials in Hampapuram, Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. This natural fertilizer is the only supplement that Venkatapathy provides for his sweet lime crops. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A farmer walks through sweet lime trees planted as part of a natural farming initiative over 100 acres at Appilepalli village in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A farmer trims the leaves in a vineyard in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Anantapur and its people are greatly impacted by desertification — the process by which fertile land becomes a desert. Climate change only hastens this transformation. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)